Predoctoral Research Assistant (m/f/div) - Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods

The Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods with its approximately 100 employees, scholars and visiting researchers is one of more than 80 institutions of the Max Planck Society. It is an internationally oriented research institute dealing with applied economics and behavioral analysis of law.

Our team is seeking applications for a full-time research specialist (pre-doc). The position will be based at the Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods in Bonn, Germany. The start date is as soon as possible, but no later than March 2025 and the position is for one year.

We are an international team of researchers who work on an ambitious randomized controlled trial (RCT) that aims to generate comprehensive evidence on the impact of international educational migration on students and their home communities. We partner with the NGO Malengo (www.malengo.org), founded by Johannes Haushofer, which provides mentoring and financial support to high-school graduates from Uganda who want to complete a Bachelor’s degree in Germany.

The successful applicant will participate in all aspects of the research project, particularly around the planning and execution of field experiments, surveys, and the cleaning, matching and analysis of survey and administrative data. The position is particularly appropriate for candidates with strong backgrounds in quantitative social science with an interest in experimental methods and overseeing fieldwork, who seek an ideal stepping stone toward PhD studies in development economics.

Our Offer to You: 

• Participation in cutting-edge research involving leading international researchers
• Vast opportunities to learn and grow in many dimensions (planning and implementing RCTs and surveys in Uganda and Germany, programming, analytical, managerial, coordination, and communication skills)
• Payment in line with TVÖD E13
• An open and international work environment in a highly motivated team

Job Description:

• Cleaning, managing and analyzing survey and administrative data
• Producing publication-quality tables and figures
• Helping prepare academic papers for publication, contributing to literature reviews, reports and blog posts
• Programming tasks (e.g., questionnaires)
• Liaising and coordinating with the operations team of Malengo and the survey firm
• Assisting with the website management of the project study
• Assisting with the supervision, planning and implementation of surveys and field studies conducted in Germany and Uganda
• Contributing to grant-writing, ethics approvals, and budgeting

Your Profile

Essential qualifications and traits

• Educational Background: Bachelor’s degree in economics, statistics, political science, public policy, psychology, mathematics, computer science, or related discipline with substantial quantitative coursework.
• Strong academic record
• Strong econometric skills (including familiarity with causal inference methods)
• Strong programming skills in Stata / R.
• Strong skills in data management, including data cleaning, merging, and visualization.
• Keen understanding of randomized controlled trials
• Strong ability to produce publication-quality deliverables and communicate the findings to a wide audience
• Strong analytical and writing skills
• Strong managerial and organizational skills
• Strong problem-solving skills, solution-oriented, with a mentality for continuous improvement of yourself and the team
• Collaborative, collegial, and excited to work with diverse teams
• Highly self-motivated and able to take initiative without much supervision

Preferred qualifications and traits

• Master’s degree in the fields mentioned above
• Programming skills in Python
• Previous experience in living and/or conducting research in low-income countries
• Previous experience in designing and conducting field and/or lab experiments
• Interest and training in development economics
• Leadership potential with the ability to inspire and lead field and lab teams with intelligence, dedication, and kindness
• Grant and paper writing experience

Who We Are:

• Toman Barsbai, University of Bristol, UK
• Merve Demirel, Institute for International Economic Studies, Sweden
• Marcello Perez Alvarez, University of Groningen, Netherlands
• Matthias Sutter, Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods, Germany
• Philipp Moskopp, Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods, Germany

Interested candidates are invited to submit their application exclusively via our application portal (Predoctoral Research Assistant (m/f/div) for Project on International Educational Migration | Max-Planck-Institut zur Erforschung von Gemeinschaftsgütern | 73) by December 8th 2024. Applications will be reviewed on the date specified above, However, submissions received after this deadline may still be considered, though without a guarantee of review. Your application should include (i) a cover letter explaining your interest in the position, and how you acquired your econometric, programming, analytical and organizational skills, (ii) your CV including your GPAs, (iii) full university transcripts, and, if available, (iv) one recent academic writing sample such as your Bachelor/Master thesis or a seminar paper that best documents your skills.

Should you have further questions please do not hesitate to contact Philipp Moskopp via email: [email protected]  

Further information about the institute can be found at https://www.coll.mpg.de and about Malengo at www.malengo.org

The Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods is an equal opportunity employer. Applications from women with the requisite qualifications and interests are particularly welcome. We strive for gender and diversity equality and welcome applications from all backgrounds. The Max Planck Society is also seeking to increase the number of employees with severe disabilities. Applications from such candidates will be given special consideration.