Research Associate - Demand for Cooling

 Start Date (Earliest): 01st April 2025

 Language Requirement: Hindi (preferred) 

 Length of Commitment: Less than one year

 Joining Location: Mumbai, Maharashtra

 Name of the Project: Demand for Cooling

 Sector- Energy, Environment and Climate Change 

 About the Organization

 The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) was established in 2003 as a research center at  the Economics Department at MIT. Since then, it has grown into a global network of researchers  who use randomized evaluations to answer critical policy questions in the fight against poverty. J-  PAL is propelled by a first-rate team dedicated to research, policy, training, and other vital work,  supporting J-PAL's mission to reduce poverty by ensuring that policy is informed by scientific  evidence.

 J-PAL South Asia, which is based at the Institute for Financial Management and Research (IFMR)  in India, analyses and disseminates research results and builds partnerships with policymakers to  ensure that policy is driven by evidence, and that programs proven effective are scaled up.

 Project Description

 As global temperatures climb, the growing need for cooling is straining energy resources and  driving up greenhouse gas emissions. Understanding how households consume air cooling and  respond to management interventions is crucial for designing effective policies and technologies. J-  PAL South Asia is partnering with Tata Power to run a randomized controlled trial (RCT)  involving  urban households in Mumbai to assess their cooling demand and examine how locus of  control  influences energy use.  The research study is led by principal investigators – Dr Teevrat Garg (University of California San  Diego), Dr Maulik Jagnani (Tufts University), Dr Shefali Khanna (London School of Economics)  and Dr Patrick Behrer (World Bank)

 Key Responsibilities

 Research Associates work closely with the research manager, academic researchers and other field  staff to perform a variety tasks including, but not limited to:

 Research Design and Data Management

•  Designing survey questionnaires, conducting qualitative research, running pilot/backchecking  exercises, refining study design and survey instruments
•  Ensuring that the project complies with research protocols related to data collection and security
•  Supervising data collection and data entry to ensure good data quality
•  Work with datasets, prepare and run codes regularly for daily data cleaning and analysis in STATA
•  Ability to analyze and interpret data using statistical packages like STATA and produce output,  including graphs and tables

 Managerial / Operational 

•  Maintaining relationship with partner organizations 
•  Managing teams: Recruit, train, and supervise both field-based and data operations teams  consisting of project assistants, field managers, field-based surveyors, data entry operators and  other field and office staff
•  Overseeing the on-ground implementation of the intervention in accordance with the research  design in association with our partner organization. Further, making sure the project is on track in t  terms of timelines. 
•  Liaising with field staff and collaborating with them including regular travel to research field sites;  focus of work is to advise on quality control of data collection practices.
•  Supporting the project in design the survey instruments and coding it in Qualtrics
•  Any other task as assigned by the PIs

 Desired Qualifications

•  Resourceful, self-motivated and able to manage multiple tasks efficiently
•  Experience managing or conducting data collection in the field
•  Excellent written and spoken communication skills in English and Hindi
•  Experience working with Stata and/or R preferred 
•  Attention to detail and ability to stay organized 
•  Desire to learn and develop new skills 
•  Bachelor's/Master's degree in economics or related fields
•  Familiarity with randomized controlled trials 

 J-PAL South Asia is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without  regard to age, disability, family status, gender identity, race, religion, sexual orientation and other  attributes protected by law. We strongly encourage people from marginalized communities to apply  for this role.

Note on Work Authorizations:

Candidates must have work authorization to work in India.