Senior Associate on the Collaboration Between J-PAL Europe and ENSEA, Côte d'Ivoire

ENSEA and J-PAL are looking for a Senior Associate to support the training partnership established between the two institutions.

About ENSEA

Founded in 1961, the École Nationale Supérieure de Statistique et d'Économie Appliquée (ENSEA) in Abidjan is a public higher education and research institution that trains statisticians for African countries. To date, it has trained more than 4,500 statisticians from over 20 African countries and Haiti. The quality of its training and its prominence in the field of statistics earned it the designation of a "Regional Center of Excellence" by UEMOA in 2005 and a "Center of African Excellence" by the World Bank in 2015. Since 2020, ENSEA has been recognized as a Regional Impact Center by the Agence Française de Dévelopment (AFD). ENSEA is a member of the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF) and the Network of African Statistical Schools (RESA).

About J-PAL

The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) is a global research centre that works to reduce poverty by informing policymakers with evidence-based research. With a network of over 1,000 affiliated professors at universities around the world, J-PAL conducts randomized impact evaluations to address critical questions in poverty reduction.

About the J-PAL / ENSEA Collaboration

Since September 2023, ENSEA and J-PAL Europe have launched an ambitious training collaboration to strengthen capacity in impact evaluation and provide resources for using rigorous research in public policy decisions in Côte d'Ivoire. This initiative was prompted by discussions with the Ivorian government on how best to support the implementation of a recent law on public policy evaluation.

The collaboration between J-PAL and ENSEA is focused on three key areas:

Encouraging participation in the MicroMasters DEDP courses as part of the Ingénieur Statisticien Economiste (ISE) program at ENSEA and supporting students in their academic journeys. The MicroMasters Data, Economics, and Design of Policy (DEDP) by J-PAL and MITx is an online program that aims to train a global cadre of exceptional individuals to tackle poverty alleviation using evidence-based approaches.

Designing an in-service certificate for Ivorian civil servants on public policy evaluation and the contribution of randomised evaluations.

Supporting the development of a master's program at ENSEA, including facilitating access to online MicroMasters courses and associated resources.

As the collaboration approaches its one-year milestone, J-PAL Europe and ENSEA are looking to recruit a Senior Associate to support the continuation of the partnership. This individual will help maintain the quality of training while facilitating the transfer of various collaboration components to ENSEA for full program autonomy by 2026.

Responsibilities

The senior associate will primarily support the operational aspects of the collaboration:

Axis 1: Coordination between the MIT DEDP and ENSEA teams, managing student scholarships, implementing tutoring, monitoring students, and assisting in creating French subtitles for courses.

Axis 2: Supporting the organisation of training events, developing and communicating informational materials, selecting candidates, and updating or developing new training content.

Axis 3: Acting as a catalyst to support ENSEA in developing a master's program by connecting relevant J-PAL network members, gathering and synthesising learnings from various sources, and possibly participating in dedicated working groups. The exact modalities will be defined in collaboration with ENSEA.

In addition to operational responsibilities, the Senior Associate will be central to interactions with key partners, including the Ministry of Economy, Planning, and Development (MEPD) and the Agence Française de Développement (AFD). The Senior Associate will help strengthen existing relationships through participation in various meetings, communication with officials, management of invitations for high-level events, and connecting key government personnel with researchers.

Finally, the Senior Associate may occasionally support work beyond this collaboration, such as establishing an impact evaluation support unit with the Cellule d’Analyse des Politiques Economiques du CIRES (CAPEC) or organising evidence-sharing workshops with the government.

Qualifications: Your technical expertise, strong communication and organisational skills, and interest in poverty reduction and training make you an ideal candidate for this role. 

Education: You hold a Master’s degree in economics, public policy, or a closely related field, including coursework in microeconomics, econometrics, and programme evaluation. Candidates with Master’s-level degrees in other fields may be qualified as long as they have a solid understanding of quantitative research methods, including randomised evaluations. 

Experience: You have at least three years of relevant experience, including work related to impact evaluations and evidence-informed policymaking, design of public policy or implementation of training programs.

Skills: You have strong project management skills, as well as excellent written and oral communication skills in French and good English proficiency (knowledge of additional languages is appreciated) Experience running or interpreting randomised evaluations is an asset but not required. 

Communication: You are detail-oriented and have advanced writing skills. Precision and clarity are required for working in a multicultural partnership.

Organisation: You are a strategic thinker. You can handle multiple projects at once with little supervision, meet deadlines while conducting high-quality work, and effectively manage your time.

Attitude: You love learning. Deep interest in international development policies, the research behind them, and the training that supports them. Strong motivation and ability to work in a team and with colleagues from diverse nationalities and cultures. This position requires strong interpersonal skills to facilitate collaboration between Ivorian, European, and American teams.

Job Description: SA-Collab ENSEA-Job Description EN.docx