Senior Policy Associate - Karnataka Scale-ups

Job Title: Senior Policy Associate - Karnataka Scale Up

Organization: J-PAL South Asia

Project: Karnataka partnership (multiple projects)

Location: Bangalore

Start Date: April, 2025

No. of positions: 1

Length of Commitment: 2 years

Minimum education: Master’s Degree

Work Experience: 2 years or more

About the Organization

The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) J-PAL was established in 2003 as a research centre 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. We have a growing number of partnerships in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.

Project Description

To deepen and expand our work in collaboration with state and central governments in India, J-PAL South Asia recently launched the Alliance for Scaling Policy Impact through Research and Evidence (ASPIRE). ASPIRE seeks to bring together governments, donors and CSO partners with the goal of generating new policy insights and evidence to inform the design and implementation of policies and programs that improve development outcomes. ASPIRE is a joint initiative of J-PAL South Asia at IFMR and Veddis Foundation.

J-PAL South Asia has partnered with the Department of School Education and Literacy, Government of Karnataka (2024–2026), to strengthen evidence-based education programmes. Through this collaboration, J-PAL SA provides policy advisory support, technical assistance, and conducts impact evaluations to improve education outcomes. The partnership also supports piloting, scaling, and monitoring key state education initiatives, contributing research-based insights to programme design and policy decisions.

• ConnectED:: A remote tailored instruction programme to strengthen foundational maths learning among students in grades 3–5. The program delivers math problems to children studying in grades 3, 4, and 5 through text messages every week, accompanied by a 25-minute phone tutorial session. These lessons cover basic math operations and are tailored to each student's previous knowledge and performance.
• Maru Sinchana: Maru Sinchana is an evidence-based intervention by the Department of School Education and Literacy, Government of Karnataka, targeting students in Grades 6–10 to improve learning outcomes and strengthen SSLC results. The programme uses assessment-linked pedagogy and personalised adaptive learning, delivered through structured phases — foundation, supported learning, and consolidation — anchored by baseline and endline assessments. It covers core subjects including Kannada, English, Mathematics, Science, and Social Science.
• Every Child Counts (ECC): J-PAL South Asia, in collaboration with the Key Education Foundation and the Department of School Education, Karnataka, is jointly piloting and scaling an evidence-based, play-based mathematics curriculum for early years. Initially designed for children aged 4–6, the curriculum is being integrated into pre-primary classrooms across six districts and extended to all classrooms statewide.
• Gender Equity Curriculum: An emerging area of collaboration where J-PAL SA is supporting the design and integration of gender-responsive content within the school curriculum.
• In addition to supporting flagship pilots and scale-ups, J-PAL South Asia works closely with DSEL, GoK to strengthen evidence-based policymaking through multiple channels. This includes conducting structured knowledge-sharing sessions tailored to the department’s priorities, facilitating targeted advisory consultations with its global network of researchers, and co-developing policy memos with actionable recommendations. J-PAL SA also provides technical assistance on monitoring and evaluation frameworks to support effective programme delivery. Where mutually agreed, J-PAL SA undertakes rigorous randomised evaluations of key education programmes and leverages administrative data to inform programme design, track outcomes, and support continuous policy improvement.This partnership aims to build a stronger evidence ecosystem within Karnataka’s education sector and contribute to the continuous improvement of government programmes at scale.
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• The Role:
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• J-PAL South Asia seeks a Senior Policy Associate (Scale-ups) to contribute to our mission of promoting evidence-informed policy. The Senior Policy Associate will work on supporting the design, implementation, and scale-up of key education programmes in collaboration with the Government of Karnataka, including initiatives such as Gender Equity Curriculum, Every Child Counts, ConnectED, and Maru Sinchana. The Senior Policy Associate will report to the Policy Manager and collaborate closely with government partners, civil society organisations, internal staff, and J-PAL’s network of researchers to drive large-scale policy implementation. The role will include stakeholder management with senior and junior government officials and partner organisations; programme management, including tracking progress and supporting dissemination of monitoring insights; and providing technical assistance through report writing, public facing knowledge products, and development of policy memos. The Senior Policy Associate will also support organisational learning by promoting the use of locally contextual evidence and identifying opportunities for future research and scale-up. Additionally, they will play a key role in meeting preparation for government engagements, including creating presentations, drafting notes, and coordinating across stakeholders.

    Key Responsibilities:

    1. Programme Management and Implementation Support

• Support the successful implementation and scale-up of key education programmes (Every Child Counts, Ganitha Ganaka, Maru Sinchana, and others) in partnership with the Government of Karnataka.
• Develop action plans and track progress with partner organisations and government stakeholders.
• Identify and liaise with junior and senior nodal officers in relevant government departments to ensure smooth programme delivery.

   2. Stakeholder Engagement and Coordination

• Schedule and follow up on meetings with ecosystem partners, government officials, and other stakeholders on a periodic basis.
• Communicate effectively with state officials and implementing partners to support evidence-based policymaking and programme scale-ups.
• Shadow senior team members in conversations with government departments and coordinate communications around administrative data access and key documentation.

  3. Policy Support and Technical Assistance

• Work closely with the research and policy team to jointly develop policy briefs, memos, presentations, and other knowledge products for advocacy, government engagements, and dissemination efforts aimed at sharing key learnings with partner organizations and government stakeholders.
• Conduct desk research and synthesise insights to inform policy recommendations and action plans.
• Support government departments with process optimisation, evidence synthesis, and policy dialogue preparation.

  4. Capacity Building and Organisational Learning

• Identify capacity-building needs within government departments and assist in planning and organising training sessions and workshops.
• Promote the use of contextual evidence and contribute to J-PAL South Asia’s learning agenda by developing pathways for scaling evidence-based interventions.

  5. Meeting and Event Preparation

• Prepare for government meetings by creating presentation decks, drafting meeting notes, and coordinating with officials and implementing partners for logistics and content.
• Assist in organising review and reflection meetings, workshops, and policy dialogues with the government and ecosystem partners.
• Any other activities and tasks as per the need of the project

Desired Qualifications & Experience:

• Education and Years of Experience: Master’s degree in economics, public policy, international development, or a related field plus a minimum of 2 years of experience. Previous experience with: Relationship building/management with government officials (at local and state levels) and knowledge of the education sector.
• Communication: Attention to detail and advanced communication skills (both written and verbal) for interaction with relevant stakeholders. Ability to build relationships with stakeholders at both the policymaker and field level. 
• Time Management: Proven ability to handle several different projects/tasks at one time, successfully complete tasks assigned, and meet deadlines. A willingness to work hard, be self-motivated and learn will be essential for doing well in this position.
• Language: Required to be fluent in both Kannada and English
• Travel: Frequent travel within State and other domestic locations (roughly one week a month).
• Note on Work Authorizations: Candidates must have work authorization to work in India. 
• Flexible, self-motivating, able to manage multiple tasks efficiently, and a team player
• Familiarity with randomized controlled trials/clinical trials/quasi-experiments preferred
• Ability to deal with unstructured and changing environments
• Proven ability to complete assigned tasks and meet deadlines while delivering high-quality outputs.