Operations Associate - J-PAL North America

Position description

J-PAL North America, an economics research center at MIT, is actively recruiting an Operations Associate (Program/Project Coordinator, SRS) to support our Executive Director in formulating and implementing J-PAL’s strategy and policies, communicating J-PAL’s mission and accomplishments to internal and external partners, and coordinating a complex and diverse range of financial, operational, administrative, and IT tasks and projects. Working at J-PAL North America means being part of a vibrant, collaborative team of professionals who are committed to translating research into innovative policy solutions that are effective in reducing poverty. As a regional office of the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), J-PAL North America is part of an affiliate network of more than a thousand affiliated professors and invited researchers at universities around the world, including some of the world’s leading economics researchers. J-PAL North America works closely with J-PAL’s global headquarters and six additional independent regional offices in Africa, Europe, Latin America, Middle East and North Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia to generate cutting-edge research, policy outreach, and training.

To learn more about our work and team culture, visit www.povertyactionlab.org/na.

Opportunity Overview:

As a member of the J-PAL North America team, you’ll be part of a Nobel-prize winning scientific movement that can transform US policy making. The Operations Associate acts as a trusted partner and operational anchor for the Executive Director, ensuring that strategic priorities, schedules, and communications are managed efficiently and with discretion. This involves supporting coordination and communication across J-PAL North America’s staff, programs, operations, fundraising, academic leadership, and a range of external stakeholders. This requires a solid understanding of J-PAL North America’s work and the ability to gather the information necessary to be sure inquiries are addressed and resolved appropriately. In addition, the Operations Associate supports the Executive Director with general administrative tasks and contributes as needed to important tasks and projects, such as strategic planning, fundraising, event planning, and external communications.

This junior-level position is an excellent opportunity for those interested in public policy and organizational strategy and management. It provides an up close view of how strategy is designed and executed at the senior-most leadership levels of a leading evidence-to-policy research center, and the opportunity to play an active role in that process. You should be passionate about connecting the dots between economics research and policy, and excited by the prospect of working with researchers, donors, implementers, and other stakeholders to form partnerships for evidence-informed policy and effectively communicate research lessons.

The role requires the ability to manage multiple priorities in a complex, mission‑driven environment. We are looking for candidates with excellent attention to detail, critical thinking and problem solving skills, and strong organizational, time-management, and communication skills. Experience using Excel, Google Sheets, Salesforce, Asana or other project management systems is strongly preferred.

Key Responsibilities:

Strategic Planning & Internal Knowledge Sharing: Supports the Executive Director in working with the academic leadership (Scientific Directors) to refine J-PAL North America’s strategy and with the Senior Leadership Team to execute the strategy. Coordinates strategic planning activities and tracks progress towards plans. Supports communications with staff at all levels to keep information flowing smoothly across the whole organization.

• Coordinates logistics for a standing weekly meetings between the Executive Director and the Scientific Directors, including scheduling, agenda preparation, and follow‑up.
• Assists in coordinating financial, fundraising, and program plans into an integrated, up‑to‑date strategic plan. Coordinates with finance, development, and senior staff to ensure alignment between planned activities, available resources, and funding timelines.
• Helps develop, maintain, and update strategic planning documents, tracking key activities, milestones, and timelines.
• Supports knowledge sharing amongst staff and communication between the senior leadership team and staff by helping organize staff meetings, managing agendas, and coordinating presentation materials.
• Drafts, compiles, and distributes summaries, slides, or written updates that communicate leadership priorities, decisions, and updates to staff, as directed by the Executive Director.
• Prepares summary materials that help senior leadership monitor progress and priorities.

Fundraising and External Engagement:

• Conducts desk research for policy memos, grant proposals, and sector-specific work and provides recommendations for priorities and next steps. Drafts co authored blogs and articles and activities and prepares materials for speaking engagements.
• Supports fundraising activities by scheduling donor and partner meetings and preparing briefing materials in coordination with development staff.
• Helps prepare materials for external engagements related to fundraising, partnerships, and outreach.

Administrative support:

• Manages the Executive Director’s calendar, coordinating across time zones with senior staff, academic leadership, donors, and external partners. Schedules and prioritizes diverse and frequently competing meeting requests.
• Prepares agendas, briefing materials, and background documents.
• Coordinates domestic and international travel; processes travel and expense reimbursements.
• Tracks commitments, action items, and deadlines arising from meetings and correspondence; follows up with relevant stakeholders to ensure completion.
• Organizes and maintains confidential files, contact records, documents, and presentations.
• Anticipates support needs and proactively addresses emerging priorities.
• Handles sensitive information with the highest level of discretion and professionalism.
• Performs other duties as assigned by the Executive Director.

Application instructions

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