Job Opportunities, Program Roles

Research Associate – Data Analyst (Quant.), Assessment Unit, ASER Centre

About Pratham
Pratham was founded in 1995, to provide pre-school education to children in Mumbai slums. Over the last 25 years Pratham has grown to be one o the largest non-profit organizations working to provide quality education to children and youth in over 20 states and union territories across the country, through a range of interventions.

Pratham is a widely recognized organization, having received notable awards such as the Lui Che Woo Prize, WISE Prize for Innovation, Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship, the Henry R Kravis Prize in Leadership and the CNN- IBN Indian of the Year for Public Service. For more details, refer to www.pratham.org

About ASER Centre
Established in 2008, ASER Centre is Pratham’s autonomous research and assessment unit. ASER conducts the largest citizen-led annual household survey of children in India. ASER Centre promotes a culture of evidence-based decision-making and seeks to develop and use simple yet rigorous methods to generate evidence on the scale on the outcomes of social sector programs, especially education. It also aims to strengthen the link between evidence and action by building the capacity of individuals and institutions to design, conduct, understand, and communicate the results of assessments that focus on key outcome indicators.

Assessment Unit
The assessment Unit at ASER Centre designs assessment tools for National and International Programmes across subjects /domains for Early Childhood Education (ECE), Primary and Upper primary age groups, and EdTech programmes.

Additionally, assessment tools to measure teachers’ effectiveness have also been created and are evolving continuously. In recent times, the Unit has also started developing tools to measure the impact of technology-led learning interventions and adaptive assessment tool design on Android applications.

About the position
The Research Associate will be primarily responsible for all aspects related to data collection, management, and analysis pertaining to various projects of the Assessment Unit. The role may additionally involve project management duties which include but are not limited to setting project timelines/milestones, coordinating closely with various units at ASER Centre and Pratham and/or external clients/donors, training enumerators, and working on the budget.

In case of any questions, please reach out to Sudipto Kar: sudipto@asercentre.org or Vikram P. Guria: vikram.p.guria@asercentre.org

Broad responsibilities

  • Planning, supervising, and conducting data cleaning and analysis of large-scale quantitative data with the team. Being well-versed in descriptive and inferential statistical methods is a prerequisite.
  • Participating in field pilots, monitoring, and enumerator training as and when required.
  • Drafting and contributing to project reports, articles, and presentations including creating appropriate visualisations for data presentation.
  • Developing project timelines, budgets, and operational plans.
  • Travel to rural locations in support of these activities.
  • A minimum commitment of 2 years is required.

Qualification, Skills and Experience
Minimum Job Requirements:

  • Graduation or Post Graduation in Social Sciences, Economics, Statistics, or any other discipline with training in quantitative research and research methods.
  • Strong proficiency and experience in managing and conducting quantitative analysis. The preferred software is STATA, R.

Key Skills and Knowledge Requirements, but are not limited to:

  • Work experience of at least 1 year would be preferred. Experience working in the social sector and with educational large scale data will be an advantage.
  • Proficiency in M.S. Office (Excel, PowerPoint and Word).
  • High level of communication, interpersonal, and negotiation skills. Strong communication skills in English and Hindi (written and oral) will be critical. Proficiency in any other Indian language will be an advantage.
  • Able to work under minimum supervision, handle work pressure and deliver under tight schedules. Takes initiative and thinks innovatively, respects diversity, and is able to work in large and small groups.
  • Be comfortable with traveling extensively to rural locations across the country, sometimes at short notice. Travel, food, and accommodation for work-related travels outside the base location shall be separately borne or reimbursed on actuals by ASER Centre.

Desirable:

  • Experience working in educational assessment setup. Understanding of educational assessments and measurement

Employment type: Full time 

Location: New Delhi 

Travel: Travel to rural locations in different states across the country as per need

Reports to: Unit Head/Senior Research Associate 

Duration: Minimum 2 years’ commitment 

Work experience: 0-2 years 

Deadline: Immediate (open until filled) 

Remuneration: CTC 4.68 lac per annum; negotiable as per experience and qualification 

Application Process
To apply, please write the job title, “Research Associate (Quantitative)_Assessment Unit” in the subject line, email the following documents to recruitmentsasercentre@gmail.com and fill out the Google form link here Research Associate (Quantitative)

  • Updated CV (File name: FullName_CV)
  • Statement of Purpose (SOP) describing how you make a good fit for this role in up to 500 words.Please give specific examples that align with the job requirements and how does it align with your future career goals. (File name: FullName_SOP)

Incomplete applications will not be considered. Shortlisted candidates will be contacted for three subsequent rounds: telephonic/skype interview, written assignments, and final interview. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted at each stage of the recruitment process.