Survey Coordinator in Ludhiana | J-PAL South Asia

J-PAL South Asia

The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) is a global research centre working to reduce poverty by making sure that government and public policy is shaped by strong evidence. It works with a network of 1,300 professors at 120 universities around the world, and runs careful studies to find out which programmes truly help people living in poverty. J-PAL South Asia is based at the Institute for Financial Management and Research (IFMR) in India and leads this work across the region. It runs studies, builds partnerships with governments and organisations, and helps scale up programmes that work, with 288 ongoing and completed studies so far. This role sits within J-PAL South Asia's Research Operations vertical, which runs field surveys and data collection across its research projects.

Role

As Survey Coordinator, you will lead survey work across several research projects running at the same time, mainly in Punjab, Chandigarh UT (Union Territory) and Haryana. You will build and train field teams, keep data collection on track and of high quality, and support researchers from leading universities as they run randomized controlled trials (RCTs), studies that test whether a programme really works. It is a chance to gain hands-on experience of managing fieldwork from start to finish.

Responsibilities

• Lead hiring of field staff across projects by building strong networks with NGOs (non-governmental organisations), CBOs (community-based organisations), CSOs (civil society organisations), colleges and research institutes, and put together core teams of Project Associates and Field Managers.
• Grow and maintain a regional database of field staff so skilled people are always available for data collection.
• Design and deliver training for field staff, including survey tool training, training for Project Associates, Field Managers and Field Monitors, and regional meets for sharing learning.
• Support projects with field planning, set up tracking tools to monitor daily survey progress, and run regular checks on data quality, ethics and compliance.
• Provide on-ground support to studies, watch for local administrative changes that may affect surveys, and lead problem-solving in the field.
• Manage contracting and payments for field staff across projects, making sure everything follows organisational guidelines.
• Supervise Project Associates and Field Managers, set weekly field plans, hold regular check-ins and support their professional growth.
• Create field guides and manuals in local languages, and support the Research Operations vertical with workshops, reporting systems and better ways of working.

Requirements

• A bachelor's or master's degree in social work, social sciences, economics, public policy or a related field.
• Experience managing survey operations, including hiring and training field staff and running large field teams for data collection.
• Strong people management and organisation skills, with the ability to handle several tasks at once.
• Fluency and strong communication skills in Punjabi and Hindi.
• Ability to build good working relationships with partner organisations and local stakeholders.
• Working knowledge of MS Office (Microsoft Office) tools.
• Based in or willing to relocate to Ludhiana for a one-year commitment, and comfortable working independently in rural field locations and changing conditions.
• Authorisation to work in India.

Benefits

• Hands-on experience managing fieldwork from start to finish in a leading development research organisation.
• Work alongside world-class researchers from top universities and learn how randomized controlled trials are run in the field.
• Lead and mentor field teams, building strong people management skills.
• An equal opportunity workplace that strongly encourages people from marginalised communities to apply.

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