Research Associate (Mathematics), Assessment Unit, ASER

Aser Centre; Mumbai; On-site; INR 600,000 - 900,000; Full time

Job summary

ASER Centre is seeking a Research Associate to design and develop mathematics assessments and frameworks for its Education Assessment Unit. The role includes project management, coordinating with ASER, Pratham, and external partners, and delivering on timelines and milestones.

You will develop items, translate content, and prepare training materials and reports. Strong English/Hindi skills and at least 1 year in assessment work are preferred; travel to rural sites is frequent.

Qualifications

• Minimum graduates in Mathematics, science, psychology, or measurement fields.
• Post-graduate degree (B.Ed./M.Ed. advantageous).
• Proficiency in English and Hindi; regional languages a plus.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop mathematics assessments.
• Develop assessment frameworks, theory of change, and reports.
• Create training materials and content for trainers and volunteers.
• Translate and validate items and content for quality.
• Plan and manage multi-site training and roll-out.
• Coordinate with ASER, Pratham, and external partners.
• Data interpretation, reporting, and visualization.

Skills

Mathematics background

Educational measurement

MS Office

Data analysis

English/Hindi proficiency

Education

Graduate in Mathematics/Science/Psychology/Measurement

Postgraduate / B.Ed./M.Ed. advantageous

Tools

Stata

R

Python

Excel

Job description

Position Summary

The Research Associate will be responsible for all aspects related to designing educational assessments and frameworks pertaining to Mathematics oriented projects of the Assessment Unit. The role may additionally involve project management duties which include setting and delivering on project timelines and milestones, and coordinating closely with various units at ASER and Pratham and/or external clients/donors.

Key Responsibilities

• Design and development of mathematics assessments
• Develop the Mathematics assessment frameworks, theory of change, and technical report through extensive literature review, and field pilots.
• Develop simple, standardized, and discriminating items/assessment tools to measure children's knowledge and skills across multiple programs and languages, through extensive literature review, and field pilots.
• Translate and validate items and content to enhance the quality of the assessment tool
• Development of training material and plan
• Create print and audio-visual material for training of trainers and volunteers
• Create detailed training plans for different levels of training
• Review and finalize the regional translations of training material
• Planning and implementing at scale
• Support in identifying resource requirements for projects and allocate them adequately
• Create a plan, timeline, and budget for assessment roll-out from literature review to implementation
• Troubleshoot problems during assessment roll-out with support from the Senior Researchers and Teammates.
• Data interpretation and report writing
• Explore different interpretations and visualizations of collected data
• Write and edit reports and visualize report design
• Create content such as proposals, articles, research papers and evidence briefs as required
• Participate in any other research, assessment, survey project of ASER on need basis

Requirements

• Minimum graduates in relevant fields like Mathematics, science, psychology, measurement or a related field with one of the core subjects as Mathematics, Statistics, Applied Mathematics etc. Post-graduation in the relevant field and B.Ed./M.Ed. will be an added advantage.
• Minimum 1 year of work experience in assessment development, implementation, or analysis (if no full-time work experience, then internships can be considered)
• Familiarity with Mathematics assessment frameworks, test development, educational measurement theories
• Reading, speaking and writing proficiency in English and Hindi is essential; proficiency in any other regional language is an added advantage
• Strong written and oral communication skills to correspond with a diverse audience - rural, urban, faculty, students, government officials, partner organizations, donors, etc.
• Experience with research writing and editing is an added advantage
• Advanced proficiency in MS Office - Word, PowerPoint, Excel
• Knowledge of any data analysis software such as Stata, R, Python is an advantage

Organizational

• Able to work under minimum supervision
• Able to manage multiple projects simultaneously with great attention to detail
• Able to handle work pressure and deliver under tight schedules
• Take initiative and think innovatively

Travel

• Frequent travel to rural locations across the country

Duration

• Minimum 2 years commitment

Reporting

• The selected candidate will report to the Unit Head, Assessment Unit