Research Manager - PEER India - J-PAL South Asia

Povertyactionlab; Bengaluru; On-site; INR 1,800,000 - 2,400,000; Full time

Job summary

J-PAL South Asia seeks an experienced Research Manager to run the Indian Scholars Program (ISP). The role will coordinate ISP grants, engage scholars, provide mentorship, and ensure thorough reporting.

It sits within PEER India and LAI coordination processes and involves close collaboration with university partners and funders. The position requires managing multiple rounds, developing training resources, and supporting PEER India's broader activities, with Bangalore as the base and some travel

Qualifications

• Master's degree in economics, public policy or related field.
• 3-5 years of experience managing research programmes, grants or fellowships.
• Excellent written and verbal English communication skills.
• Strong coordination skills across researchers, university staff, funders and internal teams.
• Experience organizing events, trainings or mentorship programmes.

Responsibilities

• Lead day-to-day running of ISP rounds: RfP prep and launch, LOI review, proposal development support, compliance checks.
• Coordinate with PEER India and LAI teams for financial management, budgets and disbursements.
• Onboard awardees and conduct mid-point and end-point reviews with funded teams.
• Prepare narrative and financial reports for LAI and funders.
• Track program indicators and contribute to internal updates and funder presentations.
• Act as LAI team point of contact for ISP round coordination and documentation alignment.
• Collaborate with sector teams, training teams and PEER India workstreams.
• Support scholarship network and events, and share relevant opportunities from J-PAL/LAI/PEER.

Skills

Stakeholder coordination

English communication

Grant management

Research lifecycle understanding

Event organization

Education

Master's in economics/public policy

Job description

The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) was established in 2003 as a research center 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 , based at the Institute for Financial Management and Research (IFMR) in Chennai, leads J-PAL's efforts to advance evidence-informed policymaking in the region. By conducting rigorous randomized evaluations, forging impactful strategic partnerships, and scaling effective programs, we strive to deliver better evidence to help governments design better policies so people can live better lives. Established in 2007, J-PAL South Asia is the oldest and the largest among all J-PAL offices.

About PEER India and the Indian Scholars Program:

PEER India (Partnerships for Excellence in Economics Research) is a multi-year J-PAL South Asia initiative to strengthen the Indian economics research ecosystem and expand the voice and leadership of India-based economists, particularly women. Through deep partnerships with universities, it seeks to co-create an environment where all scholars can thrive, with a deliberate focus on reducing long-standing barriers to women’s participation and leadership.

The Indian Scholars Program (ISP) is a core pathway within PEER India, providing a platform for thematic research funding calls open to India-based researchers across institutions. It combines research funding with structured mentorship, knowledge sharing and hands-on operational support to help researchers design and conduct rigorous research, including randomized evaluations.

The first ISP round under PEER India will be funded through J-PAL’s Learning for All Initiative (LAI), with further rounds across other thematic areas planned.

Position Overview:

We are seeking an experienced and highly motivated Research Manager to run the Indian Scholars Program . The Research Manager will lead the day-to-day coordination of ISP grants and funded projects. Initially, as LAI's main point of contact for ISP, they will coordinate the application cycle, award onboarding, scholar engagement, mentorship and training, and project tracking and reporting. They will sit within PEER India and take part in the LAI team's coordination processes.

The role spans LAI-funded ISP activities and PEER India’s wider work. During preparation and launch of the call for proposals (RfP), the Research Manager will focus primarily on managing and operationalizing the LAI-funded ISP round. In less intensive periods, they will contribute to PEER India’s broader activities, including developing training and outreach resources, supporting university partnerships and events, and preparing for future ISP rounds.

We are looking for someone who understands how rigorous research is designed, funded and assessed, and can manage relationships with researchers, universities, funders and internal teams. They should be as comfortable reviewing a research proposal as they are running an information session for scholars.

Key Responsibilities:

Managing the Indian Scholars Program:

• Lead the day-to-day running of each ISP round: RfP preparation and launch (application requirements, eligibility, timelines and outreach), information sessions, letter-of-intent (LOI) review, proposal-development support and compliance checks.
• Work closely with the Associate Director-Research leading PEER on financial management and tracking, including budgets, sub-grant milestones and disbursements with the Finance and Operations team.
• Onboard awardees and stay engaged with funded project teams throughout the grant. Conduct structured mid-point and end-point reviews with each team to track progress against milestones and gather qualitative insight on scholars' experiences and support needs to inform PEER's programming.
• Prepare regular narrative and financial reports for LAI and other funders, drawing on project milestones, disbursements and insights from funded teams.
• Track programme indicators, such as applications received, awards made, the profile of scholars funded and project outputs, and contribute to internal updates, funder presentations and PEER India’s wider reporting.
• For the first ISP round, serve as the LAI team's main point of contact: participate in relevant LAI calls and regular check-ins to share progress, learning and updates; join review and update calls with the LAI co-chairs as needed; and keep the PEER India team informed. Work closely with LAI to align ISP's RfP, funding and documentation processes.
• Coordinate with the other teams each RfP involves, including relevant sector teams at J-PAL South Asia, the J-PAL South Asia training team and other PEER India workstreams.

Scholar network and support:

• Work closely with the Research Manager (PEER Partnerships) to build and maintain an active, diverse network of India-based scholars, including ISP applicants, grantees and researchers working on, or interested in, randomized evaluations, and maintain accurate records of ISP researchers, in line with PEER India’s data systems.
• Understand and map scholars' demand for training, mentorship and other support, and coordinate with other members in the PEER team and the J-PAL South Asia training team to respond.
• Coordinate mentorship and training for grantees, with links to J-PAL affiliated researchers where useful.
• Share relevant opportunities and resources from J-PAL, LAI and PEER with scholars.
• Support PEER India in organising networking events and convenings for India-based scholars, including those beyond ISP.

Learning and program development:

• Synthesise learnings across funded projects and ISP rounds and use these to shape scholar support for subsequent funding rounds along with the PEER India team.
• Work with J-PAL South Asia 's sector teams to track evidence and policy priorities in relevant sectors, and map them to help shape future RfPs beyond LAI.
• Outreach, communication and events
• Support outreach materials across formats, such as RfP announcements, information-session decks, scholar spotlights, blogs, newsletters and social media, in collaboration with other team members
• Organise, and where appropriate present at, events linked to ISP rounds, such as information sessions, trainings and convenings, as part of PEER's broader programme.
• Represent the program at relevant conferences, workshops and university forums.

Bangalore based, with moderate travel as needed for initiative events.

Qualifications Required:

• A master's degree in economics, public policy or a related field.
• 3-5 years of experience managing research programmes, grants or fellowships.
• A good understanding of the research lifecycle and of how research proposals are assessed, including randomized evaluations.
• Strong coordination skills across many stakeholders, including researchers, university staff, funders and internal teams.
• Close attention to detail, timelines and compliance.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English, including clear writing for both academic and non-academic audiences. (Strongly Preferred)
• Experience working with Indian universities or researchers.
• Familiarity with the education sector or LAI's focus areas.
• Experience in managing research programmes with a gender-intentional lens.
• Experience running competitive calls for proposals or grant review processes.
• Experience organising events, trainings or mentorship programmes.