Policy Associate

Poverty Action; Lima Metropolitana; Hybrid; PEN 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) Peru seeks a Policy Associate to lead technical assistance for embedded labs, focusing on gender and gender-based violence and collaboration with government partners. You will scope pilots, develop lab products, and build MEL systems to enable labs to operate autonomously.

Responsibilities include developing policy outputs, managing projects, and coordinating with the Policy Manager and Country Director.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in economics, political science or another social science discipline.
• 6 years of relevant work experience, including 3+ years with government.
• ≥2 years designing or implementing MEL systems for public programs or social interventions.
• Experience preparing concept notes, policy briefs for decision-makers and donors.
• Strong knowledge of impact evaluation methods and evidence adaptation.
• Experience with data collection tools and monitoring processes.
• Fluent in Spanish and English; able to communicate with diverse stakeholders.
• Experience with government officials and working with regulatory agencies (preferred).
• Leadership or coordination of small teams (preferred).

Responsibilities

• Lead lab product design and institutionalization of embedded labs, services, and protocols.
• Design and implement MEL systems, indicators, data use plans, and learning cycles.
• Adapt international evidence to local context and draft scale-up plans.
• Transfer knowledge to partner agencies to enable autonomous lab management.
• Systematize lessons learned for IPA's government labs portfolio.
• Plan and monitor project activities, milestones and deliverables.
• Lead donor reporting under supervision of Policy Manager.
• Scope innovations, pilots and research projects with government partners (incl. RCTs).
• Moderate conversations between government officials and Principal Investigators.
• Support scoping of research and scale-up funding; ensure smooth implementation.
• Lead stakeholder interviews to develop lab institution-building products.
• Attend IPA Peru office and partner offices in Lima as required; collaborate with HR/finance to ensure compliance.

Skills

MEL systems design

Data analysis (Stata)

Policy evaluation

Monitoring and evaluation

Quantitative skills

Bilingual communication (Spanish/EN)

Leadership and team coordination

Knowledge of policy labs / embedded in

Education

Bachelor's in economics / political science / social science

Master's degree in public policy / development (preferred)

Tools

Power BI

Tableau

Job description

IPA Peru is seeking a Policy Associate to lead the technical assistance activities of its embedded labs, which support government agencies in establishing and institutionalizing evidence-informed policy labs, adapting international evidence, and scaling up effective interventions. The Policy Associate will focus primarily on labs in the social sector, particularly gender and gender-based violence, and may also support embedded labs with regulatory agencies. The role contributes to IPA Peru's policy portfolio by scoping pilots and research, developing lab products and monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) systems, and building partner agencies' ability to manage the labs autonomously.

Responsibilities

Policy outputs (40%)

• Under the supervision of project management, lead the development of products for the design and institutionalization of embedded labs, such as their services, learning cycles and protocols.
• Lead the design and implementation of Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) systems for the labs and their portfolios of interventions, including theories of change, indicators, data use plans, monitoring of pilots and scale-up, and learning cycles that inform partner agencies' decisions.
• Lead the adaptation of international evidence to the local context and draft scale-up plans for interventions with proven positive impact, in coordination with partner agencies.
• Lead the knowledge transfer to partner agencies and ensure their ability to manage the labs autonomously.
• Systematize lessons learned to inform IPA's growing portfolio of government labs.

Project management (20%)

• Plan and monitor project activities to meet objectives, milestones and deliverables.
• Lead and guide the project team.
• Under the supervision of the Policy Manager, lead donor reporting for assigned projects.

Research and innovation portfolio (15%)

• Lead the scoping of innovations, pilots and research projects (including RCTs) with partner government agencies and their programs, monitor their development and ensure their smooth implementation.
• Moderate conversations between government officials and Principal Investigators throughout the implementation of the labs' portfolios.
• Support the scoping of research and scale-up funding for the labs' projects.

Meetings and protocols (15%)

• Lead conversations and interviews with key stakeholders at partner agencies to develop products related to the labs' institutionalization and the scale-up of interventions.
• Hold regular check-in meetings with IPA Peru management.
• Work with administrative, HR and finance staff to ensure compliance with IPA protocols and donor requirements.
• Attend the IPA Peru office and partner agency offices in Lima on assigned days and hours.

Other responsibilities (10%)

• Support IPA Peru's embedded labs with regulatory agencies, as needed.
• Perform other duties related to IPA Peru's policy portfolio, as assigned by the Policy Manager and the Country Director.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in economics, political science or another social science discipline, or equivalent experience.
• 6 years of relevant work experience, including at least 3 years working in the public sector or working closely with the government.
• At least 2 years of experience designing or implementing MEL systems for public programs or social interventions.
• Experience preparing concept notes, policy briefs and other communication materials for decision-makers and donors.
• Solid knowledge of impact evaluation methods, including experimental and quasi-experimental designs, and of evidence adaptation and scale-up processes.
• Demonstrated expertise in designing and implementing MEL systems, including theories of change, results frameworks, indicator definition (baselines, targets, means of verification), monitoring plans and learning agendas.
• Experience designing data collection tools and monitoring processes for programs or pilots, including the use of administrative data and data quality assurance.
• Strong quantitative skills, with advanced data management and analysis in Stata.
• Ability to translate monitoring and evaluation findings into actionable recommendations for decision-makers.
• Strong oral and written communication skills in Spanish and English.
• Confidence communicating with different audiences, such as donors, researchers and government staff.
• Experience working closely with government officials.
• Ability to attend the IPA Peru office and partner agency offices in Lima on assigned days and hours; candidates must live in Lima and have permission to work in Peru.
• A master's degree in public policy, development studies, social sciences or a related field. (preferred)
• Experience supervising or coordinating small teams. (preferred)
• Experience with process evaluations or implementation research, including monitoring fidelity and adaptations during scale-up. (preferred)
• Experience building MEL systems with or within government institutions. (preferred)
• Experience with data visualization or dashboard tools for monitoring (e.g., Power BI, Tableau). (preferred)
• Experience using generative AI tools to support analysis, synthesis or reporting. (preferred)
• Knowledge of and experience in scoping and designing RCTs or pilots. (preferred)
• Familiarity with the policy innovation process and the policy-making cycle; experience with government innovation labs or institutionalization processes is a plus. (preferred)
• Knowledge of, experience in, or interest in gender, gender-based violence or social protection. (preferred)
• Experience working with Peru's Ministry of Women and Vulnerable Populations (MIMP) or its national programs, or with regulatory agencies. (preferred)
• Basic skills in qualitative research techniques. (preferred)
• Leadership and organization: excellent time management, attention to detail, ability to work independently and report to supervisors. (preferred)

Location

The duty station is Lima, Peru, on a hybrid basis. The Policy Associate is expected to attend the IPA Peru office and partner agency offices in Lima on assigned days and hours, and the position is aimed at candidates who live in Lima and have permission to work in Peru. Occasional travel to regions in Peru may be required to support pilots.

Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) is a research and policy nonprofit that discovers and advances what works to improve the lives of people living in poverty. IPA brings together researchers and decision-makers to design, rigorously evaluate, and refine these solutions and their applications, ensuring that the evidence created is used to improve the lives of people living in poverty. In recent decades, trillions of dollars have been spent on programs designed to reduce global poverty, but clear evidence of which programs succeed is rare, and when evidence does exist, decision-makers often do not know about it. IPA exists to bring together leading researchers and these decision-makers to ensure that the evidence we create leads to a tangible impact on the world. Since its founding in 2002, IPA has worked with over 600 leading academics to conduct over 1,000 evaluations in 52 countries. This research has informed hundreds of successful programs that now impact millions of individuals worldwide.

Safeguarding at IPA

At Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA), we are committed to creating a safe and respectful environment for all individuals, particularly children and vulnerable adults. As IPA adheres to strict safeguarding principles, selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards. By joining IPA, you become part of a team dedicated to ethical conduct, social responsibility, and meaningful impact in the fight against global poverty. Together, we work to create a better world where everyone has the opportunity to thrive with dignity and respect.