Research Analyst 1

Northwestern University; Evanston (IL); On-site; USD 54,000 - 63,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

Disability insurance

Life insurance

Paid vacation

Tuition benefits

Retirement plan

Wellness programs

Job summary

The Global Poverty Research Lab (GPRL) at Northwestern University is hiring several full-time Research Analysts for a two-year term appointment based in Evanston, Illinois (Chicago area).

Research Analysts will support a diverse portfolio of applied research projects, including panel survey data collection and analysis, randomized controlled trials, and meta-analyses in areas such as mental health and social protection.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in economics or quantitative major is required.
• Strong programming in Stata and/or R and familiarity with econometrics.
• Experience with randomized controlled trials and data analysis.

Responsibilities

• Manage, clean, and analyze data from surveys and experiments.
• Support design and implementation of randomized controlled trials.
• Contribute to meta-analyses and evidence synthesis projects.
• Assist with project management and external coordination.
• Participate in research meetings with faculty and staff.

Skills

Stata/R

Quantitative skills

RCT familiarity

Organization skills

English fluency

Education

Bachelor's degree in economics or quantitative major

Tools

ArcGIS

Python

SurveyCTO

Job description

Job Summary

The Global Poverty Research Lab (GPRL) at Northwestern University is hiring several full-time Research Analysts for a two-year term appointment based in Evanston, Illinois (Chicago area). Research Analysts will support a diverse portfolio of applied research projects, including panel survey data collection and analysis, research methods studies, randomized controlled trials, and meta-analyses in areas such as mental health and social protection.

Department

Kellogg GPRL

Salary/Grade

EXS/5

Specific Responsibilities

• Manage, clean, and analyze data from surveys, administrative sources, and experiments
• Support the design and implementation of randomized controlled trials and methodological studies
• Contribute to meta-analyses and evidence synthesis projects
• Assist with project management, documentation, and coordination with external partners
• Participate in research meetings and collaborate with faculty, students, and research staff

Frontier Research

About the Global Poverty Research Lab (GPRL)

The Global Poverty Research Lab (GPRL) is a research center based at Northwestern University that accelerates poverty reduction by generating frontier research and creating public goods—such as data, methods, and evidence syntheses—that enable others to design, test, and translate evidence into action. GPRL’s work spans four core pillars:

• Conduct cutting-edge research in development economics, including themes of mental health, agriculture, social protection, and renewable energy; co-create and maintain long-run panels with local universities, governments, and civil society that enable longer-term insights and support layered randomized controlled trials (RCTs).

Advance Research Methods

• Develop and test improved approaches to measurement and learning, including questionnaire design, enumerator recruitment, and rapid-cycle experiments (e.g., A/B, factorial, and micro-randomized) that implementers can run using their own administrative data to tune delivery models, incentives, and other protocols.

Aggregate Global Evidence

• Building semi-automated pipelines and AI-assisted workflows to compile and structure scattered evidence from RCTs into living knowledge bases and run rigorous meta-analyses; deliver insights via evidence syntheses, interactive dashboards, and publicly accessible data for donors, investors, and practitioners.

Making Aid More Effective

• Turn evidence into ready-to-use decision tools, “smart buys” menus, and ROI/cost-effectiveness frameworks for donors, ministries, multilaterals, impact investors, and social enterprises.

Our Team

• GPRL is co-directed by Dean Karlan, Christopher Udry, and Nancy Qian, professors at the Kellogg School of Management and the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences Department of Economics at Northwestern University. Additional affiliated faculty include Andrew Dillon and Lori Beaman.
• Research analysts, research managers, and administrative staff support GPRL’s investigators while collaborating closely with universities, NGOs, and research institutions worldwide. GPRL also works in close partnership with Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) to coordinate field data collection, disseminate evidence, and develop shared training and research resources.

Miscellaneous

• Performs other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications

• Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's or higher degree in economics or another quantitative major

Minimum Competencies

• Strong programming skills in Stata and/or R combined with the willingness to learn other statistical software
• Strong quantitative skills (coursework in econometrics and statistics)
• Familiarity with randomized controlled trials
• Excellent organizations skills
• Fluency and excellent communication skills in English
• Ability to seek resources and self-teach new statistical, analytical, and programming techniques
• Flexible, self-motivating, able to manage multiple tasks efficiently

Preferred Qualifications

• An enthusiasm for empirical research
• Experiences living or working in a developing country

Preferred Competencies

• Experience with reproducible research workflows, version control (GitHub), and modern documentation tools (Quarto, R Markdown)
• Familiarity with meta-analytic methods or systematic review approaches
• Demonstrated ability to build data quality assurance systems and manage collaborative data projects
• Experience using advanced data infrastructure such as relational databases, API connections, and cloud computing
• Familiarity working with a variety of machine learning models
• Familiarity with other statistical, visualization or digital data collection software like ArcGIS/Python/SurveyCTO is a strong plus

The expected pay for this position is $58,500 annually, in alignment with departmental equity and market data.

Benefits

At Northwestern, we are proud to provide meaningful and competitive benefits. The available benefits package for this position will include health, dental, vision, disability, and life insurance; paid vacation and holidays; paid medical/sick and parental leave; tuition benefits for the employee and dependents; pre-tax and flex spending accounts for commuting and dependent care; generous retirement savings options; and wellness programs. For a comprehensive overview of available benefits, including eligibility details, visit us at https://www.northwestern.edu/hr/benefits/index.html to learn more.

Work-Life And Wellness

Northwestern offers comprehensive programs and services to help you and your family navigate life’s challenges and opportunities, and adopt and maintain healthy lifestyles. We support flexible work arrangements where possible and programs to help you locate and pay for quality, affordable childcare and senior/adult care. Visit us at https://www.northwestern.edu/hr/benefits/work-life/index.html to learn more.

Professional Growth & Development

Northwestern supports employee career development in all circumstances whether your workspace is on campus or at home. If you’re interested in developing your professional potential or continuing your formal education, we offer a variety of tools and resources. Visit us at https://www.northwestern.edu/hr/learning/index.html to learn more.

Northwestern University is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of protected characteristics, including disability and veteran status. View Northwestern’s non-discrimination statement. Job applicants who wish to request an accommodation in the application or hiring process should contact the Office of Civil Rights and Title IX Compliance. View additional information on the accommodations process.