Post-Doctoral Researcher - Education

Job Description

The Center for Global Development (CGD) is launching a new working group with the goal of developing and overseeing an intellectual and research agenda for a large scale, multi-country research program on Effective Education Systems (EES). The objective of the research program is to provide decision makers with an evidence base to make informed policies that can increase learning in developing countries. The research will focus on learning from (un)successful education reforms; assessing and understanding the performance of education systems; and evaluating the impact of large scale reforms on learning and system performance. CGD, an independent, nonpartisan research organization in Washington, DC and London, UK seeks a post-doctoral researcher to join the research directorate (RD) team made of up of CGD senior fellow Lant Pritchett, research fellow Justin Sandefur, senior associate Amanda Beatty, and program coordinator Stephanie Dorman, all based in the US. As a member of the team, this position would report to Justin Sandefur. The post-doctoral researcher can be based either at CGD in London or remotely in the UK with availability to travel to London for meetings. Applicants should be eligible to work in the UK. The RD team will be responsible for leading the EES research and disseminating key outputs.

Responsibilities

• Pursue independent research related to the objectives of the EES research agenda. We anticipate that a majority of time will be spent on individual academic projects driven by the post-doc.
• Liaise with a team of experts supporting EES research who are UK-based , and with funders and other policy organizations with a stake in the research program. This also includes helping to build and engaging in a community of practice around evidence on effective education systems, in the UK and Europe in particular.
• Regularly update funders on research progress and plans
• Provide input to policy briefs and blog posts related to EES research, and support dissemination of EES research program outputs
• Perform other duties as necessary, potentially including occasional travel to developing countries and/or Washington, DC

The successful candidate will have the following qualifications and skills

• PhD in education in developing countries; or economics, political science, or related field with focus on education in developing countries. Exceptional candidates with a Master’s degree may be considered.
• Strong track record of conducting policy research on developing countries, preferably education research
• Previous experience in research program outreach and stakeholder engagement
• Proven ability to communicate effectively and manage information flows across diverse teams, particularly those located in different locations
• Excellent organizational skills, including strong time management
• Poise, confidence, and comfort communicating effectively on CGD’s behalf with a variety of senior representatives of external partners
• Superb interpersonal and verbal communication skills
• Strong writing skills
• Desirable: good knowledge of and networks within the UK education and international development community

Term

• Beginning as soon as possible
• Duration: 12 months, depending on candidate’s availability, performance and needs of the EES research program. This position could be part-time of full-time.

Full-time salary in the range of £30-35,000, depending on qualifications and experience.

How to Apply

Interested applicants should send electronic versions of a CV, job market paper or writing sample, and cover letter. Your cover letter should describe in some detail the research you would pursue during a year at CGD. All materials should be sent to jobs@cgdev.org with “Post-Doctoral Researcher - Education” in the subject line. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.

CGD is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All persons regardless of race, color, creed, national origin, ancestry, sex, marital status, disability, religious or political affiliation, age or sexual orientation shall have equal access to positions, limited only by their ability to do the job.

About the Organization

CGD conducts research and analysis on a wide range of topics related to how policies and actions of the rich and powerful affect poor people in the developing world. Examples include aid effectiveness,climate change, education, globalization, health, migration and trade. Drawing on our research, we actively engage with thought leaders, policymakers, and others to move our ideas to action.

We organize work that is related to proposals for specific, practical policy improvements intoinitiatives, such as Development Impact Bonds, Cash-on-Delivery Aid, Preemptive Contract Sanctions, Oil to Cash, and More Health for the Money. Our Commitment to Development Indexannually ranks more than two dozen high-income countries on the seven main policy areas that influence development outcomes: aid, trade, investment, migration, environment, security, and technology.

CGD’s senior researchers and other experts are intellectual leaders in their fields, combining academic rigor and practical experience to increase global prosperity. Our visiting and non-resident fellows contribute an added level of knowledge to CGD’s work. Many are simultaneously employed at leading universities, institutions, and NGOs around the world.

CGD also provides promising young researchers from developing countries an opportunity to work for one year at the Center as part of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) fellowship. Our complete staff listing includes CGD policy analysts, program managers, communications professionals, and research assistants. Our growing Alumni Association links former staff, visiting fellows, and other associates, offering periodic updates on their diverse contributions to shared global prosperity after they leave CGD.

CGD benefits from the support and guidance of an influential Board of Directors composed of prominent individuals from the public and private sectors with a passionate commitment to development. Our Advisory Group of top-tier development economists, political scientists, and policymakers, helps CGD maintain the high quality of our research and identify over-the-horizon issues for early attention. CGD works with others through contractual and informal partnershipswith a wide range of organizations who share complementary goals.

Since its founding in 2001, CGD has earned a reputation as a "think and do" tank, where independent research is channeled into practical policy proposals that help to shape decisions in Washington, other rich-country capitals, and the international financial institutions.

We have put on the global agenda—and sometimes helped to drive to implementation—proposals toaccelerate vaccine development; to permit migration as a tool in disaster recovery; to write down$36 billion in Nigerian debt; to make the World Bank more effective, accountable, and legitimate; and to create a new international institution for independent evaluation of poverty-reduction efforts.

CGD was founded in November 2001 by Edward Scott Jr., C. Fred Bergsten, and Nancy Birdsall. A technology entrepreneur, philanthropist, and former senior US government official, Ed Scott provided the vision and a significant financial commitment that made the creation of the Center possible. Fred Bergsten, the director of the Peterson Institute for International Economics, lent his formidable reputation in academic and policy circles and provided the fledgling Center with a roof and logistical support within the Peterson Institute for the Center’s initial months of operation. Nancy Birdsall, a former head of the World Bank research department and executive vice president of the Inter-American Development Bank, became CGD’s first president. Her intellectual leadership and rare combination of being both hard-headed and soft-hearted about development attracted a cadre of researchers and other professionals who are deeply dedicated to CGD’s mission.

CGD’s three founders perceived a growing need for independent research to generate practical, creative solutions to the challenges that global interdependence poses to the developing countries, starting with debt. Delivering on Debt Relief: From IMF Gold to a New Aid Architecture (CGD, 2004), by Birdsall and John Williamson, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute, was the Center’s first book.