Details

Salary and Benefits

MVR 10,000 - MVR 16,000

Job Description

About:

Public Policy Lab is seeking a passionate and highly motivated Research Associate to join our team. We are seeking a candidate that will contribute to meaningful public policy research, data collection, and initiatives to shape policy development in the Maldives.

If selected, you will be a core member of a small team where your contributions will directly impact our projects. The selected candidate will be closely involved in our work, fill gaps or address bottlenecks as needed, work on tasks to facilitate research by senior members,  and supplement our collective skills.

For a strong application, please include some relevant examples that demonstrate a genuine interest in and passion for work in public policy to make life better for people. Examples of impact with an explanation of your role in achieving that impact would be very valued.

The single most important quality we are looking for is a candidate with the drive, work ethic, initiative, and commitment to work intensively alongside our team. Self-managing and following through on projects to completion without close supervision is crucial. A passion for public policy will be necessary for this role.

Key responsibilities:

• Conducting qualitative and quantitative research on a variety of public policy topics.
• Carrying out interviews, surveys, and focus groups with various stakeholders.
• Comfortably speaking and representing Policy Lab in meetings, panel discussions, and consultations.
• Editing, compiling, polishing and finalizing reports, policy briefs, proposals, and other materials for publication.
• Completing administrative tasks efficiently when needed, including planning and booking travel for island-level data collection or international travel, and preparing paperwork for grant proposals, bid documents, visas, etc.
• Social media and multimedia work, including consistently designing and posting posts for social media, working to grow social media followings, and carrying out media outreach for our work.
• Managing and maintaining datasets and spreadsheets.
• Miscellaneous work in activities related to policy projects or consultancies.

Work arrangements:

• Flexible environment: This is a hybrid role with a mix of remote and in-person work. Most day-to-day tasks can be done remotely. Regular in-office time (at least twice a week for a few hours) is expected for teamwork and collaboration. Even in slow weeks, the whole team will aim to meet at least one a week to discuss and allocate all our ongoing work.
• Flexible hours: You can decide how to allocate your 40 hours a week yourself, including whether you want longer hours with fewer work days for a longer weekend, shorter hours with more work days, work evenings, etc. As long as you can attend required meetings, you have full freedom to allocate your 40 hours across a week. You can also move your hours around (e.g. request to move 10 hours forward from one week to the next, etc).
• Flexible leave: We have a flexible leave policy without a fixed amount of leave days, but will require advance notice for longer non-medical/FRL leaves. You can also take remote-only leaves (to continue working remotely but take absence from in-office tasks, e.g. to travel abroad on your own schedule).
• Evening events: Ideally, staff will be able to regularly attend our "third spaces" project events, which include art-centric events to bolster community ties. This involves being available for evening events (approx. 7 PM - 11 PM) once every 1-2 weeks.
• Probation: This position is subject to a 2-month probation period.

Required qualifications:

• Demonstrated interest in and passion for public policy or impactful public programs is crucial.
• Drive and initiative to work independently and be self-directed without needing close supervision.
• Strong research and analytical skills.
• Strong writing skills with the ability to communicate complex ideas clearly. Ability to write well and avoid “ChatGPT style” in writing is required.
• Knowledge of Microsoft Excel for data and spreadsheet management. Knowledge of other data tools is a bonus, but online courses to learn other data tools will be funded for staff.
• Confidence in public speaking, conducting interviews, and engaging with diverse groups.
• Familiarity with multimedia tools and basic video editing for social media (TikTok, Instagram, YouTube). A proven ability to grow and establish a popular account (whether for an organization or yourself) would be a benefit.
• Bachelor's degree with strong skills and initiative. Master's degree is preferred.

Preferred skills and experience

• Experience working in government, media, or NGOs.
• Experience with any official formats and documents such as those used in government and policy bodies, by international organizations, etc.
• Strong formal Dhivehi writing skills.
• Willingness and ability to travel to other islands for data collection and fieldwork.

Additional skills that we would value:

• Skills or experience in environment sector, construction sector, media, or software development.
• Familiarity with GIS and land use/mapping, and/or being able to fly drones for aerial photography.
• Programming skills for developing web apps for policy tools.
• Understanding of AI tools, including understanding the difference between mainstream LLMs, prompt engineering, spotting hallucinations, and identifying which tasks can and can’t be automated.
• Fluency in any languages spoken by migrant communities (e.g., Bengali, Indonesian, Hindi, Tagalog, Thai) or major international languages (Chinese, Arabic).
• Strong existing relationships or contacts within crucial sectors (government, NGOs, international organizations, councils, embassies, industry, media, etc) would be valued.

Professional development opportunities:

Part of our work at Public Policy Lab includes working to develop successful future professionals in the policy sector. An interest in working in policy-related work or public impact focused work as a career goal is, and interest in quickly learning and gaining a variety of on-the-job experience, will be prioritized.

We have an interest in ensuring that other employers will be able to have full confidence in the ability, skills, and commitment of anyone with Public Policy Lab on their resume. We are committed to the growth of our team members.

• Credit for your work: Your name will be listed with full credit on all published work you contribute to.
• Support for independent research: We will support your own research in your own interest areas, where you would be listed as lead author or sole author.
• Support for on-the-job learning: We will provide opportunities to stretch your skills and do higher-level work with guardrails, e.g. opportunities to have management roles for specific projects to gain experience in management, so you can demonstrate your abilities to handle higher level roles to us or other future employers.
• Career portfolio: All work you produce and contribute to can be included in a career portfolio that you can develop throughout your time with us.
• Skill development: Staff can opt-in to create a personalized Skill Development Plan to identify and strengthen specific skills, giving you an official document to demonstrate your skillset to future employers.
• Networking opportunities: Employees will be invited to attend events, meetings, and other interaction with a variety of partners, including government officials, NGO workers, and industry professionals.
• Support for career advancement: We will provide full support and encouragement for future career advancement opportunities, including detailed and accurate recommendations. We envision our employees eventually moving on successfully to key roles in policy development in government or other policy-centric work, so we won’t try to hold you back.

How to apply:

• Please email an application with a CV and cover letter to [email protected]. The cover letter doesn’t need to be written formally (even properly formatted bullet points is fine), but it should include:
  • Why you are interested in this job and in policy work as a career.
  • How you think you can help Public Policy Lab grow and achieve more of its goals (both as a consultancy firm that needs to generate revenues and stay profitable, and as an organization producing valuable research and impactful policy outcomes).
  • How you envision your time with us to shape your long-term career goals. We want ambitious candidates to use their experience and skill development to eventually enter high-impact policy roles, so we don’t expect your long-term career goals to be staying with us indefinitely.
  • Any example or explanation of work you have done which has had a public impact or ideas you have for how you’d like to have a public impact.
  • Contact to a reference who can vouch for your drive and initiative to follow through on work, commitment, work ethic, and passion for policy or public service. Preference isn't for just a generic supervisor for verification, but for someone you have worked with closely who can describe your contributions.
  • You can add any other relevant information relating to anything else in this document, or anything else that you think demonstrates your abilities or your fit with Public Policy Lab.
• Only applications that are submitted by email with the required information will be considered.

Requirements and Qualifications

Minimum Experience

Not Specified

Other Information

Industries

• Publishing activities
• Information service activities
• Activities of head offices; management consultancy activities
• Scientific research and development
• Other professional, scientific and technical activities

Occupations

• Analyst, policy

Employment Type

• Full-Time
• Part-Time
• Contract

Field of work

• Arts and Humanities
• Social Sciences, Journalism and Information
• Health and Welfare