Research Assistant

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Salary from £35,758 to £40,751 p.a. inclusive with potential to progress to £43,604 p.a. inclusive of London allowance

Fixed-term for 12 months initially, with possibility of extension (subject to funding).

The post is expected to commence in the summer of 2025

Professor Nava Ashraf, Professor of Economics in the LSE Department of Economics, and Professor Oriana Bandiera, Sir Anthony Atkinson Chair in Economics, seek to appoint a Predoctoral Research Assistant for 2025-26 to join the Altruistic Capital Lab in STICERD. Our current work uses frontier methods to conduct research with organizations in employee motivation, future of work, education, and health. We are looking for individuals motivated by real world problems and capable of solving them using state-of-the-art statistical econometric techniques.

Ongoing projects based in the UK, Zambia, and Colombia include (i) a field experiment embedded in a multinational bank, investigating the diffusion and adoption of prosocial behaviour across the organisation; (ii) an evaluation of the productivity effects of a multinational rollout of reflective, purpose-orienting workshops; (iii) the design and evaluation of a private-sector led intervention aimed at overcoming behavioural barriers to reskilling amongst blue-collar workers; (iv) a project that investigates whether providing career opportunities for higher-skilled jobs at the local level in rural Zambia can create a virtuous cycle that improves health and educational outcomes over time in the rural communities; (v) an evaluation aimed at examining the level of trust among micro, small and medium entrepreneurs across different marketplaces in Lusaka, Zambia and the extent to which local institutions can affect it. Our projects leverage a unique model of  co-generation of knowledge in close collaboration with field partners e.g., government agencies, NGOs, philanthropic organisations and for-profit firms.

This role is intended to serve as a bridge into a PhD. You will be exposed to all stages of research production, and carry out data analysis, literature reviews, project management and field work. Applicants will have completed by the post start date a Bachelor’s (or equivalent) and/or Master’s degree in economics or other related discipline with substantial quantitative work. You must have strong quantitative and data analysis skills, fluency with at least one statistical programming software (Stata preferred), a good understanding of randomised controlled trials, excellent organisational and planning skills, a strong grasp of current research in organizational, behavioural and/or development economics, fluency in written and spoken English and the ability to convey complex technical information in a clear and accurate manner. The chosen candidate should be adept at partnership management, given our close collaborations with large organisations. You will have the ability to work under pressure and to multiple deadlines, as well as a high level of initiative and self-motivation.

We offer an occupational pension scheme, generous annual leave and excellent training and development opportunities.

For further information about the post, please see the how to apply document, job description and the person specification.

To apply for this post, please click the 'Apply' button above. If you have any technical queries with applying on the online system, please use the “contact us” links at the bottom of the LSE Jobs page. Should you have any queries about the role, please email c.l.harman@lse.ac.uk

The closing date for receipt of applications is 28 February 2025 (23.55 UK time). Regrettably, we are unable to accept any late applications.

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