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About the Blavatnik School of Government
Our vision is of a world better led, a world better served and a world better governed. We are a global school committed to improving the quality of government and public policymaking worldwide, through three routes: teaching current and future leaders; generating research with impact; and engaging with governments and practitioners.
What we offer
The School is a collaborative, friendly, and dynamic department based in an award-winning building in Oxford. We host regular events and talks with well-known guest speakers – all of which are open to staff. On the social side, we have regular coffee/cake mornings for staff, a family-friendly Halloween event, and Christmas and summer parties.
As an employer, we genuinely care about our employees’ wellbeing and this is reflected in the range of benefits that we offer including:
• An excellent contributory pension scheme
• 38 days’ annual leave
• Family leave schemes and a comprehensive range of childcare services
• Cycle loan scheme and discounted bus travel and Season Ticket travel loans
• Membership to a variety of social and sports clubs
• Opportunities for hybrid working (typically 60% of working hours on-site and 40% remotely)
More information about working at the School can be found on our jobs page .
About the role
Anchored at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford, PROSPER tests scalable, evidence-based solutions – from smarter recruitment and job search tools to digitally enabled income support – to generate measurable gains for workers, firms, and economies. The programme is a multi-country collaboration of researchers from Oxford, Warwick, Duke, Northwestern, Berkeley, Peking, and RAND, J-PAL Africa, the Busara Center for Behavioural Economics, REMIT, and NGO and government partners in Kenya and South Africa. These collaborators are Kate Orkin (University of Oxford), Matthew Ridley (University of Warwick), Alison Andrew (University of Oxford), Nate Barker (Northwestern University), Rob Garlick (Duke University), Lukas Hensel (Peking University), Ulrike Malmendier (UC Berkeley).
As Senior Research Associate in Development Economics, you will work primarily with the survey fieldwork aspect of the operation, based at JPAL Africa in South Africa and the Busara Centre for Behavioural Economics and REMIT in Kenya. They are currently running three large-scale randomised controlled trials or longitudinal surveys and three more will be launched in the next three years. You will lead on building systems for ensuring high quality data is collected and appropriately managed; oversee survey and intervention design processes; and oversee the building of effective field operations and management structures.
About you
An analytically strong and highly organised professional, you have (or will be nearing completion of) a Master’s degree in a quantitative discipline such as economics, statistics, mathematics, public policy, or development studies. Bringing solid technical training in experimental methods, survey-based research, and randomised evaluations, you are proficient in Stata and at least one data collection platform such as SurveyCTO or Qualtrics. With relevant field experience running surveys in low- and middle-income country contexts, you will possess the specialist economic knowledge needed to contribute meaningfully to established research programmes.
As a strategic, adaptable thinker who can manage multiple complex projects, coordinate diverse stakeholders, meet deadlines, and take ownership across all stages of project delivery, you will have exceptional communication, meticulous organisational skills, and demonstrated ability to build operational systems—spanning finance, HR, and data management—enabling you to excel in challenging environments. As a capable and collaborative leader, you work effectively with cross-cultural research partners and are willing to travel frequently for extended periods to support survey launches across developing-country settings.
This position is based at the Blavatnik School of Government at the University of Oxford in the UK, with considerable time allocated to fieldwork in Kenya and South Africa.
Application process
Please upload a supporting statement that outlines how you meet the selection criteria in your own words, along with your CV and the details of two referees as part of your online application.
The closing date for applications is at 12 noon (UK time) on Monday 2 February 2026.
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