GIRL Center Research Assistant Intern

TITLE OF INTERNSHIP: GIRL Center Research Assistant Intern

INTERNSHIP SUPERVISOR: Manager, GIRL Center

LOCATION: New York, NY or Washington D.C

ASSIGNMENT LENGTH: 3-6 months

INTERNSHIP SUMMARY: The Population Council’s Girl Innovation, Research, and Learning (GIRL) Center is a cross-cutting research hub that brings together today’s leading scholars in adolescence to generate, synthesize, and translate evidence effectively for decision-making. The Center envisions a gender-equitable world where girls and boys make a healthy and safe transition into adulthood and reach their full potential. We contribute to this vision by: 1) generating evidence on adolescence, 2) convening key stakeholders and communicating evidence to drive evidence-based policy and practice and 3) growing current and future talent and networks of adolescent researchers and scholars. In its first five years, the Center made critical contributions to the field, from conducting the most extensive mapping of gender and education players, leading innovative and critical research on child marriage, and studying causal pathways between education and health to launching a series of tools including the Evidence for Gender and Education Resource, the Adolescent Data Hub, and the Adolescent Atlas for Action. The Center has also convened – in person and online – researchers, donors, advocacy groups and policy makers to examine the evidence and think critically about what girls need as well as what works and what doesn’t to improve their lives. The Center recently launched a new Roadmap to 2030 which will guide its work for the remainder of the decade.

We are seeking Research Assistant Intern(s) who are interested in the adolescent space and passionate about conducting research and promoting the use of high-quality evidence to influence policies, programs, practice, and investments. Interns will be assigned one long-term research task with short-term tasks as assigned depending on the needs of the Center. They will be mentored closely by GIRL Center staff and can attend Council-led seminars and other relevant webinars to ensure they grow their research skills. The following are long-term research tasks that require an intern:

1. The Adolescent Atlas for Action (A3) is a web-based tool with a series of data dashboards and data-driven thought pieces to help put relevant data on adolescents into the hands of the busiest decision-makers. 

• One intern will be focused on updating the A3’s Policy Checklist. They will 1) Review current designations per policy and country and update designations (whether policy exists or does not exist), 2) Propose new policies to add to the checklist, 3) Add new policies to the checklist and complete internet review/lit review to select designation per policy and country (determine whether policy exists or does not exist in each of the countries included in the tracker), 4) Update the back-end database and ensure updates to the web version of the tracker are complete and accurate, 5) Publish at least one A3 Insights based on the students’ interests (Insights are blogs that are published on the A3 site and advertised on the Council’s social media), 6) Publish a GIRL Center policy brief on the A3 Policy Checklist which includes a series of data visualizations and summarizes the state of adolescent-relevant policies across regions or by topic.

2. The Adolescent Data Hub (ADH) is currently the largest repository dedicated to compiling free and public data sources on adolescents in low-and middle-income countries. 

• One intern will be focused on expanding the ADH to include a repository of validated survey quantitative tools/modules/questions, definitions and calculations of indicators and measures, and Stata do-files. The ultimate goal of this work is to strengthen the capacity of researchers to collect data on adolescents in a more standardized way to generate and use high-quality information. The intern will be responsible for 1) working with Council researchers to determine appropriate key measures and indicators and process for identifying high quality tools/modules/questions and Stata code/do-files, 2) come up with a systematic process to organize materials, 3) provide inputs on the UI/UX of the ADH web expansion, 4) draft a series of social media messages to disseminate updates to the ADH, and 5) draft a brief summarizing the entire process.
• Another intern will be focused on expanding the ADH to the U.S to ultimately create the largest repository of free and public datasources on adolescents in the U.S. The intern will 1) come up with a systematic process to identify open and free datasets on adolescents in the U.S., 2) identify, collate, organize, and input data sources (as many as possible during the practicum/internship timeline) into the ADH back-end, 3) draft a series of social media messages to disseminate the new dashboard, 4) draft a brief summarizing the data sources and process.

Candidates must be able to work for at least 3 months for at least 20 hours per week, with the majority of working hours taking place on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.

Responsibilities depend on the specific project the intern is selected for:

1. Familiarize yourself with the project SOW, timeline, and deliverables. 

2. Attend weekly check-ins with supervisor to share updates.

3. Assist with other components of the project as needed. 

QUALIFICATIONS: 

We understand that there are many paths to acquiring expertise and experience and strong candidates may not have every qualification listed here. We encourage applications from individuals with diverse and/or nontraditional backgrounds who bring passion, skills, and experience in many or most of these areas. 

1. Current Master’s student or recent graduate in public health, public policy, anthropology, sociology, education, statistics, epidemiology, biostatistics, or economics — with at least 1 year of experience (internships are considered relevant work experience).

2. Familiarity (either through work experience or coursework) or interest in exploring adolescent health and development. 

3. Exceptional organizational skills with keen attention to detail. Strong ability to quality check own work. 

4. Demonstrated ability to work independently, manage time efficiently, prioritize, and multi-task in an in-person or hybrid work environment with a distributed team. 

5. Excellent English language skills (oral, reading, and writing).

Hourly rate between $18-$21 per hour, depending on knowledge, skills, and experience. 

Application Deadline: March 1, 2024

When applying through the web portal please attach your CV and Cover Letter in Word or PDF format.

The Council requires all U.S. based staff, interns, and fellows to be fully vaccinated and boosted against COVID-19. New staff members must verify vaccination at the time of hire. Exemptions will only be considered for medical reasons and sincerely held religious beliefs. Exemptions are not guaranteed and must be discussed with Human Resources. 

The Population Council is an international, nonprofit, nongovernmental institution that seeks to improve the well-being and reproductive health of current and future generations around the world and to help achieve a humane, equitable, and sustainable balance between people and resources. The Council conducts biomedical, social science, and public health research and helps build research capacities in developing countries. Established in 1952, the Council is governed by an international board of trustees. Its New York headquarters supports a global network of country offices. We are seeking an individual to fill the position described. If you know of a qualified candidate or are interested in this position, please apply at: www.popcouncil.org/employment.

The Population Council provides equal opportunity; it does not discriminate against any person with regard to age, color, creed, national origin, disability, political belief, veteran status, religion, marital status, gender, gender identity, or sexual orientation, and record of arrest or criminal conviction. Decisions on employment are based on an individual’s qualifications as related to the position for which they are being considered. The Council especially encourages applications from members of underrepresented groups including but not limited to Black people and people of African descent, Indigenous people, people of color, women, LGBTQ+ individuals, including people who identify as transgender, non-binary, or gender expansive, people with disabilities, first-generation college graduates, and those from communities with the most to gain from expanded access to sexual and reproductive health services and information and quality education. The Population Council is international in the composition of its board of trustees and its staff, as well as in the nature and deployment of its activities.