"Junior/Assistant Specialist - Center for Effective Global Action"

Position overview

Position title: Development Economics Predoc

Salary range: The UC academic salary scales set the minimum pay determined by rank and step at appointment. See the following table(s) for the current salary scale(s) for this position: https://www.ucop.edu/academic-personnel-programs/_files/2025-26/represented-july-2025-scales/t24-b.pdf. The current base salary range for this position is $55,000-$70,700. 'Offscale' salaries, which yield compensation that is higher than the published systemwide salary at the designated rank and step, are offered when necessary to meet competitive conditions

Percent time: 100%

Anticipated start: May 2026

Position duration: 1 year with the possibility of renewal pending funding

Application Window

Open date: November 17, 2025

Next review date: Tuesday, Dec 2, 2025 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)
Apply by this date to ensure full consideration by the committee.

Final date: Thursday, Dec 18, 2025 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)
Applications will continue to be accepted until this date, but those received after the review date will only be considered if the position has not yet been filled.

Position description

The Center for Effective Global Action (CEGA) is a hub for research, training and innovation headquartered at the University of California, Berkeley. We generate insights that decision-makers can use to improve policies, programs, and people's lives. Our best-in-class academic network includes nearly 200 faculty, 80 scholars from low- and middle countries (LMICs)-primarily from East Africa, and hundreds of graduate students from diverse academic disciplines who produce rigorous evidence about what works to expand education, health, and economic opportunities for people living in poverty. Our business model involves curating policy-relevant research agendas in collaboration with development leaders overseeing competitive grant-making to answer critical questions, investing in research capacity, and strategically connecting research and ideas to inform decision-making by governments, NGOs, and the private sector.

The Junior/Assistant Specialist will perform data cleaning, data analysis and background research such as in depth literature reviews and evidence synthesis for technical and non-technical audiences. They will also support research partnership development by cultivating strong relationships with organizations providing research support and data collection services, and may have the opportunity to travel to field sites. Other key responsibilities include: providing research assistance to research projects and papers using empirical approaches; contributing to technical grant proposals, progress reports for current funding sources; and other administrative tasks related to the projects, CEGA, and the Principal Investigator(s). Junior/Assistant Specialist may also support additional research and policy efforts relevant to the goals of the PIs and CEGA.

Department: https://cega.berkeley.edu/

Qualifications

Basic qualifications (required at time of application)
Bachelor's Degree or equivalent international degree or enrolled in a Bachelor's Degree or equivalent international degree program.

Additional qualifications (required at time of start)
Bachelor's Degree or equivalent international degree

Preferred qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree or equivalent international degree in Economics, Public Policy, Political Science, Business, or related discipline.
• Strong interest in development economics, causal inference in applied microeconometrics, research design, program evaluation, cost-effectiveness analysis, and/or big data/remote sensing.
• 1-2 years experience contributing to data collection and cleaning activities.
• 1-2 years experience and competency with statistical software packages such as STATA, R, Python, Julia, and/or Matlab and ability to render accurate statistical analysis; as well as proficiency with LaTeX and Github.
• Familiarity with standard social science data sources, internet tools, and HTML.
• Familiarity working with large-scale datasets, e.g., through cloud or cluster computing.
• Ability to read and analyze published papers in economics, and accurately understand their main results. Ability to independently investigate solutions to technical and administrative problems.
• Outstanding written and oral communication skills, with the ability to translate complex scientific findings into accessible, non-technical language (via publications or professional presentations).
• Experience living and/or working in LMICs. Ability to work well with multi-national teams, and communicate effectively with colleagues and faculty.
• Additional language besides English (in particular, French, Hindi, Portuguese or Spanish).

Application Requirements

Document requirements

• Curriculum Vitae - Your most recently updated C.V.
• Cover Letter
• Research Statement - Please discuss research accomplishments and proposed plans. This can include, for example, your publication record, awards, presentations, inclusive research practices that promote the excellence of your research, and areas for future research.
  (Optional)

Reference requirements

• 3-5 required (contact information only)