BFI Employment Opportunities

Job Summary
The job provides professional support for pre-award and/or post-award activities relating to grant and contract proposals and funding within a department or unit. Pre-award activities include research, preparing applications, and editing proposals. Post-award activities include compliance monitoring, payment processing, and salary allocations. Performs work with moderate guidance and utilizes knowledge of University and business drivers.

Responsibilities

• Finance and accounting – analyzes and monitors comprehensive financial activities within the BFI departments, primarily in the areas of finance, auditing, budgeting and forecasting, purchasing, and other operational/education-related financial activities. Allocates, authorizes, monitors, and controls expenses.
• Maintains accounts including oversight, reconciliation, and error correction.
• Prepares and submits financial transactions through the University systems (ePayments, GEMS, BuySite, etc.); tracks against annual budget.
• Coordinates drafting of award letters, transfer of fund, and monitoring of progress reports of BFI internal grants such as BFI Data and Research Awards with other departments/units/division.
• Assists faculty and staff with review and execution of contracts and data use agreements; works to understand needs, assesses contract suitability to meeting those needs, and negotiates with vendors to ensure contracts comply with University standards and guidelines. In addition, assists faculty and staff with requests to access datasets within the BFI data library.
• Creates pivot table reports in Excel as needed.
• Helps to maintain a financial administration manual for staff with relevant University policies and procedures.
• Liaise as necessary with staff and Financial Services.
• Processes cost and payroll transfers.
• Serves as a resource for team members.
• Pre-award activities includes reading proposal guidelines; collecting, composing, and/or preparing administrative components of proposal submissions; preparing applications, developing and preparing budgets, and monitoring regulatory compliance requirements.
• Post-award activities includes account creations, regulatory and compliance monitoring, salary allocations, effort reporting, grant projections, cost allocations, cost center charges, equipment inventory, invoice preparation, grant closing process, and account closing.
• Monitors spending on all federal, non-federal, and internal grant accounts. Analyzes monthly grant financial reports and ledgers for accuracy, recommends and initiates action to correct discrepancies and follow-up until resolved.
• Prepares drafts of financial sections for components of grant and supplement applications, including draft budgets and budget justifications. Coordinates with sub-award administrators to assist with preparation of financial materials for all major grant-related activities.
• Manages the execution of subawards, sponsored sonsulting agreements, and subaward amendments.
• Partners with University Research Administration (URA) to monitor pre- and post-award activities, such as timely submission of applications and progress reports (RPPRs); requests for no-cost extensions; obtaining sponsor approvals for major changes to project work scope or major changes to anticipated expenditures, etc.
• Works closely with the Senior Grants Manager to collect grant data for the annual budget.
• Works directly with the faculty and research staff to seek new avenues for funding and new grant opportunities.
• Works with a broad array of sponsors, interpreting regulations and guidelines of multiple program funding with broad and complex guidelines for spending.
• Responsible for timely submission of applications, renewal/continual amendments, ensuring timely submission of technical reports, just-in-time submissions, no-cost extensions, and Agency required re-budgeting.
• Responsible for all data entry and preparation of grant reports and trend analysis.
• Interacts with University Research Administration, faculty, postdocs, and pre/post-award colleagues from other departments and sections, and Financial Services Office personnel.
• Seeks new avenues for funding and grant opportunities and ensures that notices of relevant opportunities are brought to faculty attention. Works with sponsors to draft proposal budgets in accordance with University needs, with a moderate level of guidance and direction.
• Reviews all applications against University guidelines, in addition to drafting progress reports, non-competing applications, amendments, and budgeting. Responsible for all data entry and preparation of grant reports and trend analysis.
• Prepares summaries of grants and effort allocations for Principal Investigators, meets with them and responds to their questions. Coordinates with other departments/units/divisions regarding multi investigator grants. Serves as department contact for annual audits and agency site visits.
• Performs other related work as needed.

Minimum Qualifications
Education:

Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field.

Work Experience:

Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through 2-5 years of work experience in a related job discipline.

Preferred Qualifications

Education:

• Associate’s degree in accounting, finance or related field.
• Bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance or related field.

Experience:

• Progressively responsible grant/contract and financial administration in an academic setting.
• Experience with budgets, ledgers, invoices, and fiscal reporting.
• Experience in one or more aspects of sponsored program administration in a research environment.
• Experience with accounting systems.

Technical Skills or Knowledge:

• Computer skills including word processing, database management, and spreadsheet skills.
• Working knowledge in financial administration, accounting or grant and contract.
• Knowledge of procurement and finance systems.
• Knowledge of general accounting standards and auditing.
• Knowledge of research methods and funding sources.

Preferred Competencies

• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Attention to detail.
• Flexible and adaptable work style.
• Strong organizational skills.
• Strong financial and analytic skills.
• Demonstrated initiative in improving processes and enhancing systems.
• Exercise sound judgment, discretion, and tact.
• Excellent independent time management skills along with the ability to handle multiple and concurrent tasks within deadlines.

The Predoctoral Research in Economics program (PREP) is intended to serve as a bridge between college and graduate school for students interested in empirical economics. The program offers unique research and professional training opportunities at the University of Chicago.

The program offers economics research and training opportunities at the University of Chicago. Responsibilities span all stages of research, including managing projects, collecting and analyzing data, creating presentations, and editing manuscripts. In addition to working closely with faculty as research assistants, predoctoral research professionals typically attend classes and seminars at the Becker Friedman Institute (BFI), the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC), the University of Chicago, and affiliate institutions.

The program provides two key events for professional training. At the beginning of each year, there is a five-day long customized orientation and training workshop. The training sessions cover topics such as: Data management practices, version control, coding reviews, causal inference and econometric methods, working with spatial data, and science communication tools. In the winter, BFI will hold a retreat dedicated to professional career development. Junior and senior faculty attend and present on issues such as: Applications to graduate school, the development or research ideas and projects, grant applications, potential pitfalls in graduate school and how to avoid them, and cutting-edge statistical methods.

Program Benefits

Along with the day-to-day contact with BFI faculty supervisors, the fellowship provides two key events for professional training. At the beginning of each year, pre-doctoral fellows participate in a five-day orientation and training workshop. The training sessions cover topics from data management practices to econometric methods and science communication tools. In the winter, BFI holds a retreat dedicated to career development. Faculty present on issues such as completing applications to graduate school, developing research ideas and projects, applying to grants, and performing cutting-edge statistical methods. They also provide advice on how to avoid common mistakes and succeed in graduate school.

BFI’s outstanding pre-doctoral fellows have gone on to some of the country’s top PhD programs, securing places in Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Princeton University, the University of Chicago, and the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School; Urban Planning at the University of California at Berkeley; and more.

How to Apply

Applications for the program are reviewed in fall, winter, and spring cycles. The winter application cycle for 2022 is now live, with a priority deadline of January 30.

Applicants must have completed a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree by June of the year they are applying, and have strong quantitative and programming skills. Candidates with research experience are strongly preferred, especially those with experience in Stata, R, Python or Matlab. The ideal candidate would begin in July and work for BFI for one or two years before applying to graduate school in Economics or another quantitative social science. BFI offers a competitive salary and employee benefits.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Do you offer visa sponsorship for international applicants?

Yes, BFI sponsors work or student visas.

2. Are there any specific requirements for the writing sample?

There are no requirements for the length or topic of your writing sample. Many successful applicants submit economics research papers (e.g. a thesis, or term paper) that highlight their abilities in writing and empirical analysis.

3. What kind of applicant does BFI look for?

Successful applicants have typically completed advanced coursework with high marks in economics, math, statistics, or computer science. Many pre-doctoral research professionals have had past economics research experience at their university, or other research institutions such as the Federal Reserve, World Bank, J-PAL or IMF.

About the Department
The University of Chicago Energy and Environment Lab (EE Lab) partners with agencies at the federal, state and local level to identify, rigorously evaluate, and help scale programs and policies that reduce pollution and improve environmental outcomes, while ensuring access to reliable and affordable energy. The EE Lab applies rigorous evaluation and modeling methods, including natural and field experiments, randomized controlled trials, behavioral economics, and machine learning, to help policymakers identify and generate evidence on innovative approaches and policy solutions to their most pressing environmental and energy challenges.

Job Summary
The EE Lab is seeking self-driven and enterprising Field Research Associates to conduct air quality data collection in Colorado. The Associate will work with staff at the EE Lab and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) to strengthen the existing partnership between EE Lab and CDPHE and collect on the ground data for a research project on monitoring methane emissions from oil and gas operations in the state. The Associates will assist in developing an air quality monitoring data collection plan and executing methane emissions measurements throughout the year. The Associates will work in teams to drive to data collection sites in the vicinity of oil and gas facilities, where they will conduct air quality measurements using gas analyzer technology. The Associates will be responsible for the logistics of ensuring the data collection plan is on track, will monitor the quality of the collected data, and will troubleshoot technical issues as they arise. This position offers a unique opportunity to apply modern emissions monitoring technology and data analytics to measure methane emissions and contribute to policy innovation. Candidates must be willing to live in greater Denver, Colorado for the duration of employment.

Responsibilities

• Performs sampling and data collection in the field using remote sensing equipment. Leads troubleshooting of technological, logistical, and meteorological problems in real time.
• Coordinates with EE Lab principal investigators and research staff to develop an efficient but flexible data collection plan.
• Develops and executes a weekly data collection plan, and makes daily adjustments as necessary, accounting meteorological conditions on the ground.
• Provides technical assistance and recommendations to EE Lab staff regarding emissions monitoring.
• Works closely with the research team to solve complex problems relating to the administration of the project, including planning new procedures, adapting existing procedures to the needs of the project, and thoroughly documenting all decision points.
• Develops and maintains effective working relations with Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and other stakeholders to cooperate on emissions monitoring efforts.
• Collects and assists in analyzing data. Assists with preparation of reports, manuscripts and other documents.
• Analyzes and maintains data and/or specimens. Conducts literature reviews. Assists with preparation of reports, manuscripts and other documents.
• Installs, sets up and performs experiments; interacting with students and other laboratory staff under the direction of the principal investigator.
• Maintains recruiting and scheduling research subjects; assisting with developing or amending study protocols; assisting with developing data collection tools; assisting with building databases; and providing general administrative support. Has general awareness in research techniques or methods, regulatory policies and procedures, and relevant scientific field.
• Performs other related work as needed.

Minimum Qualifications
Education:

Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field.

Work Experience:

Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through < 2 years of work experience in a related job discipline.

Preferred Qualifications

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, statistics, computer science, IT, chemistry, other sciences or a related field.
• Coursework in physics, chemistry, environmental science, and statistics.

Experience:

• Prior experience obtained while in school or in a similar field.
• Designing and carrying out data collection and sampling plans. Knowledge of data organization and management best practices is a plus.
• Background working with large datasets.
• Working knowledge on environmental monitoring research, field experiments and randomized controlled trials.

Certifications:

• Valid U.S. driver’s license; safe automotive driving record in the U.S. for past 2 years.

Technical Skills or Knowledge:

• Skilled at troubleshooting and resolving technical challenges.
• Knowledge of oil and gas operations.
• Familiarity with Microsoft and Google suites.
• Basic understanding of atmospheric science and air pollution concepts, and quickly learn how to operate new equipment and computer software.
• Working knowledge using emissions monitoring equipment.

Preferred Competencies

• Proven work ethic, flexibility and punctuality.
• Proven ability to work both independently, in a self-directed manner, and as part of a team.
• Resourcefulness, adaptability, and flexibility.
• Excellent analytical, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills.
• Proven organizational skills and high attention to detail, with a strong focus on results.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.

Job Summary

The University of Chicago Energy & Environment Lab is seeking a Project Associate (PA) with strong research, methodological, and programming skills to support environmental policy research projects. The PA will work on a portfolio of projects designed to evaluate the impact of promising energy and environmental interventions. Typical research projects involve the analysis of environmental and energy data, utilizing quasi-experimental and experimental methods to provide government partners with guidance on key policy questions.

The successful candidate will have experience with data management, econometrics, and statistical modeling. The PA will contribute to all aspects of research, including data collection, model development, and implementation. This position requires an individual who is able to work as part of small research teams, and on multiple projects concurrently, while also being self-directed and independent. The position offers the opportunity to work directly with leading policy researchers and faculty at the University of Chicago and other universities, and policymakers in state and local environmental agencies.

Responsibilities

• Works as part of faculty-led research teams to contribute to development, design and implementation of applied economics research studies.
• Collaboratively leads data collection, study management, subject sampling, randomization, and analysis including cleaning and assembling datasets for analysis; conduct field research as needed.
• Coordinates research activities, assists in preparing human subjects protocols, manages and analyzes data across multiple projects.
• Contributes to building traditional statistical models and machine learning algorithms for a variety of research projects.
• Prepares results of analysis for research papers, policy briefs, and memos and presentations targeting both policymakers and academic audiences.
• Helps build and maintain strong relationships and effective communication with government agencies, and other research partners and organizations.
• Conducts thorough and critical reviews of relevant literature.
• Supports fundraising and reporting efforts, such as helping prepare grant proposals and progress reports to funders.
• Maintains technical and administrative support for a portfolio of research projects.
• Takes responsibility for the following non-laboratory duties: transcribing and coding data; developing data collection instruments; presenting research; and recruiting and scheduling research subjects. Acquires higher-level skills and knowledge in the process.
• Maintains technical and administrative support for a research project.
• Analyzes and maintains data and/or specimens. Conducts literature reviews. Assists with preparation of reports, manuscripts and other documents.
• Performs other related work as needed.

Minimum Qualifications
Education:

Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field.

—
Work Experience:

Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through < 2 years of work experience in a related job discipline.

Preferred Qualifications

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in economics, statistics, computer science or other relevant field.
• Coursework in econometrics and/or mathematical statistics.

Experience:

• A minimum of one year of relevant research experience. Experience gained in school counts towards requirement.
• Background working on field experiments / randomized controlled trials.

Technical Skills or Knowledge:

• Experience working with Stata, R, Python, and/or other programming languages.
• Experience cleaning and analyzing data.
• Experience building predictive models.

Preferred Competencies

• Strong interest in environmental policy.
• Extensive background in applied statistics and econometrics.
• Effective written and verbal communication skills.
• Work on multiple projects simultaneously and meet tight deadlines.
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Work both independently, in a self-directed manner, and as a team member.

Job Summary
The Associate Director of Water will build on research by Michael Kremer and coauthors suggesting that water treatment is among the most cost effective interventions for reducing child mortality (https://bfi.uchicago.edu/working-paper/2022-26/), DIL scaling up research and policy implementation to increase access to dilute-chlorine solution for household-level water treatment in low- and middle-income country.

To do this, DIL is looking to hire an Associate Director of Water to work as a leading member of the DIL water team focusing on scaling this intervention through partnerships with various government offices in several countries. Reporting to the Initiative Director, the main role of the Associate Director of Water will be partnership management and stakeholder engagement while also including evaluation support, project management, research design and management, as well as policy writing and outreach. We are looking for candidates with an understanding of impact evaluation, economics and statistics, water and public health policy, and government program implementation. Candidates are expected to be equipped with excellent oral and written communication skills, attention to detail, strong project management skills, and who can take ownership of their work independently and collaborate effectively with other members of the team.

This position will travel to Kenya and/or one of the other countries where we have projects. Applicants must be willing to travel frequently to remote areas of the countries involved. This is a full-time position for one-year with possibility for renewal.

Responsibilities

• Supports engagements with government officials, policy practitioners, and researchers working on chlorine/safe water projects in various countries.
• Builds and maintains strong relationships with key partners in the relevant government offices.
• Scopes work for developing research and policy designs in several countries, including background research on chlorine practices and clean water access as well as travel and fieldwork to meet with potential partners and conduct interviews and focus group discussions among target populations.
• Shares feasibility assessments and initial analyses with policymakers and researchers through in-person meetings, memos, and phone calls.
• Supports DIL researchers and our partners on the study design. This includes refining the program’s theory of change; identifying constraints and potential threats to the integrity of the study; and providing deep local context and cultural sensitivity to the project design.
• Supports DIL researchers and our partners with the implementation and potential scale-up of projects. This includes the execution of piloting, roll-out, and data collection plans.
• Reports regularly to PIs and DIL senior management on project progress. Flags potential problems such as delays, overspending, data quality issues, or threats to validity; and recommend solutions to the problems.
• Manages processes for establishing and executing research projects. This includes managing the development of proposals; maintaining funding initiative records and tracking compliance with donor requirements; and organizing policy outreach webinars and events and engaging with stakeholders.
• Drafts publications and presentations that summarize and synthesize the policy implications of key research results.
• Creates guides, documents, and presentations on research processes and methods that can serve as resources for policymakers and implementing partners.
• Provides expertise to researchers on compliance of research activities with institutional, state, and federal regulatory policies, procedures, directives and mandates.
• Provides expertise to researchers and research support staff. Oversees activities related to data collection and analysis.
• Leads the establishment of new laboratories and provides assistance with purchasing new laboratory equipment; ensuring efficient operation of laboratory, including overseeing maintenance and repair of laboratory equipment.
• Performs other related work as needed.

Minimum Qualifications
Education:

Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field.

Work Experience:

Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through 7+ years of work experience in a related job discipline.

Preferred Qualifications

Education:

• A Master’s degree in economics, public health, or a closely related, quantitatively rigorous field.

Experience:

• Minimum of seven years of previous job experience.
• Experience working with non-profit organizations and government officials on WASH projects.
• Background in randomized controlled trials.
• Experience interacting and collaborating with government officials, non-governmental organizations, and other key stakeholders in a developing country context.
• Experience with presenting research findings at public forums, including non-research focused audiences.

Technical Skills or Knowledge:

• Complete fluency in English.

Preferred Competencies

• A background (education or experience) in water is strongly encouraged.
• Strong quantitative, analytical, and financial management skills.
• A strong track record of managing complicated projects in the field, particularly in a matrixed environment.
• Strong attention to detail.
• Work independently and problem-solve, as well as enlist the support of other teams within the organization.
• Strong written and oral communication skills.
• Strong knowledge of the social and cultural context in relevant countries.

Job Summary
A primary activity of the Weiss Fund is a bi-annual request for proposals (RFP) process and the year-round management of those who have received awards from the Weiss Fund. This position supports the Weiss Fund team in running the annual RFPs and ongoing awardee financial and programmatic management.

The Grant and Contracts Associate supports routine pre-award and/or post-award activities relating to the Weiss Fund’s grant and contract proposals and funding. Pre-award activities preparing for and executing the Request for Proposals process including collecting applications, facilitating the review period, and organizing the award decision process. Post-award activities include compliance monitoring, awardee reporting and NCE processing, invoice payment processing, and salary allocations. Performs work with guidance from others.

Responsibilities

• Seeks to improve and maintain processes for efficient grant management of outgoing awards from the Weiss Fund.
• Prepares grant reports and analysis as requested by the primary donor.
• For the primary award to UChicago, handles straightforward post-award activities including account creations, regulatory and compliance monitoring, salary allocations, effort reporting, grant projections, cost allocations, cost center charges, equipment inventory, invoice preparation, grant closing process, and account closure.
• Plans and oversees the RFP process including updating the application, coordinating stakeholders for various review stages, and preparing materials for the committee meeting.
• For outgoing awards to Weiss Fund recipients, handles all award notifications, coordinates contracts with URA, manages programmatic reporting requirements, processes no-cost extension requests, ensures invoices are compliant with Weiss Fund policies, and processes invoices.
• Works closely with Weiss Fund and UChicago team members to execute the complexities of Weiss Fund grant management.
• Creatively problem solves as unorthodox grant management questions arise. Weiss Fund is an organization that is giving out grants, an atypical arrangement for a University setting, so the role works closely with the University administration to identify appropriate processes and solutions.
• Reviews all applications against University guidelines, in addition to drafting progress reports, non-competing applications, amendments, and budgeting. Responsible for all data entry and preparation of grant reports and trend analysis.
• Handles straightforward post-award activities including account creations, regulatory and compliance monitoring, salary allocations, effort reporting, grant projections, cost allocations, cost center charges, equipment inventory, invoice preparation, grant closing process, and account closing.
• Prepares summaries of grants and effort allocations for Principal Investigators, meets with them and responds to their questions. Coordinates with other departments/units/divisions regarding multi investigator grants. Serves as department contact for annual audits and agency site visits.
• Performs other related work as needed.

Minimum Qualifications
Education:

Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field.

Preferred Qualifications

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance or similar field.

Experience:

• Accounting and budgeting experience.

Technical Skills or Knowledge:

• Project management skills; plan tasks for teams, monitor progress, make corrections to plans.
• Contracting and grant management experience.

Preferred Competencies

• Analyze financial data.
• Great organizational skills.
• Ensure compliance
• Team player with good problem solving and time management skills.
• Work under pressure and meet deadlines.
• Strategic thinking and analytical skills.

About the Department
The University of Chicago Urban Labs partners with government and non-governmental organizations to identify and rigorously evaluate the policies and programs with the greatest potential to improve human lives at scale. Urban Labs’ evidence-based approach gives policymakers and practitioners the knowledge they need to effectively achieve the greatest social good per dollar spent. The University of Chicago Energy & Environment Lab (E&E Lab) partners with agencies at the federal, state, and local level to identify, rigorously evaluate, and help scale programs and policies that reduce pollution and improve environmental outcomes, while ensuring access to reliable and affordable energy. The E&E Lab applies rigorous evaluation and modeling methods, including natural and field experiments, randomized controlled trials, behavioral economics, and machine learning, to help policymakers identify and generate evidence on innovative approaches and policy solutions to their most pressing environmental and energy challenges.

Job Summary

The University of Chicago E&E Lab is seeking a Research Manager (RM) with strong research, methodological, and management skills to support large-scale environmental policy research projects. The RM will help manage a growing portfolio of projects designed to evaluate the effectiveness and impact of promising energy and environmental interventions. The RM will contribute to the design, implementation, and analysis of energy and environment research projects with direct applicability for policymakers. This role works closely with U.S. government agencies, municipal governments, researchers, and a dedicated team of research analysts, data scientists, and staff, to support research projects led by Faculty Director Michael Greenstone.

Responsibilities

• Works with partners to identify analytical approaches to answer specific research questions or to provide analytical support to government partners.
• Constructs, trains, and deploys scalable machine learning algorithms for a variety of predictive analytics research projects.
• Meaningfully contributes to research design, analysis, and implementation of policy-relevant research projects.
• Manages data collection, econometric analysis and provides quality assurance for research projects.
• Manages research partnerships with government agencies and serves as project manager for research and technical assistance projects, including communications and project deliverables.
• Prepares results for memos, presentations, and papers targeting both policymakers and academic audiences.
• Helps manage project teams and junior staff, leads task supervision and quality oversight.
• Ensures compliance with institutional, state and federal regulatory policies and procedures as well as internal data privacy and security policies.
• Assists with writing grant proposals and managing grant reports.
• Supports data collection and analytical needs of research projects. Conducts literature reviews and helps write reports and manuscripts. Ensures project compliance with different policies, procedures, directives, and mandates.
• Takes responsibility for the following non-laboratory duties: transcribing and coding data; developing data collection instruments; presenting research; and recruiting and scheduling research subjects. Acquires higher-level skills and knowledge in the process.
• Takes responsibility for the following laboratory duties: recognizing abnormal results and varying conditions or procedures to correct problems; setting up and performing experiments. Analyze the meaning, significance, causes, and effects of the subject.
• Maintains technical and administrative support for a research project.
• Analyzes and maintains data and/or specimens. Conducts literature reviews. Assists with preparation of reports, manuscripts and other documents.
• Performs other related work as needed.

Minimum Qualifications
Education:

Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field.

Work Experience:

Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through < 2 years of work experience in a related job discipline.

Preferred Qualifications

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in economics, statistics, computer science.
• Master’s degree in economics, statistics, computer science.

Experience:

• A minimum of three years of relevant research experience.
• Experience working on field experiments / randomized controlled trials.
• Coursework in statistics, econometrics, data science, and computer science.

Technical Skills or Knowledge:

• Proficiency with R, Python, or Stata.
• Experience working with large and complex datasets.
• Applying machine learning algorithms in operational environments.
• Explaining complex statistical ideas and/or research projects to non-experts.
• Experience with relational databases.
• Experience with GitHub.
• Strong background in applied statistics and econometrics.
• Knowledge and understanding of energy and environmental policy topics.

Preferred Competencies

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, and the ability to present research concepts to non-technical audiences.
• Strong time management skills with a proven ability to multitask and to prioritize activities to successfully complete projects on tight deadlines with little supervision.
• Strong project management skills with exceptional attention to detail.
• Work both independently, in a self-directed manner, and as a team member.
• Work discreetly with sensitive and confidential data.

Closing Soon! Applications due by March 9

Job Summary

The Policy Lead will work with Professor Rachel Glennerster and colleagues at the Market Shaping Accelerator to support the development and adoption of high impact market shaping proposals that will incentivize innovations that address climate change, biosecurity, and other pressing global challenges.

Responsibilities

• Performs economic appraisals, including cost-benefit analysis, of market shaping proposals.
• Analyzes policy challenges such as climate mitigation, climate adaptation, and pandemic preparedness.
• Investigates technologies such as cooling, improved crop varieties, carbon removal, and vaccines.
• Collaborates with market shaping proposal advocates, innovators, and funders.
• Maintains and builds key relationships with the executive and legislative branches of the federal government to impact relevant policy and funding opportunities. Provides expertise to Congress and the federal agencies in the formulation of key policy decisions.
• Develops relationships with University faculty and administration to learn about and convey University initiatives to the federal government. Communicates information about pending federal programs and projects to University officers to help faculty and administration anticipate and participate in federally sponsored programs of interest.
• Performs other related work as needed.

Minimum Qualifications

Education:

Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field.

Work Experience:

Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through 5-7 years of work experience in a related job discipline.

Preferred Qualifications

Education:

• Master’s degree in economics, mathematics, statistics, public policy, or related discipline.

Experience:

• Minimum 5 years of relevant experience, including 2+ years of experience managing teams and projects.
• Budgets, fundraising and grant management.

Technical Skills or Knowledge:

• Project management skills; plan tasks for teams, monitor progress, make corrections to plans.
• Fluent in English.
• Data and spreadsheet skills (e.g. building models for economic and financial appraisal).

Preferred Competencies

• Comfort with uncertainty and willingness to engage in back-of-the-envelope, or Fermi, economic calculations and estimates.
• Team player with good problem-solving and time management skills.
• Excellent interpersonal skills as well as written and oral communication skills.
• Work under pressure and meet deadlines.
• Careful understanding of economic incentives and an ability to creatively apply economic principles.
• Curiosity and interest in climate change, biosecurity, including pandemic preparedness.
• Excellent analytical and critical-thinking skills.
• Manage and prioritize multiple projects simultaneously.
• Experience managing teams and projects.
• Develop and maintain strong partnerships with external collaborators, funders, journalists, or other important constituencies.
• Support building relationships across diverse cultures and backgrounds, within the University, the regional ecosystem, and globally.
• Excellent oral and written communication and public speaking skills including the ability to translate technical ideas into non-technical content.
• Familiarity with working in a university setting.

Job Summary

The E&E Lab is seeking Summer Research Assistants (RAs) with strong research, methodological, and programming skills to support large-scale environmental policy research projects. The RAs will work on a portfolio of projects designed to evaluate the impact of promising energy and environmental interventions. Typical research projects involve the analysis of environmental and energy data, utilizing quasi-experimental and experimental methods to provide government partners with guidance on key policy questions.

Responsibilities:

• Project development and project coordination
• Coding, review, and cleaning of data
• Data analytics, statistical analysis, and modeling
• Literature reviews
• Assisting in writing, formatting, and editing reports and works for dissemination

Job Requirements

Competencies:

• Interest in and aptitude for developing advanced programming and analytic skills
• Experience with at least one statistical analysis language required; STATA, R, or Python strongly preferred
• Strong verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to synthesize multiple sources
• Strong initiative and a resourceful approach to problem-solving and learning
• Ability to work both independently and as part of a team
• High attention to detail and organizational skills
• Knowledge of environment and/or energy policy issues preferred

Education:

• Significant progress towards an undergraduate or graduate degree in a relevant discipline
• Coursework in computer science, statistics, or engineering
• Research experience in an academic setting preferred

Documents Required:

• Resume
• Cover Letter
• Academic transcript(s)

Successful candidates will be paid a stipend and would join the E&E Lab for a period of approximately ten weeks, with a flexible start date. Applications will be reviewed as they are received, with decisions made on a rolling basis. Due to the high volume of applications, only candidates shortlisted for an interview will be contacted.

The E&E Lab main office is in Chicago; some research staff are based in the offices of our federal and state government partners. Summer Research Assistant positions are available in: Chicago, IL, Denver, CO, Sacramento, CA, Albany, NY and Washington, DC. Locational preferences should be noted in your application. (All placements and in-person activities will be subject to public health guidance regarding the COVID pandemic.)

About E&E Lab

The University of Chicago Energy & Environment Lab (E&E Lab) partners with agencies at the local, state and federal level to identify, rigorously evaluate, and help scale programs and policies that reduce pollution and improve environmental outcomes, while ensuring access to reliable and affordable energy. The E&E Lab uses natural experiments, randomized control trials, behavioral economics, and machine learning to help policymakers identify and generate evidence around innovative approaches to their most pressing environmental and energy-related challenges.

The E&E Lab is part of the Urban Labs, a collection of labs that partner with government agencies to identify and rigorously evaluate policies with the greatest potential to improve human lives at scale. Urban Labs’ evidence-based approach gives policymakers and practitioners the knowledge they need to effectively achieve the greatest social good per dollar spent.

About the Department
Founded and led by Nobel laureate and Faculty Director, Professor Michael Kremer, the Development Innovation Lab (DIL) is an affiliate of the Development Economics Center at the University of Chicago. Formally inaugurated in the spring of 2022, DIL brings researchers of various fields together with governments, firms and non-profits to use the tools of economics to identify, test, refine and scale innovations with the potential to benefit millions of people in low- and middle-income countries.The Becker Friedman Institute for Economics (BFI) works with the Chicago Economics community to turn its evidence-based research into real-world impact. BFI takes a unique approach to bridging the divide between academic researchers and decision-makers in the business community and government by translating and packaging the rigorous work of the Chicago Economics community into accessible formats, and proactively sharing those findings with relevant decision-makers and thought leaders around the globe. BFI is a collaborative platform serving the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, the Kenneth C. Griffin Department of Economics, the Harris School of Public Policy, and the Law School. For more information visit https://bfi.uchicago.edu.

Job Summary
The Administration Associate supports routine grant management, research administration, and operations activities relating to the management of DIL research and organization management. This role will support a broad spectrum of tasks related to the organization’s grant and financial management.

Responsibilities

• Handles award notifications for outgoing awards and oversee the process of funds transfers.
• Maintains processes for efficient grant management of outgoing awards.
• Maintains records and process transactions within grant management systems and correspond with external program stakeholders and awardees.
• Creatively solves unorthodox grant and research management questions as they arise.
• Supports efforts to coordinate with research and administrative staff on pre-award proposal submissions and grant modifications.
• Assists, as needed, with financial duties in coordination with the Associate Director of Finance, including: preparing and submitting financial transactions through university systems (e.g., BuySite, GEMS, etc.); assisting staff with university systems (e.g., Workday, AURA, etc.).
• Prepare special reports and summaries, assists in managing daily operation of the office, and may assist in developing administrative goals and policies.
• Coordinates special projects as directed by the leader. Prepares write ups for recommendations for operational and administrative problems. Prepares financial and/or administrative reports.
• Performs other related work as needed.

Minimum Qualifications
Education:

Minimum requirements include vocational training, apprenticeships or the equivalent experience in related field (not typically required to have a four-year degree).

Work Experience:

Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through 2-5 years of work experience in a related job discipline.

Preferred Qualifications
Education:

• High School Diploma.
• Associate degree in finance, accounting or related discipline.

Technical Skills or Knowledge:

• Strong oral and written communication skills.
• Ability to stay organized on multiple projects simultaneously.
• Curiosity and interest in climate change, biosecurity (including pandemic preparedness).
• Project management skills: Ability to plan tasks for teams, monitor progress, make corrections to plans.
• Team player with good problem-solving and time management skills.
• Excellent interpersonal skills as well as written and oral communication skills.
• Work under pressure and meet deadlines.

Preferred Competencies

• Project management skills: Ability to plan tasks for teams, monitor progress, make corrections to plans.
• Contracting and grant management experience.
• Team player with good problem solving and time management skills.
• Ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines.
• Strategic thinking and analytical skills.
• Great organizational skills.
• Ability to ensure compliance

Job Summary:

The Event Assistant works closely with the MFR Senior Program Associate, at the MFR Program under the Becker Friedman Institute for Economics (BFI) as a member of the events team. Under the direction of the MFR Senior Program Associate, the Event Assistant assists with the coordination of events, including reserving space and hotel room blocks, assists with identification and resolution of event and program needs, including assisting in vendor selection.  This position provides professional support in the creation of plans for events. This is a temporary part-time (20 hours) position for one year with the possibility of a full-time permanent role.

Responsibilities:

• Under the direction of the MFR Senior Program Associate, assists with the coordination of events, including reserving space and hotel room blocks, assists with identification and resolution of event and program needs, including assisting in vendor selection.
• Assists with all MFR Program events, conferences, and day-to-day activities, such as tracking registration, setting up registration tables, running registration and checking attendees in at the venue, assisting with picking up posters, shipping packages, picking up packages and materials, transporting materials to and from the event venues, printing and setting up brochures and other event materials, staffing all conferences and MFR activities, receptions, and dinners.
• Communicates with conference and event attendees about special requests, coordinates with caterers, arranges transportation and audio/visual equipment, and tracks responses from event participants through monitoring the MFR Program email inbox.
• Assists with the MFR Program’s Flickr account by uploading event photos, editing photo descriptions, and tagging participants by name and affiliation as needed.
• Assists in the accounting and reconciliation of MFR Program expenses such as keeping track of all expenses and providing summaries to the MFR Senior Program Associate and the MFR Program Executive Director.
• Assists with communications such as ensuring details for event postings and schedules are correctly listed, double checking that links are functional; and assists in collecting presentation and discussion slides by communicating with conference participants to obtain permissions and slides for posting.
• Assists with day-to-day MFR activities including arrangements for MFR staff lunches, purchasing MFR supplies, coordinating with vendors, setting up lunches, and booking space for MFR operations activities.
• Provides administrative support for the leader. Stays informed of activities relating to programs and initiatives, apprising the leader of issues when deemed necessary. Coordinates information flow from leader’s office.
• Prepares special reports and summaries, assists in managing daily operation of the office, and may assist in developing administrative goals and policies.
• Coordinates special projects as directed by the leader. Prepares write ups for recommendations for operational and administrative problems. Prepares financial and/or administrative reports.
• Performs other related work as needed.

Competencies:

• Demonstrated ability to take initiative, while remaining in close coordination with other members of the team required.
• Strong communication and organizational skills, with proven ability to juggle competing priorities with diplomacy, tact, and goodwill required.
• Familiarity with organizing and managing events, ideally including public events for up to 150 people required.

Additional Requirements​​
Education, Experience or Certifications:

Education:

• High school diploma or GED required.

Experience:

• One to three years of experience in events required.
• Experience organizing and facilitating events required.
• At least 6 months of experience in an office setting required.

Technical Knowledge or Skills:

• ​Microsoft Office Pro preferred.
• Outlook preferred.
• Adobe Acrobat preferred.
• Experience in using Canva or other creative software preferred.
• Zoom/WebEx preferred.
• GEMS/Concur preferred.
• Proficient in University of Chicago administrative systems preferred.

Closing Soon! Applications due by March 9

About the Department
Founded and led by Nobel laureate and Faculty Director, Professor Michael Kremer, the Development Innovation Lab (DIL) is an affiliate of the Development Economics Center at the University of Chicago. Formally inaugurated in the spring of 2022, DIL brings researchers of various fields together with governments, firms and non-profits to use the tools of economics to identify, test, refine and scale innovations with the potential to benefit millions of people in low- and middle-income countries. The Market Shaping Accelerator at UChicago is part of the Development Innovation Lab. It aims to promote the effective use of market shaping instruments (such as Advance Market Commitments) to incentivize innovations that address pressing global challenges such as climate change and biosecurity.

Job Summary
The Policy Professional will work with the Policy Lead, Director, Professor Rachel Glennerster and other colleagues at the Market Shaping Accelerator to support the development and adoption of high impact market shaping proposals that will incentivize innovations that address climate change, biosecurity, and other pressing global challenges.

Responsibilities

• Supports economic appraisal, including cost-benefit analysis, of market shaping proposals.
• Supports analysis of policy challenges such as climate mitigation, climate adaptation, and pandemic preparedness.
• Reviews and maps academic and policy literatures.
• Identifies promising candidate problems to tackle with market shaping instruments through desk research.
• Estimates the size of relevant markets, the potential benefits of new innovations and the potential size (cost) of the market shaping instruments.
• Understands the market structure of key sectors.
• Supports investigation of technologies such as cooling, improved crop varieties, carbon removal, vaccines.
• Communicates with market shaping proposal advocates, innovators, and funders.
• Maintains technical and administrative support for a research project.
• Analyzes and maintains data and/or specimens. Conducts literature reviews. Assists with preparation of reports, manuscripts and other documents.
• Performs other related work as needed.

Minimum Qualifications
Education:

Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field.

Work Experience:

Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through < 2 years of work experience in a related job discipline.

Preferred Qualifications
Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in economics, mathematics, statistics, public policy, or related discipline.

Experience:

• Minimum 2 years of relevant experience.

Technical Skills or Knowledge:

• Project management skills; plan tasks for teams, monitor progress, make corrections to plans.
• Data and spreadsheet skills (e.g. building models for economic and financial appraisal).

Preferred Competencies

• Team player with good problem-solving and time management skills.
• Excellent interpersonal skills as well as written and oral communication skills.
• Work under pressure and meet deadlines.
• Excellent analytical and critical-thinking skills.
• Strong oral and written communication skills.
• Stay organized on multiple projects simultaneously.
• Curiosity and interest in climate change, biosecurity, including pandemic preparedness.
• Careful understanding of economic incentives and an ability to creatively apply economic principles.
• Comfort with uncertainty and willingness to engage in back-of-the-envelope (or Fermi) economic calculations and estimates.

About the Department
The Development Innovation Lab (DIL) at the University of Chicago is seeking full-time Lead Researchers to lead development economics research projects across DIL, including in sectors such as education, agriculture, and health. Founded and led by Nobel laureate and Faculty Director, Professor Michael Kremer, the Development Innovation Lab (DIL) is an affiliate of the Development Economics Center at the University of Chicago. Formally inaugurated in the spring of 2022, DIL brings researchers of various fields together with governments, firms and non-profits to use the tools of economics to identify, test, refine and scale innovations with the potential to benefit millions of people in low- and middle-income countries.

Job Summary
The Development Innovation Lab (DIL) at the University of Chicago is seeking a full-time Lead Researcher to lead evidence synthesis work for the Commission on Innovation for Climate Change, Food Security and Agriculture as well as to contribute to development economics research projects.

Responsibilities

• Leads the evidence synthesis work of the Commission on Innovation for Climate Change, Food Security and Agriculture. Works on other tasks for the Commission as needed.
• Research priorities will be set in conversation with the Faculty Director. Research projects will likely focus on agriculture in developing countries including work on credit markets.
• Provides input on cross-cutting lab activities or DIL public goods as required.
• Provides expertise to researchers on compliance of research activities with institutional, state, and federal regulatory policies, procedures, directives and mandates.
• Provides expertise to researchers and research support staff. Oversees activities related to data collection and analysis.
• Improves financial, personnel, planning, compliance and other administrative aspects of research project. Collaborates with other researchers on long-range plans for research projects. Leads, investigates, modifies and applies new procedures, techniques or applications of technology. Establishes goals and operating procedures, practices, and guidelines.
• Performs other related work as needed.

Minimum Qualifications
Education:

Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field.

Work Experience:

Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through 7+ years of work experience in a related job discipline.

Preferred Qualifications
Education:

• PhD in economics or related field.
• PhD level training in the methods of economics.

Experience:

• Prior experience working on randomized evaluations, development economics research, and/or public policy in developing countries.
• Five or more years of relevant work experience. Research based work obtained during the pursuit of PhD can count for up to 3 years of experience.  We will also consider candidates with substantial experience working on field experiments during their PhD.
• Knowledge of and experience running randomized control trials.
• Experience with economic research on agriculture.

Technical Skills or Knowledge:

• Strong oral and written communication skills.
• Stay organized on multiple projects simultaneously.
• Curiosity and interest in climate change and biosecurity, including pandemic preparedness.
• Project management skills; plan tasks for teams, monitor progress, make corrections to plans.
• Team player with good problem-solving and time management skills.
• Excellent interpersonal skills as well as written and oral communication skills.
• Work under pressure and meet deadlines.

Preferred Competencies

• Proven record of writing and publishing rigorous evaluations.
• Manage a team of research staff and draft evidence-based policy documents.

About the Department
The Becker Friedman Institute for Economics (BFI) works with the Chicago Economics community to turn its evidence-based research into real-world impact. BFI takes a unique approach to bridging the divide between academic researchers and decision-makers in the business community and government by translating and packaging the rigorous work of the Chicago Economics community into accessible formats, and proactively sharing those findings with relevant decision-makers and thought leaders around the globe. BFI is a collaborative platform serving the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, the Kenneth C. Griffin Department of Economics, the Harris School of Public Policy, and the Law School. For more information visit https://bfi.uchicago.edu.Formally inaugurated in the spring of 2022, the Development Innovation Lab (DIL) is an affiliate of the Development Economics Center at the University of Chicago. Founded and led by Nobel laureate and Faculty Director, Professor Michael Kremer, DIL uses the tools of economics to identify, test, refine and scale innovations with the potential to benefit millions of people in low- and middle-income countries.

Job Summary
The Assistant Director of Programs and Operations will play a key role in coordinating between research projects and University research administration processes and procedures. The person in this role requires knowledge of research project budgeting, grant proposal development, IRB protocol, as well as a knack for navigating University systems and procedures to ensure research progress and success. Furthermore, the person in this role will need to develop good stakeholder relationships with University partners in order to problem solve research road blocks and ensure compliance with University policies and procedures.

Responsibilities

• Oversees DIL’s compliance with University policies relating to research administration. This includes, but may not be limited to, understanding University policies for conflicts of interest, grants, institutional review boards, and research agreements. Works alongside DIL directors and research teams as they incorporate these policies into their project plans and provides advice on how to effectively navigate these rules and guidelines.
• Serves as a liaison within the University system. Liaise with principal investigators, University administration offices, and DIL project teams for research administration purposes. Proactively engages and establishes a strong rapport with these groups to help manage administrative requests and meet project deadlines.
• Institutional review boards (IRBs) – activities may include, but may not be limited to training researchers on University requirements; guiding new researchers through their human subject research certification program; advising project teams when to apply to IRBs and what type of submission to request; editing and reviewing IRB protocols; corresponding with IRB offices; providing guidance to external collaborators on cede requests; and monitoring IRB protocols for future amendments.
• Grant proposals – activities may include, but may not be limited to guiding project teams through the grant proposal process and University requirements; helping to iterate on and finalize budget proposals; identifying, gathering, and reviewing all required documents needed for a successful grant submission; obtaining DIL approvals; and coordinating communications between principal investigators, administration offices, sponsors, and project teams in order to meet submission deadlines.
• Award/subaward activities may include, but may not be limited to reviewing legal agreements before execution; obtaining principal investigator approvals/signatures; gathering and reviewing required documents for subrecipient transactions; keeping track of outstanding administrative requests; and managing communications between administration offices, subrecipients, principal investigators, sponsors, and project teams as needed.
• Research agreements – activities may include, but may not be limited to providing guidance to project teams when and what type of research agreements may be needed; reviewing initial drafts; submitting agreement requests to the University; and coordinating with principal investigators, project teams, and legal/administration offices to execute contracts.
• Supports DIL administration and operations as needed, which may include, but may not be limited to, assisting with hiring, onboarding, offboarding, training, building maintenance, system management, procurement, expense approvals, equipment management, travel, and event coordination.
• Provides assistance to the Office of the Faculty Director as needed which may include, but may not be limited to, supporting journal submissions, drafting correspondence, editing/reviewing key documents, and ensuring compliance to various disclosure policies (e.g., University policies, journal policies, board member policies, etc.).
• Helps to form and/or continuously improve upon DIL internal processes. Collaborates with colleagues to gather information/constructive feedback on DIL processes to support internal reviews. May contribute to working groups tasked with updating and maintaining DIL’s lab manual and operations handbook.
• Uses in-depth knowledge and experience to administer the delivery of services to program participants and/or beneficiaries such as communicating with programs sponsors and academic advising for undergraduate students. Plans and develops program objectives and/or content. Researches and identifies trends and needs and establishes program directions accordingly.
• Develops and communicates program priorities and performance standards and assesses operations using these criteria. Plans and conducts quality assurance reviews and recommends changes as appropriate.
• Manages program budgets and recommends or makes budgetary recommendations.
• Performs other related work as needed.

Minimum Qualifications
Education:

Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field.

Work Experience:

Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through 5-7 years of work experience in a related job discipline.

Preferred Qualifications

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field.
• Master’s degree in a related field.

Experience:

• Minimum 5 years of work experience.
• Two years of research or academic center administration experience.
• Strong preference for previous RCT experience.

Deadline: March 17. We have started reviewing applications for this position and will continue to do so on a rolling basis. We encourage candidates to apply as soon as possible.

About the Department
The Becker Friedman Institute for Economics (BFI) works with the Chicago Economics community to turn its evidence-based research into real-world impact. BFI takes a unique approach to bridging the divide between academic researchers and decision-makers in the business community and government by translating and packaging the rigorous work of the Chicago Economics community into accessible formats, and proactively sharing those findings with relevant decision-makers and thought leaders around the globe. BFI is a collaborative platform serving the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, the Kenneth C. Griffin Department of Economics, the Harris School of Public Policy, and the Law School. For more information visit https://bfi.uchicago.edu. The Development Innovation Lab is an affiliate of the Development Economics Center at the Becker Friedman Institute for Economics, which brings together scholars from across the UChicago community to address challenges to economic growth and political stability in developing countries. The Development Innovation Lab uses the tools of economics to develop innovations with the potential to benefit millions of people in low- and middle-income countries. For more information visit https://bfi.uchicago.edu/development-innovation-lab/.

Job Summary
DIL is seeking a full-time Research Manager to work with the faculty director (Michael Kremer) and other researchers on development economics research projects. The Research Manager will work with DIL’s lead researchers to manage a portfolio of projects.

Responsibilities

• Manages high-level relationships with DIL partners including governments, non-profit organizations, and donors; develop new research collaborations for the organization.
• Oversees the research process, including supervising data collection activities for DIL projects, conducting qualitative research, desk research, and quantitative analysis to inform research design; and ensures rigorous research quality.
• Leads communications with DIL partners; writes proposals and other research outputs.
• Builds research work programs and tracks progress against them.
• Manages DIL staff including Research Professionals and Research Associates; recruits and trains new DIL staff.
• Manages project operations and administration. Responsibilities may include new proposal development, contracting, budgeting, donor reporting and communication, and grants management.
• Provides input on cross-cutting lab activities or DIL public goods as required.
• Applies research principles and relevant subject matter knowledge relevant to administer a research project. With a moderate level of direction, manages lab and/or research-related duties and tasks. Helps develop, design and conduct research projects according to plan.
• Supports data collection and analytical needs of research projects. Conducts literature reviews and helps write reports and manuscripts. Ensures project compliance with different policies, procedures, directives, and mandates.
• Takes responsibility for the following non-laboratory duties: transcribing and coding data; developing data collection instruments; presenting research; and recruiting and scheduling research subjects. Acquires higher-level skills and knowledge in the process.
• Performs other related work as needed.

Minimum Qualifications
Education:

Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field.

Work Experience:

Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through 2-5 years of work experience in a related job discipline.

Preferred Qualifications
Education:

• Bachelor’s degree and/or Master’s degree in economics, mathematics, statistics, public policy, or related discipline.

Experience:

• Minimum 3 years of relevant experience, including two or more years of experience managing teams and projects.
• Experience in research impact evaluation.
• Experience with budgets useful.
• Two to five years experience working on one or more randomized trials, preferably as a research assistant based in a low or middle income country or research manager of an RCT based in a LIC or MIC.

Technical Skills or Knowledge:

• Proficient in STATA and/or R data analysis software, interpreting data analysis; and academic writing.
• Proficient with data collection techniques and field research including primary data collection.
• Project management skills; plan tasks for teams, monitor progress, make corrections to plans.
• Experience with budgets and fundraising or grant management.
• Fluent in English.

Preferred Competencies

• Team player with good problem-solving and time management skills.
• Excellent interpersonal skills as well as written and oral communication skills.
• Work under pressure and meet deadlines.
• Develop and maintain strong partnerships with external collaborators, funders, journalists, or other important constituencies.
• Excellent oral and written communication including the ability to translate technical ideas into non-technical content.
• Support building relationships across diverse cultures and backgrounds, within the University, the regional ecosystem, and globally.
• Experience running randomized control trials.
• Graduate level training in economics and econometrics.

Job Summary
The Senior Finance Administrator will serve as the primary analytic and financial liaison for assigned departments and initiatives and will be responsible for providing those departments with budget development and financial management support. The Finance Administrator will also support the development and integration of unit-specific financial data analytics and reporting, with a focus on the development of a common set of metrics and methodologies for evaluating both University and unit-specific financial performance. At the instruction of others, performs work that contributes to the development of long- and short-term financial goals, business strategies/plans, and financial forecasts/models. Utilizes moderate knowledge of finance to help coordinate quarterly and year-end reporting for the operating budget.

Responsibilities

• Analyzes, reviews, and tracks comprehensive financial activities for the Becker Friedman Institute, primarily in the areas of finance, auditing, budgeting and forecasting, purchasing, and other operational-related financial activities.
• Plans, develops and manages budgets, including developing multi-year budget forecasts.
• Oversees the review, approval, and reporting of all expenditure goods and services, and costing allocations.
• Monitors and reconciles actual expenditures and revenue against budget and prepares monthly, quarterly, and annual variance reports. Works closely with departments to understand variances and develop recommendations for programmatic changes or cost containment strategies to avoid deficits.
• Reviews financial reports for consistency and accuracy. Flags potential errors to be investigated and corrected. Prepares and submits account corrections as necessary, including both payroll and non-payroll.
• Oversees and tracks multi-year faculty fund support packages. Provides faculty periodic reports of spend and available balance.
• Works in close partnership with UChicago Global and UC Trust to oversee, process, and manage the transfer of funds for international programmatic activities.
• Prepares and submits financial transactions through the University systems (ePayments, GEMS, Buysite, etc.).
• Assists staff with the GEMS system and runs reports to ensure that transactions are reconciled at regular intervals.
• Builds and maintains complex financial models using Excel and other analysis and reporting tools and systems as necessary.
• Prepares presentations to convey financial and administrative matters to leadership and members of the assigned departments.
• Develops and manages budgets for assigned BFI Initiatives.
• Coordinates and manages Calls for Proposals and awarding of internal grant funds to faculty. Assists faculty and staff with review and execution of contracts and data use agreements; works to understand needs, assesses contract suitability to meet those needs, and negotiates with vendors to ensure contracts comply with University standards and guidelines. In addition, assists faculty and staff with requests to access datasets within the BFI data library.
• Assists the Director of Finance and Operations to develop and implement metrics and methodologies toolkits for evaluating financial performance for both the unit overall and specific assigned departments.
• Assists the Director of Finance and Operations in the annual budget process such as preparing departmental budget packets and inputting budgets into Delphi.
• Helps to develop and maintain a Financial Administration manual for staff with relevant University policies and procedures.
• Liaise as necessary with staff and Financial Services.
• Serves as a resource for team members.
• Analyzes and prepares budgets, create accounts, and works with the financial accounting system to allocate, authorize, monitor, and control expenses.
• Prepares monthly reports, conducts and corrects errors in accounts using existing procedures that are in place, and provides advice on the financial impact of human resources and academic affairs decisions.
• May work with other administrators on the procurement process, allocates expenditures for authorization, and advise in communications regarding funding agencies, subcontractors, and others at the instruction and direction of others.
• Performs other related work as needed.

Minimum Qualifications
Education:

Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field.

Work Experience:

Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through 2-5 years of work experience in a related job discipline.

Preferred Qualifications

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting, business administration, or related field.
• Master’s degree in finance, accounting, business administration, or related field.

Experience:

• Minimum of 3 or more years of work experience in a related job discipline.

Technical Skills or Knowledge:

• Knowledge of financial computing and database software applications.
• Knowledge of various financial principles, practices, and applications including budgeting, financial planning, and financial reporting.
• Experience with accounting systems and budget systems.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint).
• Knowledge of procurement and finance systems.
• Advanced in Microsoft Excel, which includes advanced usage of pivot tables, v-lookups, macros, and formatting.   

Preferred Competencies

• Must be a self-starter with a high level of attention to detail.
• Strong written, interpersonal, and verbal communication skills.
• Manage multiple projects simultaneously and meet tight deadlines.
• Excellent organizational skills.
• Work both independently and as a team member.
• Superior degree of professionalism.
• Outstanding analytical and problem-solving skills. Detail-oriented with the ability to prioritize and complete multiple concurrent projects.
• Demonstrates capacity to work independently in an organized detailed manner while maintaining a collaborative team environment.
• Exercise sound judgment and absolute discretion regarding confidential matters with tact.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Demonstrated time management ability to deliver high-integrity products within established deadlines.
• Personable, professional, and consultative work style.