J-PAL North America is recruiting an Administration and Events Associate to support the operations of our growing, mission-driven organization. This position is based at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, MA.
The Finance and Administration Group supports J-PAL’s mission to promote evidence-informed policy by ensuring that our office is run with maximal efficiency. The team manages logistics that touch every aspect of J-PAL’s operations, from administrative assistance and office management, to travel and event coordination, to subaward administration and grant reporting.
Responsibilities
Your work provides the support needed to grow J-PAL’s policy, research and capacity-building efforts. As an Administration and Events Associate, your primary tasks will involve providing direct assistance to a J-PAL director and organizing events for J-PAL North America, which may involve selecting and managing outside resources (events planning companies, temps, etc.)
Travel and Event Coordination: In collaboration with policy staff you will plan, organize, and implement logistics from beginning to end for complex events and travel. This would include large conferences and trainings involving high-level participants from government, private, non-profit and academic sectors. Liaise with vendors to establish contracts and purchase orders, and process related invoices and expense reports. Coordination with external printing vendor and working with J-PAL’s design team for event materials.
Systems-Building and Maintenance: Manage contact management systems through the use of Salesforce and other platforms. Help maintain and develop J-PAL North America’s organizational documents on Dropbox and SharePoint. Create new documentation on policies, processes, and work flows as needed.
Office Management: Recommend and monitor the performance of outside resources such as temps or consulting events managers when not able to manage events directly. Occasional copy editing and proofreading of documents for both external and internal audiences like PowerPoint presentations and draft email correspondence for the Director.
Executive Assistance: Provide executive assistance to J-PAL North America’s Executive Director, including, but not limited to, calendar, coordinating domestic and international travel, and expense management. Assist in special projects that facilitate professional growth while being mentored by senior leadership.
Communications: Ensure clear communication to internal J-PAL staff about their roles in any external J-PAL events (examples: Creating emcee packet for Director to introduce speakers, registration desk assignments, breakout group table assignments). Running externally-facing events on the ground, ensuring smooth execution.
Qualifications
Your attention to detail, good judgement, positive attitude, and ability to multi-task and problem-solve make you an ideal candidate for the Administrative Associate position.
Education: This position requires a high school diploma, with an Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree preferred.
Experience: 3 years experience in a professional work environment is required.
Skills: You are comfortable learning and using computer applications, including Excel, Salesforce, SharePoint, Dropbox and other platforms. You have strong writing skills and are able to communicate clearly with multiple parties.
Organization: You have a strong ability to anticipate, plan, prioritize and meet deadlines. You can handle multiple tasks at once, manage numerous requests from various parties, and effectively manage a high volume of work. A willingness to work hard, be self-motivated and learn will be essential for doing well in this position.
Attention to Detail: Strong ability to manage a time-sensitive workflow while maintaining absolute accuracy with details.
Responsibility and Trust: You are capable of dealing with high-profile organizations and officials with diplomacy and integrity. You exhibit tact and good judgement in handling confidential information.
Attitude: You are self-motivated, have a “can-do” attitude, and enjoy working in teams.
Professional Development
The Finance and Administration Group invests in your professional development. As an Administrative Associate, you will learn, engage, and grow.
Learn: J-PAL North America supports a culture of learning, with opportunities to attend weekly academic seminars, engage in small-group discussions with other J-PAL staff, and take classes for credit at MIT or elsewhere with MIT’s generous tuition assistance program.
Engage: In addition to working directly with J-PAL North America’s senior management, you will also have the chance to work with and learn from J-PAL associates in other regions and offices around the globe.
Grow: You can expect to join a team eager to continuously improve upon the systems that keep our office running smoothly. As a member of the team, you will be able to develop and create systems, make decisions on how those systems are implemented, and find creative solutions to problems as they arise.
Benefits
As a member of the MIT community, you benefit from more than just your salary.
J-PAL hires highly qualified staff and rewards them, accordingly. Total compensation packages are competitive for the non-profit international development field with excellent MIT benefits, including comprehensive health insurance, a 401(k) match and pension-based retirement plan, tuition assistance, commuter benefits, MIT community discounts, a generous vacation policy, and more.
How to Apply
This position is not eligible for any type of visa sponsorship.
1. Submit a short application via MIT’s human resources system. Visit http://jobs.mit.edu/external, search for jobs at the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab, select " Administrative Assistant and Events Associate" (MIT job number 15202 ), and complete an application. Please upload your resume and cover letter to that system.
Short-listed applicants will be asked to complete a writing and technical exercise. Finalists will be called for an in-person interview.