Research Professional for Social Impact

The Institute of Policy Studies is a renowned policy research think-tank in the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore.

We are looking to hire a Research Assistant with quantitative research skills for the Society & Culture Department.

The Research Assistant will be working in a research team that contributes to the Institute's research programmes, such as social mobility and inclusion, future of work, and managing diversities.

The department's workstreams include health and social care, social mobility, digital inclusion in various domains (e.g., work and integration) and media policy, impact of new technologies on governance and the future of work.

• Assist with research projects from project design/conceptualization (e.g., conducting literature reviews), and prepare data collection tools (e.g., survey questionnaires, interview and focus group discussion guides)
• Assist with the administration and management of research projects, such as seeking approvals (e.g., for university research ethics board reviews), procurement, budget tracking, summarizing project results and preparing progress reports
• Coordinate research fieldwork, including preparing survey instruments/questionnaires, conducting surveys, social science experiments and interventions
• Collect, clean, format, and analyze primary and secondary data, using different quantitative and potentially qualitative methods
• Manage aspects of fieldwork administration including project progress monitoring, data quality controls
• Engage and manage stakeholders across workstreams, summarizing project results and preparing progress reports for the Principal Investigator (PI) and Co-PI
• Support the publication and dissemination of results and findings in reports, policy briefs, and conference and academic journals
• Organize and report on seminars and conferences

• Be a Singapore Citizen (owing to the nature of IPS' workstreams)
• Have at least a Bachelor's degree in a relevant social science discipline
• Have some background and a keen interest in research pertaining to social mobility and inclusion, future of work, organizational behavior and psychology, or other relevant fields
• Experience in quantitative research methods including research design and statistical analyses, e.g., proficiency in SPSS/STATA/R
• Demonstrate initiative in information gathering, analysis, and review
• Possess strong English communication and analytical skills, with an ability to write in a clear, coherent, and engaging manner
• Demonstrate strong commitment to meeting deadlines and have a track record of producing work that reflects maturity of thought
• Be resourceful, independent, initiated, and attentive to detail

• Researchers in the department work on a variety of projects initiated and headed by IPS research fellows, often working in partnership with government agencies and/or the non-profit sector using both qualitative and quantitative methods
• The Research Assistant will have the opportunity to work in a multi-disciplinary team committed to ensuring high-quality research and to co-author articles and research papers
• In addition, the Research Assistant will benefit from exposure to intellectual exchange and networking with various stakeholders linked to the Institute's work
• Furthermore, there are training and development opportunities to build their skills

This job will be good grounding for an early-career researcher or a graduate with some working experience, who is seeking to develop a career in the fields of public policy or social science research, whether in academia, the public service, or the private sector.