Predoctoral Research Fellow

The University of Southern California (USC), founded in 1880, is located in the heart of downtown L.A. and is the largest private employer in the City of Los Angeles. As an employee of USC, you will be a part of a world-class research university and a member of the “Trojan Family,” which is comprised of the faculty, staff, and students that make the university a great place to work.  

As a community of Dornsife College “we are committed to the creation, preservation, and communication of fundamental knowledge in all its forms…as well as a lifelong passion for learning and a commitment to the betterment of society.”  The academic mission of Dornsife College can only be realized to its fullest potential when we build and protect a representative, equitable, inclusive culture of scholarship for students, faculty, and staff.  This is not done through initiatives but by embedding these values into the everyday interactions, relationships, policies, and practices of the College.  What is required is a seamless integration of the tenets of equity and inclusivity into every facet of academic life.  If we want our scholars, staff, and students to be able to give their very best, we must create an academic environment that portends success.  

Success is possible when every member of the Dornsife community owns their role as a steward of the culture in which we learn, research, and work; when we believe that it is because of who we are that we are able to do what we do: achieve excellence, together. 

Achieving a robust and inclusive academic culture requires more than just the completion of a task, but includes that person’s capacity to contribute positively to the relationships and culture of their office or department.  Therefore, any applicant seeking to advance the mission of Dornsife College should also be assessed on their capacities beyond the technical elements of their work, and demonstrate an understanding of their impact on others, and to articulate how they contribute positively to those around them.

The USC Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences is seeking a Predoctoral Research Fellow in the Center for Economic and Social Research (CESR). The largest and oldest of the USC schools, USC Dornsife functions as the academic core of the university, offering courses and advancing knowledge across the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences.

The Predoctoral Research Fellow will provide analytical research support to a portfolio of studies conducted through the Center for Economic and Social Research at USC, which is working with Yale University on a body of applied microeconomic research projects on women’s access to digital technology in India and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Reporting to USC’s Dr. Simone Schaner, Associate Professor (Research) of Economics, the Fellow will support Dr. Schaner and other researchers, along with Fellows and staff at Yale University and Inclusion Economics India, to design, pilot, test, and potentially scale promising interventions designed to empower women and digital actors and ensure digital public infrastructure and other digital policy is gender intentional. Strong candidates will have sound data and analytical skills and training in economics and applied econometrics. Successful candidates should be able to interact effectively with teams across different cultures and time zones, engage effectively with counterparts at all levels, support field activities with both implementation and data inputs, and support Dr. Schaner’s work more broadly.  The Fellow will be based at USC, with travel to India and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Responsibilities

• Working directly with Global South-based counterparts, support formative piloting work through contributing to questionnaires, developing appropriate protocols and quality checks, and participating in scoping activities to determine appropriate design of proposed studies
• Contribute to institutional human subjects (IRB) proposals and modifications, ensuring protocols proposed are appropriate and applied
• Scrape, process, and clean large administrative datasets from public websites
• Clean and process secondary datasets (e.g., household surveys) for analysis
• Participate in survey design and data collection activities, including designing and coding questionnaires and related forms for digital data collection, and setting up and running data quality checks for large-scale data collection activities
• Prepare appropriate documentation and guidelines for all data and field-related activities
• Contribute to pre-analysis plans, papers, and other written material, upon request
• Prepare literature reviews per request of senior researchers
• Draft policy briefs and presentations, presenting research evidence in a compelling and policy-forward format, and effectively representing the research to external stakeholders
• Contribute to regular reports and presentations for donor audiences
• Coordinate with project teams to ensure timely submission of deliverables, as well as provide support to field staff as necessary
• Other duties, as required

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelors or Master’s degree in economics or a related field
• Proven analytical skills and proficiency in Stata or R (Stata preferred)
• Solid understanding of randomized controlled trials and program evaluation
• Strong interest in public policy and economic development
• Excellent oral and written English skills
• Proficiency in the Microsoft Office suite
• Mature, self-directed, with the ability to multitask and meet deadlines
  

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced coursework in econometrics
• Basic skills in Python
• Experience living or working in India or Sub-Saharan Africa; knowledge of an Indian language or Swahili an asset
• Data collection and field research experience
• Knowledge of poverty and gender issues

Salary range: The hourly rate range for this position is $29.40 - $33.34. When extending an offer of employment, the University of Southern California considers factors such as (but not limited to) the scope and responsibilities of the position, the candidate’s work experience, education/training, key skills, internal peer equity, federal, state and local laws, contractual stipulations, grant funding, as well as external market and organizational considerations.

Performs other related duties as assigned or requested. The university reserves the right to add or change duties at any time.

Required Documents and Additional Information:

• Resume and cover letter required (may be uploaded as one file). Please do not submit your application without these documents.
• Completion of Screening Questionnaire; you will be asked to upload a single PDF containing your CV, cover letter,  and academic transcript(s).  Label your file “Last name, First name – Research Fellow - USC”. 
• Job openings are posted for a minimum of (5) five business days. This job may be removed from posting boards and filled any time after the minimum posting period has ended, so please apply on the same business day if interested.
• USC has excellent benefits, including health benefits for staff and their family with access to the renowned university medical network; eligibility for retirement plans with employer contributions after six months of employment; tuition benefits for staff and their family; free Professional Development classes; central Los Angeles location with easy access to commuter trains, buses and free tram pick up services; discounts to sporting and other campus events.

The University of Southern California is an Equal Opportunity Employer that Values Diversity.

Minimum Education: Bachelor's degree Additional Education Requirements Combined experience/education as substitute for minimum education Minimum Experience: 2 years Minimum Skills: Directly related education and experience to be able to advise on project procedures and analysis techniques. Preferred Education: Master's degree Preferred Experience: 3 years