The Center for Indonesian Policy Studies (CIPS) is an independent, non-profit and non-partisan think tank that advocates for practical policy reforms informed by evidence-based policy research and analysis. Our policy perspectives are based on the belief that only civil, CIPS advocates policy recommendations to decision-makers within Indonesia’s legislative and executive branches of government. We are financially supported by donors and philanthropists who appreciate the independence of our analysis.
The role
The Food Security and Trade Policy area (Quantitative). The Researcher in this topic area will be responsible for developing research and advocacy to reform food and agriculture trade policies to support food security in Indonesia. The researcher will analyze the effects of trade on food security, poverty reduction, and livelihood based on trade data and the current food trade regime.
Key roles and responsibilities
- Formulating and conducting policy research, data collection, conducting regulatory analysis (laws, ministerial regulations), analyzing and evaluating research results, designing practical policy recommendations, and presenting them in the form of policy papers, policy briefs, and other research outputs written in clear and easy-to-understand language.
- Responding to research and policy problems, writing and disseminating research findings in policy papers, policy briefs, presentations, op-eds, press releases and other research outputs related to its research focus.
- Refining research strategies and approaches, recommending improvements, and implementing new methods and procedures to improve research quality and team productivity.
- Developing research objectives and research methods for grant proposals or research collaborations.
- Managing research projects, which includes project management, ensuring projects are delivered on time and within budget, managing research personnel, and presenting the research findings internally and in public dissemination.
- Organizing seminars, meetings, and discussions with relevant stakeholders and policymakers to advocate research results.
- Conducting both research and advocacy efforts and supporting grant reporting in accordance with the official commitments to the donors.
- Building and maintaining partnerships with organizations with similar interests and focus areas, including the private sector, business associations, research institutes, local community, government agencies, NGOs, etc.
Experience and skills
- Indonesian national with a Master’s Degree in economics, public policy, political economy, international relations, sociology, law, and other related social science majors.
- Minimum 3 years of experience in preparing and conducting research on public policy issues.
- Fluent in written and spoken English.
- Practical experience in fieldwork, interviews, and gathering/analyzing data. Sound methodological knowledge in social science research (e.g., case studies, ethnography, mixed methods) is an advantage.
- An analytical mindset and critical-thinking skills, and a high interest in Indonesia’s social and economic development.
- Good leadership skills to work autonomously both as an individual and in a team.
- Able to work under pressure and meet agreed deadlines.
- A publication history (academic articles, analyses, op-eds).
- A PhD within the relevant areas is preferred.
- Minimum 3 years of experience in preparing, conducting, and publishing research on public policy issues particularly trade policies and managing research projects.
- Able to use statistical software (STATA/SPSS/R) for data processing.
- Sound methodological knowledge and experience in quantitative research (e.g., regression analysis, econometric modelling, GTAP).
- Familiarity with trade data sets (UN Comtrade, WITS) and Indonesian statistics (Susenas, Sakernas) are preferred.
- Practical experience in fieldwork and interviews are preferred.