Field- Research Intern – Democratic of Congo

Field-Based Research Intern – Democratic Republic of Congo

Location:

Democratic Republic of Congo

Start Date (Earliest): 1 May 2026

Start Date (Latest): 1 July 2026

Length of Commitment:
One year

We are looking for qualified applications for the position of Research Intern to work on research projects in development economics and political economy in Kananga, Democratic Republic of Congo. This is an opportunity to gain field research experience in development economics and political economy, managing large‑scale randomized controlled trials. You will also acquire management and analytical skills in this role. The position will require significant commitment, and long hours in a poor, remote setting.

The Research Intern will work on several ongoing randomized research studies related to state capacity and tax collection in collaboration with the provincial government and the provincial tax revenue department. Current projects include studies on the progressivity of tax enforcement, the facilitation of tax payments through mobile money, and the strengthening of tax fairness through enforcement policies.

• Managing the daily work of a team of French‑speaking field enumerators (leading training sessions, enumerator follow‑up, survey reports, field and survey equipment preparation, etc.)
• Cooperating with local implementation partners in the government and civil society
• Preparing and managing survey instruments with Excel and SurveyCTO
• Extraction (Survey
  
  CTO) and cleaning (STATA) of survey data collected daily
• Regular monitoring of project databases to maintain and improve accuracy and consistency of data collection
• Handling communications with local stakeholders and principal investigators
• Preparing frequent progress reports and briefings to keep principal investigators informed of developments in the field
• Contributing to financial management and accounting tasks including expense tracking, archiving, forecasting, and financial reporting

• Bachelor’s degree in economics or a related field (required)
• Quantitative skills and experience with Stata (required)
• Fluency in French: native speaker or advanced fluency (required)
• Excellent organizational and communication skills (required)
• Detail‑oriented, able to work independently and take initiative (required)
• Familiarity with randomized evaluations and econometric methods (desired)
• Experience with Survey
  
  CTO (desired)
• Experience with ArcGIS/QGIS (desired)
• Experience with R and/or Python (desired)
• Experience living in a developing country (desired)

Jonathan Weigel (Haas School of Business, University of California Berkeley), Dina Pomeranz (University of Zurich).

Augustin Bergeron (Harvard University), Marina Mavungu Ngoma (The World Bank Group), Gabriel Tourek (University of Pittsburgh), Joana Naritomi (London School of Economics), Samuel Kapon (University of California Berkeley), Binta Zahra Diop (Stanford University), Arthur Laroche (University College London), and other collaborators.

Complete the J‑PAL/IPA common application.

After completing a brief registration, choose the Research job category, then select "Field‑Based Research Intern" and include resume, cover letter and at minimum one recommendation letter. Note that applications with incomplete submissions will not be considered.

Given the volume of applications received, only short‑listed candidates will be contacted for an interview.