Senior Specialist Prevention, Research and Innovation: Behavioural Science and Impact Evaluation

Basel Institute on Governance
The Basel Institute on Governance is a hands-on centre of competence dedicated to promoting good governance and countering corruption for a more peaceful, just and sustainable world. Established in 2003 in Basel, Switzerland, the Basel Institute works with partners worldwide to advance knowledge, practice and policy on anti-corruption, asset recovery and business integrity. With field operations worldwide, it has some 150 staff covering 32 nationalities. The Basel Institute is an Associated Institute of the University of Basel.

Job description
We are seeking a behavioural scientist with exceptional quantitative skills to join our Prevention, Research and Innovation (PRI) team. Working at the intersection of research and practice, the successful candidate will collaborate with the team to design experiments and pilot anti-corruption interventions in the field. They will also lead the design of rigorous impact evaluation approaches – e.g. randomised controlled trials – and the statistical analysis of the resulting data to build robust evidence of what works in preventing and reducing corruption.

This is an intellectually demanding and stimulating position with excellent prospects for both academic publication and real-world impact. You will work with an interdisciplinary team and international partners. The role involves a significant amount of international travel for data collection and intervention design. The ideal candidate combines deep expertise in experimental methods and causal inference with strong data management skills, a broad understanding of the social sciences (ideally including corruption studies) and a keen interest in testing development interventions for impact.

Key responsibilities
● Collaborate with colleagues of the PRI team and external partners in the design of behavioural experiments and pilot anti-corruption interventions in field and lab settings.
● Lead the design of rigorous impact evaluation approaches, including experimental methods (e.g. randomised controlled trials) and, where randomisation is not feasible, quasi-experimental designs.
● Lead the statistical analysis of experimental and survey data, applying appropriate econometric and causal inference techniques to ascertain impact, effect sizes and direction of causality with a high degree of statistical rigour.
● Design and implement behavioural experiments and surveys, including instrument development, sampling strategies and power calculations.
● Manage the team's databases and data infrastructure, including the development and implementation of data management plans, General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) compliance, data security and risk management.
● Develop procedures, protocols and rules for experiments, and support ethics approval processes.
● Program and maintain the technical infrastructure for experiments and surveys (e.g. oTree, z-Tree, Qualtrics) and provide organisational support for running experiments in the field.
● Contribute to writing and publishing research outputs, including peer-reviewed articles, working papers, policy briefs and donor reports.
● Communicate findings to technical and non-technical audiences, including practitioners, partner organisations and donors.
● Engage actively with stakeholders, implementing partners and team members throughout the research cycle.
● Support the broader activities of the PRI team concerning research, acquisition, and project design and implementation.

Qualifications and skills
● Graduate degree in behavioural science, experimental or behavioural economics, psychology, political science, statistics or a related quantitative discipline; a PhD or equivalent professional research experience is an advantage
● Demonstrated expertise in the design and implementation of experimental impact evaluations
● Excellent statistical and econometric skills, including causal inference methods, with proven ability to analyse experimental and observational data (proficiency in R or Stata required)
● Experience designing and implementing behavioural experiments and surveys, including familiarity with standard experimental games, behavioural theories and preference measures
● Strong data management skills, including experience with data management plans, GDPR and research data risk management
● Experience programming experiments and surveys in platforms such as oTree, z-Tree (unleashed) and/or Qualtrics
● Excellent written and spoken English, with a track record of (or strong potential for) publication in peer-reviewed outlets
● Strong interpersonal skills, intellectual curiosity and the ability to engage with new areas of research
● Willingness and ability to travel internationally, including to challenging environments

Offer
We offer an interesting and rewarding working environment with a proactive, dynamic and international team spirit. The work is intellectually stimulating and varied, and offers scope for initiative and innovation. The salary is competitive.