Project Specialist

In order for your application to be considered, please attached a cover letter and CV to your employment application.

Position Description

Dr. Zachary Wagner at the University of Southern California’s Center for Economic and Social Research (CESR) is seeking a full-time Project Specialist to support research in development and health economics. The Project Specialist will report directly to Dr. Wagner and work closely with collaborators at USC, RAND, and partner organizations in Nigeria.

The Project Specialist’s primary project will be a large-scale randomized study examining whether pre-emptive home delivery of oral rehydration salts (ORS) and zinc reduces child mortality in Bauchi State, Nigeria. The project builds on a large cluster-randomized trial that delivered ORS and zinc directly to households with children under five. The new study will conduct approximately 400k household surveys to estimate the intervention’s impact on diarrhea-specific child mortality using retrospective birth histories and verbal autopsies.

The position combines research and quantitative analysis with substantial project management responsibilities . The Project Specialist will be involved in all stages of the research process, including coordinating data collection, managing relationships with research and field partners, monitoring study progress and data quality, analyzing datasets, and contributing to academic publications.

This is a one year fixed term, grant funded position with a hybrid work arrangement.

Responsibilities

The Project Specialist will work directly with Dr. Wagner to:

• •Manage day-to-day implementation of the research project , including coordinating across researchers, field teams, and partner organizations; tracking timelines and deliverables; organizing research meetings; and following up on action items.
• •Travel to Nigeria to help oversee training of data collection team
• •Coordinate closely with the study team in Nigeria during survey piloting and large-scale data collection and help identify and resolve implementation and data-quality issues.
• •Support the development , programming, testing, and refinement of survey instruments
• •Assist with study protocols , IRB materials, pre-analysis plans, field manuals, and other research documentation.
• •Help monitor incoming survey data and develop systems for regular data-quality checks and reporting.
• •Help with data cleaning and econometric analyses of the intervention’s effects on diarrhea-specific and all-cause child mortality, including robustness and heterogeneity analyses.
• •Produce publication-quality tables and figures and contribute to literature reviews, presentations, and academic manuscripts.
• •Maintain clear and reproducible project documentation , data workflows, and analysis code.

Depending on interests, performance, and project needs, the Project Specialist may also have opportunities to contribute to related research projects in development economics and global health.

Qualifications

We welcome applications from candidates with a Ph.D., bachelor’s or master’s degree in economics, public policy, statistics, mathematics or another quantitatively oriented field.

Strong candidates will have:

• •Excellent quantitative and analytical skills.
• •Coursework in economics, econometrics, statistics, or related quantitative methods.
• •Experience working with statistical software such as Stata, R, or Python.
• •Exceptional organizational skills and attention to detail.
• •The ability to manage multiple workstreams, meet deadlines, and proactively identify tasks that need attention.
• •Strong written and verbal communication skills and the ability to coordinate effectively with collaborators across institutions and countries.
• •A Prior research assistant or project manager experience working with primary data collection.
• •An interest in pursuing a PhD in economics, public policy, public health, epidemiology or a related quantitative social science field is a benefit.
• •Experience with randomized controlled trials, survey research, field research, primary data collection in low-income settings, and project management is a plus.
• •Experience working with mortality datasets, and/or direct experience collecting mortality data (including familiarity with VASA instruments) is a plus.

Professional Development

The Project Specialist will work closely with Dr. Wagner and receive mentorship in research design, econometric analysis, project management, and academic writing. The Project Specialist will also participate in the research community at CESR and USC and gain experience collaborating with researchers and field partners across multiple institutions, while building their own research agenda.

The position provides an opportunity to take substantial ownership of a major research project while developing both the quantitative and project-management skills required to conduct large-scale empirical research.

Application Instructions

Applicants should submit:

• •A resume or CV;
• •A brief cover letter describing their research interests, quantitative background, and interest in the position;
• •Job market paper;
• •An unofficial academic transcript; and
• •Contact information for 2–3 references.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled.

Work Arrangement:

This is a hybrid (2-3 days per week) on the University park campus in Los Angeles, CA.

Compensation

The hourly rate range for this positi on is $32.99 - $36.89 . 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.

About the USC Schaeffer Institute

The USC Schaeffer Institute for Public Policy & Government Service develops evidence-based solutions to address the nation’s most pressing policy issues. It serves as a policy laboratory to develop and test ideas generated by the USC academic community, fosters civic engagement, and provides a forum to reach federal policymakers.

Established by an historic gift from Leonard D. Schaeffer in 2024, the USC Schaeffer Institute includes four flagship centers: the Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics, the Center for Economic and Social Research, the Center for Civic Society and the Leonard D. Schaeffer Fellows in Government Service.

The Schaeffer Institute is home to more than 150 scholars and staff, including three Nobel Laureates and seven members of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Schaeffer experts have testified before numerous Congressional committees and are regularly sought out by media outlets—including the New York Times, NPR, Stat, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post—to provide insight on policy issues.

The Institute has offices at USC in Los Angeles and at the USC Capital Campus in Washington, DC.

About the Center for Civic Society at the Schaeffer Institute

The Center for Civic Society aims to assess, strengthen and promote democratic values around the world through research, civic engagement and global dialogue. Chaired by Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown and led by Anna Saavedra, the Center for Civic Society was launched in 2026 and is dedicated to bridging political, social and economic divides through evidence-based research that informs and promotes better public policy.

About the Sol Price School of Public Policy

Ranked among the foremost schools of public policy in the nation, the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy generates uncommon knowledge for the common good. The school is composed of overlapping disciplines that generate innovative approaches to critical issues ranging from health-care policy to homelessness, and sustainability to congestion – to name