About Us

Abt Associates is a mission-driven, global leader in research, evaluation and implementing programs in the fields of health, social and environmental policy, and international development. We work with our clients to implement bold, innovative solutions to improve the lives of the community and deliver valued outcomes for our clients. Abt Associates is regularly ranked as one of the top 20 global research firms and one of the top 40 international development innovators. We provide a comprehensive range of services from policy to service delivery in the public and private sectors, contributing to long term benefits for clients and communities. Abt Associates is an organisation that has a personal commitment to its staff and as such we value the long-term relationships that we build with the people who work for us.

The Opportunity

The Policy Assistant will work as a member of the Abt Associates Governance Practice to undertake governance analysis, project design, implementation and review tasks, program coordination, business development and client representation tasks. All work will be related to either winning new business in international development (especially governance) for the Practice, or delivering on existing consultancies and providing governance support for existing Abt Associates development projects (managed out of both Australia and the UK).

Key Duties

The Policy Assistant will perform the following duties, but not limited to:

• Review and/or contribute to key aspects of program delivery in Abt’s international development projects (including design, strategy development, monitoring and evaluation);
• Undertake secondary / literature research;
• Undertake policy analysis;
• Data collection, analysis and production of knowledge products;
• Provide advice and scrutiny on Abt aid program documents; and
• Support or lead aspects of Governance Practice business development work.

The ideal candidate will have a Masters degree (or nearly completed) in in relevant area such as economics, international or community development, international relations, public policy analysis, sociology, anthropology and political science. An interest and passion for politics, foreign aid and international development, demonstrated ability to show initiative, work cross-culturally, undertake literature reviews and analyse collected data.

Applications MUST address the following Key Selection Criteria

1. Demonstrated interest in politics, foreign aid and international development
2. Strong analytical, research and writing/ oral presentation skills
3. Demonstrated ability to show initiative and adaptability – including working overseas for short periods in complex and developing contexts, often at short-notice
4. Able to both work well as a constructive member of a small team and operate with minimal supervision