Location: Fully remote, with the option to work from our offices in Berkeley, CA

Duration: 6 months (through August 2025)

Position Type: Paid, Part-time, 10 hours/week

Start Date: ASAP

The Center for Effective Global Action (CEGA) is hiring a Communications Intern (10 hours/week) to promote the work of CEGA and our faculty network and better translate research into action. The paid internship will start in March 2025 and end in August 2025, with the option to renew for the fall 2025 semester. 

About CEGA

The Center for Effective Global Action (CEGA) is a hub for research, training, and innovation headquartered at the University of California, Berkeley. We generate insights that leaders can use to improve policies, programs, and people’s lives. Our academic network includes more than 170 faculty, 85 scholars from low- and middle-income countries, and hundreds of graduate students — from diverse academic disciplines and around the world — that produce rigorous evidence about what works to expand education, health, and economic opportunities for people living in poverty.

CEGA is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion—please read our values statement here.

Position Overview

The intern will work with staff, students, and faculty across the center to develop multimedia content, disseminate research through social media, monitor press coverage, support website operations, and lead special projects. The ideal candidate will understand the fundamentals of good storytelling and brand identity and possess some experience developing and executing communications products. They should have poise and experience communicating with a variety of actors on a variety of platforms. They will report to the CEGA Project Manager for Communications and Events.

Responsibilities

Research Dissemination

• Solicit, compile, and edit materials from staff to produce high quality outputs on short timelines, including project descriptions, blog posts, dashboards, and more.
• Coordinate the production of the center’s bi-monthly opportunities digest. 
• Manage CEGA’s Working Paper Series by posting new content from staff and faculty affiliates.

Events

• Conduct vendor research, solicit bids, and assist in organizing event logistics.
• Support the production and design of multimedia collateral for our programs and events.

Social Media

• Create and share a variety of content through CEGA’s Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn accounts, and other outlets. Identify key opportunities for CEGA to respond to breaking news or hot topics.
• Analyze, report, and respond to social media activity and trends.
• Track web and digital media analytics and report metrics to better understand our user groups.

Media Relations

• Track media mentions and publications of CEGA and our affiliated researchers and use this content to keep CEGA’s website, social media, and other communications outputs current, clear, and engaging.

Essential Qualifications

• Relevant communications experience and advanced writing skills with precise, clear, and vibrant language.
• Exposure to development economics, social science research, and/or policy-making.
• Ability to anticipate, plan, prioritize, and meet deadlines. Capacity to handle multiple projects at once and effectively manage time. Ability to manage a time-sensitive workflow, while maintaining accuracy with details.
• Familiarity with relevant tools and platforms, including WordPress, Buffer, InDesign, and/or similar programs.
• Fluency with a variety of social media platforms and strong understanding of platform best practices.
• Demonstrated professionalism and discretion, deploying sound judgment when selecting photos and sharing news and information publicly.
• Self-motivated, detail-oriented, hard worker. 

Desired Qualifications:

• Experience using Google Analytics to analyze metrics and generate insights.
• Experience creating data visualizations and using business intelligence platforms like AirTable, Tableau, and ArcGIS.
• Fluency with AP, MLA, or Chicago style.

Compensation

CEGA compensates undergraduate interns (i.e., undergraduate students, bachelor degree holders, or equivalent) at $21/hour and graduate student interns (graduate students, graduate degree holders, or equivalent) at $26/hour. 

How to Apply

To apply, submit an updated resume, cover letter, and a writing sample (eg: blog, abstract, Twitter thread) as a single PDF below. 

Your cover letter should explain why your experience makes you the ideal candidate for this position, and should be no more than one page. 

The first review will be on March 17, 2025, after which applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled. This is a fully remote position, with the option to work from our offices in Berkeley, CA.

We will offer awards to support original research led by faculty at CEGA-Affiliated universities (Faculty Affiliate status for the main applicant is required). Up to $80,000 will be made available for Faculty Affiliates in Spring 2025:

1) seed grants up to $20,000 for extensive, longer-term projects.

Proposed research must involve rigorous evaluation of programs or policies designed to alleviate poverty and promote social or economic development in low- and middle- income countries. Grant funds may be used to cover travel and lodging, data collection or access, data analysis, and related activities. Grants may not be used for researcher salaries nor for F&A/Overhead/Indirect Costs.

Researchers that have previously received CEGA funding are eligible for additional CEGA funding if they have completed requested retrospective surveys, interim and final reports, or other required deliverables.

Deadline: April 6, 2025 at 11:59 PM Pacific Time

Eligibility Criteria: CEGA Faculty Affiliate Status

Application Process:

Please complete the Application Form. Applications must include a proposal describing the research (no more than 2 pages) and a budget. 

We will offer two types of awards to support original research led by UC Berkeley PhD students. A total of approximately $150,000 will be made available through this competition:

(1) travel grants up to $5,000 for scoping and/or short-term fieldwork;

(2) seed grants up to $20,000 for extensive, longer-term projects.

Proposed research must involve rigorous evaluation of programs or policies designed to alleviate poverty and promote social or economic development in low- and middle- income countries. Grant funds may be used to cover travel and lodging, data collection or access, data analysis, and related activities. Grants may not be used for student payment.

Researchers that have previously received CEGA funding are eligible for additional CEGA funding if they have completed requested retrospective surveys, interim and final reports, or other required deliverables.

Deadline: April 6, 2025 at 11:59 PM Pacific Time

Eligibility Criteria: Doctoral students at UC Berkeley can apply.

Each application must include a nomination from a CEGA faculty affiliate sponsor. The nomination should be emailed to Sam Bordia (bordia@berkeley.edu) by the submission deadline (simply stating, "I have reviewed the proposed research and agree to nominate the applicant for this award" is adequate). 

Application Process:

Please complete the Application Form. Applications must include a proposal describing the research (no more than 2 pages) and a budget. 

We offer two types of awards to support original research in Somaliland. $50,000 will be made available to all PhD Students and Faculty Affiliates at CEGA-Affiliated campuses:

(1) travel grants up to $5,000 for scoping and/or short-term fieldwork;

(2) seed grants up to $20,000 for extensive, longer-term projects.

The Pharo Foundation has generously provided funds to support original research in Somaliland. Preference will be given to proposals examining research ideas that connect to existing Pharo Foundation programs or initiatives. Specifically, CEGA and the Pharo Foundation are eager to support evaluations examining access to safe water and labor productivity in Somaliland. 

Proposed research must involve rigorous evaluation of programs or policies designed to alleviate poverty and promote social or economic development in low- and middle- income countries. Grant funds may be used to cover travel and lodging, data collection or access, data analysis, and related activities. Grants may not be used for researcher salaries nor for F&A/Overhead/Indirect Costs.

Researchers that have previously received CEGA funding are eligible for additional CEGA funding if they have completed requested retrospective surveys, interim and final reports, and/or other required deliverables.

Deadline: January 31, 2024 at 11:59 PM Pacific Time

Eligibility Criteria: Doctoral students and CEGA Faculty Affiliates can apply. For doctoral students, each application must include a nomination from a CEGA faculty affiliate sponsor. The nomination must be emailed to Sam Bordia (bordia@berkeley.edu) by the submission deadline (simply stating, "I have reviewed the proposed research and agree to nominate the applicant for this award" is adequate). 

Application Process: Please complete the Application Form. Applications must include a proposal describing the research (no more than 2 pages) and a budget. All materials must be submitted in a single PDF file through the appropriate link at our online portal, Submittable.

Please email Sam Bordia (bordia@berkeley.edu) with any inquiries.

We will offer two types of awards to support original research led by PhD students at CEGA-affiliated Universities (not UCB). A total of up to approximately $100,000 will be made available through this call:

(1) travel grants up to $5,000 for scoping and/or short-term fieldwork;

(2) seed grants up to $20,000 for extensive, longer-term projects.

Proposed research must involve rigorous evaluation of programs or policies designed to alleviate poverty and promote social or economic development in low- and middle- income countries. Grant funds may be used to cover travel and lodging, data collection or access, data analysis, and related activities. Grants may not be used for student payment.

Researchers that have previously received CEGA funding are eligible for additional CEGA funding if they have completed requested retrospective surveys, interim and final reports, and/or other required deliverables.

Deadline: April 6, 2025 at 11:59 PM Pacific Time

Eligibility Criteria: Doctoral students at CEGA-Affiliated universities that are not UC Berkeley. Each application must include a nomination from a CEGA faculty affiliate sponsor. The nomination should be emailed to Sam Bordia (bordia@berkeley.edu) by the submission deadline (simply stating, "I have reviewed the proposed research and agree to nominate the applicant for this award" is adequate). 

Application Process: Please complete the Application Form. Applications must include a proposal describing the research (no more than 2 pages) and a budget. 

Please email Sam Bordia (bordia@berkeley.edu) with any inquiries.

About RT2 

The Berkeley Initiative for Transparency in the Social Sciences (BITSS) will hold its next Research Transparency and Reproducibility Training (RT2) in Berkeley, CA on May 21 - 23, 2025. RT2 provides participants with an overview of tools and best practices for transparent and reproducible social science research. This year, we will highlight the credibility and reliability of findings in behavioral and social science research (BSSR), especially related to aging and health disparities (though training in this field is not required to participate). The curriculum will be developed and delivered by academic leaders in the open science movement as well as experts on aging and health disparities. The three-day training will include space for collaborative work and hands-on skill building. Participants are encouraged to bring their own research questions and ideas so they can seek support and feedback from instructors and other attendees. Learn more about previous RT2 events here.   

 Curriculum 

The RT2 curriculum will include modules on the following topics:

• Ethics and Mertonian norms for research transparency and reproducibility
• Scientific misconduct and researcher degrees of freedom
• Improved specification through study pre-registration and pre-analysis plans
• Computational reproducibility and approaches to replication
• Appropriate use of statistics and interpretation of statistical evidence
• Hands-on practice with version control using Git (GitHub or the Command Line)
• Dynamic documents with R and Stata
• Data management, data privacy, and de-identification for data sharing
• Using open science tools
• Applications to behavioral and social science research

Eligibility 

RT2 is designed for researchers in the social and health sciences, with particular emphasis on economics, political science, psychology, and public health. Participants are typically (i) current Masters and PhD students, (ii) postdocs, (iii) junior faculty, (iv) research staff, (v) librarians and data stewards, and (vi) journal editors, funders, and research managers curious about the implications of transparency and reproducibility for their work. The RT2 curriculum is most applicable to researchers who use quantitative or mixed methods. Applicants should have proficiency in R or Stata.    

Application Process 

Submit an application using the form below. The application includes questions regarding (i) your motivation for participating in RT2, (ii) how you expect your participation to contribute to scaling-up education and training on research transparency and reproducibility, and (iii) how participating in RT2 will help with your current research. 

Note: Having a specific project to work on is required, as there will be a session each day dedicated to participant presentations. You will be expected to give a 5-7 minute presentation and discuss the application of the tools and practices taught at RT2 to your real-world project.  

Applications should also include a Curriculum Vitae or Resume and any research materials that will give the BITSS team an idea of your work including, but not limited to: abstracts, slides, working papers, recorded presentations, etc. Letters of Reference are also accepted, though they are not required. Please submit these as attachments in the online application portal.    

Selection Process 

BITSS aims to select no more than 40 participants for RT2. As the number of applications for RT2 tends to exceed the number of available spaces, we will competitively select participants based on (i) the quality of application materials and expected impact and (ii) balance across disciplines, gender, and institutions. BITSS staff will lead the selection process with oversight from the BITSS Faculty Director.  

Funding 

Participants will need to pay for their own roundtrip travel to Berkeley, CA; 3-4 nights of accommodation; and meals outside of lunch each day (BITSS will provide lunch during the training each day).

BITSS has limited funding to offset travel and accommodation costs for the training. Please use the form to let us know how much funding you need in order to attend. Please reach out to Program Manager Jo Weech if you require any additional accommodations to attend the training, for example including, but not limited to, support for childcare.

Application Timeline

We will consider applications until Saturday, March 22 2025 at 11:59 PM PT.