About Pratham:
Pratham was founded in 1995, to provide preschool education to children in the slums of Mumbai. Over the last 30 years, Pratham has grown to be one of India’s largest NGOs working to provide quality education to underprivileged youth and children in over 25 states and union territories across the country, with a range of interventions.
Pratham is a widely recognized organization, having received notable awards such as the Lui Che Woo Prize, the WISE Prize for Innovation, Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship, the Henry R Kravis Prize in Leadership and the CNN-IBN Indian of the Year for Public Service. For more details, refer to www.pratham.org.
About Program:
Established in 2008, ASER is the measurement, assessment, and research arm of Pratham Education Foundation. ASER generates evidence for action and focuses on outcomes and processes in education and other social sectors. It builds the capacity of individuals and institutions to measure at scale, understand, communicate and act upon the findings of assessments and research, with the objective of improving the quality of social sector programs. It aims to create a culture where rigorous measurement of outcomes is integral to action, thus bridging the gap between theory and practice, assumption and reality.
The Assessment Unit at ASER specializes in designing innovative assessment tools for various educational programs, both nationally and internationally. Our expertise spans Early Childhood Education (ECE), Primary, and Upper-Primary groups, as well as EdTech initiatives. We develop assessments to measure student learning outcomes, teacher effectiveness, and impact of educational interventions with a focus on continuous improvement. Our recent endeavors include creating tools to evaluate the impact of technology-driven learning interventions and designing adaptive assessments on Android applications.
Position Summary:
The Research Associate will be responsible for all aspects related to designing educational assessments and frameworks pertaining to language- and literacy-oriented projects of the Assessment Unit. The role may additionally involve project management duties which include setting and delivering on project timelines and milestones, and coordinating closely with various units at ASER and Pratham and/or external clients/donors.
Key Responsibilities:
Design and development of language and literacy assessments
- Develop the language and literacy assessment frameworks, theory of change, and technical report through extensive literature review and field pilots
- Develop simple, standardized, yet discriminating items/assessment tools to check children’s knowledge and skills for various programs in different languages report through extensive literature review and field pilots
- Translate and validate items and content to enhance the quality of the assessment tool
Development of training material and plan
- Create print and audio-visual material for training of trainers and volunteers
- Create detailed training plans for different levels of training
- Review and finalize the regional translations of training material
Planning and implementing at scale
- Support in identifying resource requirements for projects and allocate them adequately
- Create a plan, timeline, and budget for assessment roll-out from literature review to implementation
- Troubleshoot problems during assessment roll-out with support from the Senior Research Associate/Unit Head
Data interpretation and report writing
- Explore different interpretations and visualizations of collected data
- Write and edit reports and visualize report design
Miscellaneous
- Create content such as proposals, articles, research papers and evidence briefs as required
- Participate in any other research, assessment, survey project of ASER on need basis
Required Qualifications and Skills:
Education
Minimum graduate in a relevant field like linguistics, psychology, measurement, language education (e.g., English, Hindi, or other Modern Indian languages) or a related field. Post-graduation will be an added advantage
Work experience
- Minimum 1 year of work experience in assessment development, implementation, or analysis (if no full-time work experience, then internships can be considered)
- Familiarity with language assessment frameworks, test development, educational measurement theories and psychometric
Communication
- Reading, speaking and writing proficiency in English and Hindi is essential; proficiency in any other regional language is an advantage
- Strong written and oral communication skills to correspond with a diverse audience – rural, urban, faculty, students, government officials, partner organizations, donors, etc.
- Experience with research writing and editing is an added advantage
Technical
- Advanced proficiency in MS Office – Word, PowerPoint, Excel
- Knowledge of any data analysis software such as Stata, R, Python is an advantage
Organizational
- Able to work under minimum supervision
- Able to manage multiple projects simultaneously with great attention to detail
- Able to handle work pressure and deliver under tight schedules
- Take initiative and think innovatively
- Open to rural travel for long and short durations, often at short notice and sometimes alone
Location: New Delhi
Travel: Frequent travel to rural locations across the country
Duration: Minimum 2 years’ commitment
Remuneration: CTC 6 – 6.6 lac per annum, negotiable as per experience
Reporting: The selected candidate will report to the Unit Head, Assessment Unit
Application Procedure
To apply, fill the Google form using this link: https://forms.gle/VkK3L1q82nqMZPwe9 and upload the following documents:
- Latest CV (File name: Full name_CV_RA_Language)
- Statement of Purpose (SOP) describing your motivation to apply and how you make a good fit for this role in up to 700 words. Please give specific examples that align with the job requirements and future goals (File name: Full Name_SOP_RA_Language)
Incomplete applications will not be considered. Shortlisted candidates will be contacted for three subsequent rounds: telephonic/online interview, written assignments, and final interview.
Application Deadline: 25 November 2025
Note: Due to the high volume of applications we receive, we may not be able to provide individual responses to every applicant. We will reach out only to shortlisted candidates. We appreciate your understanding and patience.
