Globaldevelopmentincubator

Partnership for Battery Action, Research and Methods Lead

Washington, DC, United States · Contract

Sponsorship not specifiedDetected 5 days ago

PythonRESTComputer VisionProject ManagementPublic HealthSTATAResearchLeadershipCommunicationCollaborationEpidemiology

About the role

The Battery Index is how we figure out which recyclers are safer than others - the standard buyers, investors, and regulators use to decide who should operate.
Its health burden is comparable to tuberculosis or malaria, yet it receives a fraction of the attention and funding.
Unsafe recycling persists not because safer alternatives are technically impossible, but because the market rewards cheap, polluting operators.

About one in three children in low- and middle-income countries is lead poisoned, and roughly a third of that traces back to unsafe battery recycling.
The Research & Methods Lead will build the science behind this critical tool.
it is designed to build a credible, scalable methodology and standard for assessing recycler safety globally in low-resource settings.
We assess ULAB recyclers on facility standards, air and soil pollution, and blood lead levels in surrounding communities.
The Research & Methods Lead owns the scientific basis of the Battery Index.
You will design and standardize the methodology that determines how recyclers are assessed and classified - and make sure it holds up in the field across contexts and under scrutiny.
You will also be supported by the Battery Index Strategy Lead who will manage the strategy of the program, government and partner relationships, and formal output development.
How do you design a lean protocol that accurately captures air pollution from a facility's footprint, while considering wind direction, technology limitations, and recycler idling?
How do we creatively design air monitoring strategies that continue to assess factories when they are out of the spotlight?
How do you design a feasible and reliable community blood lead level assessment strategy?

You have examples of working in settings where you rolled up your sleeves to achieve a collective goal.
experience with heavy-metal exposure or lead specifically; familiarity with human subjects research and IRB processes; work experience in West Africa, South Asia, or Southeast Asia.

Your methodology decisions will determine how recyclers get classified and those classifications will shape where buyers source, where investors put money, how interventions are designed, and which facilities regulators pay attention to.

A graduate degree in environmental engineering, environmental science, environmental chemistry, epidemiology, public health, or a related field, or equivalent applied experience.
How do we engage with communities to share our learning about their blood lead levels?
Determine how to partner with local civil society organizations and government entities to support their capacity-building and mutual learning about ULAB facilities' lead poisoning.
Note: As an independent contractor of GDI the successful candidate will not receive health or other benefits from GDI and will be responsible for their own taxes.

We are piloting the Battery Index in Ghana in 2026.
We are now poised to refine our methodology for air monitoring and blood lead level testing, and are ready to hire a technical leader who can help us hone our approach and scale to 4-6 additional markets in the next 12 months.
We are looking for an exceptional researcher with 5+ years of post-graduate experience, ready to take a leadership role in the lead poisoning elimination landscape.
This role will be an integral part of the Pb Action team, participating in weekly calls with the rest of the team as well as leading our technical strategy for the Battery Index..

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