Jacobus Cillier is an assistant teaching professor at the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University. His research focuses primarily on government efforts to improve teacher quality in sub-Saharan Africa. He is currently contributing to multiple field experiments, including: school inspections in Tanzania; teacher professional development in Indonesia and Mozambique; teacher incentives in Guinea; and improving digital financial inclusion in Kenya. Previous research investigated post-conflict reconciliation in Sierra Leone, teacher performance pay in Uganda, teacher professional development in South Africa and school accountability in Tanzania.

Prior to joining McCourt was a Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship at the Blavatnik School of Government (University of Oxford). He also served as acting Research Coordinator for a multi-million research fund, Research into Improving Systems of Education (RISE), and was a consultant to the Education Global Practice at the World Bank. Jacobus completed my M.Phil (distinction) and D.Phil in Economics at the University of Oxford, where he was funded by the Rhodes Scholarship.