Senior / Lead Research Economist

at  European Bank for Reconstruction and Development

Requisition ID

34557
Office Country

United Kingdom
Office City

London
Division

Office of the Chief Economist
Contract Type

Regular
Contract Length
Posting End Date

29/12/2024

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, EXPERIENCE & QUALIFICATIONS

• Ph.D. in Economics or Finance from a leading university.
• A track record of research in fields relevant to EBRD, in the form of academic publications in areas such as development economics, industrial organisation, economic growth, labour economics, international trade, environmental economics, or finance.
• Strong proven ability to translate complex research findings into clear policy advice and to advice senior management on the practical implementation of research findings to further the Bank’s operational and policy goals.
• Proven ability to gain trust from operational departments and to cooperate with them independently and to mutual satisfaction on large-scale research projects of high academic quality that provide meaningful input into EBRD’s strategy, operations, and/or projects and policies.
• Excellent communication skills in English, both verbal and written, at the standard required for professional publication and official representation.
• Strong knowledge of economic policy issues facing transition economies and emerging markets.
• Fluency in one or more of the languages of the EBRD regions would be an advantage. Experience in team management would be a major advantage.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to work effectively in teams as well as independently.
• Ability to plan and organise work unsupervised. Ability to work under pressure and meet tight deadlines. Good organisational, project management, and multi-tasking skills.
• Ability to operate in a multicultural environment and build effective working relationships with internal/external clients and colleagues.

PURPOSE OF JOB

The Associate Director, Lead Research Economist pursues a high-quality research agenda in one or several areas pertinent to the EBRD, such as the green transition, economic inclusion, finance and development, firm productivity, and/or structural economic transformation. The Lead Research Economist also provides intellectual leadership to the rest of the Bank, including by providing input to policy dialogue and briefing notes. In addition, they act as a senior in-house advisor on methodological issues, such as survey design, causal inference, or the use of big data and machine learning.
Externally, the Lead Research Economist is a recognized authority on their area(s) of expertise and regularly represents the Bank as a speaker at high-level fora and conferences.
The Lead Research Economist is an active researcher who successfully and consistently publishes economic research in top-tier academic journals. Part of their research agenda may involve complex and multi-year projects such as randomised controlled trials or international surveys that require excellent project management skills. The Lead Research Economist also mentors junior researchers in OCE.

ACCOUNTABILITIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

• Lead and manage a research program in one or several thematic areas and be an experienced authority and intellectual lead on these areas. Provide research-based guidance to senior management within EBRD as well as communicate externally and authoritatively on these issues.
• Publish research in top-rated, peer-reviewed academic journals.
• Manage large-scale, complex, and multi-year/multi-country impact assessments and surveys, including generating the required internal donor funding and/or external funding.
• Independently manage one or several chapters of OCE’s annual Transition Report and other research-based policy reports. In charge of briefing notes for EBRD senior management, including the Chief Economist, VPs, and the President.
• Internally, support EBRD colleagues with research-based analysis and advice.
• Externally, he or she independently works together at senior level with other IFIs, in particular the World Bank Group, IMF and the EIB, on leading long-term and highly-visible joint research projects and the associated policy and research reports.
• Externally, provide intellectual leadership and communicate on EBRD’s research-based views on specific global economic trends and provide economic analysis to be shared with the media, clients and in various public forums. Represent the Bank at high-level events to further cement EBRD’s external reputation as a knowledge-intense organisation. Independently interfaces with outside academics, think thanks and other IFIs.
• Organize research conferences or EBRD’s Annual Economics Symposium.
• Provide guidance, mentoring and leadership to OCE analysts and interns.
• The job requires extensive travel to manage field research in countries of operation, work with international co-authors and principal investigators, and to present research findings.