Job: Senior Economist - Economic Studies

Location: Luxembourg 
Deadline: Friday, 25 October 2013 

Description

Job ID:

100843

Entity:

European Investment Bank

Deadline: 

Friday 25th October 2013

 

The EIB, the European Union's bank, is seeking to recruit for itsSecretariat General (SG) - Economics Department (ECON) - Economic Studies Division (Economic Studies) at its headquarters in Luxembourg, a:

(Senior) Economist - Economic Studies

Appointment will be made on the basis of a 4 year fixed term contract

Purpose

Prepare solid analytical work aimed at effectively deriving and presenting concrete recommendations, to support the EIB in its operations, its global positioning, and in its strategy and policy definition. Topics of analysis include different macroeconomic and structural microeconomic issues of direct relevance for the EIB: growth and employment, public and private investment, economic convergence, SMEs financing, R&D and innovation, economics of climate action, etc.

Operating Network

The Economics Department provides impact-driven economic analysis to support the EIB in its operations, its global positioning and strategy and policy definition, both inside and outside the EU. It comprises 3 divisions - Economic Studies, Country and Financial Sector Analysis and Policy and Strategy. It is part of the EIB's Secretariat General, responsible for the EIB's overall strategy formulation. The Department also has additional reporting lines to the Bank's Lending Directorates.

Specific Post Environment

Working in a group of about 25 economists in the Department and reporting to the Head of the Economic Studies Division, s/he will be the Department's expert in a set of structural economic analysis topics. S/he will carry out economic research and make proposals on economic policy strategies to support the internal EIB debate and decision making process and for external communication. On top of strong economic and analytical knowledge of the topics, s/he should have a strong interest in understanding the drivers of the EIB operational activities in those fields and in constructively trying to influence future trends. S/he will communicate directly with EIB management, front-line operational staff, and external counterparts. S/he will be in charge of developing and maintaining a network of internal EIB and external contacts in the area of expertise.

The output of the Division includes an annual economic report and an annual economic conference on structural and macroeconomic topics relevant for the EIB, with different topics selected each year. The analytical work and the policy considerations derived from this, as well as the related conference have the ambition of setting the scene for EIB contribution to the economic policy debate on the selected topic. The output of the Division also includes regular reports - Economic Notes - on topics of direct relevance for the EIB - for internal discussion and for external communication. S/he will be in charge of those pieces of analytical work in the area of own specialisation and will eventually contribute to others, upon request of the Head of the Division. In writing those reports, s/he will conduct own analysis and liaise with internal and external experts. S/he will also contribute to working groups, other reporting and briefings.

In addition to those tasks, which will take up the majority of the time, s/he will contribute to other deliverables of the Economics Department, including macroeconomic and systemic financial sector risk assessments related to EU economies, strategy formulation and policy dialogue. In line with the department's matrix structure, for these tasks, s/he will directly report to the heads of the other two divisions of the department.

Accountabilities

The vacancy is for a fully-fledged Economist, able to work independently shortly after appointment.

• Carry out well-targeted, high-quality economic analysis on structural topics of critical relevance for the EIB, and properly target the presentation of outcomes to support operations and policy and strategy definition
• Draft key analytical economic and policy reports as a basis for internal EIB discussion and for external communication
• From the above mentioned studies, effectively derive and present concrete recommendations in terms of EIB operations, strategy, policy and positioning
• Liaise with relevant counterparts within the Bank as well as in other national, EU, and international institutions and think tanks
• As part of the allocated regional/strategic responsibility under the matrix structure: assess risk, provide economic analysis of countries and financial sectors and implications for EIB operations
• Propose improvements of working methods and methodologies

Qualifications

• PhD or equivalent degree in Economics or related field or a master's degree plus additional highly relevant academic or work experience.
• At least 5 years of experience in applied economics, for example acquired in the economic department of an international or EU financial institution, economic consulting or applied research centre in academia, think-tank, government or banking
• Excellent knowledge of EU economies and EU structural economic issues. Recent work on one of the following topics will be considered an advantage: EU economic convergence and cohesion, investment and constraints to investment activity, private and public investment, infrastructure investment and infrastructure finance, SMEs access to finance
• Broad knowledge of all of the most common areas of economics including applied quantitative methods
• Excellent knowledge of English and/or French and a good knowledge of the other (*). Working knowledge of other EU languages would be an advantage

Competencies

• Excellent analytical skills and conceptual thinking
• Ability to communicate effectively with economists and with non-economists
• Ability to work under pressure on various tasks at a time
• Developed sense of initiative and problem solving attitude
• Result-oriented team player with excellent interpersonal skills
• Ability to work independently and to take responsibility
• Very good drafting and presentation skills in English, communicating with clarity and concision

(*) There may be certain flexibility on this requirement, but limited to particularly suitable candidates who may not yet be proficient in one of the two languages. If selected, such candidates will be hired on the condition that they build up rapidly knowledge of the relevant language and accept that their future career in the EIB may be subject to the attainment of sufficient proficiency in both of the Bank's working languages

Deadline for applications: 25 October 2013

We believe that Diversity is good for our people and our business. We promote and value diversity and inclusion among our staff and candidates; irrespective of their gender, age, nationality, race, culture, education and experience, religious beliefs, sexual orientation or disability

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