Research Assistant

What you’ll need:

Citizenship: You are a citizen of one of our 48-member countries. We may offer assistance with relocation and visa applications for you and your eligible dependents.

Consanguinity: You have no family members (up to fourth degree of consanguinity and second degree of affinity, including spouse) working at the IDB Group.

Education: Undergraduate degree in economics. Master’s degree in economics, public policy, or related field preferred. Candidates should have a strong quantitative background. Prospects of engaging in doctoral-level studies preferred.

Experience:

• In applied research at a recognized university, research center, or government agency
• Strong background in econometrics, mathematics, and statistics
• Experience in applied econometric methodologies
• Experience with econometric packages such as Stata, MATLAB, Dynare, R, QGIS, or EViews. Advanced programming level preferred
• Some basic programming experience (e.g., Fortran, Python, Perl, C) desirable

Demonstrated experience in at least one of the following areas: [Candidates should specify the area(s) for which they are applying]:

• Microeconomics. Demonstrated experience in any of the following areas: economics of education, health, housing, urban, environment, poverty and inequality, development, labor, microfinance, public finance, behavioral economics, or political economy. Use of household or labor force surveys, economic/population census, administrative tax records, an/or industry surveys in cross-section or panel formats. Experience with applied micro econometrics, causal inference methods, program evaluation, discrete choice models and/or estimation of structural models.
• Macroeconomics, banking, and finance. Demonstrated experience in some of the following areas: open macro and international finance, monetary and fiscal policy, growth and development, productivity, debt sustainability analysis, banking, and finance. Experience in macroeconomics modeling, including VARs, Panel VARs, local projection methods, DSGE modeling or panel data methods for macroeconomics.

Languages: Command of at least two of the Bank’s official languages: Spanish, English, Portuguese, and French.

Core and Technical Competencies:

Motivation to do research, ability to work independently, and willingness to participate in research teams. Strong analytical abilities as demonstrated by academic achievements and other personal accomplishments. Excellent writing skills in English and in one other Bank language.

Opportunity Summary: 

• Type of contract: Consultant Full Time (CNS)
• Length of contract: 18 months
• Location: The work will be carried out at the Bank’s headquarters in Washington, D.C.
• Responsible person: The Research Department (RES/RES) will be in charge of coordinating and supervising the work of Research Fellows.
• Requirements: You must be a citizen of one of the IDB’s 48 member countries and have no family members currently working at the IDB Group.  

Our culture: Our people are committed and passionate about improving lives in Latin-America and the Caribbean, and they get to do what they love in a diverse, collaborative and stimulating work environment. We are the first Latin American and Caribbean development institution to be awarded the EDGE certification, recognizing our strong commitment to gender equality. As an employee you can be part of internal resource groups that connect our diverse community around common interests.

Because we are committed to providing equal opportunities in employment, we embrace all diversity and encourage women, LGBTQ+, persons with disabilities, afro-descendants, and indigenous people to apply.

About us: At the IDB, we’re committed to improving lives. Since 1959, we’ve been a leading source of long-term financing for economic, social, and institutional development in Latin America and the Caribbean. We do more than lending though. We partner with our 48-member countries to provide Latin America and the Caribbean with cutting-edge research about relevant development issues, policy advice to inform their decisions, and technical assistance to improve on the planning and execution of projects. For this, we need people who not only have the right skills, but also are passionate about improving lives.

Our team in Human Resources carefully reviews all applications.

Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic and its implications for our Region, the IDB Group is reviewing its hiring needs and re-prioritizing its areas of talent acquisition. We encourage candidates to continue to apply to the active postings, yet current job openings may be subject to further decisions in terms of timing of the processes, or other actions, in accordance with business needs. Final hiring decisions may also be conditioned to the candidate’s ability to timely relocate to the post of duty at the moment of starting service.