Economist/Sr. Economist (Contractual) - ICDMF

Work for the IMF. Work for the World.

The General Macro and Fiscal Division of the Institute for Capacity Development (ICDMF) is seeking two Economist/Senior Economists. ICDMF is the largest of four delivery divisions at the Institute for Capacity Development with diverse staff combining experience from academia, international organizations, ministries of finance, and central banks.

ICDMF is responsible for:

• Delivering macroeconomic frameworks technical assistance (TA) to build capacity for forecasting and policy analysis to fiscal agencies and other public institutions (FPAS). The TA is typically implemented through work with core groups of officials over multi-year engagements with the aim to embed practices within institutions.

• Developing new and expanding existing models and approaches for macroeconomic frameworks TA with an emphasis on fiscal policy and general macroeconomic questions spanning the full spectrum of needs (e.g., for LICs, EMs) and levels of complexity (e.g., traditional FPP, QPM, DSGE).

• Developing, organizing, and delivering external training in macroeconomic analysis and fiscal policy, including FPP, Macroeconomic Diagnostics, and courses on Fiscal Policy Analysis, Fiscal Frameworks, and Fiscal Sustainability across different modalities (in-person, virtual, online, hybrid, and blended).

• More broadly, developing and contributing to the departmental and Fund agenda in these areas, within ICD’s mandate, including development and delivery of related internal training through the Internal Economic Training program.

The division currently manages over 40 macroeconomic framework TA projects and delivers over 50 external and internal training courses annually in the above-listed areas.

The successful candidate will take on a large range of responsibilities, including:

• Leading and participating in capacity development (CD) missions as needed.

• On MF’s macroeconomic frameworks TA, the successful candidate will contribute to coordination of all aspects of successful deliveries, including project design and implementation, preparation of individual TA work programs, development of analytical tools, project work and team management (when sufficiently experienced), including managing CDMAP project management software, preparation of briefing notes, back-to-office reports, and Technical Assistance Reports.

• The TA projects consist of longer engagements with official government institutions, focused on building macroeconomic frameworks, their core model and associated analytical tools, and the related forecasting and policy analysis systems (FPAS).

• The successful candidate might also be asked to deliver external and internal training.

• Leading the development of CD materials, such as tools/models, applications, lectures, case studies, and workshops.

• Leading and participating in Analytics and Development (A&D) efforts in support of the Divisional and Departmental CD.

• If interested, the selected candidate could also contribute to the ICD/ITD-led initiative seeking to advance the design and analysis of macroeconomic frameworks across departments (Comprehensive Macroeconomic Frameworks Environment- CMFE project).

• Taking on other departmental responsibilities, as indicated by the Divisional management.

Minimum Qualifications:

Educational development, including and/or supplemented by work experience, typically acquired through the completion of considerable graduate work in economics, or equivalent, is required. 

Additional Qualifications:

The successful candidate could be an experienced macroeconomist with a substantive background in macroeconomic and fiscal policy issues, economic modeling, and medium-term forecasting. S/He would have strong analytical abilities and a good institutional knowledge of central banks and ministries of finance.

Advanced knowledge and experience with semi-structural and structural (DSGE) models are required. The selected candidate should have advanced knowledge of time series analysis (state-space modeling, Bayesian and classical inference, optimization methods, calibration strategies, methods for near-term forecasting and nowcasting) and should be well-versed in standard computing environments for economic modeling – Python/Matlab/R/Excel. The selected candidate is expected to develop new tools in these environments and assist others in building analytical tools using these tools.

First-rate expository skills are essential, as is clearly demonstrated intellectual leadership in economic analysis (prior work experience and research work). Prior experience in CD delivery and experience with issues related to macroeconomic and fiscal policy analysis and semi-structural and DSGE modeling in central banks and ministries of finance, particularly in emerging market and developing countries, would be important advantages.

The selected candidate should have strong communication (oral and written), organizational, interpersonal skills.

This is a one-year contractual appointment. Contractual appointments at the IMF are renewable for up to four years of cumulative contractual service, pending incumbent's performance, budget availability, and continuous business need.

All applicants are expected to include a Statement of Interest as an attachment to the application, which may be used in the screening process for this vacancy.

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The IMF is guided by the principle that the employment, classification, promotion, and assignment of staff shall be made without discrimination against any person. We welcome requests for reasonable accommodations for disabilities during the selection process. Information on how to request accommodations will be provided during the application process.