Young Associate 2023-2025 - Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is an international organisation comprised of 38 member countries, that works to build better policies for better lives. Our mission is to promote policies that will improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world.  Together with governments, policy makers and citizens, we work on establishing evidence-based international standards, and finding solutions to a range of social, economic and environmental challenges. From improving economic performance and creating jobs to fostering strong education and fighting international tax evasion, we provide a unique forum and knowledge hub for data and analysis, exchange of experiences, best-practice sharing, and advice on public policies and international standard-setting.

The Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities (CFE) helps national and sub-national Governments to unleash the potential of entrepreneurs and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), promote inclusive and sustainable regions and cities, boost local job creation and implement sound tourism policies.

CFE’s Regional Development and Multi-level Governance Division (RDG), works closely with policymakers from member and partner countries to develop, analyse and advise on the implementation of regional development policies that address place-based challenges, opportunities and disparities, and on the need for effective multi-level governance.

Role

RDG’s Decentralisation, Subnational Finance and Infrastructure team is looking for a dynamic and motivated Young Associate with a qualitative and quantitative profile to contribute to its ongoing analytical work on sustainable infrastructure finance in regions and cities. The successful candidate will be fully involved in substance work, as well as communication activities of the team, with a focus on the development of new evidence to inform the development of inclusive and sustainable policies for infrastructure investment by subnational governments. This work will build on and contribute to various initiatives, including the OECD Subnational Government Climate Finance Hub and work for the G20 on subnational infrastructure investment.

Main Responsibilities

• Undertake qualitative research on policies implemented by regional and city governments to support sustainable infrastructure investment, including relating to the innovative use of different funding sources and financing instruments.

• Undertake quantitative analysis of subnational government finance and other data relating to sustainable finance and infrastructure investment, which may include researching potential data sources, cleaning data and undertaking quantitative analysis to produce new evidence.

• Draft inputs for reports and case studies, as well as working papers, speeches or background briefings, and ensure that they are delivered in a timely and high-quality manner.

• Keep abreast of relevant policy developments in selected OECD member and non-member countries relating to sustainable infrastructure investment in regions and cities.

• Assist with preparing and participating in meetings, workshops and conferences with experts.

Ideal Candidate Profile

Academic Background

• Undergraduate degree in one of the following disciplines\: public finance, economics, public policy, geography, political sciences, regional/urban development, statistics, finance or econometrics or related discipline (graduation date between 1 January 2022 and 1 September 2023). Applications from candidates who already hold or are enrolled in a Master’s, PhD, or equivalent degree will not be considered.

• Course work in at least two of the following areas is required\: public finance, sustainability, infrastructure, sustainable finance, regional development, public policy, public investment.

• Course work in statistics, analysing large-scale data sets and research methodology is desirable.

Skills

• Data analysis and quantitative skills, including strong knowledge of Excel. Experience using data analysis and visualisation packages such as R, Stata, Python and PowerBI would be a distinct advantage.

• Excellent written and oral communication skills, as well as strong analytical abilities and the ability to synthetize complex material.

• Ability to work on different projects with varying timelines.

Languages

• Fluency in one of the two OECD official languages (English and French) and a knowledge of, or willingness to learn, the other.

Core Competencies

• For this role, the following competencies would be particularly important\: Achievement focus, Analytical thinking, Drafting skills, Flexible thinking, Managing resources, Teamwork and Team leadership, Diplomatic sensitivity, Strategic networking and Strategic thinking.

• Please refer to the level 1 indicators of the OECD Core Competencies.

Contract Duration

Two-year fixed term appointment

Starting Date

September 2023

Before applying, we encourage you to check your eligibility by answering a few short questions here.

What the OECD offers

• Monthly base salary is 3 873.50, exempt of French income tax, plus allowances based on eligibility. 

• Click here to learn more about what we offer and why the OECD is a great place to work.

• Click here to browse our People Management Guidebook and learn more about all aspects relating to people at the OECD, our workplace environment and many other policies supporting staff in their daily life.

The OECD is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes the applications of all qualified candidates who are nationals of OECD member countries, irrespective of their racial or ethnic origin, opinions or beliefs, gender, sexual orientation, health or disabilities. Applications from candidates who are not OECD Member country nationals will not be considered.

The OECD promotes an optimal use of resources in order to improve its efficiency and effectiveness. Staff members are encouraged to actively contribute to this goal.