Research Analyst – SPRAI-MU
This is a contractual appointment for two years under IMF Research Assistant Program (RAP).
Job Description
The Strategy, Policy, and Review Department’s (SPR) plays a central role in developing the Fund’s strategic
direction, working closely with other departments, Management, and the Board. It also has a critical role
in the design, implementation, and evaluation of Fund policies related to surveillance and use of its
financial resources. The selected candidate will provide research support to the Macrofinancial Unit. MU is
responsible for SPR’s views on financial sector policy issues, and how the financial sector interacts with the
real economy. Due to the nature of the work in SPR, RAs are exposed to a wide range of policy-related
support work with increasing need in the use of data visualization and machine learning.
Main Responsibilities:
• Process, consolidate, and transform data sets within and between databases using statistical
and/or econometric techniques, oftentimes requiring programming.
• Evaluate economic, financial or statistical relationships in databases.
• Analyze economic time series and present results in a reader-friendly way.
• Design systems to facilitate interface or to transfer data between external and in-house
databases.
• Use of text analysis and natural language processing techniques to retrieve relevant information
from documents.
• Develop and maintain data visualization tools to communicate model results to economists.
The successful candidate will have the following:
• At a minimum, completion of a Bachelor's degree in economics, computer science, statistics,
math, business administration or other related quantitative field.
• Strong programming; knowledge of Stata, Python, R, Matlab, highly valued, knowledge of eViews,
LaTex, VBA, etc. also helpful.
• Working knowledge of Tableau, familiarity with other data visualization tools, especially Python/R
based, or web design also helpful.
• Knowledge of macroeconomic theory and concepts and an interest in macrofinancial issues are
important. Previous contributions to academic or policy-oriented economic research are a plus.
• Basic knowledge of machine learning and natural language processing is desirable.
• Full proficiency in Excel, with strong Word, PowerPoint, and Keynote skills a plus.
• Innovation and creativity strong communication skills would be an advantage.
Who Should Apply:
2
• Recently completed a bachelor’s degree in economics, computer science, statistics, math, or data
science. (Candidates with advanced degrees in the same relevant field may be considered with
limited combined professional experience).
• At least a 3.5 GPA (cumulative) in both your principal field of study and in your overall academic
program. Final academic transcripts verifying the required GPA must be submitted prior to
appointment.
RAP Participants are hired on a wide geographical basis. All positions are located at the IMF
Headquarters in downtown Washington, D.C.
