Junior Economist

ICF•Washington, DC

4d•Onsite

About The Position

ICF is hiring Junior Economist to perform a critical role in the International Labor Affairs Bureau (ILAB) within the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). ILAB creates American jobs and increases American wages by combating foreign abusive labor practices that undermine U.S. competitiveness in global supply chains. The Junior Economist will play an important role in identifying cost-effective international labor interventions designed to produce the greatest benefit for American workers because of investments made by ILAB. This position will be on site in Washington, D.C. Key Responsibilities Elevate the agency’s use of data-driven evidence in international programs to proactively identify cost effective activities across a spectrum of options designed to maximize the: (1) likelihood of success, (2) greatest return on investment, and (3) ability to scale of impact regarding program benefits for U.S. workers. Various ILAB projects will be assigned to the Junior Economist, who will be tasked with creating a well-researched narrative, supported by data or statistical analysis, that can reasonably demonstrate whether ILAB programs generate identifiable benefits to U.S. workers and businesses or have degraded abusive labor practices by competing entities. Based upon the findings, the position will work within ILAB’s Economics Team to build an evidence base on how ILAB's international labor activities can further U.S. national interests within important global supply chains upon which American economic and security interests depend. Assist the various offices within ILAB to maximize direct economic benefits for American workers through international engagement advancing fair trade, the elimination of abusive labor practices, and upholding international agreements. In addition to the primary responsibilities above, undertake various data analysis and visualization tasks on a regular basis. Research tasks may be assigned to support activities related to G20, G7, ILO, USMCA implementation, and the impact of trade on U.S. labor markets. Other tasks may include research work related to annual reports that ILAB produces. The Junior Economist’s work is essential to building an agile element that can quickly respond to, and pivot, to emerging needs at a cadence reflecting private sector needs. This position will be embedded within ILAB. The Junior Economist’s main point of contact will be the Senior Economist within the Office of the Deputy Undersecretary (ODUS) at ILAB. The position is expected, under guidance, to engage regularly and substantively with economists within the Labor Department, other U.S. government agencies, academia, trade associations, organized labor groups, and research institutions.

Requirements

A minimum master’s degree in economics with a concentration in microeconomics, trade, labor economics, applied economics, development economics, or a combination of these specializations.
2+ years of demonstrated expertise with a focus on trade theory and microeconomic labor employment and wage issues using experimental methodologies and behavioral economic insights to estimate the impact of US government interventions combating foreign abusive labor and unfair trade practices on American jobs, wages and profits.
2+ years of research expertise in labor and/or trade economics, using advanced quantitative data analytics and experimental design and an ability to engage and expand upon the growing discipline of economic statecraft across the whole of the U.S. government.
Obtain low-level security clearance (U.S. citizenship, having resided in the U.S. for the past 2 years, and ability to perform the work of this position from a location within the United States)
Demonstrated strong command of either R or Stata and have experience obtaining and cleaning micro survey data from U.S. and international statistical agencies (or similar relevant experience in data analysis) and a strong command of Excel that goes beyond basic functionality (e.g., pivot tables, dynamic tables, VLOOKUP, Xlookup, visualizations, etc.).
Superb writing skills, including economic policy brief writing with an ability to tailor the tone, content and form of written output to different audiences and to suit a variety of formats; ability to synthesize information and communicate in an accurate and coherent manner.
Demonstrated evidence of original research and scholarship (a writing sample is required).
Demonstrated strong teamwork, whether working as a junior team member or taking on leadership responsibilities and serving as a team lead for some assignments.
Ability to accept guidance, follow directions, and receive feedback.
High level of collegiality and strong work ethic: demonstrated ability to complete assignments on time, produce high-quality work and meet time-sensitive deadlines, and go the extra mile when needed.

Nice To Haves

A recent Ph.D. graduate or postdoctoral researcher in economics, with a concentration in microeconomics, trade, labor economics, applied economics, development economics, or a combination of these specializations.
Demonstrated familiarity with U.S. trade policy and trade geopolitics.
Expertise in wrangling and analyzing large datasets from the U.S. and foreign national statistical offices is highly valued for this position.
Strong knowledge of U.S. labor market and the impact of trade on U.S. workers.
Fluency in Spanish is a big plus.
Expertise or ability to learn extracting and analyzing large survey data from IPUMS and foreign national statistical offices and produce representative statistical estimates from the data.
Strong knowledge of trade data and labor force survey data
Humility to receive feedback, revise deliverables, and accept directions from others.
Ability to think strategically, creatively and to find innovative ways to respond to emerging organizational and project needs
Detail-oriented and deadline-driven with strong organizational skills
Ability to work in a dynamic environment with changing requirements and priorities
Strong cross-cultural, interpersonal, management, and collaboration skills in highly complex structures involving multiple teams and stakeholders
Critical thinking, sound problem solving, and decision-making skills and enjoy working in policy setting at the federal level.
Highly self-motivated and able to work independently as well as in team settings
Ability to take on a diverse portfolio of tasks such as proposal review, report review, data analysis, project evaluations.
Willingness to take on a range of research tasks from simple to complex.
Familiarity or knowledge in Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP) is a plus but not required.

Responsibilities

Elevate the agency’s use of data-driven evidence in international programs to proactively identify cost effective activities across a spectrum of options designed to maximize the: (1) likelihood of success, (2) greatest return on investment, and (3) ability to scale of impact regarding program benefits for U.S. workers.
Creating a well-researched narrative, supported by data or statistical analysis, that can reasonably demonstrate whether ILAB programs generate identifiable benefits to U.S. workers and businesses or have degraded abusive labor practices by competing entities.
Work within ILAB’s Economics Team to build an evidence base on how ILAB's international labor activities can further U.S. national interests within important global supply chains upon which American economic and security interests depend.
Assist the various offices within ILAB to maximize direct economic benefits for American workers through international engagement advancing fair trade, the elimination of abusive labor practices, and upholding international agreements.
Undertake various data analysis and visualization tasks on a regular basis.
Research tasks may be assigned to support activities related to G20, G7, ILO, USMCA implementation, and the impact of trade on U.S. labor markets.
Research work related to annual reports that ILAB produces.
Engage regularly and substantively with economists within the Labor Department, other U.S. government agencies, academia, trade associations, organized labor groups, and research institutions.

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