Senior Economist (Data Science)

WIPO • Geneva, IL

6d • $77,326 - $144,445

About The Position

The Senior Economist (Data Science) position is located in the Composite Indicator Research Section (CIRS) of the Department for Economics and Data Analytics (DEDA). This department studies how intellectual property (IP), innovation and intangible assets drive economic growth, and uses data science to map global innovation trends and technology diffusion. CIRS delivers flagship products such as the Global Innovation Index (GII) and supports the development and use of composite and other innovation indicators to advance innovation measurement. The GII evaluates nearly 140 economies using around 80 indicators and identifies the world’s top innovation clusters. This role is a core function that supports WIPO Member States by providing high-quality data and economic insights to inform evidence-based policymaking aimed at strengthening innovation ecosystems and IP policies and practices. The Senior Economist (Data Science), reporting to the head of section, drives the Global Innovation Index (GII) as a strategic platform, strengthening global innovation measurement, benchmarking, and policy by providing Member States with a credible and comparable basis for innovation decision-making. Through the production and continuous development of the GII and its components, the role transforms data into actionable insights that enable governments to enhance innovation indicators, innovation performance and policy. The incumbent closely collaborates with other DEDA and IES sections and cooperates with national government agencies, national and international statistical bodies, and other inter-governmental organizations.

Requirements

• Advanced university degree in economics, data science, statistics, or related fields with developed quantitative and analytical skills in economics and/or data science. A first-level university degree plus two years of relevant professional experience in addition to the required experience mentioned below may be accepted in lieu of an advanced university degree.
• At least seven years of professional experience in the field of economics and data analytics, the production and development of data and in providing advice on measurement and policy.
• Experience in indicator development, advanced data analytics, statistical methodologies and classifications, advanced database management, AI, and managing teams of internal and external data scientists and data providers.
• Experience with external cloud management systems and relational databases (e.g. MariaDB, SQL).
• Experience in working in an international setting, including interacting with high-level stakeholders, data providers, and academics.
• Excellent written and spoken knowledge of English.
• Advanced knowledge of specialized software and information technology tools for data science, database management, and coding (in particular R and possibly Python) in the context of the production of composite indicators.
• Excellent analytical, organizational, drafting and project management skills.
• Good command of data visualization tools.
• Ability to handle heavy workloads and to manage related prioritization.
• Ability to supervise and guide economists, data analysts and manage teams.
• Ability to coordinate database and IT requirements with external and internal solutions and suppliers.
• Demonstrated ability to build relationships with senior stakeholders internally and externally and influence decision-making through the credible and effective use of data and best practices.
• Ability to maintain effective partnerships, when collaborating with public and private third-party data providers and working relations in a multicultural environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity.
• Ability to apply advanced AI tools, including to foster advanced data collection, auditing and indicator creation.

Nice To Haves

• PhD in economics, data science, statistics, or related fields.
• Experience with innovation economics, innovation indicators and innovation policy.
• Experience in advising senior policy makers on improving innovation ecosystems and metrics.
• Good knowledge of one or more other UN official languages, in particular Spanish.
• Good understanding of the economics of innovation, the analysis of innovation ecosystems and related policy options.
• Advanced knowledge of state-of-the-art approaches for the measurement of innovation.
• Familiarity with measuring creativity and creative outputs.

Responsibilities

• Manage the full process of GII data collection and audit, coordinating across data providers, building new data partnerships and enforcing robust quality controls to deliver the report reliably and on time.
• Lead the analysis and author chapters of the GII, and provide substantive inputs to its other components, turning complex data into clear findings that policymakers, business and the media act on.
• Enhance the availability, accuracy and strategic use of innovation data by conceptualizing and overseeing a modern GII data infrastructure - leveraging automation, advanced AI tools and robust data management processes.
• Contribute to the conceptual frameworks and methods underlying innovation indicators, defining the measurement scope, indicator selection and analysis, including via the GII Innovation Ecosystems & Data Explorer and its GII Economy and GII Innovation Cluster Profiles.
• Conduct research to guide new approaches aimed at closing gaps in measuring innovation and creativity, with a special focus on the development of big and micro-data, and the production of scalable, comparable, high-quality indicators.
• Anticipate emerging innovation and develop the next generation of GII indicators - across innovation finance, innovation linkages, emerging technology areas, and the outputs and real-world impact of innovation - drawing on big data and new sources for timelier measurement.
• Provide technical advice to Member States on building composite indices, including at the subnational level, and promote the use of the GII to improve the comparability and methodological consistency of innovation metrics across countries.
• Strengthen evidence-based policymaking by advising Member States - at national and subnational levels - on improving their innovation performance, while supporting GII National Task Forces worldwide to translate GII evidence into concrete improvements in innovation policy and measurement.
• Share insights with other areas of the organization to support evidence based policy-making, and in conjunction with the WIPO News and Media Division, shape the messaging and dissemination of the GII results to maximize their impact across regions and the media, build strategic partnerships, and actively promote accession to WIPO treaties and greater use of WIPO Global IP Services.
• Perform other related duties as required.

Benefits

• Annual salary consists of a net annual salary (net of taxes and before medical insurance and pension fund deductions) in US dollars and a post adjustment.
• Post adjustment multiplier (cost of living allowance) is variable and subject to change (increase or decrease) without notice.
• Salaries and allowances are paid in Swiss francs at the official rate of exchange of the United Nations.
• Initial period of two years, renewable, subject to satisfactory performance.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior