Job Opening: OECD

Research position on subjective well-being:
http://erecruit1.oecd.org/psc/ERECRUIT/EMPLOYEE/HRMS/c/HRS_HRAM.HRS_CE.GBL

Economist/Policy Analyst
Reference:
2680
Grade
A3
Please apply before midnight, Paris time, on:
25/05/2008

We are an equal opportunity employer and we encourage all qualified candidates to apply. The OECD is a unique forum where the governments of 30 market democracies work together to address the economic, social and governance challenges of the globalising world economy, as well as to exploit its opportunities.

Recent years have witnessed a blossoming of research on subjective measures of well-being. While this research has identified a number of key patterns that appear to be robust to cross-country variation, the implications of these findings for concrete policies are less obvious. Consequently we are looking for a dynamic economist/policy analyst to conduct analytical, methodological and statistical work exploring such policy insights in a range of concrete policy areas. The selected candidate will work under the supervision of a senior economist and of the Head of the Social Policy Division within the Directorate for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs (ELS). POSSIBLE PROJECT POST FOR ONE YEAR (POSSIBILITY OF RENEWAL)

Job Duties
1. Data collection • Gather information from various types of cross-country surveys on subjective satisfaction with life as a whole and selected domain satisfaction measures, for people with different characteristics. • Organise this information in a manner suitable for comparative analysis. • Identify and document the data features that may affect the interpretation of the findings.

2. Analysis • Summarise the main findings from the comparative analysis of these subjective measures, both across and within countries. • Use the information collected on statisfaction with life as a whole and its main domains in the analysis of family and pension policies, programmes towards people with disabilities, and fiscal redistribution. • Disseminate the results from this research through the writing of working and technical papers, including pieces for academic journals.

3. Drafting and liaison • Prepare drafts of Secretariat reports on these issues. • Contribute to the organisation of a conference to disseminate the findings of this research • Liaise with statistical offices, national authorities and other data producers to improve data availability and comparability across countries. • Respond to internal or external requests for information.

4. Other responsibilities • Contribute to other divisional activities as required.

Qualifications: education, experience, communication and languages

1. Education and experience • An advanced university degree in economics or a related discipline with quantitative emphasis. A PhD/doctorate, or close to completion. • Familiarity with the literature and research on subjective well-being. • 3 to 7 years experience in comparative research and empirical analysis in some fields of social policy. • Good knowledge of socio-economic statistics and modern econometric techniques. • Good knowledge of standard statistical packages.

2. Key competencies • Good organisational skills, ability to work effectively on the basis of general instructions and with minimum supervision. • Good drafting abilities. • Ability to meet tight deadlines. • Proven ability to exercise initiative and to adapt to a range of different demands.

3. Communication and language skills • Excellent written and oral knowledge of one of the two official languages of the Organisation (English and French) and working knowledge of the other.