Research Scientist or Senior Research Scientist (Underreported Financial Flows)

Required Qualifications

Research Scientist:

• A Master’s degree in a relevant discipline such as economics, political science, public policy, public affairs, international relations, international development, or development finance, or comparable education and experience;
• Several years of relevant professional experience;
• Demonstrated experience leading the design and implementation of externally sponsored research projects;
• Experience writing compelling grant proposals and securing external funds for policy research projects;
• Track record of submitting high-quality deliverables and progress reports in a timely manner to external research sponsors;
• Track record of leading research collaborations;
• Established subject matter expert in at least one domain relevant to the Tracking Underreported Financial Flows program (e.g., China, Russia, Gulf Cooperation Council, development finance, foreign direct investment, blended finance, South-South cooperation, etc.);
• Track record of designing and implementing innovative research methods;
• Experience leading technical teams and projects and training/mentoring team members;
• Experience working with large, complex datasets using one or more of the following: Stata, R, Python, SAS, SPSS;
• Strong and effective communication skills;
• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively in a demanding and complex work environment; to carry out assignments in a timely manner, and to adapt to changing situations and priorities;
• Experience managing small to mid-size project teams and delivery schedules

Senior Research Scientist:

• A terminal degree in a relevant discipline with several years’ experience as a principal investigator or co-principal investigator;
• Demonstrated academic rigor to lead the design and implementation of externally sponsored research projects as a Principal Investigator;
• Established track record of designing and implementing innovative research methods;
• Experience writing compelling grant proposals and securing external funds for policy research projects;
• Track record of submitting high-quality deliverables and progress to external research sponsors;
• Track record of publishing research in peer-reviewed journals or policy research that meets equivalent standards of scrutiny;
• Experience with personnel management and fiscal responsibilities associated with externally-sponsored research projects;
• Established track record of leading research collaborations (with and without external collaborators) that result in high-quality and high-profile research outputs;
• Established subject matter expert in at least two domains relevant to the program (e.g., China, Russia, Gulf Cooperation Council, development finance, foreign direct investment, blended finance, South-South cooperation, etc.);
• Track record of designing and implementing innovative research methods;
• Extensive professional network and presence in relevant professional communities, including researchers across multiple domains;
• Substantial experience leading large, interdisciplinary teams and technically demanding projects;
• Demonstrated experience working with large, complex datasets using one or more of the following: Stata, R, Python, SAS, SPSS;
• Strong and effective communication and presentation skills

Preferred Qualifications

Research Scientist:

• A Master’s degree or Doctorate in a relevant discipline;
• Extensive relevant professional experience;
• Experience designing and/or managing large-scale data collection and/or research projects in developing country contexts;
• Knowledge/experience with qualitative data collection and research methods (FGDs, interviews, Nvivo);
• Advanced experience with data science methods (machine learning, web scraping, and text mining);
• Demonstrated ability to implement rigorous analysis using experimental methods or quasi-experimental methods, including regression discontinuity, matching, difference-in-differences, instrumental variables estimation, social network analysis, and spatial analysis;
• Experience preparing statistical code for reproduction of results by a third party;
• Extensive knowledge and experience working with development finance or foreign direct investment data;
• Detailed knowledge of aid classification schemes and experience in collecting, standardizing, and publishing data from multiple actors;
• Experience delivering datasets and actionable research for policy and academic audiences;
• Knowledge of the standards, best practices, and systems related to public service and/or international aid program delivery in developing countries

Senior Research Scientist:

• Doctorate in a relevant discipline such as economics, political science, public policy, public affairs, international relations, international development, or development finance or comparable advanced level experience;
• Track record of obtaining research funding from a variety of funders;
• Experience designing and/or managing large-scale data collection and/or research in developing country contexts;
• Advanced proficiency/experience with data science methods (machine learning, web scraping, and text mining);
• Demonstrated ability to implement rigorous analysis using experimental methods or quasi-experimental methods, including regression discontinuity, matching, difference-in-differences, instrumental variables estimation, social network analysis, and spatial analysis;
• Demonstrated experience preparing statistical code for reproduction of results by a third party;
• Extensive knowledge and experience working with development finance or foreign direct investment data;
• Experience delivering datasets and actionable research for policy and academic audiences;
• Extensive knowledge of traditional and non-traditional donor classification schemes (with a particular emphasis on Non-DAC donors like China, Russia and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries)