Company Description

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is an international organisation of 38 member countries that works to build better policies for better lives. Our mission is to promote policies that improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world.  Together with governments, policy makers and citizens, we work on establishing evidence-based international standards, and finding solutions to a range of social, economic and environmental challenges. From improving economic performance and creating jobs to fostering strong education and fighting international tax evasion, we provide a unique forum and knowledge hub for data and analysis, exchange of experiences, best-practice sharing, and advice on public policies and international standard-setting.

The Directorate for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs (ELS) is the focal point for the OECD’s work on building more inclusive and fair societies through policy advice related to quality jobs, continuous investment in human capital, reduction in poverty and social exclusion, better health-care systems and good management of migration flows. The Directorates work involves a mix of analytical and policy-oriented research which is conducted in a dynamic, multicultural environment by a team of highly-qualified and experienced economists.

The Jobs and Income Division (JAI) of the ELS Directorate is looking for an economist with proven and extended hands-on experience on cross-country microsimulation models and excellent organisation and communication skills. This position offers a unique opportunity to work in a dynamic and multicultural environment, in direct contact with government officials and word-wide experts on employment and social policy, committed to developing innovative tax-benefit reforms to support employment and inclusiveness.

The successful candidate will work with a team of other economists and policy modellers. The team is responsible, among the others, for the OECD tax-benefit database, which includes quantitative and qualitative resources to facilitate evidence-based analysis of tax and benefit systems. Recent OECD work relying on results from the OECD tax-benefit database includes, among the others, the assessment of income support measures and activation requirements for jobseekers, the analysis of the tax and benefit position of minimum wage earners, the affordability of childcare costs, and the assessment of COVID-related income support policies.

Job Description

Main Responsibilities

1. Analysis

• Elaborate detailed and comprehensive proposals for reforming the tax-benefit system of selected OECD countries.
• Assess the impact of forthcoming and/or hypothetical tax-benefit reforms on family incomes, government budgets and other outcomes such as poverty, inequality, and labour force participation, drawing on in-house and external tax-benefit simulation models.
• Provide policy advice on tax-benefit policies to ministry officials.

1. Modelling

• Design and simulate tax-benefit reforms using cross-country microsimulation models.
• Contribute to the regular update the OECD tax-benefit simulation model “TaxBEN”. This includes reviewing the information on recent tax/benefit reforms transmitted by national delegates; modifying the STATA programmes of the OECD TaxBEN model to incorporate the latest policy changes; checking the accuracy of the TaxBEN calculations and carefully validate results with national experts.

1. Dissemination, liaison and outreach

• Devise and organise seminars and capacity building events on micro-simulation techniques and distributive analysis.
• Present work to the Employment, Labour and Social Affairs Committee and the Working Party for Social Policy. Prepare briefings for senior officials.
• Draft reports and policy briefs in the area of redistributive policies and tax-benefit reforms.

Qualifications

Qualifications

Ideal Candidate Profile 

Academic Background

• An advanced university degree or a Master in economics, social sciences, law and economics or another relevant field of study, with a strong foundation in quantitative methods. Holding a PhD would be a strong advantage.

Professional Background

• Two to three years of recent professional experience in designing and/or assessing tax-benefit reforms using cross-country microsimulation models. Holding a PhD with a strong focus on applied tax-benefit microsimulation is equivalent to one year of professional experience.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills. Ability to communicate complex concepts effectively to non-technical stakeholders.
• Excellent organisational skills, proven self-motivation and ability to take initiative, working effectively on the basis of general instructions and with minimal supervision.
• Very good drafting skills and proven ability to draft reports under tight deadlines.
• Ability to contribute to discussions at international meetings and liaise with Ministry officials. Diplomacy and ability to coordinate with other agencies and international organisations on analytical and policy issues, data exchange, data management and dissemination.
• Experience in using statistical matching techniques to extend the policy scope of tax-benefit microsimulation models would be a strong asset.
• Experience in using econometric models of labour supply to assess the impact of tax-benefit reforms on work incentives would be a strong asset.

Tools

• Excellent knowledge and proven recent hands-on experience in the use of cross-country tax-benefit microsimulation models.
• Demonstrated programming experience and solid knowledge of key programming structures and concepts.
• Hands-on experience in the use of econometric software (e.g. Stata, R, Python).

Additional Information

Languages 

• Fluency in one of the two OECD official languages (English and French) and knowledge of the other, with a commitment to reach a good working level.

Additional Information

Core Competencies

• OECD staff are expected to demonstrate behaviours aligned to six core competencies which will be assessed as part of this hiring processes: Vision and Strategy (Level 1); Enable People (Level 1); Ethics and Integrity (Level 1); Collaboration and Horizontality (Level 2); Achieve Results (Level 1); Innovate and Embrace Change (Level 2).
• There are three possible levels for each competency. The level for each competency is determined according to the specific needs of each job role and its associated grade.
• To learn more about the definitions for each competency for levels 1-3, please refer to OECD Core Competencies.

Closing Date

• applications should reach us no later than midnight June 04 2024 (CEST).

Contract Duration

• 13 months fixed term appointment, with the possibility of renewal

What the OECD offers

• Depending on level of experience, monthly salary starts at 5 741 EUR, plus allowances based on eligibility, exempt of French income tax.
• Click here to learn more about what we offer and why the OECD is a great place to work.
• Click here to browse our People Management Guidebook and learn more about all aspects relating to people at the OECD, our workplace environment and many other policies supporting staff in their daily life.

Salary Information

• Please note that the appointment may be made at one grade lower in the specified job family, based on the qualifications and professional experience of the selected applicant.

Selection process

For retained candidates, written tests/video-recorded interviews are ideally foreseen in mid-June 2024 and panel interviews are planned for July 2024.

The OECD is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes the applications of all qualified candidates who are nationals of OECD member countries, irrespective of their racial or ethnic origin, opinions or beliefs, gender, sexual orientation, health or disabilities.

The OECD promotes an optimal use of resources in order to improve its efficiency and effectiveness. Staff members are encouraged to actively contribute to this goal.