Empirical Analyst - Program Office, Strategic Planning and Analysis Division (E&E/PO/SPA), Bureau of Europe and Eurasia (E&E)

Duties and Responsibilities: Under the supervision of the SPA's Regional Economist, the analyst is expected to: Update and maintain the MCP dataset; integrate MCP dataset with the Agency's J2SR metrics: - This entails being the primary manager of the MCP dataset, updating the various data across the sectors--economic, democratization, and social transition-as data emerge. Primary data sources are from the World Bank, IMF, Freedom House, EBRD, and UNICEF. - Data are generally sourced from on-line data portals, cleaned, and then incorporated into existing MCP team-managed time-series datasets in Excel using R, STATA, or similar data manipulation software. Visuals are then created using the team's standardized databank. - This entails expertise in the J2SR metrics, including the 17 primary metrics as well as the secondary J2SR metrics (many of which are sub-components of the primary metrics). Data sources include Varieties of Democracy, Legatum Institute, World Economic Forum, World Bank, World Justice Project, The Heritage Foundation, and UNCTAD. Contribute to MCP's analytical efforts and products focused on the E&E region. This includes: - Analyses of the data through visualization and chart making. - The production of E&E country-specific gap analyses (as well as an occasional country gap analysis of countries outside the E&E region, per demand) - Thematic working papers on issues of high priority to E&E, including Countering Kremlin Influence and issues related to China's impact and influence in E&E - Assisting in presentation of findings to various audiences, in Washington D.C. as well as in the missions in E&E; travel may be part of the work Contribute to MCP's work on the Agency's J2SR and on E&E issues in a global context. This could include: - Helping to implement parts of the Agency's J2SR learning and analytical agenda, including an analysis of country self-reliance trends over time with a focus on E&E "graduate" countries in Central Europe - Help apply J2SR analytical tools to Missions strategic planning, and conduct J2SR-oriented quantitative analysis center on the J2SR conceptual framework - Facilitating the resumption of collaboration with F and the CDA partnership - Focusing on pressing global issues as applied to E&E region, including the development consequences of global climate change and the inter-relations between globalization, economic inequality, & democratic backsliding. Degree of responsibility for decision-making assigned to the position. The incumbent will be expected to be the primary decision maker regarding the system of maintaining and upgrading the MCP dataset. Level of complexity of work assignments and work environment. Maintaining the MCP dataset and applying the data to empirical research efforts will entail highly complex assignments. The quality and quantity of the data are continuously evolving, and require much good judgment and analysis as to their applicability. Moreover, a key part of the job will be to help simplify complex trends so that a "non-technical" audience (including key policy makers) can understand them and constructively use them to facilitate programmatic decisions. Knowledge level required. The incumbent must have considerable knowledge in empirical research, including data collection and manipulation, some statistical techniques, and knowledge in interpreting data trends. Similarly, s/he must be knowledgeable in social science research methodologies. In addition, knowledge regarding transition countries and economic and social development in low and middle-income countries is very important. Across Supervisory Controls. The incumbent is expected to work closely with his/her supervisor, who will provide general feedback and guidelines as needed, likely on a daily basis at least initially. Guidelines. Broad guidelines include the Freedom Support and SEED Acts; Foreign Assistance Act as amended; appropriation acts; report parameters as set by the State Department Coordinators Office; and USAID directives and policies. Scope and effect. The incumbent will be involved in the collection and application of a large data set, across the transition region (and compared to countries outside the region), and across the three main sectors of USAID focus, namely, economic, democracy, and social. The MCP system has had direct relevance to programmatic and resource allocations decisions in USAID and more broadly within the State Department. Level and purpose of contacts. Given the central and coordinating role of the Program Office and the MCP system, the incumbent will be expected to collaborate with a wide range of colleagues, within USAID (within E&E as well as other Bureaus, pillar and geographic bureaus; in Washington and in the field) and within the USG community more broadly (in the State Department primarily) and among other donors and organizations (e.g., World Bank, EBRD, Freedom House). These contacts and collaboration are needed to maintain reality checks or quality checks on the data, and to ensure "clients" are best served. Supervision of others. The position is a non-supervisory position.