PRI is looking for Senior Research Associate & Co-Programme Coordinator for a fixed/long-term appointment in policy research and advocacy project on domestic resource mobilization
Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh (PRI) is one of the leading non-profit think tanks with an unparalleled track record in public policy work leading to numerous national development plans and strategies. PRI played a key role in supporting the Planning Commission (PC) of the Ministry of Planning (MoP), in the formulation of the Sixth Five Year Plan 2011-2015, the Seventh Five Year Plan 2016-2020, the Eight Five Year Plan 2021-2025, Perspective Plan 2021 and the Perspective Plan 2041. PRI was also instrumental in developing the National Social Security Strategy (NSSS) and the Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100.
PRI boasts its excellent working relationship with various government agencies including the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Planning, Ministry of Commerce, the Prime Minister’s Office, the Bangladesh Bank, etc. It also strives for maintaining excellence in policy work by undertaking cutting edge analysis and providing informed inputs in the national policy discourse.
PRI has established the PRI Study Centre on Domestic Resource Mobilization (CDRM) to launch reinvigorated policy research and advocacy to help boost domestic revenue mobilization efforts to support economic development in Bangladesh.
Key activities under the CDRM include undertaking research and analysis on DRM challenges, institutional/regulatory factors, and political economy context; emerging issues; setting up a National Experts Group (NEG) for constructive discussions on DRM related issues with the objective of discussing main challenges and promoting national consensus on the way forward; disseminating the results of research findings and analytics through op-eds, blogs, and other social media materials; providing journalists’ training to improve their capacity on the technical issues surrounding revenue mobilization and budget and fiscal developments; organizing dissemination events involving senior officials and policymakers.
Job description: PRI is looking to hire a Senior Research Associate (SRA) & Co-Programme Coordinator to be part of the PRI CDRM, working closely with the international partners and reporting to the CDRM Director. SRA will work under supervision of the PRI Directors and PRI Economists, conducting background research, helping the team prepare analytical papers on DRM and tax policy issues in Bangladesh while appropriately maintaining a collegial working environment for delivering high-quality outputs.
More specifically the job will include among other things:
- Undertaking macro-fiscal analysis using secondary literature and data
- Conduct analysis of the impact of public expenditure on poverty and boosting inclusive growth
- Analysis of fiscal and debt policy sustainability
- Develop domestic resource mobilization analytics and policy inputs to boost inclusive growth through increased revenue mobilization
- Undertaking cross-country comparative assessments of domestic resource mobilization issues
- Analysis of tariffs and trade policy to assess revenue collection prospects
- Assessment of the impact of external shocks on government fiscal position
- Analysis of private sector development and corporate tax related issues
- Environmental and climate change related fiscal issues
- Analysis of institutional capacity building for resource mobilization
- Conduct various background research and contribute to the preparation of analytical reports, policy briefs, other dissemination materials
- Develop materials for social media outlets promoting PRI CDRM work and suggested policy recommendations
- Arrange NEG meetings and prepare meeting notes.
- Conduct Key Informant Interviews (KII).
- Overall management of the project.
Selection Criteria for Senior Research Associate & Co-Programme Coordinator: The successful candidate for this position should have demonstrated a sound understanding of economics and finance related issues with solid empirical research skills and experience in the relevant field for at least 3 years. Specific selection criteria include:
- Master’s degree in economics from a well-recognized University (any background in domestic resource mobilization will be considered as an asset)
- 3-4 years’ experience in research and analysis (experience of empirical analysis using statistical/econometric software will be ideal)
- Ability to undertake research and develop working papers and policy briefs with a minimum day-to-day supervision
- Ability to identify emerging issues in Bangladesh economy and relate those to implications for domestic resource mobilization
- Strong communication skills, including the ability to present ideas clearly and concisely to both internally to PRI professionals as well as when required with government officials
- Ability to work with people of different backgrounds
The positions will initially be on a contractual term till August 2023 (may extend subject to candidate’s performance and extension of the project).
Salary: 75,000 – 95,000
Interested candidates who sufficiently fit the criteria are encouraged to apply.
Application submission deadline is 12th December 2022.
Applications should include a brief cover letter highlighting their research experience, a writing sample and CV, and should be sent to the following email address: (pri.bangladesh@gmail.com; nazimdb07@gmail.com). Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.
