The Indonesia Infrastructure Initiative (IndII) Vacancy: Research Economist, Jakarta

The Indonesia Infrastructure Initiative (IndII) is a technical advisory and capacity building program funded by the Australian Government and managed by SMEC International Pty. Ltd. The program’s purpose is to support the Indonesian Government (GoI) in overcoming barriers to the delivery of high quality and strategic infrastructure developments – by working with and building the capacity of GoI agencies at both the national and sub-national levels. IndII is currently seeking an Indonesian national for the position of research economist/data analyst, as described below.

The research economist/data analyst will strengthen IndII’s internal capacity to collect, process and interrogate both primary and secondary data to explore key relationships in the regulation, planning and delivery of Indonesian infrastructure, as well as to monitor the impact of IndII grant and technical assistance programs. The analyst will play a central role in supporting a variety of ongoing impact evaluation activities relating to interventions in water, sanitation, road safety and local roads. This will include development of econometric models and indices to investigate key relationships, and to benchmark local government (LG) performance in matters relating to pricing, investment, delivery standards and financial management, amongst others. Additional tasks will include data collection/processing activities for program design and also possibly communications and public diplomacy.

Key responsibilities:

• Provide technical support, coordination and liaison for a range of impact evaluation studies
• Consolidate all primary data collected through various IndII activities, and store for easy access, presentation and interrogation.
• Collect, develop, manage and interrogate secondary data from GoI sources (e.g. Bina Marga data; Cipta Karya water and sanitation data; ports, air, rail and urban transport data from the Ministry of Transport; and other infrastructure-related data from Badan Pusat Statistik).
• Develop an econometric model outlining LG performance in the water sector and the impact of IndII facilitated equity investments/interventions
• Assist with the development of an econometric model that explores the impact of road safety interventions upon road safety outcomes
• Use primary and secondary sources to assist in the design and development of various other quantitative indicators to measure impact and outcomes of select IndII-implemented activities and to feed this data into IndII M&E systems.
• Develop reports, PPT presentations and tables to assist in communicating the current status of infrastructure in Indonesia, as well as outputs and outcomes from IndII activities.

Essential requirements:

• Advanced skills in data processing and statistics, in particular econometric techniques
• Experience in the use of database management and statistics packages
• Degree from a recognised university (preferably at the post-graduate level) in economics and/or statistics
• Fluency in English and Indonesian.

Desirable attributes:

• Knowledge of impact evaluation methodology (e.g. experimental design, use of counterfactuals, randomised control trials etc)
• Knowledge of major infrastructure issues in Indonesia, particularly in water, sanitation and transport.

 

Candidates must submit a current CV that demonstrates their experience and qualifications for the role and which includes at least two professional referees who can be readily contacted by phone and email (Maximum 3 pages). In responding to the key responsibilities, essential requirements and desirable attributes identified above, candidates should describe the work they have completed to evidence experience at appropriate levels (maximum 2 pages).

This is a full-time, Jakarta-based position for an initial term until end-June 2015 with a likely extension through to January 2016, subject to funding approval. The total remuneration package for the position will be discussed with shortlisted applicants. Note that women and men will be given equal opportunity in applying for this position. Applications should be sent to opportunities@indii.co.id by 21^st July 2014, with the position title (“Research Economist / Data Analyst“) as the subject.