Job Description

Post of Duty: Washington, DC

The IDB Group is a community of diverse, versatile, and passionate people who come together on a journey to improve lives in Latin America and the Caribbean. Our people find purpose and do what they love in an inclusive, collaborative, agile, and rewarding environment.

About this position

The Energy Division (ENE) oversees the development and execution of energy-related Bank operations. Its responsibilities include formulating policies, strategies, and operational guidelines; conducting research and analysis; and providing technical support to borrowing member countries. ENE collaborates with country departments to design and assess both financial and non-financial programs, enhancing social development projects and managing risks.

The Knowledge Team within ENE focuses on innovative analytical research to support effective policymaking in the energy sector. Recognizing the critical role of energy in economic and social development, as well as its impact on climate change. Accounting for 44% of carbon emissions in Latin America and the Caribbean ENE emphasizes the need for high-quality, efficient energy services.

The sector faces challenges from technological advancements and the climate agenda, particularly through trends of decentralization in energy generation and digitalization. These changes enable new market dynamics and operational efficiencies but require further research to guide policy decisions.

ENE aims to create knowledge products and technical assistance programs for Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries, offering policy recommendations for stakeholders, including consumers, utilities, and regulators.

What you’ll do

The candidate is expected to support the knowledge and analytical agenda of the Energy Division in the following areas:

Provide support in designing, preparing, and delivering key research products, reports, and policy brief notes (potentially as a co-author).
Conduct research and help grow the knowledge agenda of the sector, including developing methodological notes.
Identify, compile, and organize databases.
Perform econometric and statistical analyses.
Design and support the implementation of surveys and economic experiments.
Analyze information from a diverse set of structured and unstructured data to derive meaningful insights and communicate findings using visualization and other means.
Computer programming.
Prepare literature reviews.
Prepare draft documents.
Synthesize and translate research into implications for policy and best practices to promote data-driven decision making.
Coordinate calls for proposals for infrastructure and energy studies, prepare Terms of References and contract packages, and firm evaluations performance.
Provide operational management assistance to research and data projects, supervise knowledge project implementation, and follow up, and perform quality control on deliverables.
Support the elaboration of ad-hoc analysis on infrastructure and energy issues.
Other activities as deemed necessary.

What you'll need

Education: Master's degree in economics, public policy or similar field. PhD is a strong plus.
Experience: Five years of relevant experience in conducting research on energy/infrastructure economics using robust theoretical and empirical tools. Previous experience working with household surveys and/or firm level data is essential.
Languages: Proficiency in English and one of the other Bank official languages (Spanish, French or Portuguese) is required.

Key skills

Learn continuously.
Collaborate and share knowledge.
Focus on clients.
Communicate and influence.
Strong background in econometrics, mathematics, and statistics.
Superb programming skills in Stata. Knowledge of other program languages like Python, R, and ArcGIS/QGis is a strong plus.
Interest in research, ability to work independently, and to participate in research teams.
Excellent writing skills focused on research protocols, research papers and descriptive reports for diverse audience.
Flexibility and adaptability, in particular, willingness to learn new skills.
Excellent interpersonal skills.

Requirements

Citizenship: You are a citizen of one of our 48-member countries.
Consanguinity: You have no family members (up to the fourth degree of consanguinity and second degree of affinity, including spouse) working at the IDB, IDB Invest, or IDB Lab.

Type of contract and duration

Type of contract: International Consultant Full-Time.
Length of contract: 12 months.
Work location: Washington, DC.

What we offer

The IDB group provides benefits that respond to the different needs and moments of an employee’s life. These benefits include:

A competitive compensation package.
Leaves and vacations: 2 days per month of contract + gender- neutral parental leave.
Health Insurance: the IDB Group provides a monthly allowance for the purchase of health insurance.
Savings plan: The IDB Group cares about your future, depending on the length of the contract, you will receive a monthly savings plan allowance.
We help with relocation and visa applications for you and your family when it applies
Hybrid and flexible work schedules.
Development support: We offer learning opportunities to boost your professional profile such as seminars, 1:1 professional counseling, and much more.
Health and wellbeing: Access to our Health Services Center which provides preventive care and health education for all employees.
Other perks: Lactation Room, Daycare Center, Gym, Bike Racks, Parking, and others.

Our culture

At the IDB Group we work so everyone brings their best and authentic selves to work, willing to try new approaches without fear, and where they are accountable and rewarded for their actions.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) are at the center of our organization. We celebrate all dimensions of diversity and encourage women, LGBTQ+ people, persons with disabilities, Afro-descendants, and Indigenous people to apply.

We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job interview process. If you are a qualified candidate with a disability, please e-mail us at diversity@iadb.org to request reasonable accommodation to complete this application.

Our Human Resources Team reviews carefully every application.

About the IDB Group

The IDB Group, composed of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), IDB Invest, and the IDB Lab offers flexible financing solutions to its member countries to finance economic and social development through lending and grants to public and private entities in Latin America and the Caribbean.

About IDB

We work to improve lives in Latin America and the Caribbean. Through financial and technical support for countries working to reduce poverty and inequality, we help improve health and education and advance infrastructure. Our aim is to achieve development in a sustainable, climate-friendly way. With a history dating back to 1959, today we are the leading source of development financing for Latin America and the Caribbean. We provide loans, grants, and technical assistance; and we conduct extensive research. We maintain a strong commitment to achieving measurable results and the highest standards of integrity, transparency, and accountability.

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