Junior Fiscal & Growth Economist

Your Responsibilities 

The world is changing. Our values – dignity, prosperity, and democracy – are not. Help us improve German fiscal policy so it better accomplishes those values. We are looking for individuals who share our values and commitment to quality, who have a clear perspective on how the production of knowledge can most effectively support positive change, and who are willing to quantitatively and qualitatively analyze fiscal, economic, and labor market policies and develop proposals for their advancement.

We offer an environment in which you and your ideas can develop into the best version of themselves. Dezernat Zukunft (DZ) will help you improve your skills and grow your public profile, bring your ideas and analyses into public debate – whether through German and English daily and weekly newspapers, publications in magazines for experts and public servants, podcasts, interviews, or on TV.

You will be part of a think tank that aims at making the world a better place. As Junior Fiscal & Growth Economist in the newly established DZ Growth Lab, you will have the following tasks and responsibilities:

• Conduct research, particularly on growth, production, private and public investment, economic and fiscal policy, and other macroeconomic issues. You will identify the latest research through online searches and conversations and analyze the economic situation. You will contribute to our team’s decision on which projects to tackle and which proposals to develop.
• Support the development of robust, useful models and datasets to quantitatively and qualitatively analyze the macroeconomic and fiscal effects of financial, economic, and labor market policies. Based on these macroeconomic analyses, you will help develop proposals for fiscal and economic policy. You will be supported and guided by our experts. These analyses will be a core part of your role with us. With much at stake in our work, rigorous and transparent empirical analyses are essential.
• Together with our experts, you will take responsibility for your projects. You work independently and thoroughly, have a deep interest in public finance, macroeconomics, and politics, and are determined to dig deeper, even if it means going the extra mile. The team will support you whenever necessary. Showing initiative and taking responsibility are desirable.
• You are eager to learn something new every day. Macroeconomic policy is complex. No one comes with all the necessary skills or wisdom (including us!). While we expect you to bring knowledge and opinions, more important are the abilities to expand your knowledge, change your opinions, and balance theory with practical policy to achieve the best possible outcome. We challenge, encourage, and train each other daily to this end.
• You are willing to interact with representatives from parliaments, governments, academia, and the media, or to develop in this direction, guided by our experts. Our work only succeeds when we engage with these groups, listen, and collaborate. As Junior Fiscal & Growth Economist, you will learn how these actors operate and how this can be incorporated into our work.

Your Profile

• Orientation: You share our values and goals.
• Pragmatism, curiosity, and passion: You have a desire to make a real impact and want to get to the core of things.
• Passion for numbers and brainpower: You possess solid quantitative skills, including some experience with modeling in Excel and at least one other common programming language. You also bring qualitative skills.
• Beginner’s macro knowledge: You have initial academic knowledge and possibly work experience in at least one of the following areas: macroeconomics, economic policy, fiscal policy, policy analysis, or consulting.
• Diligent analysis: You have initial experience developing and creating reliable analyses (both quantitative and textual). You understand that our analyses and proposals will be scrutinized by the public and work accordingly.
• Writing talent: You have excellent German and English skills and are able to write clear, well-structured texts.
• Team spirit: You are willing to work as part of a team, to listen, support, and challenge your colleagues.

Why Us?

We offer:

• Active support for your development in terms of content, skills, networks, and tasks, including support for training and further education.
• Regular interaction with politics, media, academia, and public administration.
• Good data access via professional data providers.
• We pay according to the public sector collective agreement, pay grade 12. The exact classification depends on your responsibilities and experience.
• A flexible home-office policy and an attractive office in a central location.
• And last but not least: a fantastic team, meaningful work, and a lot of fun.

Application process:

• Apply online here, including a CV, a cover letter demonstrating your suitability based on the expectations outlined above, and a text you have written on a relevant topic (in German or English, maximum 2,000 words, which can be an existing or published text). Please also indicate how you became aware of the job posting. The application deadline is October 15, 2024.
• Selected candidates will go through an assessment test in the next step, which involves writing a short essay on a current fiscal or economic policy issue. The test also includes the analysis and presentation of macroeconomic data, which we will provide. It will take approximately one to two hours and can be completed between Thursday, October 17, 2024, 12:00 PM and Friday, October 18, 2024, 12:00 PM.
• In the final step, we will conduct two interviews.
• The planned start date is December 2024. The exact date is negotiable.

Are you interested in the role, but not sure if it is right for you or if you would be a good fit for Dezernat Zukunft?

• We value diversity and want to increase the diversity of our team. We welcome all applications regardless of gender, nationality, cultural and social background, religion, belief, age, sexual orientation, or identity.
• There may be excellent candidates for this position who do not meet all the requirements listed in the job description. Perhaps you have certain skills we have not thought of? Then let us know why you are the right person for us.
• If you are still unsure, feel free to reach out to us! You can contact Florian Schuster via Twitter/X direct message (https://x.com/fl_schuster) or email (florian.schuster@dezernatzukunft.org).

About Us

Dezernat Zukunft is a young, non-partisan Berlin-based think tank working at the intersection of politics, public administration, and research with the aim of rethinking and clearly communicating monetary, financial, and economic policy.