The Economist/Specialist will report to the designated Group Head in the Surveillance team. The candidate should have experience and expertise in macro-financial surveillance and research, financial programming and modelling, and excellent communication and coordination skills.

Main responsibilities include but not limited to:  

• Assist his/her Group Head in the planning and implementation of the group’s work plan in support of AMRO’s overall goals, ensuring efficiency, relevance, and impact of AMRO’s surveillance work;
• Be responsible for conducting surveillance of assigned member economies and/or sectors including:
  • data collection, monitoring and analyzing developments in those economies/sectors;
  • identifying risks and vulnerabilities facing those economies/sectors and formulating policies to address them;
  • drafting briefing notes for management and for annual consultation and interim visits;
  • developing work programs and participating in annual consultations and preparing initial drafts of country consultation reports for the assigned economies/sectors;
  • providing regular updates to his/her Group Head and senior management on emerging events and issues in his/her assigned countries/sectors;
• Be responsible for conducting surveillance of the region including:
  • data collection, monitoring and analyzing regional developments;
  • monitoring and analyzing extra-regional major economies such as the US, Europe, and major emerging markets economies;
  • monitoring and analyzing global and regional financial markets;
  • identifying risks and vulnerabilities in the global economy and global financial markets and implications for the member economies of AMRO, and developing policy options to deal with them, in close collaboration with the country desk economists;
  • preparing initial drafts of flagship report chapters and other monthly, quarterly or ad hoc reports;
• Plan and conduct economic and financial research under the guidance of his/her Group Head;
• Collect and manage data from the ASEAN+3 authorities, IFIs, private sectors, and other data sources;
• Supervise and guide research assistants;
• Maintain good relations with the authorities and liaise with authorities on all surveillance matters between AMRO and the member economies;
• Assist Group Head in dealing with various issues of strategic importance; and
• Conduct other ad-hoc tasks as assigned by his/her Group Head or Senior Management.

The candidate should possess:

• A PhD or Master’s degree in economics, finance, or other relevant fields for AMRO surveillance, from a reputable university;
• At least 5 years of relevant work experience and knowledge in economics and/or finance, including macro-financial modeling and policy; experience in relevant international organizations/ government agencies/ central banks would be a significant advantage;
• Strong analytical ability and capacity to conduct rigorous research;
• Experience in conducting regional economic surveillance of the ASEAN+3 economies or global advanced economies; experience in financial markets and/or financial sector surveillance would be a significant advantage;
• Proficiency in software applications such as Microsoft Office and high proficiency in using packages such as Stata, EViews, MATLAB; high proficiency in programming in languages such as R and Python would be a significant advantage;
• Close familiarity with key third-party economics and finance databases, such as Bloomberg, CEIC, Haver, Refinitiv (Datastream);
• Strong motivation and initiative, and be results-oriented and accountable for the accuracy of both data and information;
• Strong teamwork and communication skills to interact effectively with staff and officials of diverse cultural backgrounds at all levels;
• High proficiency in written and spoken English.

The Communications Officer is responsible for building and strengthening AMRO’s visibility and credibility as a trusted and capable policy advisor for the ASEAN+3 region. The role is broad ranging, including developing and implementing communications strategy, policy and plan via multi-channel, leading outreach campaigns, handling media relations, managing web and social media, among other tasks.

He/she will work under the supervision of the Group Head of Strategy and Coordination Group (SCG) and in close collaboration with the Public Relations Coordinator.

Main responsibilities include but not limited to:

a) Develop and/or edit communications materials, such as press releases, op-eds, blogs, infographics, videos, etc. to ensure clear and powerful messages;

b) Manage media relations, including maintaining the journalist database, identifying media opportunities, pitching press releases/interviews/op-eds to target media, organizing press conferences and media briefings, facilitating media queries to ensure timely and quality response;

c) Organize AMRO’s outreach campaigns (e.g. the ASEAN+3 Regional Economic Outlook);

d) Draft, consolidate and/or sharpen talking points/speeches and presentations for Senior Management;

e) Manage the website and other digital channels to ensure up-to-date and engaging content, compelling visuals, and user-friendly functions;

f) Advise Senior Management, Group Heads, and groups/teams on communications-related matters;

g) Maintain an awareness of reputational risks and threats:
– Monitor news coverage and social media mentions about AMRO and relevant issues.
– Respond in a timely manner to reputational risks, crises and setbacks by developing escalation protocols for managing communication crises, should they arise.

h) Oversee the circulation and publication of AMRO knowledge products;

i) Supervise external vendors and collaborate among respective groups/teams to ensure smooth project management for communications activities;

j) Perform other ad-hoc assignments and tasks related to External and Internal Communications as may be determined by the Group Head of SCG and/or Senior Management.

The candidate should possess:

a) A Master’s degree, or equivalent, in journalism, public relations, communications, administration or related fields from a recognised university;

b) At least 5-10 years of relevant work experience and knowledge in journalism, communications, public relations and/or related fields; Prior experience in an international organization or other government institution focusing on economic surveillance/research area would be an advantage;

c) Strong media networking across ASEAN+3 and experience in managing media relations;

d) Exceptional writing and editing ability, and excellent verbal and presentation skills;

e) Solid knowledge of digital media, including social media platforms and create sharable digital content;

f) Meticulous and sharp eyes for details, especially in proof-reading, editing, and visualization;

g) Proficient event management skills with a proven track record in planning and organizing major outreach events in ASEAN+3;

h) Excellent command of English, proficiency in one of the ASEAN+3 languages is a plus; and

i) Demonstrative ability to work with team members.