Economic Research Associate

Job Description

Job Description

About The Conference Board

Founded in 1916, The Conference Board is the member-driven think tank that delivers trusted insights for what’s ahead . Our agenda is simple: to help leaders navigate the biggest issues facing business and better serve society. We believe in innovative approaches that make you think- and act- differently. And everything we do reflects the input of our members and their real-world challenges.

We do this by delivering business insights. We connect senior executives across industries and geographies to share ideas, and our experts create fact-based research and consensus-driven policy statements to help leaders address their most important business issues.

Because we are independent, non-partisan, and non-profit our work is trusted. If you learned it at The Conference Board you can count on it.

What it’s like to work here:

While it’s serious work to operate a global business think tank, it’s also fulfilling — and fun! Our people enjoy what they do and know their ideas matter.

We encourage everyone to take personal ownership for outcomes: we collaborate, share a purpose and commit to each other and to our Members. It’s all about doing our very best - which means we succeed as our Members succeed - together we improve society.

The Conference Board invites all interested and qualified candidates to apply for employment opportunities. If you are an individual with a disability in need of assistance with our online application system and would like to request a reasonable accommodation, please email Sarah Baylis at View email address on ziprecruiter.com or call at View phone number on ziprecruiter.com. Please indicate your full name, contact information and the specific accommodation needed.

Position Summary:

The Economic Research Associate will support the work of the Senior Economists on the Forecasting; Energy, Infrastructure & Environment (EIE) and Finance, Risk, & Strategy (FRS) teams, of the ESF Center, as well as deliver their own insights under the guidance of senior experts and the Chief Economist.

The position requires candidates with a background in macroeconomics or industrial economics. Candidate must have a desire to track the health of economies spanning the globe, as well as developments having material implications for businesses. Interest in EIE themes focusing on the intersections of business operations, tech, and the environment/energy/built economy is a plus.

The ideal candidate will provide economic analysis, statistical, programming, and data visualization support to senior economists. The candidate must also be willing to contribute to and produce insights.

Accountabilities:

• Supporting ESF senior economists (Global economy; US economy; FRS; and EIE), for production of forecasts, tools, and insights.
• Participating in initial research for written insights and contributing to the final product.
• Assisting in maintaining forecasting models and associated tools.
• Supporting production of rapid responses, annual reports, and ad-hoc themes, including data analysis, data visualization, writing, and formatting.
• Creating own insights under the supervision of or in collaboration with senior experts
• Working with ESF data scientists alongside senior economist on data projects
• Partnering with the marketing team to ensure that ESF content is correct and updated on TCB webpages.
• Working with marketing regarding insights-related updates to Smartsheets.
• Support Forecast team by filling in and submitting responses to external surveys
• Other duties as assigned

Qualifications:

• Masters or undergraduate degree in economics with an emphasis on macroeconomics or industrial economics.
• Preferred coursework in economics, mathematics, statistics, programming, using AI tools.
• Experience using statistical languages (e.g., EViews, R, python, SPSS, Matlab) to manipulate data.
• Expertise in data visualization (e.g., Excel, Tableau, PowerBI).
• Willingness to work with economic data, and large and complex databases.
• Interested in using AI tools to automate tasks or expedite projects when appropriate.
• Experience using Microsoft products (e.g., Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Co-Pilot).
• Detail-oriented; capable of working independently and in a team environment.
• Able to effectively multi-task and meet strict deadlines.
• Excellent writing, communication, and presentation skills.
• Curious, innovative, and able to develop new thematic and project ideas.
• Strong organizational skills; accountable, collaborative, responsible, and reliable.
• Open to asking questions, seeking help when stuck, receiving constructive feedback.
• Responsive to coaching and mentoring from senior economists and peers.

What We Offer

The Conference Board is proud to embrace best practices in employee wellbeing. We offer a competitive total compensation package. As part of our benefits package, we offer flexibility with hybrid working capabilities, employer-sponsored learning and development, advancement opportunities, on-site health initiatives, a communal and collaborative working environment, and a strong sense of comradery with sports teams, clubs, and employee events.

The Conference Board does not discriminate. We are an equal opportunity employer/M/F/Vet/Disabled.