Economics Research Analyst II

Job Description

Job Description

Position Summary  

The Economics Research Analyst II will independently assess economic conditions, proposed interventions, expected outcomes, supporting evidence, and implementation feasibility while reviewing application materials against approved requirements and evaluation criteria. The analyst will assign evidence-based scores, prepare clear qualitative comments, validate application and scoring data, support the compilation and normalization of review results, identify economic and portfolio trends, and contribute to accurate, machine-readable reporting and process-improvement recommendations.

Candidates need economic research expertise and direct grant competition and formal merit-review experience. Economic development or related program-review experience is preferred. Artificial intelligence familiarity is a plus.

Core Responsibilities  

• Conduct independent technical, administrative, and formal merit reviews of grant applications using established requirements, evaluation criteria, and scoring rubrics.
• Assign defensible scores and prepare clear, evidence-based comments identifying application strengths, weaknesses, risks, and scoring rationale.
• Evaluate the quality, relevance, credibility, and sufficiency of economic, quantitative, and qualitative evidence presented in applications.
• Analyze economic-development strategies, expected outcomes, implementation plans, partnerships, budgets, performance measures, and sustainability approaches.
• Apply economic research and policy-analysis methods to areas such as regional economies, labor markets, workforce development, entrepreneurship, innovation, capital access, and job creation.
• Enter and verify review scores and narrative comments in designated grants management or application-review systems.
• Perform quality-control checks and support the validation and reconciliation of applicant, reviewer, scoring, and program data.
• Support the compilation, ranking, normalization, and analysis of merit-review results and portfolio-level trends.
• Conduct applied economic and portfolio research using credible data sources and relevant literature to identify trends, risks, evidence gaps, and opportunities for improvement.
• Prepare data summaries, analytical memoranda, visualizations, briefing materials, scoring reports, and other decision-support products.
• Participate in reviewer training, calibration discussions, project meetings, debriefings, and knowledge-transfer activities.
• Maintain reviewer independence, confidentiality, conflict-of-interest compliance, and secure, audit-ready review records.
• Identify and escalate scoring anomalies, data discrepancies, unclear criteria, system issues, or schedule risks.
• Perform other related economic research, data analysis, grant review, and program evaluation duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications  

• Master's degree in Economics, Applied Economics, Economic Development, Labor or Regional Economics, Public Policy, Finance, or a related quantitative or social-science field.
• Six (6)+ years of progressively responsible experience in economic research, economic policy analysis, economic development, program evaluation, grant application review, or a related field.
• Demonstrated experience conducting applied economic research and synthesizing economic, labor-market, industry, regional, workforce, or related data.
• Demonstrated experience supporting or conducting competitive grant reviews.
• Demonstrated experience conducting formal merit reviews, including assigning scores and preparing qualitative comments against established criteria.
• Experience evaluating grant applications, proposals, or complex program materials against established requirements, evaluation criteria, or scoring rubrics.
• Strong quantitative and qualitative analytical skills with the ability to reach impartial, evidence-based conclusions.
• Experience validating application, reviewer, scoring, or program data and identifying incomplete or inconsistent information.
• Working knowledge of competitive grantmaking practices, reviewer independence, confidentiality, and conflict-of-interest requirements.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to clearly communicate research findings and scoring rationale.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Teams, and other virtual collaboration tools.
• Experience using electronic grants management, application-review, workflow, or comparable data systems.
• Strong attention to detail and ability to manage multiple assignments within deadline-driven review periods.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a remote environment while handling sensitive information with discretion.

Preferred Qualifications  

• Experience analyzing regional economies, labor markets, industry clusters, economic development, entrepreneurship, innovation, capital access, or workforce systems.
• Experience evaluating grants involving economic development, regional competitiveness, workforce development, job creation, entrepreneurship, innovation, or technology adoption.
• Experience supporting federal, state, or national competitive grant programs.
• Experience supporting multi-reviewer panels, score normalization, portfolio analysis, or grant-program evaluation.
• Experience preparing dashboards, data visualizations, research memoranda, scoring reports, or retrospective analyses.
• Experience with Salesforce or comparable grants management platforms.
• Familiarity with artificial intelligence, AI-enabled business or workforce strategies, responsible AI, or related emerging technologies.
• Relevant professional training or certification in economics, research methods, program evaluation, grants management, data analytics, or project management.

Benefits: 

• Competitive salary
• Health, dental, and vision insurance
• 401K
• "Discretionary" PTO
• Professional development opportunities
• A dynamic and collaborative work environment

Working Environment: 

If you are a results-driven professional and have the above qualifications, we encourage you to apply for this position.  Join our team and contribute to our continued growth and success.  To apply, please send your resume and a cover letter detailing your relevant experience and why you are the ideal candidate for this role. 

K.L. Scott & Associates is committed to diversity and inclusion and welcomes candidates from all backgrounds and experiences to apply. We thank all applicants for their interest, but only those selected for an interview will be contacted.