Apply For 2022 International Monetary Fund (IMF) Economist Program For PhD Graduates
The IMF is inviting applications for its 2022 Economist Program (EP), starting in September 2022, at its Washington D.C. headquarters.
The EP is a three-year program consisting of two 18-month assignments.
It is aimed at talented, recent PhD graduates who are excited by the opportunity to gain operational experience and further develop their macroeconomics expertise while making a direct and meaningful contribution on a global stage to fostering monetary cooperation, securing financial stability, facilitating international trade, promoting sustainable economic growth, and reducing poverty.
Scholarship Details
The EP offers you a well-rounded experience of the IMF’s work and provides a unique foundation for a thought-provoking and fulfilling career as an economist. During the three-year program, you will rotate through two departmental assignments, joining economic teams working in regional and country-specific surveillance as well as in the fiscal, monetary, balance of payments, debt, or related issues. This is not a trainee position and from the start, you will be given real work and real responsibilities as an IMF economist. This could include policy development, country or regional operational work, research, and capacity development and teaching.
By the end of the program, we hope you will be as excited by our work as we are and will choose to remain and build a long-term career as an IMF economist.
Scholarship Requirements
We are seeking 30 top economists from around the world who:
- Have recently completed or are expected to complete a PhD within a year (or less) of joining in fields including macroeconomics, finance, public finance, monetary economics, international economics, trade, poverty issues, political economy, econometrics or related areas.
- Possess an excellent academic record.
- Have validated analytical, quantitative, and IT skills.
- Show an interest in, and aptitude for, working in an international organization and contributing to economic policy issues.
- Be a national of one of our member countries.
- Be below age 34 at the entry to the program on September 12, 2022.
- Have strong written and oral English skills.
Expectations
- Motivated by making significant contributions to the economic well-being of our members.
- Able to demonstrate a sound understanding of macroeconomics (even if specialized in other areas during graduate school), able to utilize conceptual frameworks to commutate complex ideas, and be comfortable in navigating around the different sectors of an economy and the linkages between these sectors.
- Able to undertake a combination of operational, analytical, and research work.
- Versatile and flexible in learning about different areas while also possessing a strong field of relevant expertise.
- A natural collaborator motivated by exchanging information and ideas with others to reach common goals and making a substantial contribution to the team’s work.
- Cultural agility and emotional intelligence to engage effectively internally and externally, develop relationships, and build strong networks.
- Willingness to travel (can vary based on assignment but typically one-two mission per 18-month EP rotation)
- Proficient in, or be willing to learn, foreign languages. (Languages other than English are useful but not a requirement.)
Selection process
We will conduct an initial screening based on your application form and supporting documentation. If you are successful in meeting our initial criteria, you will receive an invitation for a preliminary interview. This may be during our university campus visits, at the American Economic Association (AEA) Annual Meeting, by phone, or by video. Following a successful preliminary stage (preliminary interview + transcript + references) we will invite you for a virtual panel interview. The preliminary and panel interview stage will take place through the end of the year and during January 2022, with the two steps overlapping.
We are keen to hear from adaptable, talented, and technically competent candidates who are curious and can find creative ways to address today’s global economic challenges. We are also very keen to hear from candidates with experience in macro-climate related policy work and/or research, who would be interested in joining teams contributing to the implementation of the Fund’s policy work related to climate change and its integration into macroeconomic frameworks.
If you are interested in being part of a team that contributes to promoting economic stability on a global stage, we would welcome your application.
How To Apply
The application process opens annually in late September, with a notice on the IMF Career Site. Shortlisted candidates will be interviewed between October and January, with offers made in early February. The selection process consists of multiple stages, which may run in parallel to one another.
Below is a summary of the four key stages:
- If your application is shortlisted, you will be invited to a 30-40-minute preliminary interview during which you will be asked for a high-level overview of your research paper and to respond to questions on economic topics related to the work of the IMF and on your interpersonal and communication skills. The interview will be held this year by video, or by phone. Dates for IMF campus visits will be added here.
- Following the preliminary interview, you may be asked to forward your most recent university transcript from your PhD program, provide three academic references (references cannot be from current IMF staff members) and submit a research paper (ideally of publishable standard) or one or two chapters of your dissertation.
- Successful candidates this year will be invited for a 60-minute virtual panel interview comprised of two or three senior IMF economists and a Human Resources officer. The interview will follow a similar format to the preliminary interview, focusing on your knowledge of monetary, fiscal, balance of payments, and financial sector issues and your behavioural skills, to provide a deeper assessment of your analytical abilities, judgment, oral communication and interpersonal skills, knowledge of macroeconomics and related fields, and ability to convey complex issues in a logical and structured way. In addition to the panel interview, you will also be asked to take a 40-minute online psychometric assessment designed to identify preferred behavioural skills and approaches.
- Once the panel interviews have been completed (normally by late January), all candidates who reached the panel interview stage will be referred to an internal committee of senior staff for review and this committee will make the final selection. The committee will review all seven assessments (bolded above) with the highest weighting given to the panel interview and the research paper review.
Offers to successful applicants will be sent out in February and the incoming class of EPs will start at the IMF the following September.
Interested and qualified candidates should proceed to apply here.\
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