Job Description

Principal Economist

Take a central role
The Bank of Canada has a vision to be "a leading central bank-dynamic, engaged and trusted-committed to a better Canada." No other employer in the country offers you the unique opportunity to work at the very center of Canada's economy, in a diverse and inclusive organization with significant impact on the economic and financial well-being of all Canadians. You will be challenged, energized and motivated to excel in an environment where we are reinventing central banking, renewing ways of doing business and reinforcing a culture of innovation.

Find out more about the next steps in our .

Did you know?
The Canadian Economic Analysis (CEA) Department assesses economic conditions in Canada and produces high-quality analysis, projections and longer-term research to support the Bank of Canada's monetary policy function. The Model Development Division (MDD) is responsible for the development and maintenance of a suite of macroeconomic models used for Staff economic projections and policy analysis. This division systematically supports the projection and policy recommendation process, for example, through model-based scenario analysis. MDD also produces and disseminates leading-edge research on key policy issues.

What you will do
As a Principal Economist in the Model Development division, you help lead and contribute to the development and maintenance of macroeconomic models used for projection and policy analysis. You will play a central role in helping shape the strategic direction of the division and support the director in managing the team. Through your advanced modelling expertise, you support the team in understanding key linkages in the Canadian economy and their relevance to the economic outlook and monetary policy. You actively contribute to modelling and research projects on critical policy issues and help draw key insights to inform the monetary policy decision process.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Lead and contribute to the development of the Next-Generation of macroeconomic models for monetary policy
• Originate, conduct and deliver high-quality research to address challenging and complex emerging economic problems
• Identify opportunities to apply existing or new models to pressing policy questions, and help the team deliver impactful analysis
• Provide guidance and coaching to more junior colleagues to help develop their skills and competencies, and add depth and rigour to the division's analytical output
• Help draw and communicate analytical findings in a clear, concise, and economically intuitive manner to senior management and policymakers
• Effectively build and maintain working relationships and collaborating with a wide range of internal and external modelling and research community
• Lead staffing and recruitment activities (for MA and PhD graduates) to attract a high-quality work force

What you need to succeed
You come from a strong background building and working with macroeconomic models, including dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) models. You have a solid understanding of macroeconomics that allows you to think through complex economic issues from first principles. In addition, you have:

• Extensive experience developing complex, large-scale macroeconomic models using MATLAB, Dynare, Iris, Python, Julia, or other relevant toolkits
• A high degree of intellectual curiosity and ability to initiate, follow-through and anticipate future opportunities and devise model development plans to address them
• Strong oral and written communication skills
• Strong problem-solving skills and can manage priorities and trade-offs effectively to make high-quality decision under compressed timeline, ensuring timely project completion
• A self-starter, driven and innovative mindset. You consistently demonstrate competence to work both independently and in a team environment, with a strong ability to share ideas, foster knowledge exchange, encourage feedback to build consensus

Nice-to-have:

• Publications involving the development or application of macroeconomic models that are relevant for monetary policy, production network and inflation dynamics
• Experience making presentations and/or providing advice to senior management

Your education and experience

• a master's degree in economics or finance and minimum five years of relevant work experience relating to macroeconomic analysis

or

• a PhD degree in economics or finance with a minimum of two years of recent relevant experience relating to macroeconomic analysis

or

• an equivalent combination of education and experience may be considered

What you need to know

• Language requirement: English and French essential (bilingual) with a minimum starting level of intermediate (level 3) in second official language. Training may be provided to help reach the required level of functional (level 4) in second official language.
• Priority will be given to Canadian citizens and permanent residents
• Security level required: Be eligible to obtain Reliability
• Please save a copy of the job poster. Once the closing date has passed, it will no longer be available.
• In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and further to public health guidelines, preventative measures are being taken to ensure health and safety during the recruitment process. All interviews are conducted virtually.

Hybrid Work Model #LI-Hybrid

The Bank is conducting a trial of a hybrid working model which provides employees with the flexibility to telework for significant portions of each month. During the trial, employees will be expected to come onsite on those days when they are involved in activities that they or their leader feel are better conducted in person and to build connections with colleagues. For the majority of employees, it is expected that onsite time will range from 5 to 10 days per month, depending on your role. You must live in Canada, and within reasonable commuting distance of the office.

Vaccination Policy

Please note that the application of the Bank's Covid-19 Vaccination policy has been temporarily suspended, effective June 20, 2022. As a result, you will not be required to submit verification of your vaccination status before starting employment with the Bank. However, please note that the Bank reserves the right to reintroduce vaccination requirements in the future if necessary to respond to changing public health advice and\or government direction.

We wish to thank all applicants for their interest and effort in applying for this position. Only candidates selected for interviews will be contacted.

What you can expect from us
This is a great opportunity to join a leading organization and be part of a high-performing team. We offer a competitive compensation and benefits package designed to meet your needs at every stage of your life and career. For more information on key benefits please visit .

• Salaries are based on qualifications and experience and typically range from $110,220 to $144,675 (job grade 18)
• Depending on performance, you may be eligible for performance pay for successfully meeting (7 to 10% of your base salary) or for exceeding expectations (15% of your base salary). Exceptional performers who far exceed expectations may be eligible for higher performance pay.
• Flexible and comprehensive benefits so you can choose the level of health, dental disability and life and/or accident insurance coverage that meets your needs
• Extra vacation days (up to five each year) that you can purchase to add to your vacation entitlement
• Indexed, defined-benefit pension #LI-POST