Junior Economist

Background

With the financial support of the Gates Foundation, GDN is implementing
a global research programme on the Economics of Open Transaction Networks (OTN). The programme aims to develop economic theories
around open transaction networks and their development impacts, and to test
them empirically in a number of low - and middle -income countries.

The programme brings together:

• GDN
  economists and invited senior economists, led by the President of GDN.
  
• A
  Scientific Advisory Committee of global experts on OTN and digital public
  infrastructure.
  
• National
  research teams implementing comparative empirical projects across
  countries and sectors.
  

Position Summary

GDN seeks to recruit a Junior Economist to support the economics work of
the OTN programme and to contribute to GDN's wider research portfolio and
institutional partnerships. The Junior Economist will work closely with the GDN
economists, the invited senior economists, the Senior Programme Manager, and
the wider programme team. The programme’s theory work does not assume that
candidates already know the work in OTN. 

Key Responsibilities

• National
  research team support and quality control
  

• Hold regular meetings with each national
  research team to track progress against milestones, discuss
  methodological issues, and surface obstacles early.
  
• Review research plans, draft analyses, and final
  outputs, providing technical feedback that brings the work to programme
  standard.
  
• Coordinate inputs from the senior economists and
  the Scientific Advisory Committee on country -specific questions, and
  liaise with national teams, institutional contacts, and data partners.
  

• OTN
  implementations and methodology guide
  

• Monitor and track the OTN implementations under
  study, and liaise with platform operators and protocol bodies to identify
  and coordinate the data needed to support the research.
  
• Contribute to the development and dissemination
  of the OTN methodology guide, and to the early -stage workshop for the
  selected national teams.
  

• Cross -country
  synthesis and empirical analysis
  

• Build the analytical infrastructure for the
  cross -country synthesis and contribute to its drafting.
  
• Conduct empirical analysis on transaction data
  and aggregated platform data, drawing on the OTN white paper and the
  literature on digital public infrastructure, platforms, and open
  networks.
  

• Wider GDN
  research and partnerships
  

• Contribute to GDN's research projects and
  institutional partnerships, supporting follow -up and implementation of
  committed deliverables where empirical or coordination input is needed.
  
• Contribute to the development of project
  proposals and concept notes for GDN's wider research and partnership
  work.
  

Desired Profile

Education and Experience

• Strong training in economics. Candidates with a
  Master's degree in economics and relevant applied experience, or recent
  PhD graduates are encouraged to apply. A doctorate is not a requirement
  for this role.
  
• Demonstrated experience in applied empirical
  research, ideally in applied microeconomics, industrial organisation,
  development economics, or digital markets.
  
• Experience coordinating with researchers,
  advisors, and partner organisations is valued.
  

Preferred Skills

• Proficiency in R, Stata, or Python, with
  experience handling administrative or transaction -level data.
  
• Ability to write clearly and communicate economic
  concepts clearly through concise notes, tables, and figures.
  
• Ability to work well in a collaborative,
  multi -cultural environment and deliver reliably against timelines.
  

Application Procedure

Interested candidates are invited to submit the following documents on
GDN’s Application Portal:

• An updated CV
  
• A cover letter detailing your qualifications, experience,
  and salary expectations
  
• Contact details of at least three professional
  references
  

Please specify the earliest date you can join. GDN aims to fill the
position on priority; therefore, applications will be reviewed on a rolling
basis. The deadline for applications is Sunday, 19 July 2026.  

Global Development Network is an equal opportunity employer and
encourages candidates of all backgrounds to apply. We thank all applicants for
their interest; however, only those selected for an interview will be
contacted.