The Economist Intelligence Unit - Job Posting

The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) helps leaders prepare for opportunity, empowering them to act with confidence when making strategic decisions. The EIU is the global standard in providing quality, actionable intelligence to the public and private sector, assessing issues that impact the marketplace for over two hundred countries.


We are recruiting an Editor/Economist for the Asia and Australasia team to be responsible for the production and quality of part of the EIU's Asia & Australasia product range, with the expertise to contribute to all areas of the region’s editorial output. The ideal candidate will undertake economic and political forecasting and analysis for a selection of countries in Asia.


The EIU's Asia division is responsible for South Asia, South-east Asia, North-east Asia, Australasia and the Pacific and references to Asia should be taken to refer to this region.

Accountabilities:

In this role you will be expected to:

• Ensure that the designated part of the Asia product range is written to a high standard, is in accordance with house style, and is directed at the needs of customers
• Carry out a comprehensive first edit on contributors’ input, ensuring all the relevant information is presented in accordance with EIU style guide and product guidelines and ensure that there is no plagiarism of external sources
• Conduct the degree of background research necessary to ensure the accuracy, currency and comprehensiveness of the information contained in the country workbooks and in all published products
• Be able to rapidly identify accurate and informative sources on events affecting the forecast as they happen. You will build a network of sources in academia, business and government to draw on for research purposes
• Interpret the events within specific countries and industries, with a particular focus on whether and how they might impact upon EIU forecast and summarise the potential consequences in an objective and informative way
• Provide an opinion on behalf of the EIU which takes into account all the various known factors
• Understand how macroeconomic forecasts are generated and be able to critically evaluate your own and other's forecasts
• Produce economic, political and industry forecasts for selected countries in Asia. This will involve using the Excel country workbooks to monitor and adjust the key economic indicators and the links between them
• Take responsibility for the quality and accuracy of the data included in the country workbooks
• Lead EIU thinking on countries and issues allocated as being your responsibility
• Initiate and actively participate in discussions on the implications of events in your area of responsibility, the EIU global assumptions and other events affecting the region
• Represent the EIU at conferences and seminars, and make presentations to external audiences if required
• Give interviews to media bodies such as television, radio or newspapers on behalf of the EIU

Experience, skills and professional attributes:

To be successful in this role you must have :

• Relevant degree preferably in Economics. Ideally Masters degree (or equivalent)
• Experience in writing political, economic and industry analysis
• Experience and knowledge of Asia (any subregion, including Australasia) from either education or employment (having worked or studied in Asia would be considered a plus)
• A proven track record of analysing and forecasting political, economic, and business trends in Asia
• Understanding of the external market demand for electronic delivery of economic and political research
• Good/intermediate computer skills in Word, Excel and the Internet
• Fluency in English; another Asian language a definite plus
• Strong writing and editing skills in English
• Regional expertise or be an Economist

You will be able to demonstrate:

• The ability to respond quickly to major developments in Asia
• The ability to identify key drivers in a country’s economy
• The ability to attain a high level of competence within a short period of time
• Good organisational skills
• Personal pride in producing output of high quality
• Self motivation and be deadline driven
• Strong communication skills to articulate persuasively and clearly about the region
• A collaborative approach

There is no nationality requirement and the job is likely to be in Singapore. Those interested should contact Ford MPP alumnus Sumana Rajarethnam at sumanarajarethnam@economist.com.