Economist - Pretoria at South African Reserve Bank

Brief Description        

• The main purpose of this position is to collect, compile and analyse public sector statistics and to provide accurate economic information to support policy formulation.

Detailed Description        
The successful candidate will be responsible for the following key performance areas:

• Analyse and produce data that is valid, reliable and justifiable based on rigorous comparisons with historical trends and reconciliation with other related data.
• Draft thorough, concise and reliable economic reports on short-term economic activity, trends and performance of the South African economy.
• Monitor domestic and international economic activities, developments and trends, and explain the implications thereof.
• Maintain a comprehensive, updated and accurate economic database by inputting data, across all short-term economic indices and disciplines dealt with in the Quarterly Bulletin, into the structured databases.
• Review, update and improve database structures on a regular basis to ensure all data are properly captured and aggregate time series and cross-section data are calculated accurately.
• Conduct research and analysis on key aspects of the public finance domain. 
• Lead a team on simple short-term economic models and/or work as part of a team on complex economic models.
• Stay abreast of new thinking in research or statistical methodologies considering the implications of these changes for own work.
• Present research findings to departmental forums and/or work in partnership with other divisions/departments/organisations to expand and improve the quality and awareness of statistical information available.
• Support on-the-job training for junior team members and monitor implementation.

Job Requirements        
To be considered for this position, candidates must be in possession of:

• an Honour’s degree in Accounting, Economics, Statistics or an equivalent qualification;
• a Master’s degree would be an added advantage; and
• at least five years’ experience in the field of economic analysis and/or financial economics or accounting.

 Additional requirements include:

• an affinity for statistics;
• being task-oriented, with time management skills to operate in a deadline-driven environment;
• ability to work independently as well as within a team/project environment;
• excellent communication and report-writing skills;
• initiative and problem-solving skills;
• analytical skills;
• ability to pay attention to detail;
• good interpersonal skills; and
• ability to programme in ‘R’ or related open-source software will be added advantage;