The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is an international organisation comprised of 38 member countries, that works to build better policies for better lives. Our mission is to promote policies that will improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world. Together with governments, policy makers and citizens, we work on establishing evidence-based international standards, and finding solutions to a range of social, economic and environmental challenges. From improving economic performance and creating jobs to fostering strong education and fighting international tax evasion, we provide a unique forum and knowledge hub for data and analysis, exchange of experiences, best-practice sharing, and advice on public policies and international standard-setting.

The Directorate for Education and Skills (EDU) leads the Organisation’s work to help member and non-member countries achieve high-quality learning for all, design better skills policies, and turn them into jobs and growth. The Directorate carries this out by providing statistics, analysis and policy advice to countries on a wide range of educational topics. The Policy Advice and Implementation Division (PAI), within EDU, co-ordinates the provision of advice on education policy to OECD members and other countries, both collectively and individually, across all sectors of education. Outputs include both cross-country and country-specific analyses, and typically bring together quantitative and qualitative analysis to support the entire policy process from design through to successful implementation, including data development at the system level.

EDU/PAI is looking for Policy Analysts to contribute to policy work on higher education and to policy-related work with OECD partner economies. Positions will require expertise in education policy analysis and evaluation as well as strong project management skills. The Policy Analyst(s) working on higher education policy will be responsible for taking forward analysis in the area of access and inclusion in higher education, managing existing projects and developing new activities in this area. The Policy Analyst(s) working with OECD partner economies will be responsible for leading projects focused on the evaluation of education policies and programmes across levels and areas of education. The Policy Analysts will work under the supervision of the Team Leader for Higher Education Policy and the Senior Advisor for Global Relations and under the direction of the Head of the Policy Advice and Implementation Division within the Directorate for Education and Skills (EDU/PAI).

EDU’s work on higher education policy provides countries with analysis that supports the development of evidence-based policies to achieve quality, equity and efficiency in higher education. This work focuses on resourcing higher education, policies for effective and inclusive digitalisation in higher education, reskilling and upskilling in higher education and enhancing evidence for higher education policy making through the development of policy surveys and an international database of institution-level data. The questions of widening access and promoting inclusion and diversity in higher education cut across existing strands of work. In addition, EDU is increasingly called upon to focus explicitly on the design of effective access and inclusion policies to increase participation and attainment rates in higher education and promote diversity within different higher education settings.

EDU’s policy work with partner economies mobilizes OECD evidence and data to benchmark performance and provide analysis and advice of how policies and practices can been improved, drawing on OECD good policy and practices. The Team analyses policies across the education cycle, from pre-school to higher education, with a special focus on policies and practices to improve the quality, equity and effectiveness of school education.  Its work frequently examines the design and delivery of policies in the areas of student assessment, school evaluation, teacher appraisal and system monitoring. Upcoming projects to which the candidate may be expected to contribute include the education accession reviews of Bulgaria and Peru, a series of evaluations of EU-funded education interventions in Bulgaria and technical assistance to strengthen government capacities for education policy design and delivery in Ukraine, Kazakhstan and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Main Responsibilities

Policy analysis and evaluation, data collection and drafting

• Lead the conceptualisation and planning of policy analysis and evaluation projects, including development of analytical and evaluation frameworks to structure analysis.
• Identify, assess and analyse evidence for analysis and evaluation projects, including administrative data, microdata, and policy documents (legislation, regulations, strategic plans, impact assessments and evaluations).
• Develop survey questionnaires and interview guides to obtain robust and comparable information.
• Plan and implement consultation exercises with policy makers, educators and other stakeholders.
• Identify and apply findings from academic literature and relevant non-academic policy analysis, taking into account its policy relevance and the rigour of its causal inferences.
• Formulate of empirically sound policy diagnoses and policy options to inform policy development and implementation.
• Draft and lead the publication of policy-analysis and evaluation reports and related outputs.

Coordination and project management

• Coordinate or contribute to the coordination of country-specific reviews and advisory projects, including managing relations with national autorities, organising fieldwork and review visits and organisating and guiding the analysis of other members of the project team.
• Supervise junior policy analysts, temporary and support staff. Monitor progress, provide evaluations, guidance and advice where required.
• Identify and recruit experts for particular tasks to be commissioned externally and supervise their work.
• Liaise with external funders and negotiate with potential project partners.
• Contribute to the organisation of seminars, webinars, conferences and workshops, in collaboration with member countries.

Representation, liaison and dissemination

• Represent the OECD in relevant international and national settings, delivering presentations and disseminating OECD analysis through relevant channels, including events, webinars, articles, blogs, and other media.
• Establish and maintain professional contacts with relevant external organisations and individuals.
• Ensure effective working relationships with country representatives, agencies and stakeholder groups.

Ideal Candidate Profile

Academic Background

• An advanced university degree in economics, education, public policy, social sciences, or a similar discipline.

Professional Background

• Minimum of three, and preferably at least five, years’ professional experience in policy analysis related to schools policy or higher education acquired in a national administration, research organisation, consulting organisation or think tank, or an international organisation.
• Demonstrable expertise related to either a) higher education policy (preferably including policies for widening access and promoting inclusion and diversity in higher education) or b) evaluation of education policies and programmes.
• Proven track record of leading or contributing to policy-informing analysis and/or evaluation projects in the field of schools policy or higher education.
• Experience in quantitative and qualitative techniques used in research, analysis and evaluation in the social sciences (including relevant survey and interview techniques) and in designing and carrying out analyses or evaluations that yield policy-relevant insights; drawing out evidence-based policy implications; and formulating relevant policy recommendations.
• Proven ability to write well-structured, concise and clear prose for non-specialist audiences.
• Demonstrated ability to build trust and collaboration with public officials and stakeholder groups, and to build consensus, and to negotiate.
• Demonstrated capacity for project planning and leadership, ensuring that projects are relevant to governments, completed with attention to quality, and completed on schedule and budget.
• Ability to build project teams, match skills and expertise with project needs, and mentor staff in a multicultural environment.

Languages

• Fluency in one of the two OECD official languages (English and French) and a knowledge of, or a willingness to learn, the other.
• Knowledge of Spanish, Portuguese or Arabic would be an asset

Core Competencies

• For this role, the following competencies would be particularly important: Analytical thinking, Drafting skills, Flexible thinking, Managing resources, Client focus and Diplomatic sensitivity.
• Please refer to the level 3 indicators of the OECD Core Competencies.

Contract Duration

• One-year fixed term appointment, with the possibility of renewal.

What the OECD offers

• Depending on level of experience, monthly salary starts at either EUR 6 672.15 or EUR 8 232.66, plus allowances based on eligibility, exempt of French income tax.
• Click here to learn more about what we offer and why the OECD is a great place to work.
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Selection Process

For retained candidates, written tests/video-recorded interviews are foreseen in the second half of May 2023 and panel interviews are planned for June 2023.

The OECD is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes the applications of all qualified candidates who are nationals of OECD member countries, irrespective of their racial or ethnic origin, opinions or beliefs, gender, sexual orientation, health or disabilities.

The OECD promotes an optimal use of resources in order to improve its efficiency and effectiveness. Staff members are encouraged to actively contribute to this goal.