About the Program

The Global Development Network (GDN) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) have partnered to create the EIB-GDN Program in Applied Development Finance to study the impact of projects in African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries financed under EIB’s Impact Financing Envelope. The purpose of the program is to provide a select group of highly qualified and motivated young researchers a practical opportunity to hone their impact assessment skills, by working on real-world projects in private sector development funded by one of the world’s leading financial institutions, under the mentorship of top international experts. The researchers will be inducted into the Program as Candidate Fellows at an inception workshop at EIB Headquarters in Luxembourg City on 21-30 September 2019. At the end of the 12-month program cycle and on satisfying all program requirements, the Candidate Fellows will receive joint certification from EIB and GDN as EIB-GDN Fellows in Applied Development Finance.

Read more about the program here. You can find the EIB press releases here and here.

About the Special Recruitment Drive (SRD) in International Finance

For the 2019-2020 Program Cycle beginning in September 2019, GDN and EIB are particularly interested in recruiting researchers or research professionals with specialization in International Finance or International macroeconomics. The ideal candidates should be first-rate, early career researchers or research professionals at universities, think tanks, government, development institutions, economic consultancy, or in professional transition. The typical profile of an inductee should be as follows:

Academic credentials: Candidates should ideally hold or be close to holding a PhD in Economics, Finance or Business with specialization in International Finance or Open Economy Macroeconomics.
Subject matter knowledge: Candidates should be able to demonstrate through coursework, publications or professional experience advanced knowledge about at least a few of the following: international development finance, exchange rate determination, credit markets, risk management in financial markets, currency exchanges and solutions, volatility, risk and hedging instruments and derivates, with applicability in micro- and SME finance, infrastructure, or other developmental sectors. Candidates should also be familiar, through academic knowledge and/or professional experience, with impact investing, development finance or impact evaluation or assessment.
Ability and willingness to think and work creatively, flexibly and proactively, in cooperation with other partners: candidates should have the ability to work independently and proactively and should be able to demonstrate that, for example through experience in research consultancy or through independent and self-driven collection of field data. Preference will be given to candidates who, in addition to academic credentials, have employment or other substantive experience with the private sector.
Language Skills: Demonstrated professional written and oral communication skills in English. Some of the projects may be in Francophone Africa or the Caribbean, for which fluency in French or Spanish may be required.
Age: The program targets early-career researchers, typically inducting in the 35-40 age-range. However, slightly older, but otherwise qualified, candidates will also be considered.
Gender: Applications from qualified female candidates are particularly encouraged.

Benefits

The program aims to fast track the professional development of promising young researchers and research professionals in the field of Development Finance. ItQualified young researchers interested in evaluation will get a practical opportunity to hone their impact assessment skills by working on real-world projects under the mentorship of top international experts and to work with the EIB, GDN, and with young, innovative private sector companies. There is also the opportunity, in some cases, to work together with other research partners. The program is designed to provide career growth and learning opportunities along multiple dimensions, including soft-skills, modeling consumer preferences and business problems, formulating theory-of-change, econometric and methodological issues, and writing skills.
For successful candidates, the program offers the following benefits:

Firsthand experience in the rapidly developing fields of Impact Investing and Development Finance;
The opportunity to apply academic knowledge and training to real world private sector development projects;
Deepening of subject matter expertise in evaluation methodologies, with mentoring from some of the world’s leading evaluation experts;
Working with two leading international institutions;
Professional certification;
Inclusion in a knowledge network which can work locally in ACP countries for national and regional development; and
Part-time commitment with excellent financial support.

Financial and Non-financial Support

Each researcher inducted into the program will receive a stipend of €15,000 (to cover time costs), along with a grant of up to €10,000 to cover all direct and indirect expenses of conducting the research (including field trips, data collection and analysis). These will be disbursed in installments through the length of the 12-month program cycle and will be tied to deliverables and contingent upon satisfaction of all program requirements. GDN will provide administrative, management and logistical support.

See FAQs relating to remuneration, deliverables and other details here.