Senior Economist; Data Science

Job Description – Senior Economist (Data Science)

Grade: P4 Contract Duration: 2 years (initial, renewable subject to satisfactory performance)

Geneva, Switzerland

The position is located in the Composite Indicator Research Section (CIRS) of the Department for Economics and Data Analytics (DEDA). CIRS studies how intellectual property (IP), innovation, and intangible assets drive economic growth, using data science to map global innovation trends and technology diffusion. It delivers flagship products such as the Global Innovation Index (GII) and supports the development and use of composite and other innovation indicators to advance innovation measurement.

The Senior Economist (Data Science), reporting to the head of section, drives the GII as a strategic platform, strengthening global innovation measurement, benchmarking, and policy by providing member states across nearly 140 economies with a credible and comparable basis for innovation decision‑making. Through the production and continuous development of the GII and its components, the role transforms data into actionable insights that enable governments to enhance innovation indicators, performance, and policy.

The incumbent closely collaborates with other DEDA and IES sections and cooperates with national government agencies, national and international statistical bodies, and other inter‑governmental organizations to improve IP and innovation ecosystems.

• Maximize the quality of GII World Innovation Cluster and Innovation Economy Rankings: manage the full process of GII data collection and audit, coordinate across data providers, build new data partnerships, and enforce robust quality controls to deliver the report reliably and on time.
• Lead the analysis and author chapters of the GII, providing substantive inputs to its components and turning complex data into clear findings for policymakers, business, and media.
• Build the GII infrastructure of the future leveraging technology and AI: conceptualize and oversee a modern GII data infrastructure, utilizing automation, advanced AI tools, and robust data management processes to enhance data quality and reliability.
• Develop the conceptual frameworks and methods underlying innovation indicators, defining measurement scope, indicator selection, and analysis, and conduct research to guide new approaches for measuring innovation and creativity.
• Engage member states: provide technical advice on building composite indices, promote the use of the GII to improve comparability and methodological consistency, and strengthen national technical capacities in data analysis and index development.
• Contribute to growth: share insights with other areas of the organization, support evidence‑based policy making, and shape messaging and dissemination of the GII results to maximize their impact across regions and media.
• Perform other related duties as required.

Advanced university degree in economics, data science, statistics, or related fields with developed quantitative and analytical skills. A first‑level university degree plus two years of relevant professional experience may be accepted in lieu of an advanced university degree.

PhD in economics, data science, statistics, or related fields.

• At least seven years of professional experience in economics and data analytics, the production and development of data, and providing advice on measurement and policy.
• Experience in indicator development, advanced data analytics, statistical methodologies, classifications, advanced database management, AI, and managing teams of internal and external data scientists and data providers.
• Experience with external cloud management systems and relational databases (e.g., MariaDB, SQL).
• Experience working in an international setting, interacting with high‑level stakeholders, data providers, and academics.
• Experience with innovation economics, innovation indicators, and innovation policy.
• Experience advising senior policymakers on improving innovation ecosystems and metrics.
• Excellent written and spoken knowledge of…