Business Associate, Economics

About this position About ECOnorthwest

ECOnorthwest is a public policy consulting firm headquartered in Portland, Oregon, with offices in Seattle, Bend, Denver, and Los Angeles. For 50 years, policymakers and business leaders have trusted ECOnorthwest to inform the complex issues that shape communities. ECOnorthwest has worked with a diverse range of over 2,000 public, private, non-profit, and foundation clients in the United States and around the world to craft effective and feasible solutions.

To answer the complex questions of our time, we integrate economic analysis with complementary disciplines to provide a more complete understanding of how policy choices affect peoples’ lives.

ECOnorthwest is seeking a technically minded and intellectually curious Associate to support our applied economics work across a broad range of public- and private-sector projects. The Associate will conduct quantitative and qualitative research, contribute to economic and fiscal analyses, develop clear and defensible analytical methods, and communicate findings through reports, presentations, and other client deliverables. Projects may examine how policies, programs, investments, and major developments affect local and regional economies, public revenues and costs, workers, housing markets, businesses and industries, communities, land and natural resources, infrastructure, and public services.

The Associate will support projects in areas such as renewable energy, data centers and other large-scale infrastructure development, economic and community development, agriculture and natural resources, ecosystem services, land use, public finance, and workforce and housing. The ideal candidate enjoys working in a collaborative team environment, learning about unfamiliar topics, working with complex or incomplete information, and translating technical findings into useful insights for clients, policymakers, and communities.

Prior experience in every subject area is not expected; curiosity, analytical rigor, strong writing, and a genuine interest in ECOnorthwest’s applied consulting work are essential.

Associates are important members of ECOnorthwest project teams. They may structure analyses, lead a work stream within a larger project, delegate tasks to Research Analysts and Senior Research Analysts, or manage smaller projects under the direction of a Project Director or Project Manager. Associates prepare sections of client presentations and reports and may prepare complete deliverables for smaller projects with limited direction.

They help manage project scope, schedule, and budget; interact directly with clients; and contribute to proposals and other business development activities. Associates commonly work on multiple projects and proposals simultaneously and must balance competing priorities while communicating proactively about workload, progress, and potential concerns. This position is expected to maintain a billable-hours ratio of 75 percent after five months.

• Ability to conduct economic analyses using a variety of frameworks, such as economic impact analysis (e.g., input-output analysis using IMPLAN or similar models), fiscal impact analysis, industry and market analysis, workforce and labor market analysis, housing analysis, land-use and agricultural analysis, benefit-cost analysis, nonmarket valuation, and evaluation of public policies, programs, and investments. Direct experience in all frameworks not required, but familiarity with applied economic methods and their application across a variety of subjects desired.
• Strong spreadsheet and data-analysis skills, including the ability to organize and evaluate complex datasets, develop transparent calculations, identify…