Insights Lead (Economics) at Stears

The Role

Why it’s important: 

• The Insights team is one of the core intelligence teams at Stears. The research and analysis our team produces helps our customers prepare for opportunity and empowers them to act with confidence when making strategic decisions. Our insights provide quality and actionable intelligence to the public and private sector, which cuts across different economies on the African continent.
• Our economists deliver deep insights into the themes that drive policy, financial markets, and capital flows. 

What it covers:

•  As the Lead Economist, you will be a key intellectual driver within the Insights team.
• Your responsibilities will include identifying skills gaps and areas for improvement within the core economics team, promoting and representing Stears at external events and internal meetings, and delivering deep insights into the themes that drive policy, financial markets, and capital flows.
• You will also play a key role in spearheading our pan-Africa expansion, producing data-driven insights across the African continent. 

How we work: 

• The team produces high-quality insights that answer the most important questions about Africa for decision-makers. This role puts you in the perfect position to be the principal commentator on key macroeconomy issues for the Stears team.
• The Insights team constitutes a team of economists and data analysts that provide best-in-class research, data-driven analysis and insights. Team members deliver tailored 1:1 presentations, participate in key industry forums, and contribute to thought leadership through thematic papers, events, and media. Our long-form insights cut across issues such as Should the CBN increase interest rates in Nigeria? and Why closing Nigeria’s land borders was a mistake. You may also spend some of your time working on special data projects like the COVID-19 in Nigeria: State Index. This is an exciting time to join the team as you will also lead our initial pan-Africa expansion to produce data-driven Insights across the African continent.

Who you will work with: 

• This role is part of the Insights team. You will report to the Head of Insights.
• You will also work with other researchers, economists and consultants in the intelligence team. In addition, you will work with other internal stakeholders, including the Head of Intelligence.

We are looking for someone with

• At least 4-5 years of experience working as an economist. Preference would be given to candidates with an Africa-wide perspective. If you are a strong economist with an entrepreneurial mindset, this is the perfect role for you.
• Strong collaborative skills and can work across the different cross functional teams at Stears. In the past, you have managed complex projects and timelines effectively
• Strong research skills to produce accurate and insightful analysis. Must also demonstrate the ability to apply mental models to support crisply-argued articles that analyse trends and developments in the innovation ecosystem
• Must be able to collect, structure, analyse, interpret or extract insight from raw data 
• Ability to communicate complex information in three formats; clear written prose, data visualisation and slides
• A creative mindset to generate and identify interesting and in-depth stories
• An interest in building a public profile as a principal commentator on the economy
• An active network of economists and other experts on the economy that can provide external expertise on the macroeconomic trends and issues

Responsibilities

• Serve as an intellectual leader within the Insights team, providing leading analysis and insights on macroeconomic issues.
• Ensure required quality standards for Stears Insights products and services are met at all times.
• Liaise directly with external clients on behalf of Stears, driving the creation of custom and actionable insights for each customer presentation.
• Contribute to the commercial success of Stears Insights through a focus on value-creation for clients.
• Work collaboratively with other senior Stears Insights members to support new product development.