Lead Researcher (Economist)

Industrial Policy Lab Indonesia (IPL Indonesia); Jakarta Pusat; On-site; IDR 300,000,000 - 600,000,000; Full time

Job summary

Industrial Policy Lab Indonesia (IPL Indonesia) seeks a Lead Researcher (Economist) for Macroeconomics, Trade, and Structural Transformation in Jakarta. The role sets the group’s agenda, guides quantitative analysis, and represents the institute in policy forums and discussions with ministries and multilateral partners.

The successful candidate will lead policy-oriented research, oversee a Research Analyst, and translate rigorous economics into actionable recommendations for Indonesia's growth

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree with substantial economics/finance/public policy training.
• Legal work authorization in Indonesia.
• Experience engaging with government/multilateral on macroeconomic, trade, fiscal, or industrial policy.
• Record of rigorous policy research and policy-relevant recommendations.
• Strong grounding in Indonesia's trade/tax/investment architecture and related policy instruments.
• Applied macroeconomic and trade analysis with modelling depth.
• Proficiency in Stata, advanced Excel, and other data analysis tools.
• Proficiency in English and Indonesian.

Responsibilities

• Set the Research Group's agenda and core methodological standards.
• Direct quantitative analysis of growth, productivity, employment, investment, and trade.
• Engage with government ministries and international counterparts.
• Lead publications and represent IPL Indonesia in policy forums and public debate.
• Supervise Research Analyst and oversee human capital development.

Skills

Stata

Advanced Excel

Programming for data analysis

Economic modelling

English and Indonesian proficiency

Education

Bachelor's degree in economics or related field

Master's degree in economics or related field

Tools

Python

Job description

Lead Researcher (Economist), Macroeconomics, Trade, and Structural Transformation

About us

Industrial Policy Lab Indonesia (IPL Indonesia) is an independent, nonpartisan think tank based in Jakarta, dedicated to supporting Indonesia's reindustrialization agenda through rigorous research, policy advocacy, and civil society engagement. Our work is organised through three research groups: macroeconomics, trade, and structural transformation; industry, technology, and productive capabilities; and energy transition and green industrialization.

IPL Indonesia operates under Yayasan Transformasi untuk Negeri, a non-profit foundation registered under Indonesian law and certified as equivalent to a United States public charity. We are supported by philanthropic funding and work in partnership with research institutes across Southeast Asia, multilateral organizations, and Indonesian government ministries.

Job function and remuneration

- Reports to: Board of Directors, Industrial Policy Lab Indonesia

- Works closely with: Lead Researcher, Industry, Technology, and Productive Capabilities (ITP) Research Group; Lead Researcher, Energy Transition and Green Industrialization (E&G) Research Group; Director of Operations and Finance; Director of the Global Climate Change Team

- Direct report: Research Analyst, Macroeconomics, Trade, and Structural Transformation Research Group

- Remuneration structure: Standard Remuneration Framework (SRF) - A4

Role description

The Macroeconomics, Trade, and Structural Transformation Research Group studies how Indonesia's productive structure evolves, what drives that process, and how structural change affects growth, employment, and productivity. Its research examines the macroeconomic and international conditions that shape industrial development, with particular attention to trade, fiscal, and financial policy and to the constraints that can either support or limit long-run structural transformation.

The Lead Researcher will set the group's intellectual agenda and build its analytical foundations. This includes defining the core research questions IPL Indonesia should pursue, establishing the data and methodological approaches needed to answer them, and developing a coherent body of work that connects economy-wide analysis with the institute's sectoral and energy research. The role will place substantial weight on agenda-setting, methodological discipline, and the creation of a durable quantitative base that can support both longer-term research and timely policy analysis.

The position is also externally facing. The Lead Researcher is expected to engage credibly with institutions such as the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Trade, and Bappenas, and to represent IPL Indonesia in technical discussions, policy forums, and public debate. The role will require both strong economic judgment and the ability to translate rigorous analysis into clear, policy-relevant arguments.

Key responsibilities

Research agenda and analytical direction

- Set the Research Group's research agenda by identifying the questions the institution should prioritize and the evidence required to answer them rigorously.

- Establish the Research Group's core methodological and data standards, and maintain analytical quality across the research produced under them.

- Direct quantitative analysis of growth, productivity, employment, investment, and trade, including how Indonesia's economic and productive structure is changing over time.

Trade and fiscal instruments

- Lead the appraisal and design of trade, fiscal, and financing instruments, including tariffs and non-tariff measures, tax and investment incentives, export measures, and concessional or blended finance.

- Define the conditionality, sequencing, performance criteria, and sunset provisions attached to policy instruments, including clear conditions for their continuation, adjustment, or withdrawal.

- Ensure that policy recommendations are accompanied by credible estimates of their fiscal cost, contingent liabilities, and distribution of costs and benefits across firms, households, and the public sector.

- Assess Indonesia's position within regional and global trade architecture, including the international commitments, agreements, and rules that shape the feasible policy space.

- Direct the quantitative evaluation of policy instruments, including their effects on trade, investment, output, employment, productivity, and fiscal outcomes, and ensure that modelling assumptions and empirical methods are appropriate to the policy question.

Structural transformation and distribution

- Direct analysis of how the gains from structural transformation are distributed and how its frictions are managed, including displacement, informality, and regional disparity.

- Connect economy-wide findings to the sectoral and energy research groups, ensuring that macroeconomic conclusions are grounded in evidence on firms, industries, and value chains.

Engagement and publication

- Lead engagement with government ministries and agencies, other government-related entities, and international counterparts.

- Lead the Research Group's publications and represent IPL Indonesia in technical discussions, policy forums, and public debate.

Supervision

- Supervise the Research Group's Research Analyst, including workload planning, method review, and human capital development.

Terms

- Type: Full-time

- Duration: One year, with renewal subject to performance assessment

- Start date: Mid-October to November 2026

- Location: Jakarta, Indonesia

Qualifications and experience

Required

- Bachelor's degree in any discipline, with substantial academic training in economics, finance, public policy, or a closely related field at either the undergraduate or postgraduate level.

- Legal work authorization in Indonesia.

- Established experience engaging with government, multilateral institutions, research organizations, or advisory practices on macroeconomic, trade, fiscal, or industrial policy.

- Demonstrated record of producing rigorous policy research and translating economic analysis into policy-relevant recommendations.

- Strong command of Indonesia's trade, tax, and investment incentive architecture, including tariff and non-tariff measures, tax holidays and allowances, VAT and import-duty facilities, and the legal and administrative mechanisms through which these instruments are deployed.

- Strong grounding in applied macroeconomic and trade analysis, including growth and productivity decomposition, input-output analysis, and economic complexity, with sufficient technical depth to direct quantitative work, assess modelling choices, and challenge underlying assumptions.

- Proficiency in Stata, advanced Excel, and other software or programming languages for data analysis, economic modelling, and the production and quality assurance of quantitative outputs.

- Professional working proficiency in both English and Indonesian.

Preferred

- Master's degree in economics, finance, public policy, development studies, or a closely related field.

- At least five years of professional experience working on Indonesian macroeconomic, trade, fiscal, or industrial policy, including responsibility for supervising researchers or directing analytical work.

- Proficiency in Python for data analysis, automation, econometric analysis, or quantitative modelling.

- Experience developing, estimating, calibrating, or interpreting structural macroeconomic models, including DSGE and CGE models.

- Experience working directly with policy design, implementation, regulatory analysis, or government decision-making in areas relevant to trade, taxation, investment, or industrial development.

- Familiarity with the empirical and theoretical literature on industrial policy and with contemporary industrial policy instruments used in Indonesia and internationally.