Senior Associate/ Associate (Fiscal Policy)

Ministry of Finance (Singapore); Singapore; On-site; SGD 60,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Ministry of Finance (Singapore) is seeking a self-driven Fiscal Policy Associate to join the Fiscal Policy Directorate. You will gain a strategic overview of government priorities, synthesize and analyse information, and propose robust policy options to balance competing needs across social, economic and infrastructure domains.

You will review budgetary policies, consult across levels, and model revenue and expenditure projections to support medium- and long-term fiscal sustainability for

Qualifications

• Strong critical thinking, writing and presentation skills.
• Good numeracy and data literacy.
• Background in economics, social sciences, business or quantitative disciplines.

Responsibilities

• Formulate, review and implement fiscal and budgeting policies to optimize resource allocation.
• Horizon scanning and strategic planning for future economic challenges.
• Analyse fiscal and macroeconomic data to support policy decisions.
• Engage stakeholders across Government to align revenue and expenditure plans.

Skills

Critical thinking

Writing skills

Presentation skills

Numeracy

Job description

The Fiscal Policy Directorate in MOF is responsible for formulating and implementing fiscal strategies and frameworks to optimise the allocation of finite public resources, to maintain macroeconomic stability (e.g. through countercyclical fiscal policies), support economic growth, and promote social equity. This requires making difficult trade-offs across competing strategic priorities in the social, economic, security and infrastructure domains, while considering progressivity and inter-generational equity. Our work ensures that we can balance the budget and have sufficient resources to advance Singapore’s key priorities, for the benefit of Singaporean households and businesses.

We ensure fiscal sustainability over the medium to long term by setting out plans for our revenue (e.g. taxes, returns on investment of reserves, Government fees), financing (e.g. use of bonds), expenditure, and public sector manpower priorities. This requires close collaboration with our colleagues across MOF, as well as other Government agencies.

We are looking for a self-driven and highly motivated individual, with an interest in working with data, to join our dynamic and collaborative team. You will have the opportunity to gain a strategic overview of the government’s priorities, manage trade-offs among competing needs, and shape the public policy agenda. You will also have the opportunity to review and operationalise our budgetary policies (e.g. Block Budgets, Programme Budgets, Reinvestment Fund, Manpower Management Framework, debt management) to support our macro-allocation objectives. As a Fiscal Policy Associate, you will be required to consult widely at all levels, synthesise and analyse information effectively, generate robust policy options and exercise sound judgment over trade-offs.

What you will be working on

Key areas of work could involve the following:

• Formulate, review and implement fiscal, budgeting, revenue, financing, debt management and public sector manpower policies to enable optimal allocation of resources across the Government and ensure fiscal sustainability

Strategic Planning

• Horizon scanning and research of future economic and social challenges/opportunities, and study the implications for Singapore
• Formulate Singapore’s fiscal strategies and response to these key challenges and seed ideas for major public policy shifts

Managing Stakeholders and Trade-offs

• Work closely with stakeholders to shape the Government’s revenue and expenditure plans and ensure alignment and coherence with the Government’s strategic priorities
• Analysis of fiscal impact of major policy changes and public spending programmes and manage the trade-offs across different sectors

Data Analytics

• Analyse fiscal and macroeconomic data to sense-make the impact of fiscal policies
• Model and project our revenue and expenditure over the medium to long term

What we are looking for

• Strong critical thinking, writing and presentation skills, as well as good numeracy skills.
• A background in economics, social sciences, business or the quantitative disciplines.