Cost Modeling & Economic Evaluation Lead

Save the Children; Washington (District of Columbia); Hybrid; USD 92,000 - 103,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible schedules and time off

Hybrid work opportunities

Health care

Retirement plan

Wellness program

Employee Assistance Program

Learning & Growth opportunities

Job summary

Save the Children in the United States seeks an Economic Evaluation Advisor to strengthen cost modelling and benchmarking for proposals, ensuring realistic, defensible budgets that reflect program costs and outcomes.

The role collaborates with technical advisors, country offices, and finance teams to integrate evidence, support cost-effectiveness analyses, and communicate results to stakeholders worldwide. Travel up to 20% is expected.

Qualifications

• Minimum of a bachelor's degree or equivalent experience, plus at least 5 years of relevant experience
• Experience modeling budgets for international development proposals, including activity-based budgeting
• Demonstrated skills in cost-efficiency analysis and cost-effectiveness analysis, and familiarity with the '4Es' framework
• Ability to analyze complex quantitative data and translate results into practical program recommendations
• Experience planning and coordinating research/data analysis projects, mentoring colleagues
• Facilitation, teaching, and coaching across cultures, in-person and remote
• Strong writing, editing, and verbal communication for non-technical audiences
• Proven collaboration across levels internally and externally
• Willing to travel internationally up to 20%
• MS Office proficiency
• Professional proficiency in English

Responsibilities

• Lead development of program cost models to support proposals and budgeting
• Develop and maintain internal cost benchmarks from historical data and external sources
• Assist teams in interpreting benchmarks and building top-down cost estimates
• Analyze cost drivers and variations to guide proposal design and budgeting
• Engage early in proposal design to embed cost-efficiency considerations
• Build capacity across teams with mentoring and training
• Contribute to tools and guidance for cost modeling and budgeting
• Plan and support retrospective economic evaluations
• Apply best-practice economic evaluation tools including the 4Es framework
• Synthesize and communicate cost evidence via briefs and presentations
• Train colleagues on economic evaluation principles and practice
• Participate in economic evaluation communities of practice
• Contribute to team and divisional meetings; external forums participation

Skills

MS Office proficiency

English proficiency

Writing and communication

Collaboration across teams

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience

Master's degree in economics or public policy (preferred)

Job description

Save the Children in the United States seeks an Economic Evaluation Advisor to strengthen cost modelling and benchmarking for proposals, ensuring realistic, defensible budgets that reflect program costs and outcomes.

The role collaborates with technical advisors, country offices, and finance teams to integrate evidence, support cost-effectiveness analyses, and communicate results to stakeholders worldwide. Travel up to 20% is expected.