Director of Economic Research

State of Missouri; Missouri; On-site; USD 90,000 - 115,000; Full time

Job summary

State of Missouri's Department of Economic Development seeks a Director of Economic Research in the Strategy and Performance Division at the Harry S Truman Building in Jefferson City. You will lead strategic research, develop fact-driven insights, and oversee economic impact analyses to inform state policy and program design.

You will collaborate with internal teams and external partners, manage research projects, and mentor analysts to translate complex data into actionable strategies for

Qualifications

• Seven years of professional relevant experience in data-driven economic research.
• At least two years of proven experience in data visualization and presenting to public audiences.
• A Bachelor's degree or higher in Business, Public Administration, Finance, Economics, or related field.
• Experience with REMI/Lightcast/IMPLAN and data visualization tools preferred.
• Training in operational excellence, project management, GIS, Tableau or ArcGIS is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Lead strategic research and benchmarking to support department performance indicators.
• Oversee production of economic impact analyses for state programs.
• Develop customer-centric research service portfolios and workflows.
• Mentor staff in interpreting economic, demographic, and workforce metrics.
• Collaborate with internal teams and external partners to deliver actionable insights.

Skills

Data visualization

Public presentations

Strategic thinking

Education

Bachelor's degree or higher in Business / Public Admin / Finance / Economic Development / Economics

Tools

REM I

Lightcast

IMPLAN

Tableau

ArcGIS

Job description

Director of Economic Research

Strategy and Performance Division

Department of Economic Development

Harry S Truman Building – 301 W. High Street, Jefferson City, MO

ANNUAL SALARY

$90,000 – $115,000 (based upon credentials)

The salary indicated represents a base pay rate. If the individual selected is eligible for a pay differential (e.g., years of service), it will be added to the total compensation in your paycheck. A pay differential does not raise your base pay.

Why You’ll Love This Position:

The Department of Economic Development (DED) is proud of our mission to help Missourians prosper. The Strategy and Performance (S&P) Division was established by Executive Order in 2019 to enable DED to enhance its long-term planning and use of data so that DED can more effectively carry out its internal and external operations. We are in search of an economic research leader to empower DED team members with insights, develop fact-driven strategies, and collaborate with partners. Do you want to serve as a leader on a team with a bold vision that backs it up with the commitment and smarts to achieve it? If so, this is the role for you!

Key Objectives:

Objective 1: Strategic Service Assessment

Focus: Analyze internal and external stakeholders’ needs and assess the scope of DED’s economic research services to build a strategic research service portfolio that ensures research, information, and data needs are efficiently met.

• Conduct comprehensive needs analysis with internal DED teams (business, community, workforce, etc.).
• Conduct comprehensive needs analysis with key external stakeholders (legislators, regional developers, economic organizations, etc.).
• Review and define the scope of economic research services and establish standard operating criteria for determining the support and services offered by S&P.
• Review and recommend appropriate tools, databases, and economic modeling software to accomplish research, reports, and analyses.
• Build, refine, and champion customer-centric research service intake and delivery workflows.

Objective 2: Research Execution and Management

Focus: Steward research tasks and projects by actively gathering, compiling, and sharing critical economic research to meet DED’s research needs.

• Gather, synthesize, and deliver economic, community, and workforce development research to support state, regional, and local development.
• Provide proactive leadership, methodological design, and support for DED's diverse research projects.
• Work with the broader S&P team to deliver high-quality, robust, and inclusive research.
• Support DED team members with the use of data sources, systems, and platforms to achieve research and information needs.
• Oversee the production of accurate, high-quality economic impact analyses for state programs.
• Oversee the curation and delivery of proactive economic and workforce intelligence for the DED teams.
• This position may provide direct supervision, along with role clarity, to research team members.

Objective 3: Customer Service, Partnership, and Cross-team Support

Focus: Ensure customer research needs are met with excellence and speed.

• Cultivate and maintain active partnerships with external academic, state, and regional entities to achieve research goals.
• Present economic research and information to team members, partners, and stakeholders, including public presentations, ensuring complex economic data is translated so that diverse audiences can interpret the information in a meaningful and actionable way.
• Oversee and respond to research requests timely, and with accuracy, integrity, and professionalism.

Objective 4: Analysis and Strategic Product Development

Focus: Strategic translation of complex data into actionable policies, reports, and team-wide indicator literacy.

• Prepare comprehensive economic, community, workforce analyses identifying Missouri's state and regional economic strengths, opportunities, and weaknesses.
• Draft and publish timely research papers, analytical briefs, and white papers aligned with state and agency priorities.
• Work alongside DED leadership and S&P team to explain complex economic conclusions and translate findings into specific actionable strategies.
• Guide, train, and mentor staff and analysts in interpreting and utilizing economic, demographic, and workforce metrics.
• Lead strategic research and benchmarking to support key departmental performance indicators.

Objective 5: Support DED’s other economic and research activities

Focus: Aid in other activities that support the strategic direction of the department and fulfill the mission and purpose of the agency.

• Apply quantitative and qualitative research methods to assist in the review of DED programs.
• Additional duties as needed/assigned.

Competencies:

• Clear, polished communicator who can drive action through writing, depicting, and presenting concepts and solutions.
• Proven ability to distill high-level econometric concepts, macroeconomic trends, and dense data sets into plain, jargon-free language.
• Ability to build and maintain relationships with both internal team members and external stakeholders.
• Strong leadership skills that encourage creative thinking, yet maintains focus.
• Deals effectively with pressure, by maintaining focus and intensity and remaining optimistic and persistent.
• Formulates effective strategies consistent with the business and competitive strategy of the Department.
• Ability to adapt behavior and work methods in response to new information, changing conditions or unexpected obstacles.
• Experience in developing new insights into situations and applying innovate solutions to make organizational improvements.
• Competent in basic data analysis and visualization; ready to learn more advanced techniques.

Qualifications:

• Seven years of professional relevant experience, including at least two years of proven experience in data visualization and presentation to public audiences. This can be obtained through a combination of work experience and completion of a bachelor’s degree or higher with an emphasis in Business or Public Administration, Finance, Community or Economic Development, Economics, or a related field.
• At least four years of experience utilizing economic modeling systems or software, such as REMI, Lightcast, IMPLAN.
• Some formal training in key operational excellence capability areas preferred, including:
• Continuous improvement methods (e.g., earned Lean Green Belt)
• Project management best practices
• Some training and experience in GIS mapping and data visualization tools such as Tableau and ArcGIS.
• Lack of post-secondary education will not be used as the sole basis denying consideration to any applicant.

The State of Missouri offers an excellent benefits package that includes a defined pension plan, generous amounts of leave and holiday time, and eligibility for health insurance coverage. Your total compensation is more than the dollars you receive in your paycheck. To help demonstrate the value of working for the State of Missouri, we have created an interactive Total Compensation Calculator. This tool provides a comprehensive view of benefits and more that are offered to prospective employees. The Total Compensation Calculator and other applicant resources can be found here.

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