Economist – Infrastructure Impact Assessment

Banyan Global; Washington, Anacortes (District of Columbia, WA); Remote; USD 80,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

An established industry player is seeking an Economist to evaluate a diverse portfolio of infrastructure projects across various regions. This role involves conducting comprehensive cost-benefit analyses to assess the economic impacts of projects in low- and middle-income countries. The successful candidate will leverage their expertise in financial modeling and economic analysis to provide insights that guide investment decisions. With a flexible and remote working arrangement, this position offers the opportunity to contribute to meaningful development initiatives while collaborating with a team of seasoned professionals. Join us in making a lasting impact through effective evaluation and analysis.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in conducting cost-benefit analyses for infrastructure projects.
• Advanced degree in Economics or related field required.

Responsibilities

• Support financial and economic analysis of infrastructure projects.
• Conduct economic benefit analysis using ERR and NPV metrics.
• Prepare concise deliverables explaining technical findings.

Skills

Cost-Benefit Analysis

Financial Modeling

Economic Analysis

Statistical Tools (Excel, Stata, R)

Communication Skills

Data Analysis

Project Evaluation

Education

Master’s or PhD in Economics

Public Policy

Development Economics

Tools

Excel

Stata

R

Job description

Overview

Banyan Global Introduction: Banyan Global is a development consulting firm, founded on the principle that integrating expertise and experience from the development community and private sector will achieve a broad and lasting impact. Our unique team comprises seasoned private sector and international development professionals. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., Banyan Global maintains staff around the world.

Position Overview: We are seeking an Economist with expertise in cost-benefit analysis (CBA) to play a key role in an independent evaluation to assess a portfolio of approximately 15 operational infrastructure projects in Africa, Latin America, and S.E. Asia. These projects vary in type—ranging from greenfield developments to upgrades and expansions of existing infrastructure. The evaluation will examine the benefits generated by these projects to the U.S. government, U.S. businesses, and the host countries where projects are implemented. These infrastructure projects are supported through direct investments, political risk insurance, or via financial intermediaries such as investment funds. The evaluation will employ a combination of qualitative analysis and ex-post CBA to answer a set of prioritized questions. The insights from this evaluation will identify gaps in current practices and improving project screening, due diligence, monitoring, and evaluation across the infrastructure project lifecycle. The position is flexible and remote, with travel to project sites in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

The successful candidate will support the design and implementation of ex-post CBAs for selected infrastructure projects, ensuring that the analysis reflects real-world economic impacts and contributes directly to priority evaluation questions. This role requires demonstrated experience conducting CBAs in infrastructure sectors (e.g., transportation, energy, water) and the ability to adapt economic models to the data realities of low- and middle-income countries (LMIC).

Responsibilities

• Support the financial and economic analysis of a portfolio of infrastructure projects across multiple countries and sectors.
• Construct net cash flow models for each project to evaluate financial performance—including NPV and IRR—with a clear linkage to the investment-specific contribution.
• Conduct economic benefit analysis to assess net benefits to society in host countries and the U.S., using ERR and NPV as key metrics.
• Evaluate and differentiate benefits accruing to the U.S. private sector and the U.S. Government, such as procurement, ownership, and indirect commercial advantages.
• Incorporate non-market effects such as consumer surplus and environmental and social externalities in the economic analysis.
• Aggregate project-level results to provide portfolio-level insights on both financial and economic performance.
• Work collaboratively with qualitative researchers to triangulate findings and contextualize quantitative results.
• Support preparation of clear, concise written deliverables that explain technical findings to non-specialist audiences.

Qualifications

• Advanced degree (Master’s or PhD) in Economics, Public Policy, Development Economics, or a related field.
• At least 7 years of experience conducting cost-benefit analyses, preferably of infrastructure projects in LMICs.
• Strong command of financial and economic modeling, including tools such as Excel, Stata, or R.
• Proven ability to assess both private financial returns and societal-level economic benefits.
• Experience incorporating externalities (e.g., environmental, social) and non-market values into economic analysis.
• Ability to work with imperfect or incomplete data and justify reasonable assumptions.
• Familiarity with donor-funded evaluations, development finance institutions, or multilateral agencies.
• Excellent communication skills, with a demonstrated ability to explain technical concepts to non-technical audiences.
• Prior work evaluating development finance-backed infrastructure projects preferred.
• Familiarity with political risk insurance and public-private investment models.
• Experience with procurement analysis, U.S. business linkages, or trade impact assessments.
• Proficiency in additional languages (e.g., French, Spanish, Portuguese) is an advantage.

Interested candidates should submit their CV and salary expectations by May 19, 2025. No cover letter required. Salary commensurate with background and experience. We will only contact eligible candidates to discuss their availability. Please no phone calls.

Please apply for the position through our website, https://banyanglobal.com/careers/.

Banyan Global does not discriminate against employees based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, sexual orientation, or gender expression.