ECONorthwest, the Pacific Northwest’s largest economics consulting firm, has an immediate opening for a full-time Associate to support our Natural Resources Practice Area. The ideal candidate will have a track record of academic and professional success, as well as experience completing projects to answer economic questions related to natural resources and the environment. Assignment to specific projects will depend on the skills and interests of the Associate as well as the firm’s project support needs. For examples of past ECONorthwest Natural Resources projects, please see our website: econw.com/services#natural-resources.

The core competencies needed for this role include organization, self-direction, team coordination, and expertise in economic methods. Associates work closely with Project Directors and Project Managers to execute tasks including client coordination, methodology development, data analysis, and writing. Associates own a work stream in a larger project and may be primarily responsible for delivering smaller projects under the guidance of a Project Director and/or a Project Manager. Associates also work closely with the firm’s Research Analysts to collect and clean data and perform analyses.

The position will be full-time and will be located in our Bend or Portland, Oregon offices (availability forBend location is preferred). Due to the ongoing pandemic, we anticipate that the selected candidate would likely start as a remote employee but would be expected to transition to working from an ECONorthwest office once normal office operations resume. The anticipated start date for this position is May 3,2021, with flexibility for an earlier or later start date if needed. 

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

We recommend that your resume, cover letter, and/or writing sample address these required qualifications to the fullest extent possible.

• Master’s Degree in Economics or related field OR Bachelor’s Degree in Economics or related field with a minimum of 2 years of economic project experience
• Familiarity with benefit-cost analysis, economic analysis of policy under environmental statutes (e.g., Endangered Species Act, Clean Water Act,National Environmental Policy Act, etc.), principles of economic valuation (e.g., market and non-market valuation techniques, discounting and discount rates, data collection and assessment, etc.), and other principles of environmental economics
• Proficiency in applied economic methods including econometrics and other relevant qualitative, quantitative, and statistical methods and associated analytical tools (including familiarity with at least one statistical software program such as Stata, R, or Python)
• Ability to synthesize complex information from a variety of disciplines, including economics, policy, and natural sciences (e.g., biology, ecology, water resources, etc.)
• Excellent writing and oral communication skills

OTHER DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS

• Public speaking skills, networking skills, and the ability to represent the firm in public with integrity and business acumen
• Ability to demonstrate knowledge of the theories and principles of environmental equity, especially as they relate to the impacts on minority and/or lower-income groups and communities
• Familiarity with public data sources (e.g., U.S. CensusData, USDA agricultural statistics, population forecasts,QCEW data, etc.)
• Project management experience
• Consulting experience 
• Applied experience using Stata, R, or similar statistical analysis program for regressions and data visualization
• Applied experience with GIS, QGIS, or similar geospatial program
• Familiarity with input-output modeling and associated software (e.g., IMPLAN, REMI)

LOCATION

Bend, Oregon or Portland, Oregon (Bend location preferred)

SALARY AND BENEFITS

The salary for this full-time exempt position is $64,000 to $73,000 per year, depending on candidate experience and commensurate with market rates. This position is eligible for full company benefits including medical/dental/vision/life/disability insurance, flexible spending accounts, 401(k),and paid holidays. 

DEADLINE

Applications will be open March 22 and close on April 9, 2021. We anticipate that we will hold interviews starting the week ofApril 19, 2021. 

REQUIRED APPLICATION MATERIALS

All materials (aside from essay questions) should be submitted in PDF format. Please contactburton@econw.com if you have any questions or concerns about these requirements.

• RESUME
• COVER LETTER (1 page limit): Please address in the cover letter how your lived and professional experiences can help ECONorthwest deliver high quality products to our clients.
• WRITING SAMPLE (UPLOAD AS “ANY ADDITIONAL FILES” ATTACHMENT): In this writing sample, we are looking for evidence of your ability to communicate economic or environmental policy concepts to a non-technical audience.We prefer writing samples that have not been heavily edited by others.
• ESSAY QUESTIONS: 200 WORD LIMIT PER QUESTION, BUT SHORTER RESPONSES ARE APPRECIATED (AS LONG AS THEY ARE COMPLETE).
  • Please describe a project that you have contributed to and the role that you played, the technical methods you employed, what went well, your experience working with data, and what you learned from the experience.
  • In 2018, ECONorthwest launched a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI) initiative to better serve our clients and communities. Our full statement on DEI can be viewed at: econw.com/about. Distributional impact and vulnerability assessments are critical to our project work. Tell us about a project that you’ve worked on that addressed questions of equity; how did you go about incorporating and answering those questions? If you haven’t incorporated equity into a project before, tell us about a project where issues of equity should have been addressed and how you might have approached the work differently.
  • Tell us about your familiarity with principles of environmental economics – such as benefit-cost analysis, economic analysis of policy under environmental statutes (e.g.,Endangered Species Act, Clean Water Act, National Environmental Policy Act, etc.),principles of economic valuation (e.g., market and non-market valuation techniques, discounting and discount rates, data collection and assessment, etc.), and others –either through applied experience or coursework.

_ECONorthwest is not a sponsoring organization.ECONorthwest is an Equal Opportunity Employer. _

_ECONorthwest is committed to the work of improving its diversity and inclusiveness as a workplace. Our best work draws on teams within and beyond ECONorthwest who have diverse backgrounds and experiences that reflect the multifaceted communities we workin. Thus, we encourage applicants who would expand the diversity of lived experiences within our team. _