Economist Program 2026

Position description

The IMF is inviting applications for its 2026 Economist Program (EP). As an EP you will join a team of staff working to address key global economic challenges and build a career that will allow you to apply your knowledge, skills, and research to policy related work that directly impacts our 191 member countries.

Working closely with experienced economists, you will be given considerable responsibility in carrying out operations-related analysis, research and policy development. You will have the chance to work closely with country authorities to make a meaningful contribution on a global stage, fostering monetary cooperation, securing financial stability, facilitating international trade, promoting sustainable economic growth, and reducing poverty.

The EP is a three-year program consisting of two 18-month assignments which aims to build the future leaders of the Fund. Depending on your assignments, you will gain broad experience in regional and country-specific issues, as well as in fiscal, monetary, balance of payments, debt, or other related issues and contribute to our analytical and research work. During the program, you will have access to a wide range of professional, technical, and language training and development activities to enhance your professional skills and career development. You will also be mentored, guided, and supported by seasoned economists, all with a view of ensuring a satisfying and exciting start to your career at the IMF.

If you are a recent PhD graduate with the technical skills and creativity to help us identify innovative ways to address today’s global economic challenges, we are keen to hear from you.

Qualifications

We are seeking top economists from around the world who:

• Have recently completed or are expected to complete your PhD within a year (or less) of joining the IMF, in fields including macroeconomics, finance, public finance, monetary economics,international economics, trade, poverty issues, macro-climate, political economy, econometrics or related areas.
• Are able to demonstrate a sound understanding of macroeconomics (even if specialized in other areas during graduate school) and use conceptual frameworks to explain complex ideas, navigate around the different sectors of an economy and highlight the linkages between these sectors.
• Possess an excellent academic record.
• Have proven analytical, quantitative, and IT skills.
• Are a national of one our member countries.
• Will be below age 34 at entry to the program on September 8, 2026.
• Have strong written and oral English skills.

You should also be:

• Motivated by contributing to the economic well-being of our members.
• Interest in, with aptitude for, working in an international environment, and making a difference to global economic policy issues that impact the lives of people around the world.
• Willing to undertake a combination of operational, analytical, and research work.
• Versatile and flexible in learning about different areas while also possessing a strong field of relevant expertise.
• A natural collaborator motivated by exchanging information and ideas to reach common goals.
• Culturally agile with the emotional intelligence to engage effectively internally and externally, develop relationships,and build strong networks across and within teams.
• Willing to travel (varies based on assignment but typically one-two missions per 18-month EP assignment).
• Proficient in, or be willing to learn, foreign languages. (Languages other than English are useful but not a requirement.)

Selection process:

We will conduct an initial screening based on your Application and supporting documentation. If you are successful in meeting our initial criteria, you will receive an invitation for a preliminary interview. This may be during one of our university campus visits or by video. Following a successful preliminary stage (preliminary interview + transcript + references), we will invite you for a panel interview along with a writing test and a review of your job market paper. The preliminary and panel interview stages will take place starting in October through to the end of January 2026, with the timing of the two stages overlapping. All offers will be made in early February to support a start date in September 2026, at its Washington D.C. headquarters.

Application instructions

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