The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

Position Title/Short Description

Full Text of JOE Listing:

Title: Program Associate for Economics
Department: Economics
Location: Rockefeller Center, New York, NY
Start Date: July 2024

Summary

The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation is seeking a Program Associate for its program in Economics. This is a postdoctoral position that carries both administrative responsibilities as well as outstanding opportunities to help shape, study, survey, and conduct academic research.

This position is for two years with the potential to extend for one additional year, not to exceed a total of three years of employment.

The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation is a not-for-profit grantmaking institution that supports high-quality and impartial research in science, technology, and economics; projects to foster a robust and diverse scientific workforce; initiatives to strengthen public understanding and engagement with science; and efforts to promote the health of the scientific enterprise.

In economics, the Sloan Foundation supports rigorous scientific research that expands current boundaries of the discipline, has a high expected return to society, and for which funding from other sources is not yet widely available. As one of the largest private funders of economic research, the Foundation has historically had significant impact on the rate and direction of academic activity.

Sloan’s Economics program currently supports work on a range of policy-relevant research areas, including industrial strategy and regional economic development, transportation and infrastructure, caregiving, and the productivity of the scientific enterprise. The program also supports efforts to create public goods that accelerate the production of rigorous empirical research as well as programs to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion in the economics profession.

The Position

The Program Associate has significant responsibilities for developing, evaluating, and managing grant proposals in economics. Excellent communication and organizational skills, along with scholarly judgement and curiosity, are essential. Applicants should have a strong understanding of econometrics and causal inference. The Program Associate works with the Program Director for Economics and directors of other programs across the Foundation to evaluate and improve the empirical methodologies proposed by prospective grantees. A notable feature of the position is exposure to a wide variety of early-stage, cutting-edge research projects that cross the boundaries between disciplines or subfields. Envisioning and enabling collaborations is therefore part of the job.

Major Responsibilities and Skills

The Program Associate participates in the development of grantmaking priorities and strategies, and in the solicitation, screening, and processing of specific research proposals. They are expected to keep abreast of trends, challenges, and advances—both concerning topics of interest to Sloan and concerning economics generally—by reading journals, attending conferences, and monitoring social media.

In addition to working closely with the Program Director for Economics, currently a Vice President of the Foundation, the Associate also interacts with other Program Directors across the Foundation—both by attending senior staff meetings and by helping to suggest, evaluate, and improve empirical methodologies proposed by prospective grantees in various fields. Strong econometric, statistical, and data science skills are therefore required.

Together with a Program Assistant, the Program Associate has responsibility for budgets, timelines, drafts of reports, etc. This requires organizational, administrative, collaborative, and writing skills as well as attention to detail.

Together with a Program Assistant, the Program Associate handles communication and coordination both within and outside the Foundation about inquiries, proposals, reviews, grants, and initiatives. This includes regular interaction with leading academics and research institutions, and so requires integrity, discretion, and judgment.

The Program Associate is expected to pursue his or her own research projects and career development. Subject to the Foundation’s scheduling constraints and requirements, this may include writing and publishing papers, taking classes, attending seminars and conferences, etc.

Education and Experience

This is a position for a recent Ph.D. in economics or a closely related field. Experience working in a firm or a nonprofit organization, especially as a research assistant, would be helpful. The successful applicant will show evidence of thriving with both directed and self-directed tasks. They will also show interest in developing broad perspectives on economics as a field. Integrity, professionalism, and initiative are key personal qualifications.

Work Schedule and Compensation

Employees of the Foundation are expected to work in the Sloan offices in Rockefeller Center, NYC during normal work hours from Tuesday-Thursday and may work remotely on Mondays and Fridays, except when job commitments require presence in the office.
The Foundation offers a generous benefit package.

The salary range for this position is $95,000 - $105,000.

How to Apply

Interested candidates must submit a personalized cover letter and resume/CV via email to HR@sloan.org with “Last Name – Program Associate, Economics” in the subject line. Please indicate in your cover letter if you plan to attend the ASSA meetings.


The Foundation is emphatically committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion in its grant programs and among staff. As such, the Foundation strongly encourages applications from people of color, people from working class backgrounds, women and LGBTQ people, and members of other marginalized communities.