Policy Analysts – Enhancing Higher Education System Performance(

Job Number:
11886)

Description

The OECD is a global economic forum working with 35 member countries and more
than 100 emerging and developing economies to make better policies for better lives.
Our mission is to promote policies that will improve the economic and social well-being
of people around the world. The Organisation provides a unique forum in which
governments work together to share experiences on what drives economic, social and
environmental change, seeking solutions to common problems.

The Directorate for Education and Skills (EDU) leads the Organisation’s work to help
member and non-member countries achieve high-quality learning for all, design better
skills policies, and turn them into jobs and growth. The Directorate carries this out by
providing statistics, analysis and policy advice to countries on a wide range of
educational topics.

The OECD’s Directorate for Education and Skills is looking for experienced analysts to
join an expanding team on the OECD’s project on Enhancing higher education system
performance.

The Enhancing higher education system performance work has two inter-locking
strands:

 benchmarking higher education system performance.

 the in-depth analysis of key higher education topics.

The first topic of in-depth analysis, the labour market relevance and outcomes of higher
education systems, is in the country review phase. The second topic, resourcing higher
education: effectiveness, efficiency and economy, will commence shortly with the
development of an analytical framework.

This work is being carried out under the oversight of the OECD’s Education Policy
Committee through the Informal Working Group on Higher Education and is supported
by a stakeholder dialogue process that includes an annual OECD Higher Education
Stakeholder Forum.

Analysts will contribute to the in-depth analysis of resourcing higher education:

effectiveness, efficiency and economy as well as other work on higher education. They
will work as part of the higher education team under the supervision of a senior analyst,
and under the direction of the head of the Skills beyond School Division.

Main responsibilities

Higher education policy analysis

 Provide analytical and technical expertise on higher education issues. Lead or

contribute to the development of analytical frameworks to structure and guide the
collection and analysis of data and information; build the OECD’s comparative
evidence base; and connect higher education policies and practices with broader
economic and social outcomes. Apply the relevant analytical frameworks to
country reviews and reports.
 Produce relevant and timely analytical documents, reports, speeches,
presentations and publications that maximise the impact of the OECD’s work on
higher education.
 Contribute to the ongoing refinement of the Enhancing Higher Education System
Performance project and the development of new strands of higher education
policy analysis in line with priorities expressed by countries.
 Contribute to the provision of relevant and timely policy advice to the Education
Policy Committee, the Informal Working Group on Higher Education and to
individual countries.
 Provide advice and briefings to OECD senior management, national
representatives, inter-governmental bodies and other stakeholders.

Project management

 Lead or contribute to the delivery of agreed outputs (e.g. reports, country visits,
workshops, fora and other events) to a high quality and within deadlines, while
effectively and flexibly responding to emerging issues.
 Contribute to the co-ordination, preparation and follow-up of the regular meetings
of the Informal Working Group on Higher Education, the OECD Higher Education
Stakeholder Forum and other events. Develop reports, analysis and information
items to support these events.
 Supervise analysts and interns as necessary.
 Manage external consultants when necessary in producing research papers and
policy documents.

Collaboration and dissemination

 Collaborate effectively across the OECD Secretariat to ensure that higher

education policy issues are addressed coherently, and that they are well-
connected with other work within the Directorate for Education and Skills as well
as in other OECD Directorates.
  Build and maintain a network of contacts with government policy advisers, higher
education analysts and experts, international organisations, research institutions,
and higher education institutions.
 Contribute to the development of effective dissemination strategies for the
outputs of the higher education work, and adapt key policy messages to meet the
needs of different audiences. Represent the OECD externally and promote the
work of the Directorate and the Division. Respond to enquiries from Delegations,
media and stakeholders.

Ideal Candidate Profile

Academic Background

 An advanced higher education degree in economics, public policy, social

sciences, or a similar discipline.

Professional Background

 A minimum of three and preferably at least five years' professional experience in

analysis of higher education policies and performance at a system level,
preferably acquired in a national or regional administration, research institute or
an international organisation.
 Demonstrated knowledge of higher education policy issues, and substantial
expertise in one or more key areas of higher education policy and/or higher-
education system performance in a cross-national context.
 Experience in quantitative and qualitative techniques used in research and
analysis in the social sciences and in designing and carrying out analyses that
yield policy-relevant insights; drawing out evidence-based policy implications;
and formulating relevant policy recommendations.
 Experience in managing small teams of analysts/economists/statisticians and
support staff would be an asset.
 Knowledge of policy issues on resourcing higher education systems would be
useful.

Languages

 An excellent written and oral command of one of the two official languages of the
Organisation (English and French), including an excellent drafting ability in that
language. Fluency in the other official language or another language would be an
advantage.

Core Competencies
  For this role, the following competencies would be particularly important:
Achievement focus, Analytical thinking, Drafting skills, Teamwork and Team
leadership, Client focus, Strategic thinking.
 Please refer to the OECD Core Competencies and the level 3 indicators.

Contract Duration

 Two-year fixed term appointment, with the possibility of renewal.

What the OECD offers

 Depending on level of experience, monthly salary starts at either 5,800 EUR or

7,200 EUR, plus allowances based on eligibility, exempt of French income tax.

Please note that the appointment may be made at a lower grade based on the
qualifications and professional experience of the selected applicant.

The OECD is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes the applications of all
qualified candidates who are nationals of OECD member countries, irrespective of their
racial or ethnic origin, opinions or beliefs, gender, sexual orientation, health or
disabilities.

The OECD promotes an optimal use of resources in order to improve its efficiency and
effectiveness. Staff members are encouraged to actively contribute to this goal.