Research Officer /Senior Research Officer (LEGF1/LEGF2)

Work for the IMF. Work for the World.

The Legal Department (LEG) of the International Monetary Fund (the Fund) is seeking to fill one-year contractual Research Officer position(s) in its Financial Integrity Division (FID), with a focus on policy research, and/or data analysis and research. Travel to Fund member countries may be required in exceptional circumstances.

The Fund is an international organization with a membership of 190 countries. The Fund's Legal Department aims at promoting and preserving the rule of law and financial integrity in the Fund and its member countries which is essential to the Fund in carrying out its mandate. In fulfilling its mission, the department provides top-quality, professional advice to the Fund's Board of Governors, Executive Board, management, and staff, and to the authorities of member countries on Fund law and policy, financial integrity issues, Fund-related administrative issues, and domestic legal and operational policy issues relevant to the Fund's mandate.

The Fund's Legal Department offers a unique opportunity to contribute to strengthening and fostering global, regional, and country efforts in financial integrity, including anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT), with a view to promoting the integrity of the international financial system. LEG's financial integrity work is conducted through two divisions under the overall oversight of the General Counsel and Director of the Legal Department and the direct oversight of the Deputy General Counsel in charge of financial integrity matters in LEG. The successful candidate(s) will be assigned to one of the divisions.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the overall oversight of the General Counsel and Director of the Legal Department, the direct oversight of the Deputy General Counsel and the direct supervision of the Head and Deputy Head of the Division to which the successful candidate(s) will be assigned, the selected candidate(s) will assist FID staff by contributing to the surveillance, assessment, program and capacity development-related work of FID, preparing background notes on countries, carrying out research, drafting research documents on assigned topics, and maintaining databases. Specific duties and responsibilities include:

In the context of bilateral surveillance and use of Fund's resources, reviewing and commenting on relevant internal documents for a group of countries and keeping abreast of developments in the Fund's relations with these countries, including by

• managing country information resources and monitoring media reports for AML/CFT related-matters;
• Conducting analyses of countries' money laundering (ML), terrorist financing (TF), and proliferation financing (PF) risks and circumstances and AML/CFT regimes;
• Acting as the primary division contact point with country teams, participating in relevant meetings, and preparing briefings for discussions with country authorities, as appropriate;
• Contributing to the review of selected draft AML/CFT assessment reports prepared by other assessor bodies; and to Fund staff-led AML/CFT assessments, both against the Financial Action Task Force Recommendations
• In the context of FID’s AML/CFT capacity development program, providing support to divisional project managers, organizing capacity development events and training, and on occasion, participating in capacity development missions;
• Researching and analyzing AML/CFT issues and contributing to the drafting of articles and publications, including handbooks issued by the Department; and
• Managing and maintaining FID internal databases, and gathering, analyzing, using, and interpreting data.

In addition to the above, the selected candidate may carry out other assignments as instructed by the Head or Deputy Head of the Division.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree, or equivalent in law, economics, finance, mathematics, computer or social sciences, international relations, or other relevant fields; or a university degree, or equivalent, supplemented by a minimum of six years of relevant professional experience; or a minimum of two years of relevant experience at grade A8, or equivalent, is required.
• A demonstrated aptitude for research.
• Knowledge and/or exposure to financial integrity and AML/CFT issues would also be a significant asset.
• Candidates with a knowledge of emerging AML/CFT issues, such as the ML/TF risks associated with Fintech and how to mitigate them, and demonstrated ability to work with risk assessments, statistics and data, including big data (using tools such as MS Access, Python, R for Windows, Stata, and Tableau) are especially sought.

In addition to quality education and experience, this position requires;

• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English
• Strong analytical and time management skills
• Sound judgment
• An ability to develop strong relationships with others (including as part of inter-disciplinary teams), country counterparts and international organizations.
• Excellent skills at working collaboratively with colleagues at all levels and of different cultural backgrounds

Knowledge of languages other than English (e.g., Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Russian, Spanish, Portuguese) with professional-level fluency would be an asset.

This is a one-year contractual appointment. Contractual appointments at the IMF are renewable for up to four years of cumulative contractual service, pending incumbent's performance, budget availability, and continuous business need.

All applicants are expected to include a Statement of Interest as an attachment to the application, which may be used in the screening process for this vacancy.

Department:

LEGF1 Legal Department Financial Integrity Division 1Hiring For:

A09, A10, A11The IMF is committed to achieving a diverse staff, including age, creed, culture, disability, educational background, ethnicity, gender, gender expression, nationality, race, religion and beliefs, and sexual orientation.