Principal Economist

Take a central role

The Bank of Canada has a vision to be a leading central bank—dynamic, engaged and trusted—committed to a better Canada. No other employer in the country offers you the unique opportunity to work at the very center of Canada’s economy, in an organization with significant impact on the economic and financial well-being of all Canadians. You will be challenged, energized and motivated to excel in our environment. 

Building on the principles that have always guided us – excellence, integrity and respect – we strive to be forward-looking and innovative, to welcome people with diverse perspectives and talents, and to earn trust by living up to our commitments and by clearly explaining the intent of our policies and actions.  

With our defined-benefit pension plan, benefits, and high flexibility for work life balance - find out more about why we are annually ranked as one of Canada's top employers:  Working Here - Bank of Canada

Find out more about the next steps in our Recruitment process. 

Did you know? 

The Macro-Financial Modelling Division in the Financial Stability Department (FSD) is unique in bridging the gap between policy, model development and research, by combining high-quality longer-term research and impactful shorter term policy applications for both monetary and macro-prudential analysis. The division systematically supports policy analysis through the development of macro-financial risk models and quantification of macro-financial risk scenarios.

What you will do 

As Principal Economist, you will provide intellectual leadership by shaping policy-oriented research priorities and the department's analytical outputs for policy recommendations and staff risk assessment. You will originate, lead and conduct projects involving the development of the toolkit for the analysis of the macro-financial environment. Using the wide range of the division’s models, you will conduct policy-relevant analysis highlighting the financial stability aspect in monetary and macroprudential policy debates. You will communicate complex analyses and findings to a range of audiences, including senior management and policymakers. 

You support the Director and, when necessary, act as their substitute to ensure that objectives and requests from senior management are met. You coach junior economists and collaborate with colleagues in research and policy teams. You work closely with other teams to support briefings for senior leadership.

Additional responsibilities include:

• Building and maintaining effective working relationships with a wide range of internal and external partners 
• Understanding policy issues facing other teams to provide help when you can

What you need to succeed

• Strong team player who contributes to a positive, engaging, and dynamic work environment.
• Collaborative and enthusiastic about engaging with colleagues from diverse backgrounds and skill sets.
• A high degree of intellectual curiosity and willingness to challenge the status quo. 
• Passionate about combining cutting-edge research with impactful policy contributions. 
• Eager to work with in-house macro-financial models focusing on non-linearities and tail risks. 
• Experienced in developing and maintaining non-linear models for policy analyses.
• Proficiency in programming languages such as MATLAB, Dynare, R or Python.
• Strong oral and written communication skills; able to explain complex concepts clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences.   
• Effective at managing trade-offs to meet deadlines both in your own work and when leading the work of junior staff.

Nice-to-have 

• Experience in time-series analysis (e.g., VARs), structural modelling (e.g., DSGE), or a combination of both. 
• Knowledge of financial stability related themes, for instance macroprudential policy.  
• An active research pipeline on macro-finance topics that you intend to continue developing. 
• A professional network that includes researchers in academia, policymaking institutions and/or the private sector.

Your education and experience

• a PhD degree in economics or finance with a minimum of two years of recent relevant experience relating to modelling and analyzing the macroeconomy, financial markets, and the interaction between the two, particularly in the context of monetary policy and financial stability.

or

• an equivalent combination of education and experience may be considered

Language requirement
The Bank’s work environment is conducive to the use of both of Canada’s official languages - English and French. Although the position language requirement is English or French essential, we do encourage everyone to improve second their language proficiency for future career growth and to contribute towards fostering a bilingual environment.

What you need to know

• Priority will be given to Canadian citizens and permanent residents
• Security level required: Be eligible to obtain Secret 
• Relocation assistance may be provided, if required
• Please save a copy of the job poster. Once the closing date has passed, it will no longer be available.

Hybrid Work Model

The Bank offers work arrangements that provide employees with flexibility, enable high-performing teams, and support an excellent workplace culture. Most employees can telework from home for a substantial part of each month as part of the Bank`s hybrid work model, and they are expected on site at the Bank location a minimum of eight days per month to help build connections between colleagues. You must live in Canada, and within reasonable commuting distance of the office.

What you can expect from us
This is a great opportunity to join a leading organization and be part of a high-performing team. We offer a competitive compensation and benefits package designed to meet your needs at every stage of your life and career. For more information on key benefits please visit A great deal to consider. 

• Salaries are based on qualifications and experience and typically range from $124,279 to $146,211 (job grade 18)
• The Bank offers an incentive for successfully meeting expectations at  7 to 10% of your base salary. The Bank offers additional performance pay (5%) for those who exceed expectations. Exceptional performers who far exceed expectations may be eligible for higher performance pay.
• Flexible and comprehensive benefits so you can choose the level of health, dental disability and life and/or accident insurance coverage that meets your needs
• Extra vacation days (up to five each year) that you can purchase to add to your vacation entitlement
• Indexed, defined-benefit pension

We wish to thank all applicants for their interest and effort in applying for this position. Only candidates selected for interviews will be contacted.