Director of Public Information – Cambridge, MA
The NBER seeks to convey economic research findings to audiences that include academics, policy-makers, journalists. The Director is responsible for content development for the NBERs publications — currently the monthly NBER Digest and the quarterly NBER Reporter — as well as for the NBER website. Overseeing these publications requires both copy-editing and print production skills. The director will have the opportunity to review the structure, content, and production of these publications, to update the NBERs communication strategy, and to develop plans for integrating digital media and other new technologies into that strategy.
The Director works with the President to select research studies that will be summarized in various NBER publications. The Director then drafts or commissions summaries of these studies and develops concise and accessible visual content, such as charts and graphs, that will highlight key research findings. The Director also works with NBER researchers to prepare summaries that describe NBER research in various fields, and helps to develop strategies using the NBER website and other potential tools to improve the accessibility of NBER research findings.
The Director will develop media outreach strategies in connection with periodic open to the press NBER meetings, attend such meetings, and supervise the recording and archiving of such meetings as appropriate. The Director will also prepare summaries of the contents of such meetings, and oversee the process of describing NBER meetings on the NBER website.
The Director will monitor press coverage of the NBER and of NBER research and will respond to press inquiries. The Director will assist the President, when appropriate, in responding to media commentary about the NBER and its work. If necessary, the Director would play a key part in any “crisis response.” The Director will formulate metrics for tracking media coverage of NBER research.
The Director will communicate the decisions of the NBER’s Business Cycle Dating Committee to the media community and to the broader public by overseeing both web posting and email distribution. The Director will also serve as a spokesperson for the Committee and respond to questions concerning the Committees decisions and statements.
Candidates for the Director position should have excellent writing and editing skills, at least a B.A. (preferably in economics), and substantial experience working in economics, finance, or related fields. Candidates should be prepared to submit a writing sample as well as a summary of a research paper that will be provided in the course of the application process. Graduate work in journalism, economics, or public relations, and experience in economic journalism or a related role involving public dissemination of research, is very desirable. Other important skills include a capacity to manage a publication process with well-defined deadlines, a desire to design and lead a media strategy within a small organization, a high energy level, a capacity to oversee both routine communication activities and one-off creative projects, familiarity and experience with Microsoft Office, web publishing tools, social media, and web-based research tools, and a capacity for collaboration with a wide range of researchers and staff members.
The NBER is a leading economic research organization, with more than 1200 affiliated researchers who are based primarily at North American colleges and universities. These scholars disseminate nearly one thousand research studies each year through the NBER working paper series. The NBER is a private, non-profit, non-partisan organization that does not take policy positions. For more information, please visit http://www.nber.org/.
Compensation will be tailored to a candidate’s qualifications and past experience. The NBER offers a competitive benefits package that includes health, dental, life, and long-term disability insurance, as well as an attractive defined contribution retirement plan.
Candidates should assemble a cover letter outlining relevant experience, a resume, and a writing sample in a single pdf that can be uploaded to the online application located at this link: https://home.eease.adp.com/recruit/?id=5151131
The NBER is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, age, national origin or disability.
The NBER will make reasonable accommodation for any disabled applicant, and will provide assistance to disabled applicants as needed during the application process.
