Tax Policy Economist

Research Management and Tax Policy Analysis

• Plan, manage and undertake high quality applied research and other analytical projects, and develop or co-produce simulation tools and models with government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to support tax policy analysis, with support from the cross-country ODI and IFS research teams. This will involve working with government MDAs to determine the appropriate indicators or proxy measurement, methods and methodology for data and information collection, identify potential data sources, conduct or co-produce analysis, interpretation of findings and drafting of reports and policy briefings.
• Build strong relationships with government MDAs and help to identify policy and research questions relevant to current practice;

Support data sharing and appropriate country-led governance arrangements between relevant government institutions, and with ODI and IFS, and strengthen systems for formatting, cleaning and processing data for policy analysis;

• Develop a work plan in line with government priorities, to be agreed with the NT and KRA. Activities in the work plan may include, for example, contributing to
• Periodic estimation and reporting of revenue foregone under tax expenditure and evaluation of tax expenditures against objectives;
• Support National Treasury and Kenya Revenue Authority to respond to questions from policy makers using analytical tools and evidence;
• Appraisal and costing of new tax policy measures as part of the annual budget process;
• Evaluation of tax policy impacts, such as revenue and distributional impacts, to inform future tax policy formulation;
• Support to the consultation of stakeholders on the formulation of new tax policy measures;
• Develop systems and processes to ensure that routine analysis can be conducted efficiently and accurately

• Keep up to date with tax policy developments in partner countries and internationally;
• Liaise actively with researchers and academics across ODI, IFS and local institutions to identify opportunities for research projects and collaboration.

Project Management and Stakeholder Coordination

• Work with partners and researchers to develop realistic and implementable project plans and help ensure that all project activities progress according to government agencies and funding partner timelines;
• Contribute to reporting on progress towards delivery of programme objectives, milestones, outcomes and outputs, in line with funding partner reporting requirements;
• Work with partners and researchers to develop and manage the negotiation of research deliverables, work plans and budgets for data collection agencies and sub-contractors (if required);
• Establish and strengthen relationships with local technical assistance providers and governments’ development partners to help coordinate and complement delivery of TaxDev’s assistance with that of others.
• Keep up to date with tax policy developments in partner countries and internationally and facilitate knowledge transfer within the Kenyan tax policy stakeholders.
• Effectively manage relationship with researchers, and academics across ODI, IFS as well as with local stakeholder institutions to identify opportunities for collaboration and partnership on research for development.

Training and Capacity Development

• Work with NT and KRA to identify training gaps and needs, on-job coaching and professional development needs, and contribute to updating and enhancing country-level capacity development plans to respond to these needs;
• Work with NT and KRA and researchers to organise and deliver TaxDev’s contribution to the capacity development plans, including training workshops, study tours and fellowships;
• Work with NT and KRA and researchers to develop and update training manuals that can be used for the continuous HR improvement and of analytical tools and for broader publication on the TaxDev, ODI, and IFS websites;
• Work with NT and KRA to monitor and review progress in capacity development, including through periodic skills assessments.

Dissemination and impact

• Contribute to TaxDev communications, liaison and engagement activities in partner countries and work with partners, ODI, and IFS researchers to disseminate lessons and guidance on analytical methods and research findings to TaxDev’s network and wider audiences of governments, international institutions and development partners, tax practitioners and researchers interested in tax policy.

• Contribute to the organisation of conferences, workshops, and dissemination events and other relevant user engagement methods in collaboration with partners, ODI, IFS, and the local research community.

HOW TO APPLY

Interested candidates should submit a CV and a (maximum) 2-page covering letter outlining how your qualifications, skills and experience match those in the role of interest to dpfrecruitment@odi.org.uk.

Please use the email subject line ‘TAXDEV III Application’.

The deadline for applications is 18th May 2025

Interviews will take place in Late May / early June 2025, but please note that candidates may be shortlisted and/or invited for interview sooner if suitable candidates apply before the deadline.

CONTRACT DETAILS

The successful candidate will be engaged on the project through a 12-month collaborator agreement (competitive rates to be agreed depending on experience). The funding for this project is expected to run until 2030 and, as such, it is expected that there will be an opportunity for annual contract renewal.