Regional Director - Europe

The EIU is the research and analysis division of The Economist Group, the sister company to The Economist newspaper. Created in 1946, we have over 70 years’ experience in helping businesses, financial firms and governments to navigate the ever-changing global landscape.

The Country Analysis division of the EIU is hiring a Regional Director to lead our Europe team. This very senior role is expected to be the intellectual leader for our Europe analysis, leading a team of analysts to produce forecasts, reports and research notes, as well as contributing market-leading analysis of their own. The successful candidate will also be part of the EIU editorial management team, helping to formulate and executive our editorial strategy and initiatives, including by exercising influence and leadership beyond their immediate team. 

This is a client-facing role that requires outstanding analysis, forecasting, writing and presenting skills. The successful candidate will be afforded the opportunity to help guide decision-making within our client organisations, while also driving innovation and growth within the EIU. This role reports to the Head of Research and Insight. 

Be a thought leader and demonstrate deep regional expertise

• You will be a thought leader (ideally with an external profile) for your region, in addition to being capable of contributing to our global output and to the global discussion.
• You will display the ability to debate/challenge and drive discussion forward in a productive manner, recognising others’ expertise, while ensuring your views are heard
• You will show a strong sense of editorial  judgement and ensure adherence to editorial guidelines, including independence, objectivity and quality

Produce and lead high-quality forecasts and analysis

• Personally contribute and ensure the team produces high-quality economic, politics and policy forecasts for the region
• Write data- and graphic-rich research notes and analysis that identify important trends and highlight implications for clients 

• As well as being an excellent writer, you will demonstrate strong, and quick, editing skills, allowing you to drive quality forecasting and analysis within your team

Management

• You will be an experienced manager, able to demonstrate a track record of effective hiring, training, mentoring/coaching, development and performance management
• You welcome managing a large team, with a range of experience levels and backgrounds and with a demanding output schedule
• You will have ultimate responsibility for a large team of freelance contributors, managed by your team of country analysts

Leadership 

• However, smooth daily running of the team is not enough, you will be capable of being a leader within the editorial team

• You will be recognised as a leader and capable of being influential, not just for your team, but across the wider editorial team
• As part of the EIU editorial management team and as a very senior figure in the EIU, the job involves leading and co-owning EIU/TEG opportunities and challenges

Relentlessly client-focused

• This will involve the internal and external promotion of our forecasts and analysts, to colleagues, to clients, to prospects, to the media and via our Speaker Bureau service
• However, you will also be very user-focused, thinking about the way our clients consume our work and not the back-end way we process it. 

• You will work collaboratively with EIU commercial colleagues to support new business development

Project work

• In addition to your editorial output, you will be interested and keen to get involved in team and EIU-wide projects as required
• These may include team-wide initiatives, product development initiatives and/or commercial projects. 
• May involve acting as a business expert for key changes; most often will involve giving input into projects and, crucially, ensuring effective execution in your team

You will have:

• Deep country-level and regional knowledge of European economics, politics and policy and an excellent understanding of global issues, and the interplay between your region and others. You will be a Europe thought leader, with the ability to help drive our global research agenda
• You will be highly experienced in economic analysis and forecasting
• Exceptional writing and editing skills and an ability to write and edit under time pressure
• Excellent stakeholder management skills, including the ability to mentor and inspire an intellectually-driven team, and the ability to support and balance the competing requirements of colleagues outside of your team. You will be a leader, not just a manager. 
• Strong analytical and forecasting skills. You are both an experienced forecaster and demonstrate the ability to tell a story through charts, not just words. 
• Outstanding presentation skills and a strong public profile