Industry Economist - Cost Analysis

Bedford, MA

RISI is the leading provider of news and information for the global forest products industry. RISI has offices in Boston (Bedford), Atlanta, San Francisco, Charlottesville, Virginia, Brussels, Shanghai, Sao Paulo and Singapore.

What's Exciting About Our Company

We're a great mix of stability and dynamism. Our oldest product has been published for more than 100 years. On the other hand, one of our keys to success is that we use information technology aggressively to fundamentally improve the value of our information to our customers.

We're in growth mode. Thirty percent of our sales come from outside North America, and we’re looking for that percentage to grow. Also, based on our success in the forest products sector, we are looking to move into other sectors.

Our size. With 125 employees, we're small enough that you can see the impact of your work, but big enough to have a wealth of people from whom to learn.

Our international focus. The pulp and paper industry has gone global and RISI has gone global with it. RISI has offices all over the world, and RISI economists are expected to do at least one or two overseas trips per year once they are trained.

Background

RISI Inc. is seeking an Industry Economist for its Pulp and Paper Economic Analysis group. The Cost Economist will be located at our Bedford, Massachusetts, office just outside of Boston.

RISI is recognized as the premier source for economic forecasts and analysis of the international forest products industry. RISI analysis and forecasts are published in ongoing monthly and quarterly reports grouped by product and geographical sector. Clients include forest products companies, government agencies, environmental groups, industry suppliers, and the investment community. RISI is also the leading publisher of news and information for the forest products industry, with offices in Charlottesville, Boston (Bedford), San Francisco, New Jersey, Atlanta, Brussels, Singapore, Shanghai, and Sao Paulo.

Responsibilities

The Cost Economist's primary role will be to perform rigorous analysis of the cost structure of the world pulp and paper industry, in a way that allows for "apples to apples" comparisons and forecasts of production costs across grades of pulp and paper and also across regions of the world. Core responsibilities will include the following:

• Manage the collection of historical prices of factors of production used to produce pulp and paper in key countries.
• Work with the RISI macroeconomists to provide forecasts of the key input prices three times per year.
• Monitor and forecast key technological input-output relationships that affect production costs.
• Develop and expand "financial modules" for the RISI cost models. The financial modules will estimate fully-allocated costs by including factors such as depreciation, cost of capital, tax rules, and capital equipment replacement costs.
• Work with the RISI economists to perform scenario analyses—both as part of the forecast process but also in conjunction with single-client/multi-client studies. Eventually assume primary responsibility for conceptualizing and performing such studies.

Skills Sets Required

• Masters degree in Economics or Business
• Knowledge of Economic theory, especially micro
• Strong quantitative and analytical skills; financial modeling experience is major plus
• Good organizational skills
• Ability to meet strict deadlines
• Superior attention to detail
• Ability to think creatively and work independently
• Computer competence

Skills Sets Required

• Knowledge of pulp and production process

Compensation

Compensation will be commensurate with the skills and experience of the successful candidate.

Contact

To apply for this position, please send resume with cover letter including your salary requirements to jobs@risiinfo.com and indicate job code IECA-Bed08. (No phone calls, please.)

Note: Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the United States for any employer.