PROSPERA PHASE 2 JOB VACANCIES 2026

Economist (Debt and Risk Management)

Long-Term Position

KEY INFORMATION

• Job Title: Economist (Debt and Risk Management)
• Position Type: Long-Term Personnel
• Duration/Level of Effort: 12 months, with possibility of extensions
• Position Location: Jakarta – Prospera Office
• Link: Economist (Debt and Risk Management) — Prospera Recruitment

SUMMARY OF THE PROJECT

Prospera Phase 2 is Australia’s flagship economic development partnership with Indonesia, supporting the Government of Indonesia (GoI) to advance sustainable, inclusive and climate-resilient economic growth. Building on nearly three decades of cooperation, the program delivers high-quality, demand-driven policy advice, institutional strengthening and Australian Public Service (APS) partnerships aligned with Indonesia’s national priorities and Australia’s economic diplomacy objectives.

The program is structured around two mutually reinforcing End-of-Program Outcomes:

• strengthened macroeconomic, financial and public financial management systems that support sustainable, climate-resilient and inclusive growth; and
• expanded markets, jobs, trade and investment through improved economic policy and reform implementation.

Across both outcomes, Prospera Phase 2 emphasises politically informed and evidence-based reform, sustained institutional capability, and locally led solutions rather than short-term technical fixes. Gender equality, disability and social inclusion (GEDSI), sustainability, climate and energy transition considerations, and localisation are embedded across all areas of engagement.

SUMMARY OF THE POSITION

The Economist (Debt and Risk Management) will provide economic analysis and policy advice to support Prospera Budget and Debt Management Team’s engagement with Ministry of Finance and other Government of Indonesia counterparts, focusing on government debt, debt sustainability, fiscal surveillance, fiscal risks, and PFM reform.

The Economist will assess debt, financing, fiscal, and macroeconomic developments and their implications for debt sustainability and fiscal risks. This will include conducting debt sustainability analysis and stress testing, developing analytical models, assessing debt-management and financing strategies, and preparing technical notes, briefings, and presentations to support policy dialogue and reform.

The role requires strong economic judgement and ability to work with complex data to identify vulnerabilities, test assumptions, and develop clear policy recommendations. The Economist will work with MoF officials and other government counterparts to strengthen analytical capacity and support the design and implementation of relevant reforms.

Reporting to Prospera Budget and Debt Management Team Lead, the Economist will work closely with colleagues across the Fiscal, Macro, and Financial Sector Teams and provide technical guidance to Research Analysts.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

The Economist (Debt and Risk Management) will provide economic analysis and policy advice on government debt, debt sustainability, and fiscal risks, while supporting PFM reforms in debt and risk management.

Key responsibilities include:

• Analyse public debt, government financing, and fiscal risks, including debt composition, debt servicing, gross financing needs, contingent liabilities, and public-sector balance-sheet exposures.
• Conduct debt sustainability analysis (DSA), medium-term debt projections, scenario analysis, and stress testing to assess debt sustainability, vulnerabilities, and key risks.
• Monitor fiscal and debt developments and assess emerging fiscal, sovereign, and quasi-fiscal risks, including their potential implications for the government’s fiscal position and balance sheet.
• Assess debt-management strategies and financing options, including borrowing and issuance strategies, liability management, contingency financing arrangements, and government securities market development.
• Analyse primary and secondary government securities market outcomes, including auction results and issuance costs, secondary market liquidity and pricing, and the composition, capacity and behaviour of the investor base, including retail participation.
• Analyse macroeconomic and financial market developments and their implications for government financing conditions, debt servicing costs, refinancing risks, and the debt portfolio.
• Provide policy advice and support PFM reforms in debt and fiscal risk management, including strengthening institutional frameworks, processes, analytical tools, and risk monitoring practices.
• Support assessment of debt management institutional arrangements — mandate, governance and decision rights, business processes, data and systems — through document review, structured interviews with counterpart units, benchmarking against comparable debt management offices, and evidence recorded against recognised international frameworks.
• Assemble, document and maintain the datasets the analysis rests on, including instrument-level and transaction-level records drawn from counterpart units, published sources and external institutions; establish consistent series identifiers, documented definitions and agreed refresh arrangements; and support requests for data held outside the counterpart.
• Engage with relevant Ministry of Finance DGs, government institutions, and other counterparts to support policy development, strengthen analytical capacity, advance reform implementation, and promote consistency across related work.
• Ensure activities are designed and outputs delivered in accordance with Prospera’s SOPs and standards, including technical quality standards, and donor requirements.

JOB REQUIREMENTS

The successful candidate will have:

Essential

• Master’s degree (S2) in Economics, Public Finance, Public Policy, Finance, or a closely related field.
• At least 5 years of professional experience in fiscal policy, public finance, debt management, fiscal risk, macroeconomics, or applied economic analysis, including experience producing analysis for policy decision-makers.
• Demonstrated ability to conduct quantitative fiscal and debt analysis and develop, document, and apply economic or financial models using Stata, R, Python, or equivalent statistical software, together with advanced Excel and PowerPoint skills.
• Demonstrated experience working with granular financial or administrative data — such as instrument-level, auction-level or transaction-level records — including data assembly, cleaning, documentation, and analysis that others can reproduce.
• Strong understanding of government debt, fiscal risks, debt sustainability, and Indonesia’s fiscal, budget, financing, and PFM institutions.
• Demonstrated ability to produce concise, well-reasoned written analysis and practical policy advice for senior policy audiences and to present findings clearly.
• Proven ability to work independently and collaboratively with government counterparts and other stakeholders, and to deliver high-quality analysis.

Desirable

• Experience in debt sustainability analysis, fiscal forecasting and surveillance, fiscal risk analysis, debt management strategy, or related fiscal modelling.
• Experience analysing government securities markets, including primary market and auction outcomes, secondary market liquidity, or investor base composition.
• Experience contributing to institutional or organisational assessments, including structured interviews, document review, and benchmarking against comparable institutions.
• Prior professional engagement with the Ministry of Finance or other related agencies in Indonesia.
• Familiarity with international frameworks and comparative practices in debt management, fiscal risk management, fiscal rules, and medium-term fiscal framework.
• Experience supporting PFM reforms, particularly in debt management, fiscal risk management, or related areas.
• Experience in a development partner, international organisation, research institution, financial institution, or policy advisory environment.
• A record of published research or professional writing on debt, fiscal policy, public finance, macroeconomics, or related areas

APPLICATION PROCESS

Candidates are encouraged to apply by 22 November 2026.

For your application to be considered, please upload your documents as followed: Candidate Last Name, First Name, date, Title of the Position.

Cowater international strives to maintain a fair, transparent, and human centered recruitment process. As part of our commitment to responsible hiring practices and compliance with evolving recruitment regulations, we may use AI assisted tools to support limited aspects of our talent acquisition workflow, such as reviewing or shortlisting applications. These tools are used only to enhance efficiency and consistency in our processes. All assessments, interviews, and final hiring decisions are made exclusively by our human recruiting managers. Candidates may request additional information about the use of these tools or reasonable accommodations during the recruitment process.