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Centre for Economic Performance (CEP)
Research Assistant (“Pre-Doc”)
Salary from £36,513 to £41,565 p.a. inclusive with potential to progress to £44,468 p.a. inclusive of London allowance
Fixed term appointment for one or two years depending on the preferences of the candidate
The Centre for Economic Performance seeks to appoint one research assistant (“pre-doc”) under the direction of Dr. Isabela Manelici. You will be part of a team including other research assistants and collaborators.
The research assistant will support one or more of the four projects under the ERC Starting Grant LINK4DEV ("Can Multinational Linkages Be Leveraged for Development?"). All projects draw on confidential administrative data and employ a combination of empirical, theoretical, and quantitative methods.
The position is ideal for someone who is considering applying to a PhD in Economics or related fields and would like to gain hands-on research experience. Previous holders of similar posts with Isabela Manelici have been offered positions in leading Economics PhD programs, including Berkeley, LSE, Michigan, UBC and PSE.
The successful candidate has an undergraduate or master’s degree in economics or another quantitative discipline by post start date. Other essential criteria include: Advanced experience of using programming languages such as STATA and R for analysing large scale micro data sets and the ability to learn new programming skills; Ability to perform data work requiring great accuracy and attention to detail; Ability to interpret and analyse patterns or trends in data and think through economic problems analytically; Ability to work independently, without close supervision; Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
Desirable criteria include knowledge of and interest in international trade, development economics and applied microeconomics; Spanish language skills, and experience of execution and write up of independent research projects such as an undergraduate or masters’ thesis.
The start date will be agreed with the successful candidate depending on their constraints but should be in the early fall of 2026.
For further information about the post, please see the how to apply document, job description and the person specification.
Applications must include a CV and a covering letter that explains the candidate’s qualification and motivation for the position. Please also include scans of all university transcripts. Referees will only be contacted if your application progresses to the final stages of the selection process.
For candidates who do not already have the right to work in the UK, LSE is able to support the visa application. Candidates who are shortlisted for the position will be given an online coding and data analysis problem that can be completed either in STATA of R to assess their suitability.
If you have any technical queries with applying on the online system, please use the “contact us” links at the bottom of the LSE Jobs page. Should you have any queries about the role, please email Charles Harada Hutchings c.h.tocock@lse.ac.uk.
The closing date for receipt of applications is Sunday 17th May 2026 (23.59 UK time). Regrettably, we are unable to accept any late applications.