Economist

Role Responsibilities

Reporting to the Manager, Health Economics, the Economist conducts research and performs economic analysis related to healthcare policies and programs using economic principles and methods. By leveraging economic theories and quantitative methods, the Economist plays an important role in assessing whether healthcare programs and policies deliver value for money and are sustainable over the long term. The analytical support provided ensures that resources are allocated optimally, promoting the financial health and continued viability of healthcare systems.

This position also supports data collection and analysis from both internal and external sources (including but not limited to: Management Information System (MIS) data, Patient Costing data, National Health Expenditure data, and data from Canadian Institute of Health Information (CIHI), Statistics Canada, and Other Government Ministries). These activities ensure the integrity and comprehensiveness of datasets used in economic evaluations and policy research.

Working collaboratively with internal teams, other ministries, and external stakeholders, the Economist supports policy development, program evaluation, and strategic planning efforts. The role requires strong analytical, communication, and stakeholder engagement skills to translate complex economic findings into clear, actionable insights for senior leadership and partners.

Primary responsibilities include: 
•    Supporting economic evaluation and modelling of health programs and policies.
•    Conducting statistical and econometric analyses of health expenditures, cost drivers, and demographic trends to inform decision-making.
•    Compiling, validating, and analyzing healthcare data from multiple sources to support robust and reliable analysis.
•    Preparing briefings, reports, presentations, and Action Requests (ARs) for senior leadership, translating technical findings into clear and accessible language.
•    Supporting policy and program evaluation through research, environmental scans, and jurisdictional comparisons.
•    Assisting in the development and refinement of analytical models, methodologies, and tools, including sensitivity analysis and benchmarking approaches.
•    Contributing to the development of dashboards, visualizations, and reporting tools to communicate key insights.
•    Participating in planning, monitoring, and evaluation activities to support effective program and policy outcomes.

Please click on this link to view the job description for this position.

APS Competencies

Competencies are behaviors that are essential to reach our goals in serving Albertans. We encourage you to have an in depth understanding of the competencies that are required for this opportunity and to be prepared to demonstrate them during the recruitment process.

This link will assist you with understanding competencies:
https://www.alberta.ca/system/files/custom_downloaded_images/psc-alberta-public-service-competency-model.pdf.

•  Systems Thinking: Considers inter-relationships and emerging trends to attain goals. This position works with a wide variety of inputs, some of which may be
contradictory, and must also integrate leading practice and emerging trends to develop recommendations that are relevant for Alberta.
•  Creative Problem Solving: Focuses on continuous improvement and increasing breadth of insight. The Economist must be able to analyze complex problems, generate ideas, and evaluate those ideas to find the most effective solutions to the problems.
•  Agility: Works in a changing environment and takes initiative to change. The Economist must be agile and be able to think on their feet. They must be able to work well in an environment where unexpected decisions can change the course and volume of work on very short notice.
•  Drive for Results: Works to exceed goals and partner with others to achieve objectives. The complex nature of the work of the Unit requires that the Economist must be motivated, passionate and determined to achieve the set goals.
•  Build Collaborative Environments: Facilitates open communication and leverage team skill. There are many projects that require multiple team members to complete, therefore it is important for the individual to be open to learning new things from others and be willing to help others when needed. 

Qualifications

Requirements: 
University graduation in a related field (Economics, Health Economics, Public Health Administration, Statistics, or Mathematics) plus 2 years progressively responsible related experience; or equivalent as described below.

Equivalencies: Directly related education or experience on the basis of: 
•    1 year of education for 1 year of experience; or
•    1 year of experience for 1 year of education

Assets:
•    Experience in economic analysis
•    Experience forecasting using computerized applications to independently gather, compile, and analyze data 
•    Experience with experimental design, sampling methods, dataset management, and statistical program software (SAS, R, Excel, Access, SQL, Oracle or other comparable software) 
•    Experience in developing dashboards using SAS Visual Analytics, Power BI, or similar software
•    General understanding of Alberta’s health system, funding structure, health data and databases
•    Knowledge of project management and experience supporting coordination of resources

The ideal candidate possesses the following:
•    Demonstrated knowledge in descriptive and inferential statistics as well as economic analysis methods.
•    Experience with stakeholder engagement
•    Experience with health polices and familiarity with health economics methods

Minimum recruitment standards outline the minimum education and experience required for appointment to a job classification. 

Refer to https://www.alberta.ca/alberta-public-service-minimum-recruitment-standards.

Notes

This position may be used to fill future permanent or temporary vacancies across the Government of Alberta, at equal or lower classification and salary.

Hours of Work: Monday to Friday, 36.25 hours per week.
The job requires in-office attendance from downtown Edmonton.

Any costs associated with obtaining the required documents/checks as noted or interview travel expenses will be the responsibility of the candidate. Out-of-province applicants can obtain the required documents/checks from the province they currently reside in.

Links and information on what the GoA have to offer to prospective employees.

•    Working for the Alberta Public Service - https://www.alberta.ca/advantages-working-for-alberta-public-service.aspx.
•    Public Service Pension Plan (PSPP) - https://www.pspp.ca.
•    Management Employees Pension Plan (MEPP) - https://www.mepp.ca.
•    Alberta Public Service Benefit Information - https://www.alberta.ca/alberta-public-service-benefits.
•    Professional learning and development - https://www.alberta.ca/professional-development-support-directive.
•    Research Alberta Public Service Careers tool – https://researchapscareers.alberta.ca.
•    Positive workplace culture and work-life balance.
•    Leadership and mentorship programs.