Join CEDx: Co-Create the Future of Global Development
The Center for Economic Development and Execution (CEDx) is a global non-profit think tank with operational presence in the United States and the United Arab Emirates. We're not here to just observe; we're here to execute.
About CEDx
At CEDx, we dive into the messy realities of development. We understand that progress means navigating trade-offs and complex interests. We listen intently, act decisively, and adapt relentlessly. Our work is built on perseverance, intellectual honesty, and a deep respect for unique local contexts.
This is the key: CEDx isn't for those who want a job description—it's for those ready to help write a new chapter in global development. Bring your audacity, your humility, and your grit. We'll provide the platform, the resources, and the network to turn 'what if' into 'what's next.'
Project Incubation Initiative
Got a groundbreaking idea to fix a systemic problem? Our Project Incubation Initiative means that if you can develop a robust, full-proof plan, CEDx is prepared to back you with funding and support to bring your vision to life.
Current Openings - Be a Pioneer
We're looking for entry to mid-level talent – individuals who are brilliant, driven, and ready to roll up their sleeves. Whether you're a recent graduate with a fire in your belly or have a few years of experience and are looking for a place to make a bigger dent, if you're a builder and a problem-solver, you'll fit right in.
You'll be on the front lines of strengthening how countries govern themselves. This means digging into everything from national identity and statebuilding symbols to the nuts and bolts of civil service reform and anti-corruption measures.
Examples of Your Impact:
- Analyzing & Reforming: Overhauling outdated land registry systems in an agrarian economy to improve transparency, or designing citizen feedback loops for newly digitized public services in a rapidly urbanizing nation.
- Strengthening Institutions: Developing frameworks for professionalizing a country's civil service, including accountability units to ensure public trust, or advising on best practices to enhance a nation's Right to Information (RTI) laws and their enforcement.
- Statebuilding & Legitimacy: Researching how national symbols and language policies impact state legitimacy in diverse societies, or proposing strategies to build trust in public institutions post-conflict.
- Global Benchmarking: Comparing a country's e-governance strategy with global leaders (like Estonia or Singapore) to identify actionable improvements for their digital transformation journey.
Your mission is to help design pathways to more inclusive and equitable societies. This means working on everything from foundational education and healthcare systems to complex issues like gender-based violence, labor rights for migrant workers, and child nutrition.
Examples of Your Impact:
- Designing Social Programs: Developing a framework for a 'first 1000 days' child nutrition program in a low-income country, including strategies for reaching remote populations with fortified foods.
- Reforming Education & Health: Crafting innovative teacher training programs for under-resourced education systems, or analyzing gaps in rural healthcare delivery and proposing tech-enabled solutions (e.g., telemedicine hubs).
- Promoting Equity: Researching and proposing policies to address gender-based violence, expand workforce participation for all genders, or improve maternity leave policies to align with international best practices.
- Supporting Vulnerable Populations: Developing policy recommendations for host countries to improve protections and financial inclusion for migrant workers, or designing schemes to channel remittances into productive local investments.
- Urban & Community Well-being: Analyzing urban development challenges through an equity lens, proposing policies for inclusive public spaces, affordable housing solutions, or community-led initiatives that improve quality of life in underserved neighborhoods.
You're here to help economies not just grow, but thrive – inclusively and sustainably. This involves everything from analyzing fiscal and monetary policies to designing strategies for private sector development, fostering green industries, optimizing trade infrastructure, and ensuring major infrastructure projects deliver broad benefits.
Examples of Your Impact:
- Macro & Fiscal Strategy: Advising a government on diversifying its revenue base to reduce reliance on a single commodity, or designing tax reforms to improve progressivity and fund public services.
- Private Sector & MSME Development: Structuring innovative financing mechanisms (e.g., SME credit funds, startup incubators) for small and medium enterprises in emerging markets, particularly those in the creative or green economy.
- Trade & Infrastructure Economics: Conducting cost-benefit analyses for strategic infrastructure like new ports or cross-border rail links, or developing policies to lower taxes on imported raw materials for export-oriented manufacturing.
- Sectoral Transformation: Designing policy frameworks to support the growth of a nation's renewable energy sector (solar, hydro), or developing strategies to boost agricultural productivity and food security through tech adoption and improved market access.
- Innovative Finance: Exploring how to leverage a nation's tourism revenue for reinvestment in cultural heritage sites or eco-tourism infrastructure, or how to replicate successful models for public finance management in other contexts.
You believe data can change the world – and you know how to make it happen. You'll transform complex datasets into compelling narratives, insightful visualizations, and actionable intelligence that supports all of CEDx's work, from diagnosing problems to forecasting policy impacts and tracking progress.
Examples of Your Impact:
- Visualizing Impact: Building interactive dashboards that map progress on Sustainable Development Goals in a specific region, or creating infographics that clearly show the economic benefits of investing in girls' education.
- Predictive Analysis: Modeling the potential impact of a new trade agreement on local employment, or forecasting how climate change might affect agricultural yields in a vulnerable food system.
- Open Data Advocacy: Developing open-source tools or data platforms that empower local NGOs or citizen groups to monitor public service delivery or advocate for reforms.
- Supporting Evidence-Based Policy: Analyzing data from diverse sources (e.g., police reports, community surveys, satellite imagery) to identify hotspots of deforestation or map access to essential services like clean water or electricity.
- Innovative Data Use: Exploring how unconventional data sources (e.g., mobile phone data, social media sentiment) can provide real-time insights into economic activity or social trends.
You're the bridge between brilliant ideas and real-world results. You'll focus on how policies and programs get implemented effectively, navigating challenges, building partner capacity, ensuring interventions are contextually smart, resilient, and lead to lasting change, especially in challenging or crisis-affected environments.
Examples of Your Impact:
- Implementation Design & Crisis Adaptation: Co-designing an implementation roadmap for a national digital literacy campaign, and adapting it rapidly if a sudden economic shock or natural disaster disrupts initial plans.
- Risk & Resilience Planning: Assessing potential barriers (e.g., local capacity gaps, political shifts, environmental shocks like floods or droughts) to a major infrastructure project and developing robust mitigation, adaptation, and contingency strategies.
- Capacity Building for Resilience: Developing and delivering training for local governments on disaster preparedness, resilient infrastructure maintenance, or managing public services during periods of instability.
- Adaptive Management in Volatile Contexts: Setting up systems to monitor a food security program in a region prone to climate shocks, gathering community feedback, and recommending agile adjustments to improve both resilience and livelihood outcomes.
- Cross-Sector Collaboration for Crisis Response: Facilitating partnerships to roll out emergency cash transfer programs or essential service delivery in post-disaster or conflict-affected settings.
Produce authoritative, evidence-driven content that positions CEDx as a thought leader in economic development and policy innovation. Your work will translate complex ideas into actionable insights for policymakers, academics, and global stakeholders—driving discourse and sparking change.
Examples of Your Impact:
- Research & Analysis: Develop white papers, op-eds, and policy briefs on topics like economic sovereignty, governance tech, and climate-resilient economics. Ground all work in data, case studies, and CEDx's field research.
- Content Creation: Draft 1,500–5,000 word articles for CEDx's website, partner publications, and policy forums. Collaborate with researchers to distill technical findings into compelling narratives.
- AI Integration: Use AI only for grammar/style refinement, data visualization suggestions, and structural editing. Core arguments, analysis, and original ideas must be human-generated.
- Quality Assurance: Ensure all content passes a 4-point rigor test: Accuracy (citations from peer-reviewed journals or CEDx data), Originality (fresh angles), Actionability (clear policy recommendations), and Accessibility (engaging for both experts and lay audiences).
What We Offer
- ✓Full-time positions based in Dubai with relocation support
- ✓Competitive compensation and performance-based rewards
- ✓Unparalleled opportunities for global impact and professional growth
- ✓Project Incubation Initiative - funding for your innovative ideas
- ✓Mentorship from CEDx advisors and global experts
Application Process
Phase 1: CV + Vision Statement
Submit your CV and Vision Statement (max 750 words) responding to your chosen position's prompt.
Phase 2: Problem-Solving Sprint
Complete a role-specific challenge to showcase your practical skills.
Phase 3: Impact Interview
Deep-dive conversations about your approach and vision.
Phase 4: Spark Lab (Optional)
Finalists may pitch a passion project for potential seed funding ($5K–$50K).