Overview

The US-ASEAN Business Council is the premier advocacy organization for U.S. corporations operating within the dynamic Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), serving as the leading voice of the U.S. private sector in promoting mutually beneficial trade and investment relationships between the United States and Southeast Asia. The Council is the only U.S.-based organization recognized in the ASEAN charter as a supporting organization of ASEAN. The Council's members include more than 180 of the most successful and innovative corporations in the world, including Apple, Boeing, Citi, The Coca-Cola Company, Google, and Microsoft. Combined, these 180+ companies generate over $7 trillion in revenue and employ more than 13 million people worldwide.

Cradled between China, India and Australia, ASEAN is the third-largest economy in the Indo-Pacific and the fifth largest in the world with a GDP of $2.8 trillion and a population of 650 million. As a critical hub for global trade, more than $3.4 trillion in global trade transits through ASEAN each year. In 2019, ASEAN became the 4th largest goods export market for the U.S. after Canada, Mexico, and China, reaching over $105 billion in exports in goods and services. It has also attracted more U.S. investment than any other destination in the whole of Indo-Pacific, receiving almost $329 billion in investment, more than the United States has directed to China, India, Japan, and South Korea combined.

Position Overview

The Associate Country Research Analyst Position is a hybrid, full-time position, located in Washington, DC, reporting to the Senior Country Research Analyst for Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Customs, Trade, and Supply Chains (CTSC). The incumbent prepares and reports results in conjunction with team members to the Senior Leadership Team (Core-6) and the position requires occasional regional travel. Currently, there are no supervisory responsibilities, except for providing guidance to interns.

The Associate Country Research Analyst position is responsible for designing research surveys that gather, interpret, and use complex data that USABC staff may utilize to develop actionable educational programs or policy papers that address member issues, provide the basis for product innovation, or improve members’ relationships with ASEAN member states. The surveys must be aligned with USABC's strategic objectives. The incumbent serves as the liaison for the Council, the membership, and stakeholders and works closely with the Core-6 leadership team to achieve quality goals for membership while delivering and ensuring the highest level of service to members measurable by the annual membership survey. 80% of the incumbent’s time is spent on research projects that convert into actionable intelligence to be published or used in educational programs.

Responsibilities:

• Research (70%)

  • Conduct quantitative and qualitative research about political, economic, business and trade trends and trade policy developments in Southeast Asia. Analyze data and use to produce intelligence reports about significant policy and political updates. Proactively provide regular analytical updates to member companies.

  • Utilize data analytics to design, develop, implement educational sectoral workshops for US companies, and US government policymakers.

  • Publish reports using results of research to the Council’s website as a subject matter expert.

• Education and Advocacy (20%)

  • Support at least one sectoral portfolio and two ASEAN country portfolios. This position will manage Indonesia, Philippines, and ASEAN-related sectoral issues, with a particular focus on Health and Life Sciences.

  • Monitors implications of policy and political activity on sector-specific business areas and provide regular updates to member companies, including staying up to date on key contacts and regional and U.S.-based events.

  • Drive synergistic initiatives in ASEAN countries, creating public-private engagement opportunities such as regular dialogues and consultations.

  • Develop surveys and use data in educational workshops, research papers, formal and ad hoc meetings, and events required to achieve objectives.

  • Support educational programs such as missions, roundtables, briefings, seminars, and workshops that advance the objectives of the member companies and transfer knowledge.

  • Work cross-functionally to position corporate messages and reinforce efforts to properly position private sector views.

  • Create and maintain relationships and coalitions with governments, multilateral organizations, trade associations, and other key stakeholders, especially in relation to the country market and its relationships within ASEAN.

  • Work with Council staff throughout Southeast Asia and in Washington, DC to ensure all projects and daily workload are completed and escalated to the supervisor as needed.

  • Support other Council initiatives, when necessary, including the country and other Southeast Asian office’s sectoral portfolios and other portfolios.

• Membership-Related Tasks (10%)

  • Track member activities, interests, and engagement by maintaining accurate attendance records for Council events and programs, encouraging staff to log member meetings, etc.

  • In coordination with policy staff, manage Council country and industry committees’ leadership and participation.

  • Ensure up-to-date and comprehensive lists with each executive’s contact information are maintained in the membership database.

  • Ensure that invoices are paid by members and when they are not, follow up directly with members.

  • Support synergistic initiatives in ASEAN countries, creating public-private engagement opportunities such as regular dialogues and consultations.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications:

• At a minimum, applicant must have a bachelor’s degree in related field such as Economics, International Relations, Political Science or Public Policy. A master’s degree is required for promotion to Senior Country Research Analyst.

• 2+ years working with government policymakers on sectoral issues, ideally in government, companies, consultancies, or trade associations (including an internship commitment of at least two full semesters) and demonstrated knowledge and working experience in public policy, international business, and international trade. 2 years international work/travel experience preferred.

• Exposure to a statistical programming language

• Demonstrable research skills and able to learn and absorb quickly and present the findings of his/her research in a systematic and effective manner. Excellent working knowledge of Internet research and MS Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint is required.

• Fluency in an ASEAN language is desired but not required.

• Existing U.S. work authorization required. U.S. Citizens encouraged to apply.

• Demonstrated ability to interact with senior corporate leaders and policymakers effectively and comfortably (C-suite/executive level). Exposure to US companies, and/or education in the United States is desired.

• Demonstrated technical knowledge of policy trends and issues in Southeast Asia as a region and ASEAN as an institution as well as its history, culture, and business environment. Knowledge of ASEAN’s key programs, its bureaucratic structure and its key players is a major plus.

• Experience in successfully managing programs, events, and budgets, and tracking and advocating on policy issues.

• Basic management experience with people from different backgrounds.

• Must be able to interact and build effective communication with all organizational levels including senior management of member companies, senior business leaders from ASEAN countries, senior government leaders from ASEAN countries, academics, think tanks and media.

• Need to be client-focused and maintain good and open working relationships with the Council’s 180+ member companies and their representatives.

• Must be able to work independently without significant direction and achieve concrete results.

• Must be organized, detail-oriented and be able to successfully handle multiple tasks at the same time and function in a fast-paced environment.

• Must be willing to work beyond normal business hours to coordinate with colleagues in the United States, participate in regular staff calls and consult with Council members based in the United States and other parts of Asia and the world.

• Must understand and abide by the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of the United States and USABC’s Commitment to Diversity, Anti-Discrimination, and Anti-Harassment Policy.

Preferred Qualifications:

• An independent worker

• Excellent people skills

• Highly organized

• Detail-oriented

• Energetic and fun

• Complete fluency in English with excellent written and verbal communication skills and be able to demonstrate the ability to produce high-quality English-language publications.

• Must have a good sense of logistics and ability to plan, run and execute programs.

• Must be a strategic thinker who understands key variables and can execute a plan to move members’ issues forward.

• Mature

Additional Notes

Application Procedures

To apply to the Council’s Associate Country Research Analyst position, please submit a resume, two brief writing samples (no more than two pages each, preferably covering Southeast Asian current affairs and/or policy issues) and a cover letter. The cover letter should include information about your availability and a brief description of your professional goals.