The Kansas City Fed is accepting applications for two positions in its Community Development and Engagement department. The first is for an External Linkadvisor, based in Oklahoma City, focused on community development needs of Native Americans. The second is for a External Linkresearch associate, based in Kansas City, to support community development research.

New advisor will begin by conducting a needs assessment

The Kansas City Fed’s community development work is rooted in the philosophy that the economy is strongest when everyone has equitable access to it, including lower income communities. Native Americans, residing both on and off tribal lands, face disproportionate economic barriers and trail other racial/ethnic groups in most all economic indicators.

“Native American and tribal leaders have long served on the Bank’s boards of directors and advisory councils, informing Bank leadership on important economic and monetary policy decisions,” Jeremy Hegle said. Hegle is assistant vice president and community affairs officer. “Our objective in hiring External Linkthis new advisor position is to further engage Native nations and tribal organizations to better understand their economic opportunities and challenges.”

The new advisor will be based in Oklahoma City, and will work across the entire seven-state footprint of the Kansas City Fed.

To help the Kansas City Fed better understand the economic challenges and opportunities in tribal communities, the new advisor will begin by conducting a needs assessment. Through one-on-one meetings and roundtable conversations with community leaders the advisor will build an understanding of the current situation. The assessment will identify what gaps the Bank can address through access to data and research, and through the ability to convene.

Research associate will assist with survey and Beige Book research

The Bank is also hiring a External Linkresearch associate for community and regional development. External LinkSteven Howland has spent the last few years building out new community development research products and processes, including the External LinkCommunity Conditions Survey and the Community Conditions section of the External LinkBeige Book, which captures economic trends in lower-income communities and provides it to Bank leaders for their monetary policy decisions. The new research associate will support Howland’s work on these tools, expanding his research capacity. The research associate will also support Jeremy Hill, the Bank’s new regional executive covering Kansas and western Missouri.