Economist

Description
Economists within the Commodity Research & Product Development (RPD) Department work per the direction of the Associate Director, RPD; Director, RPD or Managing Director, RPD. The primary role is to identify and develop new exchange traded and over-the-counter (OTC) product opportunities, maintain viability of current product offerings, and contribute insight into market and business development in global commodity products.

Principal Accountabilities
1. Research and identify new commodity product opportunities with an emphasis on domestic and international grains and oilseeds markets.
2. Develop those products into viable, working markets by actively engaging externally with market participants, government regulatory agencies, i.e. CFTC, cash and OTC market participants and technology and other service providers as well as information licensors.
3. Coordinate existing product support and new product launches internally with Products & Services, Marketing, Market Regulation, Legal, Operations and Technology, and Corporate Communications.
4. Maintain viability of existing commodity products by monitoring global market trends, identifying areas to improve and pro-actively expand the existing product line, and pursuing necessary product and rule modifications where required.
5. Provide marketing support by supplying data, writing product related materials, and submitting articles for publication.
6. Prepare and deliver presentations on commodity products and derivatives markets.
7. Actively solicit feedback from industry participants through various means including trade calls, surveys, industry events, trade shows and conferences to stay abreast of changing demands and market needs and utilize customer relationship management tools to report feedback to impacted stakeholders in a systematic fashion.

Experience
3 to 8 years in agricultural commodity markets – cash or futures

Education
Minimum of a Bachelor’s Degree; Master’s or MBA highly desired

Problem Solving
1. Identify new commodity product possibilities by monitoring developments in relevant cash and OTC markets and by making contact with others who may provide insight.
2. Develop insightful analysis of market trends, trading strategies, and new business opportunities for the company.

Decision Making
1. Expected to be able to develop new contract specifications with direction from supervisor that are relevant to marketplace and in sync with cash market practices and operationally workable internally.
2. Expected to be able to wwEvaluate and recommend suitable market models for new contracts.

Technical
1. Expected training in economic and statistical analysis necessary to conduct relevant analysis of new and existing commodity cash and futures markets. Programming skills a plus.
2. Expected written and oral communications skills necessary to present results of analysis to senior management and market participants.
3. Multiple language skills are an advantage.

As the world’s largest and most diverse derivatives marketplace, CME Group (www.cmegroup.com) is where the world comes to manage risk. Based in Chicago, with offices in New York, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo and Washington D.C., our team of more than 2,200 employees has an impact on the global economy every day. We offer:

· The widest range of global benchmark futures and options available across all major asset classes;

· The most advanced trading technology;

· Industry-leading clearing capabilities;

· A relentless customer focus, serving leading investment and commercial banks, hedge funds, proprietary trading firms, pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, asset managers, corporations and individual traders; and,

· A great place to work.