Research analysts & interns

This is where you'll find information about starting your career at Motu Research as a research analyst or intern. Separate pages contain information about job vacancies at Motu (including for visiting researchers) and our scholarships.

Applications for research analysts and interns (for a 2025 start) are now OPEN.

Research analyst positions

We look for outstanding students in economics, statistics, or a related field who will have completed an Honours or Masters’ degree by time they take up employment. Our RAs are people who want to get their hands dirty with every stage of the research process, working closely with a senior researcher with a PhD from a renowned university such as Harvard, Stanford, or the London School of Economics.

Strong candidates will have:

• an advanced university degree (honours or higher)
• a curiosity about economics questions
• good computer and data analysis skills
• strong inter-personal skills
• an interest in doing economic research on social or environmental issues.

We offer a relaxed yet stimulating work environment where you will be challenged and your skills as a researcher extended. Our past RAs have gone on to high level public sector positions and to PhD-level study at top international universities. 

Internships

Motu offers paid summer internships. This internship programme is designed to apply and extend students’ empirical skills and assist with their development as researchers. Its underlying aim is to build research capability, improving the skills of young researchers and the quality of New Zealand research. Motu interns work on research projects led by one of the Senior Fellows, and are encouraged to think critically about the public policy and research issues involved. Internships build students’ skills, as well as providing our researchers with useful research assistance. Ultimately, we hope our interns will be better equipped to consider a career in research or public policy analysis.

Summer internships are paid full-time positions that usually run for 8-12 weeks between November and February at our Wellington office. More than 52 young researchers have ‘graduated’ from this programme since 2000.

The Human Rights Measurement Initiative also offer a HRMI internship. This internship has a separate application process - see all details here. The Human Rights Measurement Initiative also annually employ remote HRMI interns.