Senior Economic Affairs Officer, P-5

Senior Economic Affairs Officer, P-5

UNCTAD - United Nations Conference on Trade and Development

Geneva, Switzerland

Org. Setting and Reporting

The position is located in the Productive Capacities and Sustainable Development (PCSD) Branch of the Division for Africa, Least Developed Countries and Special Programmes (ALDC) in the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The Senior Economic Affairs Officer will report to the Head of the Branch.

Responsibilities

Within delegated authority, the Senior Economic Affairs Officer will be responsible for the following duties:

ECONOMIC OR SECTORAL ANALYSIS:

• Leads and participates in the articulation of a new development paradigm centered on the fostering of productive capacities and structural economic transformation.
• Leads and participates in the formulation, organization and management of mandated programmes of economic analysis and the formulation of possible economic strategies, policies and actions for adoption by the international community.
• Leads and participates in the identification of new or emerging development theories and issues of potential concern to the international community, particularly those of a regional or global nature, and designs and develops programmes to address them.
• Leads and participates in the design of technical cooperation and capacity building projects and in the mobilization of extrabudgetary resources for their implementation.
• Commissions economic studies and analyses that cannot be undertaken internally.
• Conceives, plans and manages expert group meetings, seminars and similar consultations that contribute to the finalization of the work unit's outputs.
• Contributes to and finalizes reports on development for issuance by the United Nations.
• Prepares speeches for senior staff and makes presentations on economic issues for specialist or non-specialist audiences.
• Provides substantive support to the meeting of the High-level Advisory Board and the Statistical and Technical Advisory Group (STAG) on the PCI.

INTERGOVERNMENTAL SUPPORT:

• Provides direct substantive support on development issues to intergovernmental bodies (such as the General Assembly, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the Economic and Social Council, the Trade and Development Board, the regional commissions and the subsidiary bodies of each) by offering strategic advice, giving technical guidance and assisting in developing a consensus.
• Manages the unit's contribution to the preparation and management of meetings of intergovernmental bodies.
• Represents the organizational unit at international, regional and national meetings on development issues.

TECHNICAL COOPERATION:

• Develops and maintains relations with senior officials of member governments and ensures a response to requests for advice and/or assistance on economic issues and policies.
• Negotiates with donor and recipient governments on technical assistance programmes and projects.
• Organizes and coordinates cooperation among Member States on economic programmes or issues.
• Leads or participates in technical cooperation missions.

PROGRAMME SUPPORT:

• Functions as a coordinator of an organizational unit.
• Contributes to the formulation of the medium-term plan, the programme of work and the budget of the unit and participates in the formulation of the organization's overall programme of work and other similar endeavours.
• Attends to various administrative matters concerning the larger organizational unit (Section or Division).
• Performs other related duties as required.

Competencies

• PROFESSIONALISM: Ability to apply economic theories and concepts in different sectors of economic and sustainable development. Ability to conduct independent research on economic topics, determine suitability, validity and accuracy of data provided by different sources. Ability to develop economic policies and make recommendations on their implementation. Shows pride in work and in achievements; demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter; is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results; is motivated by professional rather than personal concerns; shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges; remains calm in stressful situations.
• COMMUNICATION: Speaks and writes clearly and effectively; listens to others, correctly interprets messages from others and responds appropriately; asks questions to clarify, and exhibits interest in having two-way communication; tailors language, tone, style and format to match audience; demonstrates openness in sharing information and keeping people informed.
• TEAMWORK: Works collaboratively with colleagues to achieve organizational goals; solicits input by genuinely valuing others' ideas and expertise; is willing to learn from others; places team agenda before personal agenda; supports and acts in accordance with final group decision, even when such decisions may not entirely reflect own position; shares credit for team accomplishments and accepts joint responsibility for team shortcomings.
• LEADERSHIP: Serves as a role model that other people want to follow: empowers others to translate vision into results; is proactive in developing strategies to accomplish objectives; establishes and maintains relationships with a broad range of people to understand needs and gain support; anticipates and resolves conflicts by pursuing mutually agreeable solutions; drives for change and improvements; does not accept the status quo; shows the courage to take unpopular stands. Provides leadership and takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work; demonstrates knowledge of strategies and commitment to the goal of gender balance in staffing.
• JUDGEMENT/DECISION-MAKING: Identifies the key issues in a complex situation, and comes to the heart of the problem quickly; gathers relevant information before making a decision; considers positive and negative impacts of decisions prior to making them; takes decisions with an eye to the impact on others and on the Organization; proposes a course of action or makes a recommendation based on all available information; checks assumptions against facts; determines the actions proposed will satisfy the expressed and underlying needs for the decision; makes tough decisions when necessary.

Education

• An advanced university degree (Master's degree or equivalent degree) in economics or a related field is required. A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Work Experience

• A minimum of ten years of progressively responsible experience in economic research and analysis, policy formulation, application of economic principles in development programmes or a related area is required.
• Experience in quantitative or econometric research and analysis is desirable.
• Experience in substantively servicing inter-governmental meeting is desirable.
• Publications record on issues related to economic development and policy in referred journals is desirable.
• Experience in technical cooperation related to trade and development issues in African countries, Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Small Islands Developing States (SIDS) or Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs) is desirable.
• Experience in programme management on LDCs, SIDS or LLDCs is desirable.

Languages

• English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the position advertised, fluency in English is required.

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