Senior Economic Affairs Officer, P-5

Senior Economic Affairs Officer, P-5

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development

Geneva, Switzerland

Org. Setting and Reporting

This position is located in the United Nations Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The Senior Economics Affairs Officer reports to the Director of the Office of the Secretary-General of UNCTAD.

Responsibilities

Under the overall guidance of the Secretary-General and the Deputy Secretary-General of UNCTAD, and the supervision of the Director of the Office of the Secretary-General, carries out the following duties:

Economic or sectoral analysis

• Coordinates inputs to and reviews reports and publications for overall coherence and adherence to organizational goals and policies;
• Manages peer reviews and performs policy clearance of parliamentary documents and publications and finalizes reports on development for issuance by UNCTAD;
• Leads or 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 UNCTAD’s member states;
• Leads or participates in the identification of new or emerging development issues of potential concern to the international community, particularly those of a regional or global nature, and designs and develops programmes to address them;
• Closely liaises with a team of staff economists undertaking this work;
• Conceives, plans and manages expert group meetings, seminars and similar consultations that contribute to the finalization of the work unit’s outputs;
• Prepares speeches for senior staff and makes presentations on economic issues for specialist or non-specialist audiences;
• Serves as focal point for the publications committee.

Intergovernmental support

• Provides direct substantive support on development issues to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) by offering strategic advice, giving technical guidance and assisting in developing a consensus;
• Manages and contributes substantive contributions to the preparation and management of meetings of intergovernmental bodies;
• Represents the organizational unit at international, regional and national meetings on development issues.

Competencies

• Professionalism: Ability to analyze and interpret data in support of decision-making and convey resulting information to management. Ability to synthesize economic research and reports into digestible form. Ability to engage with primary line researchers to discuss research ideas and outputs. Ability to review and understand economic research and analysis and align the end product with the organization’s mandate and programme of work in a coherent and coordinated way that advances the organization’s policy prescriptions. Ability to conduct peer reviews and manage the drafting process to ensure information is shaped to advance the organization’s mandate in support of senior management decisions. 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. 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.
• 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;
• Client Orientation: Considers all those to whom services are provided to be “clients” and seeks to see things from clients’ point of view; establishes and maintains productive partnerships with clients by gaining their trust and respect; identifies clients’ needs and matches them to appropriate solutions; monitors ongoing developments inside and outside the clients’ environment to keep informed and anticipate problems; keeps clients informed of progress or setbacks in projects; meets timeline for delivery of products or services to client;
• Building trust: Provides an environment in which others can talk and act without fear of repercussion. Manages in a deliberate and predictable way. Operates with transparency; has no hidden agenda. Places confidence in colleagues, staff members and clients. Gives proper credit to others. Follows through on agreed upon actions. Treats sensitive or confidential information appropriately;
• 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 that the actions proposed will satisfy the expressed and underlying needs for the decision. Makes tough decisions when necessary.

Education

• Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in economics or related field. 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 related area is required. A minimum of five years of experience coordinating the drafting of economic reports and engaging with primary line researchers to discuss research ideas and outputs is required. A minimum of five years of experience synthesizing economic research and analysis into coherent, coordinated and digestible form in alignment with the organization’s mandate and programme of work is required. A minimum of three years of experience conducting peer reviews of economic related reports and finalizing reports accordingly is required. Experience servicing United Nations intergovernmental bodies is required. Work experience in the United Nations system or a similar international organization on economic or trade and development issues is desirable.

Languages

• English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the position advertised, fluency in English is required. Knowledge of French is desirable. Knowledge of another UN official language is desirable.

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