The UN Secretary-General launched on 1 January 2019 a bold and new global reform which repositioned the UN Development System to deliver more effectively and efficiently with the achievement of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As part of this reform, UN Resident Coordinator Offices (UN RCO), under the leadership of an empowered and independent UN Resident Coordinator - the highest-ranking official of the UN Development System and Representative of the UN Secretary-General at country level - support countries in the achievement of their development priorities and the attainment of the SDGs. The position is located within the United Nations Resident Coordination Office (RCO) Multi-country office (MCO) for Mauritius and Seychelles. The MCO is based in Port Louis, Mauritius. Mauritius and Seychelles and Small Island States (SIDs) which are located in the Indian Ocean off the coast of East Africa. They are middle-income and high-income countries (MICs and HICs) respectively. Despite their economic status, the two countries are exposed to vulnerabilities and structural constraints such a as small land mass and population size; geographic isolation and spatial dispersion; high per capita cost of infrastructure; low-lying areas and extreme exposure to climate change and natural hazards; fragility of island ecosystems and high level of endemism. Despite these heightened constraints and the limited fiscal space to cope with climate shocks and build resilience, most SIDS enjoy very limited access to concessional finance, in particular climate finance – access to which is of key priority in the long-term economic and climate resilience agenda of these two countries. Against this context, the role of the Senior Economist as the key policy expert is to ensure overall RCO and UN positioning for supporting countries in innovative strategic thinking, evidence-based policy analysis, strengthening UN programmatic strategic orientation for SDG acceleration, reinforcing partnership including with private sector and academia and leading knowledge generation. The incumbent reports to the UN Resident Coordinator with dual reporting responsibility to the RCO Head of Office.