This position is located in the in the Global Economic Monitoring Unit (GEMU) of the Development Policy and Analysis Division (DPAD), Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA). The Division is mandated to provide analysis of global economic trends and macroeconomic policies, and analysis of strategies and policies for long term development, and serves as the Secretariat for the Committee for Development Policy. More information is available on the following website http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/policy/index.shtml.The Senior Economics Affairs Officer will report to the Chief of the Branch.
Within delegated authority, the duties of the Senior Economic Affairs Officer are the following:
• Leads and participates in the work related to the publication of the World Economic Situation and Prospects, in cooperation with external partners, for macroeconomic trends in the world economy, including output, employment, inflation, international trade, financial markets, commodity prices, macroeconomic policies and macroeconomic imbalances, and in the formulation of economic strategies, policies and actions for adoption by the international community.
• Leads and participates in the identification of new or emerging global economic issues of potential concern to the international community, particularly the macroeconomic issues which have implications for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, and designs policies to address them.
• Supervises a team of staff economists undertaking this work.
• Commissions economic studies and analyses that cannot be undertaken internally.
• Leads and participates in conceiving, planning and managing expert group meetings, seminars and similar consultations that contribute to the finalization of the work unit’s outputs.
• Takes shared responsibility for producing the publication of the World Economic Situation and Prospects, and other reports and policy briefs, which provide high quality information and advice for the intergovernmental process.
• Prepares speeches for senior staff and makes presentations on economic issues for specialist or non-specialist audiences.
• Contributes the work unit’s preparation and management of the annual Expert Group Meeting on the world economy.
Represents the organizational unit at international, regional and national meetings on development issues.
• Contributes to the formulation of the medium-term plan, the programme of work and the budget of the unit and participate 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.
• 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.
• EMPOWERING OTHERS: Delegates responsibility, clarifies expectations, and gives staff autonomy in important areas of their work; encourages others to set challenging goals; holds others accountable for achieving results related to their area of responsibility; genuinely values all staff members’ input and expertise; shows appreciation and rewards achievement and effort; involves others when making decisions that affect them.
• MANAGING PERFORMANCE: Delegates the appropriate responsibility, accountability and decision-making authority; makes sure that roles, responsibilities and reporting lines are clear to each staff member; accurately judges the amount of time and resources needed to accomplish a task and matches task to skills; monitors progress against milestones and deadlines; regularly discusses performance and provides feedback and coaching to staff; encourages risk-taking and supports creativity and initiative; actively supports the development and career aspirations of staff; appraises performance fairly.
Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent degree) in economics or related field is required. A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying work experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
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. Experience of applying econometric models for forecasting or policy analysis is required. Experience in policy studies is desirable. Experience applying economics in national or international policy-formulation and academia is desirable.
English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the post advertised, fluency in oral and written English is required. Knowledge of a second official UN language is an advantage.
Evaluation of qualified candidates may include an assessment exercise which may be followed by competency-based interview.
Staff members are subject to the authority of the Secretary-General and to assignment by him or her. In this context, all staff are expected to move periodically to new functions in their careers in accordance with established rules and procedures.
Staff members of the United Nations Secretariat must fulfill the lateral move(s) requirements to be eligible to apply for this vacancy. Staff members are requested to indicate all qualifying lateral move(s) in their Personal History Profile (PHP) and cover note.
The United Nations Secretariat is committed to achieving 50/50 gender balance in its staff. Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply for this position.
For this position, applicants from the following Member States, which are unrepresented or underrepresented in the UN Secretariat as of 30 September 2017, are strongly encouraged to apply: Afghanistan, Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahrain, Belarus, Belize, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Central African Republic, China, Comoros, Cyprus, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Dominica, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Grenada, Guinea-Bissau, Indonesia, Islamic Republic of Iran, Iraq, Japan, Kiribati, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Monaco, Mozambique, Nauru, Norway, Oman, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Qatar, Russian Federation, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Solomon Islands, South Sudan, Suriname, Syrian Arab Republic, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, United Arab Emirates, United States of America, Vanuatu, Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and Viet Nam.
According to article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity. Candidates will not be considered for employment with the United Nations if they have committed violations of international human rights law, violations of international humanitarian law, sexual exploitation or sexual abuse, or crimes other than minor traffic offences, or if there are reasonable grounds to believe that they have been involved in the commission of any of these acts. The term “sexual exploitation” means any actual or attempted abuse of a position of vulnerability, differential power, or trust, for sexual purposes, including, but not limited to, profiting monetarily, socially or politically from the sexual exploitation of another. The term “sexual abuse” means the actual or threatened physical intrusion of a sexual nature, whether by force or under unequal or coercive conditions.
Due regard will be paid to the importance of recruiting the staff on as wide a geographical basis as possible. The United Nations places no restrictions on the eligibility of men and women to participate in any capacity and under conditions of equality in its principal and subsidiary organs. The United Nations Secretariat is a non-smoking environment.
Applicants are urged to follow carefully all instructions available in the online recruitment platform, inspira. For more detailed guidance, applicants may refer to the Manual for the Applicant, which can be accessed by clicking on “Manuals” hyper-link on the upper right side of the inspira account-holder homepage.
The evaluation of applicants will be conducted on the basis of the information submitted in the application according to the evaluation criteria of the job opening and the applicable internal legislations of the United Nations including the Charter of the United Nations, resolutions of the General Assembly, the Staff Regulations and Rules, administrative issuances and guidelines. Applicants must provide complete and accurate information pertaining to their personal profile and qualifications according to the instructions provided in inspira to be considered for the current job opening. No amendment, addition, deletion, revision or modification shall be made to applications that have been submitted. Candidates under serious consideration for selection will be subject to reference checks to verify the information provided in the application.
Job openings advertised on the Careers Portal will be removed at 11:59 p.m. (New York time) on the deadline date.
THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.