Economic Affairs Officer

Org. Setting and Reporting

• The Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) forms part of the United Nations Secretariat and, like the other regional commissions, operates under the supervision of the United Nations Economic and Social Council.
• ESCWA comprises 21 Arab countries in Western Asia and North Africa. ESCWA provides a framework for the formulation and harmonisation of sectoral policies for member countries, a platform for congress and coordination, a home for expertise and knowledge, and an information observatory.
• ESCWA activities are coordinated with the divisions and main offices of the Headquarters of the United Nations, specialised agencies, and international and regional organizations, including the League of Arab States and its subsidiary bodies, and the Gulf Cooperation Council. This position is in Cluster 6: ‘Governance and conflict prevention’ of the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia .
• Cluster 6 acts as a pioneer and multi- stakeholder regional platform for deliberation, consensus-building, peer learning and policy solutions to ensure participation and partnerships for governance and institution building, and to enhance the capacity of member States in conflict or post-conflict settings on conflict prevention for more just, equitable and inclusive societies in the Arab region. The Economic Affairs Officer reports to the Cluster Lead.

Responsibilities

Within delegated authority, the Economic Affairs Officer will be responsible for the below:

ECONOMIC AND/OR SECTOR ANALYSIS:

• Interprets, applies and, as necessary, adapts econometric models to determine trends, patterns, and relationships, and to analyse the effects of alternative policies and assumptions.
• Compiles, processes and analyses data from various sources and areas.
• Drafts specified inputs for technical papers and analytical studies on selected global, regional, national or sector aspects of economic development, governance and conflict related issues.
• Identifies and analyses policy proposals made elsewhere relating to assigned topics.
• Attends international, regional, and national meetings to collect information and to hold discussions with colleagues in other institutions.
• Assists in the organization and servicing of expert group meetings, seminars, etc. on development issues.
• Prepares speeches and other inputs for presentations by senior staff.

INTERGOVERNMENTAL SUPPORT:

• Prepares inputs for reports to intergovernmental bodies.
• Follows intergovernmental meetings and prepares summary reports.
• Prepares inputs to statements by members of the Bureau and Secretariat staff to such meetings.
• Assists in the organization of panels, round tables etc. on development issues for intergovernmental processes.

TECHNICAL COOPERATION:

• Participates in missions on development issues, usually as a member of a team.
• Organizes training seminars for national experts.
• Prepares documentation for technical cooperation programmes and projects.
• Contributes to the preparation of material for the approval of regional, country or sector technical cooperation projects.
• Monitors, backstops and assesses the implementation of technical cooperation programmes and projects.

GENERAL:

• Performs other related duties as required, including a variety of administrative tasks necessary for the final delivery of the work unit’s services.
• Undertakes on-the-job and other training activities, both internally and externally.

Education

• Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in economics, statistics, data science or related area is required. A first-level degree (Bachelor’s degree or equivalent) in the specified fields of studies with two additional years of relevant work experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Work Experience

• A minimum of five 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 two years of experience on prevention, peacebuilding or early recovery is desirable. A minimum of one year of experience in SAS, Stata, R and other statistical software or SQL, is desirable.
• A minimum of one year of experience analyzing statistical data, advanced knowledge of state-of-the-art statistical methodologies, knowledge of micro-econometrics is desirable. A minimum of one year of experience with data visualization is desirable.

Languages

• English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. In addition, Arabic is a working language at ESCWA. For this position, fluency in English is required. Note: “Fluency” equals a rating of ‘fluent’ in all four areas (speak, read, write, and understand) and “Knowledge of” equals a rating of ‘confident’ in two of the four areas.

Source: https://careers.un.org/jobSearchDescription/239290?language=en