Economic Affairs Officer, P-4

Position description

Org. Setting and Reporting

This position is located in the Subregional Office of ECLAC in Mexico. The Economic Affairs Officer reports to the Chief of the Economic Development Unit. The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean is one of the five regional Commissions of the United Nations. It was founded in 1948 with the purpose of contributing to the region’s economic and social development. Its mission includes the design, monitoring and evaluation of public policies and the provision of advisory services, expe1iise and training to Governments, as well as support for regional and international cooperation and coordination activities. Please visit our website at www.eclac.org for further information.

Responsibilities

Under the overall supervision of Chief of the Economic Development Unit, the Economic Affairs Officer will be responsible for the following duties:

Economic or sector analysis:

• Monitors economic developments in a defined area and identifies recurrent and emerging issues of concern to the United Nations.
• Designs and conducts studies of selected issues in economic development and draft resulting reports.
• Interprets and applies results of econometric modelling to analysis of economic prospects and policies.
• Develops draft policy recommendations pertaining to area of work.
• Formulates proposals for development strategies, policies and measures for presentation to intergovernmental bodies and others.
• Attends international, regional, and national meetings to hold discussions with representatives of other institutions.
• Organizes expert group meetings, seminars, etc. on development issues.
• Prepares speeches and other inputs for presentations by senior staff.

Intergovernmental support:

• Provides substantive support on economic 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).
• Represents organizational unit at international, regional and national meetings.

Technical cooperation:

• Designs and monitors technical cooperation projects.
• Undertakes missions to member states, either alone or as a participant in a diverse team, as part of the Organization’s technical cooperation activities.
• Prepares global, regional, national or sector analyses that provide a basis for advising national governments on economic development issues.
• Conducts training seminars and workshops for government officials and others. Formulates technical modalities for the evaluation of individual technical cooperation projects.

General:

• Supports junior staff, reviewing their work and providing feedback.
• Participates in intra- and inter-Departmental undertakings of broader concern to represent the views or interests of the organizational unit.
• Performs other related duties as required, including a variety of administrative tasks necessary for the final delivery of the work unit’s service.;
• Undertakes on-the-job and other training activities, both internally and externally.
• Collects and analyzes data to identify trends or patterns and provide insights tlu·ough graphs, charts, tables and repo1is using data visualization methods to enable data-driven planning, decision-making, presentation and reporting.

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 identify and develop sources for data collection. 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. Takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work. The ability to analyze and interpret data in support of decision-making and convey resulting information to management.
• 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 ope1mess 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.
• Vision: Identifies strategic issues, opportunities, and risks; clearly communicates links between the Organization’s strategy and the work unit’s goals; generates and communicates broad and compelling organizational direction, inspiring others to pursue that same direction; conveys enthusiasm about future possibilities.
• 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

• An advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in economics or related fields is required. A first-level university degree in combination with qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Work Experience

• A minimum of seven (7) years of progressively responsible experience in economic research and analysis, policy formulation, application of economic principles in development programmes or related area is required. Research experience in economics or economic development issues or public policy is required. Research on these areas in Latin America and the Caribbean is required. Experience producing research papers and analytical reports for publication is required. Experience in the implementation of technical cooperation projects is desirable. Experience working in international organizations such as the United Nations or others is desirable. 2 years or more of experience in data analytics or related area is desirable. A record of publications – including co-authored ones – in the field of economics, macroeconomics or economic development issues is required (at least three publications among articles in refereed journals, books, book chapters, working papers or institutional reports). Please attach evidence of the publications to your application in Inspira.

Languages

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

Application instructions