Job Identification : 9823

Locations : New York, United States

Posting Date : 04/19/2023, 11:11 PM

Apply Before : 05/04/2023, 03:59 AM

Job Schedule : Full time

Agency : UNDP

Grade : D1

Vacancy Type : Fixed Term

Practice Area : Management

Bureau : Regional Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean

Contract Duration : 2 Year with Possibility for extension

Education & Work Experience : Master’s Degree – 15 year(s) experience

Required Languages : English; Spanish

Desired Languages : Other UN languages

Mobility required/no mobility

mobility required

Job Description

Background and Organizational Context

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.

UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

The Regional Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean (RBLAC) provides strategic direction, oversight, and support to Country Offices (COs) in their engagement with countries to achieve the expected outcomes and outputs of UNDP Strategic Plan (2022-2025), including the acceleration of progress and human development in the region through advocacy, policy advice and dialogue, knowledge generation and sharing, and quality services for national capacity development. RBLAC also contributes to UN reform and coordination efforts by playing the integrator role within the UN Country Team and co-vice-chairing the Regional Collaborative Platform with the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).

Duties and Responsibilities

The RBLAC Senior Economist will report directly to the Assistant Secretary General and Director of the Regional Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean. S/he will lead the SDG and Policy Team within the Bureau, providing strategic policy advice on economic trends, forecasts and challenges across the region and their impact on the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. The Senior Economist will also be responsible for advising and implementing the Bureau’s research and knowledge production agenda, including the production of Regional Human Development reports. S/he will expand and maintain partnerships with Economists across other multilateral institutions and work closely with the network of economists throughout UNDP, with UNDP’s Human Development Report office and by partnering with external think tanks, academic institutions, and partners. The Senior Economist will have an important public advocacy function of the Bureau and in doing so will be expected to organize and speak in public fora and policy events on behalf of the of UNDP.

UNDP adopts a portfolio approach to accommodate changing business needs and leverage linkages across interventions to achieve its strategic goals. This is a recognition of interconnected nature of development risks & crises that the world is facing and that call for assembling of multidisciplinary teams for an integrated & systemic response. Therefore, UNDP personnel are expected to work across issues, units, functions, teams and projects in multidisciplinary teams in order to enhance and enable horizontal collaboration.

1. Strengthen RBLAC’s Research and Knowledge Management

•  Keep abreast of economic and other trends affecting LAC’s development, and advise the Bureau on significant changes in global economic trends and their implication for LAC’s development, e.g., globalization, trade negotiations, aid coordination, employment, etc.
•  Build a virtual library of relevant research, publications, data and analysis for RBLAC to inform policy priorities and decision-making in the region, including the production of research products both at the regional and country levels
•  Working closely with the Inclusive Growth Team in NY and Panama, design, build, and maintain regional datasets from primary and secondary sources for use in country notes and specific research projects, including the systematic processing of country-level official household surveys to produce comparable statistics across countries.
•  Continuously collect, aggregate and analyze macro-economic data at regional level as a contribution to the formulation of the regional and country strategies and the preparation of National and Regional Human Development Reports.
•  Identify and document good practices from the region of innovative financial or economic initiatives or reforms to achieve SDGs and address multi-dimensional poverty and exclusion.

2. Knowledge Production and Thought Leadership

•  Lead the conceptualization and preparation of UNDP’s Regional Human Development Report, including overseeing the production and the quality assurance and review process.
•  Develop and implement an outreach strategy that includes key messages, press statements and OP Eds, and other public material, and organize launch events to ensure wide dissemination of the Regional Human Development Report and its key messages across the region with a view to connecting to local contexts and policy implications.
•  Lead initiatives in collaboration with the Panama Regional Hub Teams and CO experts around the generation of analytical content to inform policy across the region, including the production of Policy Notes, facilitating knowledge and experiences exchange
•  Initiate and participate in research work to better inform LAC’s positioning and its capacity to deal with global and regional challenges.
•  Develop and implement a policy agenda to advance UNDP’s knowledge and experience in global and region fora, seminars and UN technical and high-level events.
•  Participate in panels, workshops, academic seminars, and meetings with key stakeholders to disseminate analytical work informing policy decision making.

3. Strengthen Partnerships

•  The Senior Economist serves as the head of the senior economists’ network in the region. S/he will work closely with country office economists and researchers working on National Human Development Reports and other relevant economic research or policy issues.
•  S/he will build alliances with economists within and outside of the United Nations Organizations, with key research institutions, and with think tanks and partners both within LAC and from other regions with a focus on LAC to develop synergies, joint research initiatives and organize policy forum on issues of common interest.
•  S/he will expand and lead initiatives bringing academics, networks of economists, and practitioners from across Latin American and the Caribbean to engage with UNDP through participation in activities including research, seminars and policy dialogues with a view to strengthening regional capacity and UNDPs positioning in the region.

4. Support for UNDP Country Offices

•  The Senior Economist will provide feedback and quality assurance on CO policy products, including Country Programme Documents, and National Human Development Reports in progress.
•  S/he will provide targeted policy support, when required, to country offices on issues of regional concern (e.g., social protection, fuel subsidies, etc.) and, when requested, provide direct policy support for national partners.
•  She will strengthen relationships with and support the RBLAC team of country office-based Accelerator Labs, while also directly supporting country office initiatives to implement UNDP’s digital strategy.
•  Build relationships with HQ teams working on foresight thinking, innovation and future smart UNDP to ensure RBLAC country offices are well prepared for the future.

5. Team Management

•  Managing a team of professionals and administrative staff, the Senior Economist will be responsible for the development and implementation of a workplan, individual performance indicators and for monitoring and reviewing implementation in line with corporate standards.
•  S/he is responsible for overseeing staff development and for creating an enabling environment for staff performance.
•  The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.

Competencies

Core Competencies – UNDP Core Competencies can be found .

•  Achieve Results – LEVEL 4: Prioritize team workflow, mobilize resources, drive scalable results/strategic impact.
•  Think Innovatively – LEVEL 4: Easily navigate complexity, encourage/enable radical innovation, has foresight.
•  Learn Continuously – LEVEL 4: Create systems and processes that enable learning and development for all.
•  Adapt with Agility – LEVEL 4: Proactively initiate/lead organizational change, champion new systems/processes.
•  Act with Determination – LEVEL 4: Able to make difficult decisions in challenging situations, inspire confidence.
•  Engage and Partner – LEVEL 4: Construct strategic multi-partner alliances in high stake situations, foster co-creation.
•  Enable Diversity and Inclusion – LEVEL 4: Create ethical culture, identify/address barriers to inclusion.

People Management Competencies

UNDP People Management Competencies can be found .

Cross-Functional & Technical Competencies

•  Business Direction and Strategy – Strategic thinking: Ability to develop effective strategies and prioritized plans in line with UNDP’s objectives, based on the systemic analysis of challenges, potential risks and opportunities, linking the vision to reality on the ground, and creating tangible solutions.
•  Ability to leverage learning from a variety of sources to anticipate and respond to future trends; to demonstrate foresight in order to model what future developments and possible ways forward look like for UNDP.
•  Business Direction and Strategy – Effective Decision Making: Ability to take decisions in a timely and efficient manner in line with one´s authority, area of expertise and resources.
•  Business Development – UNDP representation: Ability to represent UNDP and productively share UNDP knowledge and activities; advocate for UNDP, its values, mission and work with various constituencies
•  Business Management – Partnerships Management: Ability to build and maintain partnerships with wide networks of stakeholders, Governments, civil society and private sector partners, experts and others in line with UNDP strategy and policies
•  2030 Agenda: Engagement & Effectiveness: SDG Integration Economy-wide analysis
•  Digital & Innovation – Data analysis: Ability to extract, analyse and visualize data (including Real-Time Data) to form meaningful insights and aid effective decision making.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

•  Advanced degree (Master’s Degree) in a field of economics; with specialization in a development-related subject (Economics, development economics, political economy, poverty analysis, Sociology, Public Policy).
•  Ph.D in Economics will be an advantage.

Experience:

•  A minimum of 15 years working in applied economics providing advice, with demonstrated research and publications experience.

Language:

•  Fluency in English and Spanish is required. Proficiency in other UN official languages is an asset.

Please note that continuance of appointment beyond the initial 12 months is contingent upon the successful completion of a probationary period.

Disclaimer

Important information for US Permanent Residents (‘Green Card’ holders)

Under US immigration law, acceptance of a staff position with UNDP, an international organization, may have significant implications for US Permanent Residents. UNDP advises applicants for all professional level posts that they must relinquish their US Permanent Resident status and accept a G-4 visa, or have submitted a valid application for US citizenship prior to commencement of employment.

UNDP is not in a position to provide advice or assistance on applying for US citizenship and therefore applicants are advised to seek the advice of competent immigration lawyers regarding any applications.

Applicant information about UNDP rosters

Note: UNDP reserves the right to select one or more candidates from this vacancy announcement. We may also retain applications and consider candidates applying to this post for other similar positions with UNDP at the same grade level and with similar job description, experience and educational requirements.

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