Company Description

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is an international organisation comprised of 38 member countries that works to build better policies for better lives. Our mission is to promote policies that will improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world. Together with governments, policy makers and citizens, we work on establishing evidence-based international standards, and finding solutions to a range of social, economic and environmental challenges. From improving economic performance and creating jobs to fostering strong education and fighting international tax evasion, we provide a unique forum and knowledge hub for data and analysis, exchange of experiences, best-practice sharing, and advice on public policies and international standard-setting.

The Global Relations and Cooperation Directorate (GRC) supports the implementation of the Secretary General’s strategic orientations by co-ordinating the Organisation’s relations with partner countries and with other international organisations. It advises the Office of the Secretary-General and other OECD Directorates on how to strengthen co-operation with key partner countries, regions and organisations.

GRC also serves the OECD External Relations Committee (ERC), working with members to help them reach consensus on global relations priorities and ensuring that relevant partners are effectively engaged in the Organisation’s work.

GRC is seeking an experienced Programme Manager for the MENA-OECD Competitiveness Programme. Ideal candidates will have expertise in inclusive and sustainable economic development, political economy of reforms in the Middel East and North Africa, developing and emerging economies, global and multilateral governance processes, policy implementation, multilateral policy dialogue, including regional integration, economic resilience in context of fragility and conflict, connectivity, informality, and gender equality.

The selected individual will play a pivotal role in advancing OECD’s support for the Middle East and North African social and economic agenda, promoting the active participation from the region in OECD bodies and activities, and advancing their involvement in policy dialogue processes. Demonstrated experience in international project management, including event preparation and coordination, is essential. Reporting directly to the Head of Division, the role involves collaborative work with division heads and directorates, providing strategic direction and overall coordination across the OECD. The selected candidate will contribute to the strategic alignment between the MENA-OECD Initiative and the OECD-Africa partnership.

The selected individual will play an important role in the process of consultations and strategic elaboration of the renewal of the MENA-OECD Initiative mandate for 2026-30. As a Programme manager, the successful candidate will contribute to prepare the MENA-OECD Ministerial conference expected to take place in 2026. The Programme manager will support the overall coordination of all activities in the region, including regional and national projects. The Programme manager will supervise existing country approaches with Egypt, Morocco, KSA and UAE; and promote the development of new ones. The selected candidate will lead the implementation of the EU funded project to promote Economic Resilience in Yemen, with direct participation in the donor coordination mechanisms and close collaboration with the UN agencies, WB, IMF and bilateral agencies. The position involves advanced cooperation with the EU DG MENA, and the Union for the Mediterranean.
 

Job Description

Main Responsibilities

Co-ordination and Project Management

• Contribute to the overall development and implementation of the MENA-OECD Competitiveness programme.
• Design and deliver high quality policy activities such as seminars and workshops to a variety of audiences (e.g. policy analysts, senior public officials).
• Ensure timeliness and a high level of quality of OECD documents for meetings and events.
• Draft briefs for OECD’s senior management.
• Advanced fundraising skills and capacity to design donor funded projects, including implementations strategies and evaluation and monitoring mechanisms assessing impact.

Research, analysis and drafting

• Conduct research and analysis to contribute to the various sectors above at the regional and national levels.
• Liaise with OECD directorates to promote horizontal approach and joint work with GRC.
• Draft technical and policy documents to contribute to the various sectors above as well as policy briefs and other communications aimed at non-technical audiences.
• Formulate sound policy assessments and proposals, taking into account good practices, comparative data, benchmarks and indicators.
• Collaborate, within the Organisation, on multidisciplinary horizontal work, contributing to policy discussions underpinned by economic theory and empirical analysis.
• Develop innovative and effective strategies and instruments to disseminate the findings and to convey the main messages to varied audiences at international fora.
• Draft speeches, talking points and official letters, for OECD’s senior management ensuring a whole of OECD approach.

Liaison, Dissemination and Representation

• Liaise with Member and non-Member countries as required and co-ordinate with OECD colleagues.
• Co-ordinate with international organisations as required.
• Represent the OECD at meetings and conferences.

Qualifications

Ideal Candidate Profile

Academic Background:

• An advanced university degree in economics, economic development, public policy or international relations.

Professional Background

• A minimum of eight years’ relevant experience in the field of region-specific economic and policy analysis and advice.
• A proven record as project manager.
• Knowledge of the economic and policy context of one of the countries or regions indicated above.

Languages:

• Fluency in one of the two OECD official languages (English and French).
• Knowledge of the other would be an advantage.
• Knowledge of Arabic would be an advantage.

Core Competencies

• OECD staff are expected to demonstrate behaviours aligned to six core competencies which will be assessed as part of this hiring processes: Vision and Strategy (Level 3); Enable People (Level 2); Ethics and Integrity (Level 2); Collaboration and Horizontality (Level 3); Achieve Results (Level 3); Innovate and Embrace Change (Level 3).
• There are three possible levels for each competency. The level for each competency is determined according to the specific needs of each job role and its associated grade.
• To learn more about the definitions for each competency for levels 1-3, please refer to OECD Core Competencies.

Additional Information

Closing Date

• This vacancy should be filled as soon as possible, and applications should reach us no later than midnight 06.12.2025 (Paris time).

Contract Duration

• Open-ended appointment, with no foreseen end date.
• Ideal start date: by February 2026

The OECD is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes the applications of all qualified candidates [who are nationals of OECD member countries]*, irrespective of their racial or ethnic origin, opinions or beliefs, gender, sexual orientation, health or disabilities.

The OECD promotes an optimal use of resources in order to improve its efficiency and effectiveness. Staff members are encouraged to actively contribute to this goal.

What the OECD offers

• Depending on level of experience, monthly salary starts at 10 937.92 EUR, plus allowances based on eligibility, exempt of French income tax.
• Click here to consult the Staff Regulations applicable to officials of the OECD. Please note that from 1 July 2025, all Official appointments will be made under the OECD’s new contractual modalities.
• Click here to learn more about what we offer and why the OECD is a great place to work.  
• Click here to browse our People Management Guidebook and learn more about all aspects relating to people at the OECD, our workplace environment and many other policies supporting staff in their daily life.
• Please note that the appointment may be made at one grade lower in the specified job family, based on the qualifications and professional experience of the selected applicant.
• This vacancy may be used to create a pool of candidates for comparable positions, both for open-ended and fixed-term functions.