SENIOR ECONOMIC AFFAIRS OFFICER (CHIEF, ECONOMIC GOVERNANCE AND PUBLIC FINANCE SECTION), P5

Org. Setting and Reporting

Established by the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations (UN) in 1958 as one of the UN's five regional commissions, ECA's mandate is to promote the economic and social development of its member States, foster intra-regional integration, and promote international cooperation for Africa's development. Made up of 54 member States, and playing a dual role as a regional arm of the UN and as a key component of the African institutional landscape, ECA is well positioned to make unique contributions to address the Continent's development challenges. The strategic objective of ECA is framed around delivering ideas and actions for an empowered, inclusive and transformed Africa in the framework of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Agenda 2063 of the African Union through its three core functions, namely, its function as a think tank, its convening function and its operational function. For more information, go to https://www.uneca.org/.

This position is located in the Economic Governance and Public Finance Section (EGPFS) of the Macroeconomics & Governance Division (MGD) of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).

Responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of the Director of Macroeconomics and Governance Division, the Chief of the Economic Governance and Public Finance Section (EGPFS), will have the responsibilities of implementing a work program that covers issues of economic governance and public finance to enhance the capacity of member states to improve economic governance and public sector management and to mobilize domestic and international public resources for development and investment priority areas. These priority areas of work include:

•Strengthening public sector institutions and state-owned enterprises, including through enhancing Public Finance Management (PFM) and Public Expenditure Management (PEM) systems;
•Strengthening accountability and reducing corruption as well as networking with external partners.
•Mobilization and management of domestic and international public finance, including natural resources and public debt management.
•Combatting illicit financial resources

In particular, the chief of EGPFS will be responsible for the following:

Economic or sectoral analysis
•Leads or participates in the formulation, organization and management of mandated programmes of economic analysis in the area of governance and public finance and the formulation of possible economic strategies, policies and actions for adoption by the international community.
•Leads or participates in the identification of new or emerging development issues of potential concern to African countries, particularly those of a regional or global nature, and designs and develops programmes to address them. Conceptualizes and undertakes rigorous studies and reports, including input to inter-agency reports, on economic governance and public finance through the application of quantitative and qualitative methods, including macro statistical analysis and modeling, and collecting and analyzing country-level and regional-level data.
•Supervises and edits the work of a team of staff economists undertaking this work.
•Commissions economic studies and analyses that cannot be undertaken internally.
•Conceives, plans and manages expert group meetings, seminars and similar consultations that contribute to the finalization of the work unit’s outputs.
•Finalizes reports on development for issuance by the United Nations.
•Prepares speeches for senior staff and makes presentations on economic issues for specialist or non-specialist audiences.

Intergovernmental support
•Provides direct substantive support on economic governance and public finance to intergovernmental bodies such as the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council, the African Union and Regional Economic Communities by offering strategic advice, giving technical guidance and assisting in developing a consensus;
•Manages the Section’s contribution to the preparation and management of meetings of intergovernmental bodies.
•Represents the Section and ECA at international, regional and national meetings on development issues, particularly related to economic governance and public finance.

Technical cooperation
•Develops and maintains relations with senior officials of Member Governments and ensures a response to requests for advice and/or assistance on finance and private sector development issues and policies.
•Negotiates with donor and recipient governments on technical assistance programmes and projects.
•Organizes and coordinates cooperation among Member States on finance and private sector development programmes or issues.
•Leads or participates in technical cooperation missions.

Programme support
•Functions as head of the Section.
•Actively participates and provides major inputs in the formulation of the medium-term plan, the programme of work and the budget of the branch and participates in the formulation of the organization’s overall programme of work and other similar endeavors;
•Attends to various administrative matters concerning the Section or Division.
•Maintains records and data related to programmes within his/her responsibility and enter data, information and documentation in the UNPAN.
•Performs other related duties as required.

Competencies

•Professionalism: Knowledge and understanding of economic governance and public finance issues, and the underlying theories, principles and empirical applications. Ability to produce quality reports and publications on these issues as demonstrated in refereed publication records. 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.

•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.

•Planning & Organizing: Develops clear goals that are consistent with agreed strategies; identifies priority activities and assignments; adjusts priorities as required; allocates appropriate amount of time and resources for completing work; foresees risks and allows for contingencies when planning; monitors and adjusts plans and actions as necessary; uses time efficiently.

•Leadership: Serves as a role model that other people want to follow: empowers others to translate vision into results; is proactive in developing strategies to accomplish objectives; establishes and maintains relationships with a broad range of people to understand needs and gain support; anticipates and resolves conflicts by pursuing mutually agreeable solutions; drives for change and improvements; does not accept the status quo; shows the courage to take unpopular stands. Provides leadership and takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work; demonstrates knowledge of strategies and commitment to the goal of gender balance in staffing.

•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.

Education

Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in economics, finance or a related is required. A first-level university degree (Bachelor's or equivalent) with additional two years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree. A PhD in Economics is desirable.

Work Experience

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 in economic governance and public finance in Africa, including a track record of refereed publications in the area, is desirable.
Proven experience in applied quantitative economic analysis and modelling including use of econometric packages such as STATA, SAS, and EVIEWs is also desirable.

Languages

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the position advertised, fluency in English or French, is required; knowledge of the other is
desirable. Knowledge of another UN official language is an advantage.

Assessment

Evaluation of qualified candidates may include an assessment exercise which may be followed by competency-based interview.

Special Notice

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 fulfil the lateral move requirements to be eligible to apply for this vacancy. Staff members are requested to indicate all qualifying
lateral moves in their Personal History Profile (PHP) and cover letter.

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 2019, are strongly encouraged to apply: Afghanistan, Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahrain, Belize, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Central African Republic, China, Comoros, Cuba, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Dominica, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Grenada, Guinea-Bissau, Islamic Republic of Iran, Japan, Kiribati, Kuwait, 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, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Solomon Islands, South Sudan, Suriname, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, United Arab Emirates, United States of America, Vanuatu, Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.

United Nations Considerations

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, sexual abuse, or sexual harassment, 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. The term “sexual harassment” means any unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature that might reasonably be expected or be perceived to cause offence or humiliation, when such conduct interferes with work, is made a condition of employment or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment, and when the gravity of the conduct warrants the termination of the perpetrator’s working relationship. Candidates who have committed crimes other than minor traffic offences may not be considered for employment.

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.

No Fee

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.