National Economist
Position Summary Expectations - Duties, Responsibilities
Salary range: Monthly net remuneration $3,735.58 – $4,233.91
- Advice for the UNDP Country Office (CO) management and programme team on development finance as accelerator for development:
- Advise UNDP CO management on macroeconomic policies, trends, risks and opportunities in the country;
- Support UNDP CO teams to develop and oversee interventions to promote inclusive growth and progress towards the SDGs;
- Support UNDP CO efforts to implement the Integrated National Financing Framework (INFF) and related processes and analytical tools, and identify private and public finance opportunities to achieve the SDGs;
- Provide analysis and research on key economic developments in the country, including publication of policy briefs or other analytical products;
- Support the preparation of background notes, speeches, talking points, presentation materials, etc. on critical development and SDG-related issues for senior management, as needed;
- Lead or contribute to, as applicable, the Human Development Report (HDR) related research and activities and ensure that it provides added value in terms of development economic analysis, updated data and information for policy formulation;
- Compile and analyze statistical data as required in support of country strategies and activities;
- Collaborate across UNDP teams, especially to ensure linkages to the work emerging from the network of accelerator labs1, as applicable;
- Lead or contribute to the expansion of CO service offers on financing for development, including innovative financing models and country specific/sector specific studies.
- Technical advice to national counterparts and other partners on sustainable and inclusive economic policies in support of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the National Strategic Development Plan (NSDP):
- Advise and facilitate dialogue on sustainable development issues with government officials, development partners, civil society, and the private sector;
- Provide policy and programming advice and support for development planning and policy formulation at the national, sub-national and local levels;
- Support the identification and analysis of interventions that can impact multiple development goals and targets at the same time;
- Support monitoring and reporting of progress related to SDGs and other national development frameworks, including to help strengthen national and local level data collection and statistical capacity;
- Support to leverage UNDP’s regional and global programmes, to provide holistic and effective support to the country;
- Leverage support and expertise from the UNDP’s global/regional economist and policy networks to assist in strengthening UNDP’s support on economic analysis and policy development to Government and the UN Country Team.
- Representation, advocacy, and partner engagement to support UNDP’s institutional positioning and advance its mandate, as directed by the Resident Representative (RR):
- Contribute, in close collaboration with senior management, to the development and/or strengthening of partnerships with UN agencies, IFIs, bilateral development agencies, private sector entities, and civil society;
- When delegated, represent UNDP country office in relevant forums, conferences or workshops, including to present research or programmatic results;
- Assist the RR in resource mobilization and future growth strategies and contribute to the design of relevant programme and development solutions;
- Contribute to national, regional, and global knowledge networks and communities of practice;
- Contribute to UNDP communication by posting on social media and publishing in corporate spaces, media outlets and scientific publications.
- Contribution to UNDP’s work across the Asia-Pacific region, including collaboration with the UNDP regional economist network and Global Policy Network (GPN):
- Participate actively in the UNDP Asia-Pacific regional network of economists, by attending regional meetings (in-person and/or virtual), sharing relevant experiences, and conducting peer reviews;
- Collaborate and contribute to regional publications, practice notes, and Regional Human Development Reports;
- Substantively contribute to UNDP regional knowledge products and development of programming offers in regional priority areas (e.g. inequality, future of work, innovative financing);
- Enhance UNDP’s understanding and design of new approaches to sustainable development across the region by acting as a regional thematic lead, as applicable.
- Education
- Master’s degree (or equivalent) or bachelor’s degree in Economics, Development Economics and/or
- Ph.D. in Economics is an advantage.
- Experience, Knowledge, and Skills
- Minimum of 5 years with master’s degree or 7 years with bachelor’s degree of experience;
- Experience at the international level is an advantage;
- Demonstrated experience in research and policy analysis involving analysis of complex data sets and critical thinking;
- Proven policy, advisory and advocacy experience;
- Experience in producing technical and non-technical documents;
- Experience of strategic visioning with demonstrated analytical capabilities and data (forecasting, modelling, horizon scanning, etc.) is desirable;
- Knowledge of the SDGs and their application at the national level;
- Strong numeracy and statistical skills;
- General IT skills, with emphasis on specialist economic software packages.
- Language requirements: Proficiency in written and spoken English and Khmer.
