Senior Economist

Only candidates who are not nationals of the country of assignment are eligible to apply to this position

Hardship Level

A (least hardship)

Family Type

Family

Residential location (if applicable)

Grade

PR4

Staff Member / Affiliate Type

Professional

• Staff members will not normally serve in International Professional positions in the country of their nationality. In addition, in case of a first appointment upon recruitment, the assignment must be outside the staff member’s country of nationality.

In practical terms this means that you are not eligible to apply for International Professional vacancies advertised in the country where you are national of.

Reason

Regular > Regular Assignment

Remote work accepted

No

Target Start Date

2024-01-01

Job Posting End Date

December 21, 2023

Standard Job Description

Senior Economist

Organizational Setting and Work Relationships

Framed by the Global Compact for Refugees (GCR) and UNHCR’s mission to find solutions to refugee situations, strengthened cooperation with development and private sector partners is essential. The increasing number of refugees and internally displaced persons in protracted displacement situations, together with the increasing scale of irregular migration, large-scale refugee movements, and costs of responding to humanitarian situations, have placed forced displacement high on the global agenda. These elements have further driven the realization that humanitarian support must be complemented by development and private sector actors to lift displaced populations out of poverty, enable solutions, and encourage an area-based approach to poverty reduction.

Within UNHCR, the Division of Resilience and Solutions (DRS) was formed to address these challenges, in part by broadening strategic partnerships with key actors in these areas, including importantly the World Bank and other multilateral development banks and in so doing aligning approaches by Government(s). To support investments by development actors in area-based approaches including both forcibly displaced and their hosts, requires better data and standardized information about refugees and host community households, particularly in relation to their socio-economic status or multidimensional poverty status. Accurate data on welfare conditions is also needed by UNHCR and partners for programs including cash, livelihoods, and education programming, welfare targeting and monitoring of the Sustainable Development Goals. Finally, comparable information on both refugees and host community members is a pre-requisite for measuring changes in welfare required to inform medium-term programming with development partners and national governments. DRS together with the World Bank Poverty Global Practice supported by the UNHCR World Bank Joint Data Center manage the partnership and play the global coordination role for the institution in working with National Statistics Offices to include forcibly displaced into National Poverty Assessments.

The Senior Economist is the designated focal point for providing economic analysis and strategic support on behalf of DRS in support of the Global Compact for Refugees (GCR) objectives 1 and 2- Ease the pressures on host countries and Enhance refugee self-reliance. Concretely, the Senior Economist will provide key input regarding the indicators measuring the success of the Global Compact for Refugees and particularly the proportion of refugees living below the national poverty line in the host country. Depending on where the Senior Economist is based, the reporting lines will differ. If based in Headquarters it will map to the DRS Partnership Analytics Research and Knowledge Management (PARK) section. If based in a country or multi-country office, the incumbent will report to either the Representative or Deputy Representative Programme, or in some cases Head of Sub-Office or Senior Operations Officer. In all cases, functional supervision and guidance, including technical functional clearance of candidates and technical oversight of economics products, is provided by DRS PARK. The Senior Economist will work closely with Programme and Protection colleagues, the Global Data Service and DIMAs, in addition to Senior Management, in the operation as well as Bureaux and technical unit key external stakeholders and development agencies, including the World Bank, government agencies, national statistical agencies, and other operational partners.

All UNHCR staff members are accountable to perform their duties as reflected in their job description. They do so within their delegated authorities, in line with the regulatory framework of UNHCR which includes the UN Charter, UN Staff Regulations and Rules, UNHCR Policies and Administrative Instructions as well as relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, staff members are required to discharge their responsibilities in a manner consistent with the core, functional, cross-functional and managerial competencies and UNHCR’s core values of professionalism, integrity and respect for diversity.

Duties

Strategy & coordination

• Provide strategic vision and lead engagement with senior management, internal business units and external partners for the design and implementation of research and analytical products generated from comparable socio-economic data.
• Provide guidance/recommendations on obstacles and possible improvements to UNHCR’s programming, ensuring effective links and coordination with Field Operations and stakeholders at Headquarters through the preparation and use of available economic statistics, industrial surveys and other available data.
• Provide strategic vision for UNHCR comparable socio-economic data agenda and lead the overall coordination with the relevant World Bank teams and Joint Data Center and associated workstream.
• Provide guidance and input to the annual programme planning and review process to support the development and approval of sound operational plans and the effective allocation and use of resources for livelihoods, energy, environment, food security, solutions, health, shelter and water/sanitation.
• Ensure good communication and coordination among members of the country team, Governments, researchers and partners, serving as a link between these parties.
• Lead drafting and writing of presentations, analytical reports, research and policy briefs.
• Participate in official missions and deliver capacity building and training activities for partners and governments.
• Identify research opportunities and contribute to proposals for research partnerships and funding.

Data Collection and Analysis

• Provide oversight, vision and guidance for the collection of raw primary and secondary datasets into final datasets to be used for analysis, as needed.
• Supervise cleaning of all datasets and creation of necessary indicators for measuring livelihoods and other socio-economic indicators, impact and related. Work with the research team to design a thorough plan for data analysis including production of descriptive statistics and regression analysis for various outputs such as briefs, presentations and academic papers.
• Lead the preparation of research papers including formatting and creating tables, graphs, and related analysis.

Project Management

• Lead the design and implementation of assessments and other data-driven products related to the socio-economic welfare of refugees, forcibly displaced persons and host communities, wherever possible through coordination with the National Bureau of Statistics and World Bank Country Economist in inclusion of forcibly displaced into National Poverty Assessment.
• Successfully manage all partnerships and activities in the collection of comparable socio-economic (poverty) data on forcibly displaced
• Contribute to defining and promoting a vision for the use of socio-economic data, particularly in planning, programming and advocacy at the country, regional and headquarters levels.
• Maintain a strong understanding of the state of literature on poverty analysis for forcibly displaced.
• Manage data collection activities, as appropriate. This may take place at all stages of data collection (preparation, survey design, sampling, onsite data collection oversight and supervision and quality assurance, data analysis and report writing).
• Conduct data analysis using econometric programs (R, Stata).
• Guide colleagues and operations on factors influencing efficiency and effectiveness of programming.
• Represent UNHCR in negotiations and meetings relating to data and monitoring impact of programming.
• Clear documents and reports coming out of DRS/Country Operations.

In addition to the responsibilities outlined At HQ the tasks include

• Provide the strategic vision for the global technical team and oversee budget and staffing decisions
• Provide technical assistance to UNHCR Country Offices and Regional Bureaus on the collection, analysis and operationalization of socioeconomic data for programming, planning and advocacy purposes. A more intensive focus is anticipated in a limited number of countries and may include travel to these areas.
• Provide technical assistance to UNHCR Regional Bureaux/Country Offices on the design and implementation of socioeconomic assessments (SEAs). Provide remote assistance, generally to Livelihoods Officers, including review of survey concept notes, outlines and methodologies, as needed.
• Manage and contribute to development of survey modules on forced displacement (may be attached to national surveys), skills, social cohesion and/or education, among other topics.
• Facilitate coordination, collaboration and the sharing of knowledge and experience between UNHCR and development actors and across UNHCR operations globally by documenting and disseminating good practices.
• Manage and contribute to analytical work to facilitate the transition of forcibly displaced into national social safety net and social protection programming.
• Lead and contribute to other studies and analytical activities that build the conceptual framework and evidence base for comprehensive, development-oriented responses to forced displacement.
• Lead risk assessments and discussions with team(s) to proactively manage risks and seize opportunities impacting objectives. Ensure that risk management principles are integrated in decision-making both at strategic and operational levels. Allocate resources for planned treatments with resource requirements in Strategic Plans. Ensure that risks are managed to acceptable levels and escalate, as needed. If a Risk Owner, designate the Risk Focal Point and certify that the annual risk review is completed and ensure that the risk register is updated during the year, as needed.
• Perform other related duties as required.

Minimum Qualifications

Years of Experience / Degree Level

For P4/NOD – 9 years relevant experience with Undergraduate degree; or 8 years relevant experience with Graduate degree; or 7 years relevant experience with Doctorate degree

Field(s) of Education

Economics or other relevant field.

Certificates and/or Licenses

Not specified.

(Certificates and Licenses marked with an asterisk* are essential)

Relevant Job Experience

Essential

At least 7 years of relevant professional experience in economics, analysing data and conducting research. Familiarity with processes of the World Bank, the African Development Bank or other international financial institutions, bilateral development agencies or research institutions. Demonstrated skills and experience with measuring welfare through socio-economic profiling. Excellent conceptual and analytical capability and track record in developing tools/methodologies to ensure informed and responsible decision making. Ability to manage and supervise teams. Ability to think creatively, and to explore, harness and translate innovative concepts into practice. Capable of multi-tasking and managing several programmes/projects at the same time.

Desirable

Experience of working with the private sector. Experience working in applied development economics. Experience in poverty modelling. Experience leading primary data collection effort and data analysis. Experience of working with synergies between the humanitarian-development nexus. Good relevant publication record in economic journals is desirable.

Functional Skills

CO-Drafting and Documentation

CO-Strategic Communication

DM-Data Collection and Analysis

EC-Statistical and modelling software

IM-Statistics Analysis

MG-Project Management

SO-Networking

(Functional Skills marked with an asterisk* are essential)

Language Requirements

For International Professional and Field Service jobs: Knowledge of English and UN working language of the duty station if not English.

For National Professional jobs: Knowledge of English and UN working language of the duty station if not English and local language.

For General Service jobs: Knowledge of English and/or UN working language of the duty station if not English.

All UNHCR workforce members must individually and collectively, contribute towards a working environment where each person feels safe, and empowered to perform their duties. This includes by demonstrating no tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse, harassment including sexual harassment, sexism, gender inequality, discrimination and abuse of power.

As individuals and as managers, all must be proactive in preventing and responding to inappropriate conduct, support ongoing dialogue on these matters and speaking up and seeking guidance and support from relevant UNHCR resources when these issues arise.

This is a Standard Job Description for all UNHCR jobs with this job title and grade level. The Operational Context may contain additional essential and/or desirable qualifications relating to the specific operation and/or position. Any such requirements are incorporated by reference in this Job Description and will be considered for the screening, shortlisting and selection of candidates.

Desired Candidate Profile

The desired candidate will have experience working on economic integration for refugees, asylum-seekers, IDPs and stateless persons. Proven analytical skills, experience handling large datasets and ability to connect evidence to policy advice. Ability to work under minimum supervision, be creative and proactive. Experience with labor mobility programs and labor market integration for vulnerable groups desirable. Spanish is essential.

Required languages (expected Overall ability is at least B2 level):

Spanish

,

,

Desired languages

,

,

Operational context

Occupational Safety and Health Considerations

To view occupational safety and health considerations for this duty station, please visit this link: https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel

Nature of Position

Framed by the Global Compact for Refugees (GCR) and UNHCR’s mission to find solutions to refugee situations, strengthened cooperation with development and private sector partners is essential. The increasing number of refugees and internally displaced persons in protracted displacement situations, together with the increasing scale of irregular migration, large-scale refugee movements, and costs of responding to humanitarian situations, have placed forced displacement high on the global agenda. These elements have further driven the realization that humanitarian support must be complemented by development and private sector actors to lift displaced populations out of poverty and enable solutions.

This position is based at UNHCR’s Regional Bureau for the Americas (RBA) in Panama City. The incumbent will work under the direct supervision of the Senior Development Advisor and the general oversight of the Head of External Engagement Services. S/he will be responsible for providing economic analyses and strategic support to the bureau and regional colleagues on efforts to enhance refugees’, asylum-seekers’, IDPs and stateless persons’ self-reliance and economic inclusion, in line with the GCR objectives 1 and 2 – Ease the pressures on host countries and Enhance refugee self-reliance.

Senior Economist will work closely with Programme and Protection colleagues, the Global Data Service and DIMAs, in addition to Senior Management, in the operation as well as Bureaux and technical unit key external stakeholders and development agencies, including the World Bank, government agencies, national statistical agencies, and other operational partners. S/he will also closely coordinate her/his work with all the economists and development officers across the Americas region, as well as colleagues working in labor mobility and labor market integration. Along with the Senior Development Advisor of the RBA, s/he will coordinate and liaise with colleagues at DRS at Headquarters and other economists worldwide.

The incumbent will be in close contact with international financial institutions and development agencies in the Americas and will partner with them on analytical work related to access to national services, the formal labor market and other economic opportunities. As a regional resource, s/he will work with country operations to enhance ongoing livelihoods and economic inclusion programming through evidence-based and market-driven approaches to improve economic inclusion outcomes. S/he will promote the forging of new and strengthen existing partnerships including with the private sector, development actors, government institutions and specialized agencies to advance economic inclusion of refugees, asylum-seekers, IDPs and stateless persons.

Living and Working Conditions

Panama City is classified ‘A’ Duty Station (Family) and has good infrastructure (health, housing, banking, transportation, telecommunications and recreational facilities) and good supply of goods and services, with no particular health hazards. -In terms of security Panama is relatively safe compared to other cities throughout Latin America and it is rated as security level ‘1 minimal’ whereas for Darién Province (border with Colombia) it is security level ‘2 low’. The city is a communication hub and it is possible to fly to all countries of the region with direct flights and it offers good options for travelling in general. -UNHCR offices are located in the Canal Zone, in a green area outside the city centre called ‘Ciudad del Saber’ where most of the other UN Agencies are also located, as well as International Schools, NGOs and research centres, etc. -The cost of living is relatively high for the region (reflected in the post adjustment), especially for housing and health, but it is easy to find accommodation on the private market, including in the area of the office in houses or in the city centre towers in modern apartments. Most of the food is imported except for sea products and some fruits and vegetables. There is a wide range of international schools, several of them offering IB curriculum including some in the office area. -In terms of recreational activities, Panama being a hub for the purchasing of goods for neighbouring countries, the city offers a lot of malls and doing shopping and going to malls is a common week end activity. Cultural offer is limited but there is a good offer of restaurants and a dynamic nightlife. Beaches on the Pacific and Atlantic coasts are reachable within one hour by car or by boat directly from the city and there are some options for hiking too. There is also a relatively good range of sports activities.

Skills

Additional Qualifications

Cross-Functional Teamwork, Data Analysis, Development Economics, Humanitarian Development, International Financial Institutions, Labor Market, Policy Advice, Poverty Reduction, Self Reliance, Strategic Alliances, Working Independently, Work Relationships

Education

Bachelor of Arts (BA): Economics

Certifications

Work Experience

Competencies

Accountability, Analytical thinking, Client & results orientation, Commitment to continuous learning, Communication, Empowering & building trust, Judgement & decision making, Leadership, Managing performance, Managing resource, Organizational awareness, Planning & organizing, Stakeholder management, Strategic planning & visions, Teamwork & collaboration

UNHCR Salary Calculator

https://icsc.un.org/Home/SalaryScales

Compendium

Add. 2 to Bi-annual Compendium 2023 – Part B

Additional Information

Functional clearance

This position requires Functional Clearance