Summary
Date Posted: Tuesday, July 27, 2021 , Base Salary: Not Disclosed

JOB DETAILS:
Result of Service
The provision of evidence based technical research support to the office in pursuit of the Socioeconomic Development Agenda in Southern Africa.
Work Location: Lusaka, Zambia
Expected duration: Duration of the assignment
The assignment is for an initial period of 6 months, renewable depending on performance and availability of funds. The Economic Affairs Junior Consultant will be based in Lusaka, Zambia and may undertake official missions outside of Zambia.

Duties and Responsibilities
Background and rationale
Established by the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations (UN) in 1958 as one of the UN's five regional commissions, the Economic Commission for Africa's (ECA) 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.

ECA has five sub-regional offices located in North Africa, West Africa, Central Africa, Eastern Africa and Southern Africa. These offices are operational arms of ECA at the country and sub-regional levels and are tasked to (a) Serve as instruments for ensuring harmony between sub-regional and regional programme orientations and those defined by the strategic directions of the Commission; (b) Provide advisory services to member States, RECs and sub-regional development operators, with back-stopping from the secretariat and other centres of excellence in the sub-regions; (c) Act as mechanisms to link ECA, member States, RECs, ECA-sponsored institutions and other centres of excellence in the sub-region and help project ECA's policies and image, as well as sensitize governments on the work of the Commission; (d) Facilitate sub-regional economic cooperation, integration and development; (e) Promote gender issues; (f) Act as Centres for policy dialogue; (g) Serve as Centres for collection and dissemination of information; and (h) Provide coordination of UN System activities for integration.

The Sub-Regional Office (SRO) for Southern Africa serves the following countries: Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Eswatini, Zambia and Zimbabwe. It has been designated as ECA’s centre of excellence for strengthening sub-regional and national programmes and capacities to achieve inclusive industrialization for reducing poverty and inequality in Southern Africa. It is divided into two sections, namely (i) accelerating and deepening industrialization in Southern Africa, and (ii) strengthening capacity of member States and RECs and IGOs to implement sub-regional development priorities, with due consideration for gender perspectives. Among other functions, the latter section is tasked with monitoring new and emerging socioeconomic issues in Southern Africa and provide policy advise based on evidence based analytical work; supporting member States in their efforts to accelerate economic transformation and inclusive growth through effective development planning, improved macroeconomic management and economic governance as well as better mobilization and allocation of domestic and international public finance.

Duties and Responsibilities of the Economic Affairs Junior Consultant
Reporting lines
In the performance of his/her day-to-day activities, the Economic Affairs Junior Consultant shall work under the direct supervision, and report to the Chief of the Sub-Regional Initiatives Section (SRI). He/she will carry out the assigned tasks under the overall supervision of the Director, SRO-SA of ECA.
This Consultancy is located in the Sub-Regional Initiatives Section of the ECA Sub Regional Office (SRO), Southern Africa, in Lusaka, Zambia. The Economic Affairs Junior Consultant reports to the Chief of the Sub-Regional Initiatives Section and will be responsible for the following functions, among others:

Socioeconomic or sector analysis:
• Monitors economic developments in a defined area and identifies recurrent and emerging issues of concern to the ECA, SRO-SA and SRI.
• Designs and conducts studies of selected issues in socioeconomic development and draft resulting reports, including on macroeconomics, public and private sectors, and economic sectors such as SMMEs, state-owned enterprises, agriculture, etc.
• Interprets and applies results of econometric modelling to analysis of economic prospects and policies.
• Develops draft policy recommendations pertaining to area of work.
• Formulates proposals for development strategies, policies and measures for presentation to member States, regional economic commissions (RECs) and other intergovernmental bodies and others.
• Attends international, regional, and national meetings to hold discussions with representatives of member States, RECs and other institutions.
• Organizes expert group meetings, seminars, etc. on socioeconomic issues.
• Prepares speeches and other inputs for presentations by senior staff.
• Conducts training seminars and workshops for government officials and others.
General:
• Supports other ECA divisions and sections, contributing to, or reviewing, their work and providing feedback.
• Participates in intra- and inter-SRO-SA undertakings of broader concern to represent the views or interests of the of the office.
• Performs other related duties as required, including a variety of administrative tasks necessary for the final delivery of the office and section’s service; and
• Undertakes on-the-job and other training activities, both internally and externally.
Work implies frequent interaction with the following:
• Staff within ECA divisions and sections; counterparts in other UN entities in Zambia and in the sub-region.
• Officials in government, academia and research institutions.

Deliverables
The Economic Affairs Junior Consultant’s deliverables will include the following:
• High quality draft documents, and inputs to research papers, technical reports, parliamentary reports, background documents, issues papers, concept notes, project proposals, aide memoires, task briefs and position papers on the various activities of the SRO-SA and SRI;
• Well-researched and analyzed data and information on member States’ and RECs’ development priorities, AU’s Agenda 2063 and UN’s Agenda 2030;
• High quality mission reports emanating from assigned missions; and
• Agreed upon inputs to assigned activities of the SRO-SA and SRI.

Qualifications/Special Skills
Academic Qualifications: Master's Degree or equivalent in economics, business administration, public policy, international development or related fields.
Experience: A minimum of five years of experience in research/analytical work in macroeconomics, economic development, development policy analysis, regional integration, governance, and related areas in the context of Southern Africa, either in the academia, international, private, public or civil society organizations. Previous working experience in Southern Africa and knowledge of the AU/UN system is an added advantage.
Language: English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the present assignment, fluency in English (both written and oral) is required. Knowledge of another UN official language is an advantage.

Additional Information
Competencies
Planning and Organizing: Ability to plan own work, to work effectively under stress, and to prioritize and handle multiple tasks within tight deadlines.
Communication: Excellent communication skills including ability to prepare documents/reports, briefings/debriefings notes, correspondence;
Teamwork: Good interpersonal skills and ability to establish and maintain to work in collaboration with other and an ability to work in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity.
Technology Awareness: Fully proficient in computer use, including Microsoft word, Microsoft excel, Microsoft PowerPoint, Email and Internet Browsing and Scanning;

Work Hours: 8

Experience in Months: 60

Level of Education: Postgraduate Degree

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