Senior Economic Affairs Officer, Competition and Consumer Protection (Temporary Job Opening)

Org. Setting and Reporting

This position is located in the Division on International Trade and Commodities, within the Competition and Consumer Policies Branch at the United Nations Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The Senior Economics Affairs Officer will report to the Head of Competition and Consumer Policies Branch and to the Director of the Division on International Trade and Commodities.

Responsibilities

Within delegated authority, the duties of the Senior Economic Affairs Officer will be as follows:

Economic or sectoral analysis

• Leads or participates in the formulation, organization and management of mandated programmes of economic analysis and the formulation of possible economic strategies, policies and actions for adoption by the international community in the area of competition and consumer protection policies, and related trade and development issues, including the digital economy, international transport, and other economic issues in the multilateral trade agenda.
• Leads or participates in the identification of new or emerging development issues of potential concern to the international community, particularly those of a regional or global nature, in competition and consumer protection policy and their relation to other trade and development issues part of UNCTAD’s mandate, and designs and develops programmes to address them.
• Supervises a team of staff 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 Branch'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 development issues to intergovernmental bodies including the United Nations Conference on Competition and Consumer Protection, the Intergovernmental Groups of Experts on Competition and on Consumer Protection of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the UNCTAD Trade and Development Board, the United Nations on Competition and Consumer Protection Business Practices), by offering strategic advice, giving technical guidance and assisting in developing a consensus.
• Manages the work unit’s contribution to the preparation and management of meetings of intergovernmental bodies.
• Represents the organizational unit at international, regional and national meetings on competition and consumer protection policies and related development issues.

Technical cooperation

• Develops and maintains relations with senior officials of member governments and ensures a response to requests for advice and/or assistance on competition and consumer protection policies.
• Facilitates negotiations with donor and recipient governments on technical assistance programmes and projects.
• Organizes and coordinates cooperation among Member States on competition and consumer protection policies issues and their relationship with other areas of UNCTAD’s mandate.
• Leads or participates in technical cooperation missions.

Programme support

• Serves as officer in charge of the Branch as needed
• Contributes to the formulation of the medium-term plan, the programme of work and the budget of the Branch and the Division and participate in the formulation of the organization's overall programme of work and other similar endeavours
• Attends to various administrative matters, including the recruitment of staff for the Branch
• Performs other related duties as required.

Competencies

Professionalism: Ability to apply economic theories and concepts and connect competition and consumer protection policies with policy areas in the UNCTAD mandate such as the digital economy, international transport, and other development issues in the multilateral trade agenda, to contribute to economic and sustainable development. Ability to supervise and implement capacity building programmes on competition and consumer policies and related trade and development issues. Ability to conduct independent research on economic topics, determine suitability, validity and accuracy of data provided by different sources, and to coordinate work on trade and development issues as they relate to competition and consumer protection issues, among a wide variety of stakeholders. Ability to develop economic policies and make recommendations on their implementation. Ability to apply UN rules, regulations, policies and guidelines in work situations. 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.

Communication: Speaks and writes clearly and effectively; listens to others, correctly interprets messages from others and responds appropriately; asks questions to clarify, and exhibits interest in having two-way communication; tailors language, tone, style and format to match audience; demonstrates openness in sharing information and keeping people informed.

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.

Managerial Competencies

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.

Judgement/Decision-making: Identifies the key issues in a complex situation, and comes to the heart of the problem quickly; gathers relevant information before making a decision; considers positive and negative impacts of decisions prior to making them; takes decisions with an eye to the impact on others and on the Organization; proposes a course of action or makes a recommendation based on all available information; checks assumptions against facts; determines that the actions proposed will satisfy the expressed and underlying needs for the decision; makes tough decisions when necessary.

Education

Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in economics or related area is required. A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Work Experience

A minimum of ten years of progressively responsible experience in economic research and analysis, and policy formulation in development programmes is required. Experience coordinating and supporting policy formulation in different areas of trade, economics and sustainable development is desirable. A minimum of seven years of progressively responsible international experience in designing and leading technical and capacity building in trade and development related issues is desirable. Experience coordinating large intergovernmental deliberation processes is desirable.

Languages

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this job opening, English is required. Either French or Chinese (Mandarin) or Russian or Spanish or Arabic is desirable.

Assessment

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