Result of Service

The ultimate result of service is to contribute to the implementation of the work programme related to public debt and fiscal policy, including implementation of the activities and outputs of the Debt Swap project.

Outputs/Works Assignment
• Analysis on the macroeconomic situation with regard to implementing debt swap programmes across the region, and tailor analysis to country contexts;
• Materials and presentations for regional and national capacity development workshops and national consultation meetings on debt swap and debt management;
• Key sections of draft proposals on Climate/SDGs Debt Swap Programme for selected member states;
• Translate substantive official documents from French to English, and vice versa, as needed.

Work Location

UN-House ESCWA

Expected duration

6 Months

Duties and Responsibilities

The Debt and Fiscal Policy Team at ESCWA is currently implementing several projects on public finance in the Arab region, namely on inclusive fiscal policy, debt optimization strategies, and debt swap for climate finance. Through the projects, ESCWA seeks to support and provide technical assistance to member states in advancing solutions to address public finance challenges and enhance fiscal space to finance climate action and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The objective of this position is to substantively contribute to accomplishing activities and outputs of the Debt Swap project, which involves substantive research and production of analytical reports, supportive materials for capacity development workshops, and country papers on debt analysis. The individual contractor will work with a team of economists and will take inputs and feedback to finalize the delivery of outputs.

The main duties and responsibilities of the individual contractor are the following:

• Produce draft analysis on the macroeconomic situation with regard to implementing debt swap programmes across the region, and tailor analysis to country contexts;
• Produce draft materials and presentations for regional and national capacity development workshops and national consultation meetings on debt swap and debt management;
• Prepare key sections of draft proposals on Climate/SDGs Debt Swap Programme for selected member states;
• Translate substantive official documents from French to English, and vice versa, as needed;
• Undertake related tasks on ad hoc assignments and produce drafts as requested by the supervisor.

Qualifications/special skills

A Master’s degree in economics, public finance, international finance or related area is required.

All candidates must submit a copy of the required educational degree. Incomplete applications will not be reviewed.
At least 4 years of work experience in conducting research and analysis on public expenditure and public debt management issues is required.
Knowledge of statistical analysis software (excel/stata) is required.
At least 2 years of work experience on such topics at the level of the Arab region is desirable.
Knowledge of Python is desirable.

Languages

Languages English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat; and Arabic is a working language of ESCWA.

For this position, fluency in English and Arabic is required, and knowledge of French is required.

Note: “Fluency” equals a rating of ‘fluent’ in all four areas (speak, read, write, and understand) and “Knowledge of” equals a rating of ‘confident’ in two of the four areas.

Additional Information

Recruitment for this position is on a local basis. The incumbent is required to have the legal right to live and work in the specified working location.

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.