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

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.

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.

• 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.

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.

Not available.

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.

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

This is a project funded position and its duration is subject to the availability of funds. The initial duration is until 31 July 2026, starting as soon as possible. The United Nations Secretariat is committed to achieving 50/50 gender balance in its staff. Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply for this position. Candidates should have no expectation of any fixed-term appointment possibility after the end of this temporary assignment. If the selected candidate is an internal staff member of the UN Secretariat, the selection will be recorded as a temporary assignment. Subsequent to the initial temporary appointment, new and successive temporary appointments may be granted for service in the same office or in a different office any number of times, for any duration, provided that the length of service does not exceed the period of 364 calendar days. Upon separation from service, including, but not limited to, expiration or termination of, or resignation from, a fixed-term, continuing or permanent appointment, a former staff member will be ineligible for re-employment on the basis of a temporary appointment for a period of 31 days following the separation. In the case of separation from service on retirement, a former staff member will be ineligible for re-employment for a period of three months following the separation. This equally applies, mutatis mutandis, with respect to a former or current staff member who has held or holds an appointment in another entity applying the United Nations Staff Regulations and Rules and who applies for a temporary position with the Secretariat. A current staff member who holds a fixed-term, permanent or continuing appointment may apply for temporary positions no more than one level above his or her current grade. However, a current staff member who holds an appointment at the G-6 or G-7 level may also apply to temporary positions in the Professional category up to and including the P-3 level, subject to meeting all eligibility and other requirements for the position. A staff member holding a temporary appointment shall be regarded as an external candidate when applying for other positions, and may apply for other temporary positions at any level, subject to section 5.7 below and staff rule 4.16 (b) (ii). Therefore, a staff member holding a temporary appointment in the General Service or related categories may only apply to positions within those categories. For full information on eligibility requirements, please refer to section 5 of ST/AI/2010/4Rev.1 on Temporary Appointments. In its resolution 66/234, the General Assembly further “stressed that the Secretary-General should not recur to the practice of temporarily filling posts in the Professional and higher categories with General Service staff members who have not passed the General Service to Professional category examination other than on an exceptional basis, and requests the Secretary-General to ensure that temporary occupation of such posts by the General Service staff shall not exceed a period of one year, effective 1 January 2013…” Consequently, eligible candidates in the General Service or related categories for temporary job openings in the Professional category that have not passed the competitive examination may be selected only on an exceptional basis endorsed by the Office of Human Resources Management where no other suitable candidate could be identified. While this temporary assignment may provide the successful applicant with an opportunity to gain new work experience, the selection for this position is for a limited period and has no bearing on the future incumbency of the post. An external candidate selected for this position is bound by the prevailing condition of the staff selection system under ST/AI/2010/3, as amended, and ST/AI/2010/4/Rev.1. A staff member holding a temporary appointment who is recruited in the Professional and above categories on a temporary appointment, and placed on a position authorized for one year or longer may not apply for or be reappointed to his/her current position within six months of the end of his/her current service. This provision does not apply to staff members holding temporary appointments and placed on positions authorized for one year or more in duty stations authorized for peacekeeping operations or special political missions. The expression “Internal candidates”, shall mean staff members who have been recruited after a competitive examination under staff rule 4.16 or after the advice of a central review body under staff rule 4.15. For more details on the administration of temporary appointments please refer to ST/AI/2010/4/Rev.1. For information on special post allowance, please refer to ST/AI/1999/17. The Staff Regulations, Staff Rules and administrative issuances governing staff appointments can be viewed at: http://www.un.org/hr_handbook/English. Please note that candidates will be required to meet the requirements of Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter as well as the requirements of the position. The United Nations is committed to the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity for all its human resources, including but not limited to respect for international human rights and humanitarian law. Candidates may be subject to screening against these standards, including but not limited to whether they have committed, or are alleged to have committed criminal offences and/or violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law.

According to article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity. Candidates will not be considered for employment with the United Nations if they have committed violations of international human rights law, violations of international humanitarian law, sexual exploitation, sexual abuse, or sexual harassment, or if there are reasonable grounds to believe that they have been involved in the commission of any of these acts. The term “sexual exploitation” means any actual or attempted abuse of a position of vulnerability, differential power, or trust, for sexual purposes, including, but not limited to, profiting monetarily, socially or politically from the sexual exploitation of another. The term “sexual abuse” means the actual or threatened physical intrusion of a sexual nature, whether by force or under unequal or coercive conditions. The term “sexual harassment” means any unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature that might reasonably be expected or be perceived to cause offence or humiliation, when such conduct interferes with work, is made a condition of employment or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment, and when the gravity of the conduct warrants the termination of the perpetrator’s working relationship. Candidates who have committed crimes other than minor traffic offences may not be considered for employment. Due regard will be paid to the importance of recruiting the staff on as wide a geographical basis as possible. The United Nations places no restrictions on the eligibility of men and women to participate in any capacity and under conditions of equality in its principal and subsidiary organs. The United Nations Secretariat is a non-smoking environment. Reasonable accommodation may be provided to applicants with disabilities upon request, to support their participation in the recruitment process. By accepting a letter of appointment, staff members are subject to the authority of the Secretary-General, who may assign them to any of the activities or offices of the United Nations in accordance with staff regulation 1.2 (c). Further, staff members in the Professional and higher category up to and including the D-2 level and the Field Service category are normally required to move periodically to discharge functions in different duty stations under conditions established in ST/AI/2023/3 on Mobility, as may be amended or revised. This condition of service applies to all position specific job openings and does not apply to temporary positions. Applicants are urged to carefully follow all instructions available in the online recruitment platform, inspira, and to refer to the Applicant Guide by clicking on “Manuals” in the “Help” tile of the inspira account-holder homepage. The evaluation of applicants will be conducted on the basis of the information submitted in the application according to the evaluation criteria of the job opening and the applicable internal legislations of the United Nations including the Charter of the United Nations, resolutions of the General Assembly, the Staff Regulations and Rules, administrative issuances and guidelines. Applicants must provide complete and accurate information pertaining to their personal profile and qualifications according to the instructions provided in inspira to be considered for the current job opening. No amendment, addition, deletion, revision or modification shall be made to applications that have been submitted. Candidates under serious consideration for selection will be subject to reference checks to verify the information provided in the application. All external candidates recruited in accordance with section ‎2.2 (a) of ST/AI/2025/3 for a fixed term appointment without limitation and all external candidates recruited in accordance with section 2.2. (c) of ST/AI/2025/3 for a fixed term appointment limited to the entity are subject to an initial probationary period of one year under a fixed-term appointment. Job openings advertised on the Careers Portal will be removed at 11:59 p.m. (New York time) on the deadline date.