Economist/Head of DPU

The Economist/ Head of Development Policy Unit (DPU) provides strategic-level policy and programme support on economic, development and social issues at the country office level in alignment with national development priorities, the 2030 development agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The incumbent plays an important role in designing and conducting research and producing analytical briefs and reports – including the flagship National Human Development Report – and advocacy pieces that inform decision making on inclusive economic development growth, the design of programme and projects, and assessment of UNDP impact.

Position Purpose

Under the strategic guidance of the Resident Representative (RR) and the direct supervision of the Deputy Resident Representative (DRR), the Senior Economist/Head DPU advises Senior Management, other members of UNDP and our national and international stakeholders and partners on economic policy, future-oriented development trends and relevant linkages to UNDP programmes and acts as a senior advisor to the Country Office (CO) Management on all aspects of the Country Office (CO) programme in policy development. The Economist/ Head of Development Policy Unit monitors economic policy developments and provides analysis and reports for the formulation of strategies and senior level briefings. The Economist/ Head of Development Policy Unit works closely with federal and provincial Government counterparts to identify and implement effective development policy pathways, constantly enhancing and aligning the policy impact of UNDP projects, programmes and advisory support. As a member of the Senior Management Team, s/he also works in close collaboration with other policy and programme portfolios and the Operations Team to ensure a collaborative and harmonized joint UNDP programme. Cross-cutting coordination with the CO Communications, Gender and other relevant experts is required to strengthen the impact of the development interventions. S/he develops innovative development solutions, builds national and global partnerships, mobilizes domestic and international resources, while supporting overall CO risk management strategies and ensuring oversight of the DPU team.

The Economist/ Head of Development Policy Unit leads and supervises a team of UNDP experts, international and national consultants and project staff. The Economist/ Head of Development Policy Unit interacts collaboratively with colleagues from UNDP, UN Agencies, IFIs, Government officials, partners, and civil society to contribute to UNDP's policy dialogue and maintain networks.

UNDP adopts a portfolio approach to accommodate changing business needs and leverage linkages across interventions to achieve its strategic goals. Therefore, UNDP personnel are expected to work across units, functions, teams, and projects in multidisciplinary teams in order to enhance and enable horizontal collaboration.

Duties and Responsibilities

Lead policy advice and support UNDP and CO management, programmes and projects on economic and development issues.

• Analyze and interpret quantitative and qualitative economic and statistical data, conduct thorough research of the economic and development issues in the country, and produce forward-leaning foresight reports aimed at promoting equitable economic growth and human development.
• Provide top quality analysis and substantive inputs to Common Country Assessments (CCA), UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF), Country Programme Document (CPD), and other strategic documents.
• Provide advice on thematic areas for UNDP support and adjustment of ongoing programmes to ensure that UNDP programmes are in line with national priorities and policies.
• Select future-oriented strategic research topics, surveys and/or case studies.
• Utilize digital and Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools to promote human-centered, institutions-oriented top-quality research
• Produce and launch economic reports, including Global and National Human Development Reports.
• Formulate and facilitate UNDP inputs and CO support to national poverty reduction, and inclusive and sustainable economic growth and development.

Lead policy advice to Government counterparts and knowledge management on economic and development issues.

• Facilitate policy dialogue on national development priorities and economic issues with the Government, partners, civil society, private sector; and contribute to design of policies as relevant.
• Provide policy and implementation support to provinces in the framework of the SDG Plus programme
• Provide policy options, particularly from pro-poor and sustainability perspectives, on economic and development issues to governments and other development actors.
• Make sound contributions to knowledge networks and communities of practice.
• Assess regularly the country's economic policies and strategies, and performance, for their impact on poverty reduction, and inclusive and sustainable growth, etc.
• Provide continuous training and capacity building support for UNDP staff, Government officials and public institutions on economic and development issues.

Build strategic partnerships, feed into programme design and implementation of the Country Office resource mobilization strategy.

• Develop partnerships with the UN Agencies, IFI's, federal and provincial government institutions, private sector, civil society and development partners based on strategic goals of UNDP and country's priorities.
• Research and analyze information on donors and prepare substantive briefs on possible areas of cooperation.
• Produce periodic updates and briefs on country development situation to be used by stakeholders, CO and HQ.
• Undertake selected studies/research on emerging development concerns that feed into UNDP Programme, and national policies and strategies.

Promote awareness and facilitate advocacy for UNDP's mandate and mission.

• Contribute to policy advocacy for Human Development and inclusive sustainable economic growth by participating in relevant forums, conferences and training.
• Provide support to monitoring progress and formulation of strategies towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.
• Produce high quality research papers for UNDP presentations at national and international workshops and conferences.
• Produce blogs, op-eds, articles, etc. on development issues and UNDP Programmes and projects activities.
• Maintain and expand the reach and impact of the flagship publication, Development Advocate Pakistan (DAP)
• Manage events and publications on economic issues, including annual Global and National Human Development Reports (HDR) launches in the country, and advocacy of the Reports' findings among relevant Governmental agencies, civil society organizations and donors.

Manage the DPU team to align the systems for improved coherence between policy and programme at the CO level

• Manage and supervise a team of professional staff within the DPU, including the SDG Plus team at the provincial level
• Provide guidance on annual work plans and set strategic priorities, assisting roles and responsibilities, leading their performance assessments, and facilitating the Team's engagement with other units in the CO, within the UNCT, and external partners
• Supervise the administrative and financial aspects of the unit and as per the project document
• Support synergies and between policy work and the programme portfolio and initiatives implemented by the CO
• Mobilize resources, domestically and internationally, to contribute to the maintenance and explanation of the DPU

Education:

• Advanced university degree (Master's degree or equivalent) in Economics, Development Economics, Development Financing or related field is required, or
• A first-level university degree (bachelor's degree) in the areas mentioned above in combination with additional 2 years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration in lieu of an advanced university degree.
• A Ph.D. in Economics/Development or relevant will be an advantage.

Experience:

• Minimum of 7 years (with Master's Degree) or 9 years (with Bachelor's Degree) of relevant experience at the national or international level that includes extensive experience in management of teams, providing policy and/or management advisory services, oversight services, research and policy-level analysis, and solid experience in design, monitoring and evaluation of development projects.
• Experience in the use of office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) and advanced knowledge of web-based management systems such as Enterprises Resource Planning (ERP) and advanced programmes for statistical analysis of data.
• Extensive experience in providing advisory services, including risk management, to multiple complex development projects in the area of economics, policy development is desired.
• Sound understanding of global and domestic development policy trends, including UNDP corporate development policy priorities and programmes is an advantage.
• Demonstrated experience in working with the Government Ministries, departments, commissions and beyond on collaborative initiatives to address key development challenges pertaining to economics and policy development and implementation is desired.
• Demonstrated multi-stakeholder process facilitation and coordination skills.
• Demonstrated experience in an advisory role in the development sector, think-tanks, specialized UN agencies at national, regional or international level is highly desired.
• Experience in preparing high-quality policy briefs and guidance notes for use by senior policy makers;
• Experience of strategic visioning with strong technical and highly developed analytical capabilities;
• Extensive understanding and knowledge of the SDGs and their application at the national level, including politically astute experience in stakeholder analysis and engagement;
• Experience in handling web-based management systems and advanced software programmes for statistical analysis of data;

Required languages:

• Fluency in the English and Urdu languages is required.