Profile - Economist Officer

Economist Officer Profile

Various Locations

Grade: Junior (P2), Mid (P3) and Senior (P4) Level Positions

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is mandated to lead and coordinate international action to protect and assist refugees and other persons of concern. It is constantly seeking talented, compassionate candidates with high-integrity to strengthen its capacity to respond urgently to crises with the right skills. Given the nature of UNHCR¿s work, it is essential that its workforce has the right mix of skills and qualities to fulfil its mandate.
While UNHCR's primary purpose is to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees, our ultimate goal is to help find durable solutions that will allow them to rebuild their lives in dignity. There are three durable solutions pursued by UNHCR refugees in protracted situations: voluntary repatriation; local integration; or resettlement to a third country. While pursuing durable solutions, UNHCR works to increase the self-reliance and livelihood opportunities of refugees, including through strategic partnerships with development actors.
UNHCR works with multiple stakeholders, including development actors, to promote the economic inclusion of refugees, hereby preparing them for their future whether it be in a return home, or in their countries of asylum or in a third country.

Typical functions may include:
¿ Engage in strategic planning, with a focus on engagement with development actors and multi-year approaches to forced displacement situations.
¿ Participate in official missions and deliver capacity building and training activities for internal audience, partners and governments.
¿ Identify research opportunities and contribute to proposals for research partnerships and funding.
¿ Lead the design and implementation of assessments and other data-driven products related to the socio-economic welfare of refugees, forcibly displaced persons and host communities.
¿ Develop procedures for the management and analysis of data, including data collected through household surveys.
¿ Provide methodological guidance and capacity building on measurement, sampling, data collection and data analysis.
¿ Maintain a strong understanding of the state of literature on poverty analysis for forcibly displaced, including employment, self-reliance and related areas.
¿ Work with the research team to conduct analysis, including production of descriptive statistics and regression analysis for various outputs such as briefs, presentations and academic papers.
¿ Serve as a catalyst for using data to promote solutions-oriented thinking and initiatives for refugees and other forcibly displaced persons.

Minimum Qualifications and Professional Experience Required:

For positions at the P2 level
For P2 - 3 years relevant experience with Undergraduate degree; or 2 years relevant experience with Graduate degree; or 1 year relevant experience with Doctorate degree

University Degree (PhD, Masters or Bachelor) in Economics, Development Economics, International Economics, Statistics, or a related quantitative field (including Human Geography, Public Policy, Public Health).

For positions at the P3 level
For P3 - 6 years relevant experience with Undergraduate degree; or 5 years relevant experience with Graduate degree; or 4 years relevant experience with Doctorate degree.

University Degree (PhD, Masters or Bachelor) in Economics, Development Economics, International Economics, Statistics, or a related quantitative field (including Human Geography, Public Policy, Public Health).

For positions at the P4 level
For P4 - 9 years relevant experience with Undergraduate degree; or 8 years relevant experience with Graduate degree; or 7 years relevant experience with Doctorate degree.

University Degree (PhD, Masters or Bachelor) in Economics.

A PhD in Economics will be an asset for candidates in P4 level positions.

The UNHCR workforce consists of many diverse nationalities, cultures, languages and opinions. UNHCR seeks to sustain and strengthen this diversity to ensure equal opportunities as well as an inclusive working environment for its entire workforce. Applications are encouraged from all qualified candidates without distinction on grounds of race, colour, sex, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation and gender identity.