Background

With the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at its core, and in response to the General Assembly resolution 71/243 on the quadrennial comprehensive policy review of operational activities for development of the United Nations system, the UN Secretary General’s report (December 2017) “Repositioning the United Nations development system to deliver on the 2030 Agenda: our promise for dignity, prosperity and peace on a healthy planet”puts forward a comprehensive proposal on further improvements to the resident coordinator system to ensure more coherent, accountable, and effective support for the 2030 Agenda. The report was further reinforced by the General Assembly resolution 72/729 of 1 June 2018, which gave the Secretary-General the mandate to implement the UN repositioning agenda by reinvigorating the resident coordinator system.  While the resident coordinator system has been instrumental in driving coherence on the ground over the past four decades, it is now high time to give it a new impetus to ensure the UN is well positioned to provide high quality and relevant technical support to countries to deliver the 2030 Agenda. To attain the desired goal, the resident coordinator offices will need to be adequately staffed to ensure it has sufficient substantive capacities to lead United Nations country teams. The Economist position is part of this new generation of resident coordinator office, with the new skillset and competencies required to deliver on the 2030 Agenda.

Duties and Responsibilities

1. Plans and facilitates evidence-based SDG analysis in support of a shared understanding by the UNCT of sustainable development trends, challenges and opportunities

• Researches, analyzes and presents SDG-related data, as well as analyze information on emerging best practices in sustainable development, paying special attention to, human rights, gender, and capacity development, and proposes policy options to RCs/UNCTs based on UNDAP II, Mkuza 3 and the Second Five Year National Development Plan;
• Identifies and analyzes issues that impact multiple SDGs and their targets and proposes ‘accelerator interventions' that can help unlock and accelerate progress towards sustainable development across multiple areas;
• Assesses sustainable development trade-offs and risk factors, as well as early-warning indicators that may undermine the achievement of SDG targets and impact the UN’s role and programme in the country;
• Collects and analyzes data on UN country level operations in support of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda;
• Researches, develops and presents policy papers, guidance notes and other knowledge based-tools for discussion in country-level forums to help influence and advance policy dialogue on achieving the SDGs;
• Contributes to the preparation of UN flagship reports, including the analysis of data and the provision of evidence to build the case for policies and interventions on SDGs;
• Monitors regional and global economic trends and issues and analyses their implications for the realization of the SDGs at the country level.

2. Provides substantive advice on innovative economic and SDG policies to RCs and UNCTs, as well as to national counterparts in government and other relevant partners

• Provides substantive support to the RC/UNCT on SDG-related issues, particularly on policies to accelerate the achievement of the SDGs, including through Mainstreaming, Acceleration and Policy Support (MAPS) and similar processes, and provides advice on potential trade-offs between SDGs as prioritized in UNDAP II;
• Prepares inputs for the UNCT on how UN country-level operations can be optimized and better respond to sustainable development needs and emerging trends in country;
• Together with UNCT members, plans and facilitates an integrated approach to the UN’s policy advice to national counterparts in government and other external partners;
• Plans and directs the work of the in-country UN SDG Task Force and Focal Points meeting and drives cross-pillar nexus approaches in country to policy, analysis and assessment.

3. Assists the UNCT in the development of new generation of SDG programmes with a strong investment orientation and focus on acceleration towards achieving the SDGs

• Assists in the development and implementation of the UN Development Framework (UNDAF) or UNDAP II in Tanzania at the moment to ensure that the UN’s country-level operational activities effectively support the implementation of the 2030 Agenda in country, and the Africa Agenda 2063;
• Provides substantive support to programme formulation and revision throughout the UNDAF cycle, or UNDAP II in Tanzania, based on sound SDG analysis;
• Contributes to the UN joint programming process to identify and support the formulation of a new generation of UN joint programmes that are aligned with the SDGs, oriented towards investment, and have impact at the national level;
• Assists UNDAP result groups in the implementation of joint workplans to promote SDG-relevant and SDG-responsive UN operational activities for development; 
• Plans and facilitates UN support to governmental and multi-stakeholder processes on SDG policy development and capacity development.

4. Plans and directs SDG knowledge generation and management

• Plans, facilitates and contributes to communities of practice and knowledge networks that promote collaboration, peer support, innovation good practices, lessons learned, needs and opportunities in the area of sustainable development;
• Researches, analyzes and presents best practices and lessons learned from implementation of UNCT projects and programmes, with a view to advising the RC and UNCT on actions to strengthen the policy orientation of the UN;
• Monitors and analyzes best practices and successful models implemented by the UN in country and suggests options for developing these into bankable national SDG investment policies and programmes;
• Contributes to global/corporate guidelines, tools and other materials related to sustainable development policy.

Competencies

Required Skills and Experience