2 Positions of Internship at UN Economic Commission for Africa: (Deadline 20 September ,30 December 2020)

2 Positions of Internship at UN Economic Commission for Africa: (Deadline 20 September ,30 December 2020)

Internship at UN Economic Commission for Africa: (Deadline 30 December 2020)

ECA’s mission, objective and strategic directions.

ECA’s mission is to deliver ideas and actions for an empowered and transformed Africa; informed by the 2030 Agenda and Agenda 2063.

The mission will be guided by ECA’s five new strategic directions which are advancing ECA’s position as a premier knowledge institution that builds on its unique position and privilege to bring global solutions to the continent’s problems and take local solution to the continent; Developing macroeconomic and structural policy options to accelerate economic diversification and job creation; Designing and implementing innovative financing models for infrastructure, and for human, physical and social assets for a transforming Africa; Contributing solutions to regional and transboundary challenges, with a focus on peace security and social inclusion as an important development nexus; Advocating Africa’s position at the global level and developing regional responses as a contribution to global governance issues.

Subregional Office for Eastern Africa

The Subregional Office for Eastern Africa (SRO-EA) is located in Kigali (Rwanda). It is headed by a Director who reports to the Deputy Executive Secretary (Programme). Its core objective is to contribute to achieving structural transformation for inclusive and sustainable development in the subregion, with a focus on deepening regional integration.

The core functions are as follows:

(a) Assisting member States through initiatives, advisory services and tailored capacity-building interventions in the context of the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area, including through technical studies and country profiles addressing structural transformation;

(b) Contributing to strengthening the capacity of member States in the Eastern Africa subregion, the regional economic communities and intergovernmental bodies to develop and implement development frameworks, including on the blue economy.

For more information on the ECA and its work, please visit our website: www.uneca.org.

These internships are for a period of three months (3), with an opportunity for extension up to a maximum of six months, depending on the needs of the Section.

The internship is unpaid and full-time. Interns work five days per week (35 hours) under the supervision of a staff member in the department or office to which they are assigned.

Responsibilities

Under the supervision of the Chief of the Sub-Regional Data Centre (P5) and/or the Cluster Lead, Sub-Regional Initiatives (P4), and in close collaboration with professional staff of the cluster, and depending on their level of experience and training, the intern at the Sub-regional Office for Eastern Africa will be responsible for the following duties:

-Produces analytical, quantitative and qualitative elements required for the elaboration of documents and reports;

-Researches and analyzes topics relating to sustainable economic development in Eastern Africa;

-Drafts and edits publications, papers and other documents;

-Liaises with SRO-EA stakeholders on key development topics for Africa;

-Supports organization of meetings and events

-Assists with outreach activities;

-Participates in day-to-day operational tasks of the Division. This may include servicing requests for information; support for developing presentations; liaison with partner organizations;

-Performs administrative tasks as assigned.

-Performs any other tasks as assigned.

Competencies

Professionalism: 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.

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.

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.

Planning and Organizing: Develops clear goals that are consistent with agreed strategies; identifies priority activities and assignments; adjusts priorities as required; allocates appropriate amount of time and resources for completing work; foresees risks and allows for contingencies when planning; monitors and adjusts plans and actions as necessary; uses time efficiently.

Education

1. To qualify for an internship with the United Nations Internship Programme, the following conditions must be met:

Applicants must meet one of the following requirements:

(a) be enrolled in a graduate school programme (second university degree or equivalent, or higher); if pursuing studies in countries where higher education is not divided into undergraduate and
graduate stages, have completed at least four years of full-time study at a university or equivalent institution towards the completion of a degree;

(b) be enrolled in the final academic year of a first university degree programme (minimum Bachelor’s level or equivalent); or

(c) have graduated with a university degree (as defined above) and, if selected, must commence the internship within a one-year period of graduation;

2. Be computer literate in standard software applications;

3. Have a demonstrated keen interest in the work of the United Nations and have a personal commitment to the ideals of the Charter; and

4. Have a demonstrated ability to successfully interact with individuals of different cultural backgrounds and beliefs, which include willingness to try and understand and be tolerant of differing opinions and views.

Work Experience

Applicants are not required to have professional work experience for participation in the United Nations Internship programme. Knowledge of MS Office, demonstrate ability to successfully interact with individuals of different cultural background and belief are desirable.

Languages

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this post, fluency in either English or French (oral and written) is required. Knowledge of the other is desirable.

Assessment

Potential candidates will be contacted by the hiring manager directly for further consideration.

Special Notice

The internship is UNPAID and full time. Interns work five days per week under the supervision of a staff member in the department or office to which they are assigned.

A completed online application (including Cover Note and Personal History Profile) is required. Incomplete applications will not be reviewed.

The Cover Note must include:

-Degree programme (what are you currently studying?);
-Graduation date (when will you or when did you graduate from the programme?); -any
– List the IT skills or software applications that you are proficient in;
– Explain why you are the best candidate for this internship;
– Explain your interest in the United Nations Internship Programme.

In your Personal History Profile, be sure list all your past work experience, your IT skills, and three references.

Due to the high volume of applications received, ONLY successful candidates will be contacted.

Please note that this is an on-going advertisement until 31 December 2020. Successful candidates may be contacted at any time during the posting period or shortly thereafter.

United Nations Considerations

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.

Applicants are urged to follow carefully all instructions available in the online recruitment platform, inspira. For more detailed guidance, applicants may refer to the Manual for the Applicant, which can be accessed by clicking on “Manuals” hyper-link on the upper right side 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.

Job openings advertised on the Careers Portal will be removed at 11:59 p.m. (New York time) on the deadline date.

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.

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SRO-EA: DRC Consultant- Trade in goods at UN Economic Commission for Africa: (Deadline 20 September 2020)

Result of Service

The deliverables for this mission will include:

i. An initial five-page report describing the understanding of the task, the problems to be addressed, the methodology and the sources of information. An annotated overview of the national strategy and action plan as well as a list of references should be included in the inception report;

ii. Report of the national stakeholder consultation forum for the AfCFTA national strategy and action plan;

iii. A provisional version of the AfCFTA national strategy and action plan for the DRC to be distributed to stakeholders for comments;

iv. A PowerPoint presentation of the national strategy and action plan of the AfCFTA in the DRC during a national validation meeting to be organized; and

v. A final version of the AfCFTA national strategy and action plan for the DRC in electronic and printed form.

Work Location

Home-based

Expected duration

The consultant will be recruited for a period of 2 months, spread between September 2020 and November 2020. The consultant will be remunerated in the amount of US $ 15,000 in total, distributed according to the following product submission schedule:
– 30% after submission a plan for the consultation process; a report on the results of the initial stages of implementation of the consultative process (at least one consultative workshop organized to formally launch the development of the strategy; some meetings held with senior officials from the public and private sectors) and a detailed overview of the AfCFTA document;
– 40% after presentation of the preliminary document of the AfCFTA strategy;
– 30% after receipt of the revised and final ZLECAf strategy document for the DRC.

Responsibilities

Context

The agreement establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) signed in Kigali, Rwanda on March 21, 2018 is a key step in Africa’s integration agenda. The Agreement included the Protocol on Trade in Goods, the Protocol on Trade in Services and the Protocol on Dispute Settlement Rules and Procedures. AfCFTA should be a key driver of economic growth, industrialization and sustainable development in Africa in accordance with Agenda 2030 adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations and Agenda 2063 of the African Union (AU) for “The Africa We Want”.

For the AfCFTA to produce the expected results, priority actions must be undertaken in the short and medium term. First, the ratification of the AfCFTA is essential. Efforts to support Member States in seeking consensus to secure ratification of the Agreement should be accompanied by strengthening of the AfCFTA market through continental policies on competition, investment and trade. intellectual property rights. Second, there is a need to build on the political momentum behind the AfCFTA to support political reforms that aim to implement the Accord as well as the domestication required. In this regard, It is essential that Member States take deliberate actions and make the necessary efforts through effective and integrated national AfCFTA strategies in order to maximize the benefits of the Agreement while minimizing the potential negative effects induced. The strategies will be supported by an effective monitoring and evaluation framework that will monitor the progress of the implementation of the Accord. Likewise, strategies will be informed by regional commitments in favor of economic integration and industrialization.

As part of its role of technical assistance to member states, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) is leading the implementation of a project aimed at deepening Africa’s trade integration through the domestication and the effective implementation of aspirations to the AfCFTA. A main component of the project is to help African countries to develop national AfCFTA strategies. These strategies should identify the comparative advantages of each country for the diversification and development of priority value chains in order to support economic diversification and maximize trade potential within the context of the Agreement. Beyond the sectors identified as having a comparative advantage, the document must be forward-looking and identify the sectors and industries of the future, which can allow the DRC to integrate in the long term into regional and global value chains and goods with higher added value. Cross-cutting issues to be taken into account in strategies and action plans include gender, environmental and climate change mitigation, and technologies.

Trade liberalization policies will not achieve the planned development objectives if they are not designed and implemented with adequate consideration of gender issues. Trade liberalization affects men and women differently because of the different economic and social positions they occupy. Thus, the development of a gender sensitive approach is necessary to mitigate the negative effects of trade policies on women and improve positive outcomes for women, which will enhance the overall effectiveness of these policies.

It is in this context that ECA – the African Trade Policy Center and the Sub-Regional Office for East Africa – intends to recruit a national consultant to lead country-level activities on the development of a national strategy for the AfCFTA in support of the implementation of this project in the DRC. The consultant will specifically develop a national strategy and action plan for trade in goods.

Scope of work

Working under the general direction and direct supervision of ECA BSR-AE and the Senior National Consultant, the National Trade Consultant is expected to work closely with various stakeholders at national, regional and global levels involved in the project. More specifically, the consultant will:
i. Develop a national AfCFTA merchandise trade strategy for the DRC;
ii. Work under the supervision of the senior national consultant, with a team that includes a national consultant in trade in services, and an expert responsible for producing a survey of Congolese companies to produce an AfCFTA strategy in the DRC;
iii. Analyze the Congolese production and trade of specific goods and articulate the offensive and defensive problems of the DRC in the trade of goods;
iv. Identify opportunities to exploit regional value chains for national production or additional added value;
v. Develop export promotion strategies for the identified priority markets of the AfCFTA;
vi. Articulate the comparative and competitive advantages for the DRC compared to the AfCFTA;
vii. Collect relevant national data to be used in the development of the AfCFTA national strategy and action plan for the DRC with designated champions for specific deliverables and deadlines;
viii. Examine the relevant national and regional (SADC, COMESA and tripartite) industrialization and trade strategies and policies as they impact on trade between the DRC and tripartite member states;
ix. Contribute to the national strategy and action plan of the DRC AfCFTA on the basis of an agreed methodological framework and in full consultation with the national stakeholders identified in consultation with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The national strategy and plan of action should be concretely informed by national data and other national strategy documents;
x. Undertake a value chain analysis of priority production and trade products at the national level to map the chains and identify opportunities and challenges / constraints using an approach and scheme agreed with ECA;
xi. Assist the country in establishing and implementing a national AfCFTA committee to ensure meaningful participation of all stakeholders in the development and implementation of the national AfCFTA strategy;
xii. Collect all policies, laws and regulations containing non-tariff measures (NTMs) (in electronic copy) and classify documents by name, date of issue, issuing institution and some additional information on the law and regulation according to the agreed methodology;
xiii. Coordinate all project activities at country level and organize two national consultation forums for the development and validation of national AfCFTA strategies, in close collaboration with all stakeholders involved in the project, including government officials, private sector, women entrepreneurs, civil society organizations and universities;
xiv. Integrate the dimensions of gender and youth through disaggregated data and key gender indicators in the national strategy and the AfCFTA action plan for the DRC;
xv. Submit on time the national strategy and action plan of AfCFTA for the DRC, stakeholder consultation reports, data collection reports and a compendium of all policies, laws and regulations that contain non-tariff measures (MNT) (in electronic copy) and classify the documents by name, date of issue, issuing institution and some additional information on the law and regulations according to the methodology agreed at the Ministry of Trade and Industry;
xvi. Ensure the quality and on-time delivery of project products at the national level; and
xvii. Participate in any other ad hoc request within the framework of the project.

Methodological elements

– Documentary review of all strategic documents of the DRC, including long-term visions, medium-term plans, sectoral plans, in particular those related to trade, industrialization, innovation, ICT, infrastructure, competitiveness, etc. ;
– Review of performance in trade and other areas related to Intra-African Trade Intensification (BIAT) and other relevant guide on promoting intraregional trade and regional integration;
– Identify products with comparative advantages and competitive advantages that the DRC could market as quickly as possible on the new AfCFTA market;
– Identify / analyze the opportunities for the DRC to develop or integrate regional value chains in Africa;
– Identify the trade facilitation opportunities and challenges for the DRC in order to take full advantage of the AfCFTA;
– Work with the expert in charge of the AfCFTA-related survey in order to propose a solid questionnaire and a list of stakeholder groups to be interviewed;
– Prepare the inception report: The consultant will prepare an inception report in the week following the signing of the contract. The initial report should describe an understanding of the scope of the engagement as well as the issues to be investigated. The inception report should also include a work plan indicating the phases of the study and report preparation, the main deliverables and milestones and should be accompanied by an annotated outline of the structure of the national strategy.

Qualifications / special skills

Academic Qualifications: A post-graduate degree (minimum Masters) in economics, business, development studies or other related fields is desirable.

Experience: The candidate should have at least seven (7) years of proven experience in trade policy formulation, regional integration and development or related fields in the DRC. Proven experience in the successful management of development projects is desirable. Knowledge of data analysis using statistical software is an asset.

Language: English and French are the working languages ​​of the United Nations. For this post, fluency in oral and written French is required. Knowledge of English is an asset.

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