Senior Economist

The Senior Economist leads fiduciary and financial matters across the FRLD pipeline and portfolio, develops policies and methodologies for financial instruments, and provides strategic advice to the Secretariat. The role involves managing fiduciary reviews, developing funding modalities, and representing the Fund in external engagements.

Responsibilities

• Lead a team of fiduciary specialists in conducting fiduciary review of funding requests and related documents/reports submitted during the implementation of projects/programs.
• Develop methodologies for fiduciary review, monitoring and reporting and conduct training for the team, as required.
• Quality assure the fiduciary and risk sections of the Secretariat assessment reports prepared for submission to the Board, ensuring consistency and full alignment with the assessment methodology and guidelines.
• Manage and monitor the process and requirements for the direct budget support access modality, including reviewing the work of the external experts.
• Manage and monitor the process and requirements for new financial instruments that take into consideration debt sustainability (grants, highly concessional loans, guarantees, budget support and policy-based finance, equity, insurance mechanisms, risk-sharing mechanisms, pre-arranged finance, performance-based programmes and other financial products, etc.).
• Serve as the team’s focal point for operational risk management for the pipeline and portfolio, in coordination with the Risk team under the Board Affairs and Governance unit.
• Participate in PACE leadership meetings, advise the Program Manager on key matters, and collaborate with other leads to facilitate coherence across the work of the team.
• Lead the development of the policy for the provision of grants, concessional resources and other financial instruments, modalities and facilities, taking into account access to other financial resources and debt sustainability.
• Contribute to the development of other funding modalities and access modalities, including rapid disbursement, small grants and etc.
• Develop simplified fast-tracked screening mechanism to determine functional equivalency with internationally recognized standards of national and/or regional funding entities’ safeguards and standards to manage funded activities in country, in collaboration with others in the PACE and the wider Secretariat.
• Support the development of the funding agreement, led by the BAG team, ensuring alignment with programming and operational considerations.
• Lead analytical work and knowledge production on economic and financial matters relating to responding to loss and damage and advance strategic thinking on financial strategies, approaches and instruments.
• Advise the Program Manager and executive leadership on economic and financial matters.
• Conduct ad hoc assignments as tasked by the Program Manager.
• Support the Program Manager in representing the Fund in external conferences and events on discussions related to economic and financial aspects of responding to loss and damage.
• Contribute to engagement with countries and access entities regarding programming and support the preparations, including preparing briefing notes, talking points and presentation slides for meetings, webinars and etc.
• Support the Program Manager with preparations for Board meetings, including ensuring relevant Board papers are delivered in a high quality and timely manner.
• Contribute to the preparations for consultations with the Board and Observers, including delivery of high quality presentation materials, talking points, summary of key issues, etc.

Requirements

• An advanced degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in international economics, finance, or a related field, with preference for a focus on financial economics, development and/or climate finance.
• At least 8 years of relevant professional experience in development finance, including but not limited to experience working in international, regional or bilateral financial institutions.
• Expert knowledge of the economic and financial impacts of climate change and the associated financial instruments used to address them.
• Proven track record in drafting complex technical and operational papers, as well as quality assuring papers to ensure high quality and rigor.
• Demonstrated experience working in designing tailored financial instruments, including budget support operations and non-grant instruments.
• Experience in developing technical, policy-oriented knowledge products and operational strategies in climate finance, as well as implementing dissemination strategies.
• Experience working with a variety of international financial institutions (e.g. World Bank, UN agencies, climate funds) is highly desirable.
• Experience working in developing countries across multiple regions is preferred.
• Excellent drafting and analytical skills, with ability to synthesize complex technical information/data and operational principles into clear and concise papers.
• Strong judgment, risk awareness, and ability to identify emerging challenges and propose appropriate solutions.
• Effective communication skills (written and oral), able to present and train diverse audiences (with or without technical expertise) in concise and accessible language.
• Proven coordination skills and ability to work collaboratively within and across teams.
• Strong ability to work under time pressure, manage multiple assignments, meet tight deadlines and work across different time zones.
• High level of attention to detail in producing high quality products/papers.
• Ability to articulate operational, institutional and political perspectives related to a specific topic or area of work.
• Capacity to work in a matrix, cross-functional environment and adapt to evolving institutional and policy priorities.
• Proficiency in one or more UN languages beyond English (French, Spanish, Arabic, Russian, Chinese) is an asset.

Skills

• International economics
• Financial Economics
• Development Finance
• Climate Finance
• Economic Impact Assessment
• Financial Instruments Design
• Budget Support Services
• Non-Grant Instruments
• Technical Paper Drafting
• Quality Assurance
• Policy Development
• Operational Strategy
• Knowledge Product Development
• Dissemination Strategies
• International Financial Institutions
• Analytical Skills
• Risk Awareness
• Strategic Advice
• Fiduciary Risk Management
• Public Funding Modalities
• Cross-Functional Collaboration

Languages

English