Call for Applications: 2024 Cohort of Fellows
Application Deadline: 17 August 2024 at 11:59 p.m. Addis Ababa time
Organizational Setting and Reporting Relationships
The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) is the regional arm of the UN in Africa, promoting the continent’s economic and social development. With a dual role as a regional UN entity and part of Africa’s institutional landscape, ECA uniquely contributes to addressing development challenges faced by member states. ECA operates through five sub-regional offices and the African Institute for Economic Development and Planning (IDEP) to support regional priorities, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Agenda 2030, and the African Union’s Agenda 2063.
ECA’s mission is to deliver ideas and actions for an empowered and transformed Africa, guided by five strategic directions:
- Supporting evidence-based policy making.
- Accelerating economic diversification and job creation.
- Innovating financing models for infrastructure and social assets.
- Promoting regional integration and addressing transboundary challenges.
- Advocating Africa’s position globally and contributing to global governance.
Fellowship Programme Overview
ECA invites bright young Africans to join its fellowship programme, aimed at developing skills, capacity, and mentorship in economic and social policy research, development, implementation, analysis, governance, and evaluation. This initiative seeks to nurture a new generation of African intellectuals to support the continent’s economic and social transformation.
Thematic Areas
Qualified young African professionals are invited to apply in the following areas:
- Macroeconomic Policy, Development Planning, Economic Governance & Public Finance
- Industrialization and Economic Diversification Policies
- Regional Integration; Infrastructure and Trade
- Private Sector Development & Finance, including Innovative Finance & Capital Markets
- Poverty, Inequality, and Social Policy
- Food Systems and Food Security
- Gender Equality and Women Empowerment
- Demographic Dynamics for Development
- Innovation and Technology
- Data and Statistics Management
- Climate Change & Natural Resource Management, including Green Economy
- Labor Economics and Employment
- Communication, Advocacy, Media Relations
- Knowledge Management, Information Management, and Librarianship
- Strategic Planning, Foresight Analysis, Monitoring and Evaluation, Partnership and Resource Mobilization
- Administration, Human Resource, Budget, and Financial Management
- Organizational Behavior and Change Management
- Risk Management and Corporate Policy
Responsibilities
Fellows will develop a work programme within either the Programme Pillar (economic and social development) or the Programme Support Pillar (communication, advocacy, knowledge/information management, and administration). Duties include:
- Conducting research, analytical studies, and drafting reports.
- Contributing to technical and policy reports, briefing notes, and organizing expert meetings.
- Preparing and presenting a research paper.
Competencies
- Professionalism: Strong knowledge of socio-economic and political development issues, strategic analysis, and policy translation.
- Communication: Effective verbal and written communication skills, ability to present high-level papers, and clarity in sharing information.
- Teamwork: Collaborative spirit, valuing others’ ideas, and effective working relations in diverse environments.
Qualifications
- Education: Advanced university degree (Master’s or Doctorate) in relevant fields.
- Experience: Academic research or work in the thematic areas, with practical experience in Africa’s socio-economic and political development.
- Language: Fluency in English or French, with working knowledge of the other desirable.
Application Process
Candidates must submit the following as PDF attachments:
- UN Administrative Profile (AP), including a motivation statement.
- Research proposal (minimum 1,000 words) indicating the chosen thematic area.
- Copies of advanced academic degrees.
- Copy of national passport (information page).
- Three letters of reference/recommendation.
Apply by emailing your application to: RecruitmentPPost@un.org
Subject Line: ECA Fellowship for Young African Professionals, 2024
Conditions and Logistics
- Candidates must be 35 years or younger, nationals of ECA member states, and have graduated before 1 July 2024.
- Fellows will receive a return air ticket, a one-off settling-in grant of USD 3,000, and a monthly stipend of USD 3,000.
- The fellowship is for six months, with a possible extension for another six months.
For technical support in creating the UN AP, email: Bilen Kassahun at kassahunb@un.org
The United Nations is committed to achieving 50/50 gender balance and creating a diverse and inclusive environment. Qualified female candidates and young scholars are particularly encouraged to apply.
Application deadline: 17 August 2024 at 11:59 p.m. Addis Ababa time
Find out more here: https://media.licdn.com/dms/document/media/D4E1FAQF2-6lRSPh2pA/feedshare-document-pdf-analyzed/0/1721444767265?e=1722470400&v=beta&t=tJZTcljcVEQ0Vf6Fk0qLGk2EoC9ATvBE4Wg6ms73xD0
