Applications are now open for the 2024 United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) Fellowship. This Fellowship programme aims to provide practical, on-the-job experience to the young professionals in their early and middle career in the academy, public sector or international development in providing them exposure and learning in a multicultural environment of the UN and contribute to the work of ECA. It will also provide the candidates with the opportunity to familiarize with the Commission’s broad programmes and services to member States and subregional bodies in addressing economic and social dimensions of Africa’s development priorities. This should expectedly improve their skills, capacity and intellectual ability.

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:

1. Supporting evidence-based policy making.
2. Accelerating economic diversification and job creation.
3. Innovating financing models for infrastructure and social assets.
4. Promoting regional integration and addressing transboundary challenges.
5. 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 Degree or Doctorate or their equivalents) in economics, development studies, political economy, international affairs, political and social sciences, peace and human security, public administration, law, minerals and natural resources, engineering, business administration and related field is required.
• Experience: Academic research or academic work related to the focus thematic areas is required. Experience in research/analytical work in socio-economic and political development, natural resource management/law, regional integration, infrastructure development, governance, peace and related areas in the context of Africa, either in the academia, private, public or civil society organizations, is an advantage.
• Language: English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the fellowship advertised, fluency in either language is required and working knowledge of the other is desirable. Knowledge of another official United Nations language is an advantage.

Application deadline: 17 August 2024 at 11:59 p.m. 

Special Notice

This call is open only to nationals of the Economic Commission for Africa member States.
Candidates must submit their Administrative Profiles (APs) and the following documents as PDF
attachments:

• UN Administrative Profile (AP)* in PDF format, including a motivation statement (cover letter) within the AP (to be submitted as an attachment to email submission).
• The UN AP (Administrative Profile) can be created by signing up for an  account at: https://inspira.un.org
• Applicants should refer to the Annex of this document on https://www.uneca.org/sites/default/files/HR/How%20to%20Create%20an
  %20Administrative%20Profile_English.pdf which contains detailed step- by-step instructions about how to create an AP within the Inspira system and generate a PDF of the document which must be attached to your email submission;
•  There is no Job Opening for this Fellowship within the Inspira system. The instructions referenced above detail how applicants can create a draft AP (not tied to any published Job Opening) within Inspira, and save the draft AP as a PDF for inclusion as an attachment to the applicant’s email submission;
•  The motivation statement is created as part of the online AP creation process in Inspira, and will be visible towards the end of the AP PDF under the heading “Motivation Statement for this Application”;
•  If after reviewing the information above, you are still unable to generate the AP in the indicated PDF format, you may email: Bilen Kassahun at kassahunb@un.org for technical support.
• Please plan your time and attempt to create the draft AP well in advance so that you have sufficient time to seek
  technical support, if needed.

Application Procedure:

• ALL SUBMISSIONS TO BE EMAILED TO: Email Address: RecruitmentPPost@un.org
  Subject Line: ECA Fellowship for Young African Professionals, 2024

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) Fellowship