Short Term-IPSA Economist – Regional Human Development Report & Article Facility

Background

The RBEC Sustainability Facility is hosted within the Office of the Chief Economist at the UNDP Istanbul Regional Hub (IRH), Regional Bureau for Europe and Central Asia (RBEC). The Facility is a regional, modular policy and investment framework designed to operationalize Article 55 of the UN Charter by accelerating sustainable, inclusive, and climate-informed development across the Europe and Central Asia region.

The Sustainability Facility responds to mounting structural challenges facing RBEC economies, including high debt burdens, fiscal constraints, demographic decline, climate risks, and slowing progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Facility provides integrated support to UNDP Country Offices through forward-looking diagnostics, alignment of national planning and financing frameworks, innovative financing instruments, digital and AI-enabled monitoring tools, and regional peer learning.

• The Regional Human Development Report (HDR), which provides forward-looking, policy-relevant analysis on inclusive, resilient, and sustainable development pathways;
• The Article 55 Facility, a regional analytical and programmatic platform supporting integrated economic, financial, and institutional solutions aligned with sustainable development objectives.

Both initiatives require strong applied economic analysis, methodological rigor, and close coordination across UNDP regional teams, country offices, and external partners. To support this work, the Office of the Chief Economist seeks to engage an Economist to contribute substantive research, provide quality assurance of analytical outputs, and support technical dialogue and coordination across stakeholders.

• Conduct applied, policy-relevant economic research contributing to background papers, thematic notes, and analytical chapters for the Regional HDR and the Article 55 Facility.
• Support the development of integrated economic and development diagnostics, including linkages between macroeconomic trends, labour markets, social protection systems, financing frameworks, and human development outcomes.
• Apply quantitative and mixed-methods approaches, including analysis of macroeconomic indicators, labour market data, household surveys, and administrative datasets, to inform human development analysis.
• Contribute to analytical framing, conceptual approaches, and synthesis of evidence across economic, social, and institutional dimensions.

• Provide substantive technical review and quality assurance of analytical outputs produced by consultants and partners, including background studies, policy papers, analytical tools, and draft chapters.
• Review outputs for analytical rigor, methodological soundness, coherence, and alignment with UNDP frameworks, HDR standards, and regional priorities.
• Support consolidation of comments and revisions to ensure consistency and clarity across analytical products.

• Participate in technical meetings, consultations, and workshops with UNDP regional teams, country offices, and external counterparts, including government institutions, development partners, and research organizations.
• Support technical dialogue and stakeholder engagement in politically sensitive or institutionally constrained environments, applying context-aware and conflict-sensitive analytical approaches.
• Prepare technical summaries, and follow-up actions arising from consultations and engagements.
• Support coordination across thematic teams to ensure analytical coherence and avoid duplication of efforts.

• Contribute inputs to governance and management processes related to the Regional HDR and the Article 55 Facility, including concept notes, progress updates, and briefing materials.
• Support alignment of analytical outputs with UNDP corporate priorities and regional programming processes.
• Contribute to internal knowledge management by organizing analytical materials, documenting methodologies, and supporting…