Job description
United Nations University (UNU)
The United Nations University (UNU) is a global think tank and postgraduate teaching organization within the United Nations System. UNU engages in policy-relevant research, capacity development, and knowledge dissemination in furtherance of the purposes and principles of the United Nations. The work of UNU contributes to solving pressing global problems that are the concern of the United Nations and its Member States.
For the past five decades, UNU has been a source of impartial research on sustainability, human security, and economic development. With hundreds of researchers working at institutes in 12 countries, UNU’s expertise spans the full breadth of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, generating policy-relevant knowledge to effect positive global change. UNU collaborates closely with other UN entities and leading research institutions across the globe. For more information, please visit http://unu.edu
United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER)
UNU-WIDER is one of 14 research and training Institutes that comprise the think tanks in the UNU system.
UNU-WIDER is a leading international development economics think tank. The Institute provides economic analysis and policy advice with the aim of promoting sustainable and equitable development for all. The Institute began operations in 1985 in Helsinki, Finland, as the first research centre of the United Nations University. Today, it is a unique blend of think tank, research institute, and UN agency — providing a range of services from policy advice to governments, as well as freely available original research. More information on UNU-WIDER and its current work programme are available at www.wider.unu.edu.
UNU-WIDER is implementing a large research, capacity development, and policy engagement programme in Mozambique, the Inclusive Growth in Mozambique (IGM) programme. The main aim of IGM is to contribute to substantially improving the living standards of the Mozambican population by enhancing the Mozambican government’s capabilities to address key economic policy challenges. The specific objectives are threefold: i) produce rigorous evidence to address key policy challenges and help inform Mozambique’s development strategy over the next decades; ii) strengthen research and analytical capabilities at the Ministry of Planning and Development (MPD) and within local academia; and iii) stimulate policy uptake by engaging policy actors across multiple fora and channels. The programme is undertaken by a Consortium consisting of the National Directorate of Economic and Development Policies (DNPED) of MPD, the Centre for Economic and Management Studies (CEEG) at the University of Eduardo Mondlande, and UNU-WIDER. The Development Economics Research Group of the University of Copenhagen (UCPH-DERG) is engaged as a key research partner alongside other institutions and individual researchers.
UNU-WIDER maintains three full-time research and three programme support personnel in Maputo, Mozambique, located at DNPED and CEEG premises. The research staff provide technical assistance to the local partners and offer short- and long-term training in their area of expertise, in addition to leading and supporting the research under IGM’s thematic work streams. For more information on the IGM programme, please visit https://igmozambique.wider.unu.edu/.
Responsibilities
Primarily based at the premises of the National Directorate of Economic Policy and Development (DNPED) of the Ministry of Planning and Development (MPD) in Maputo, Mozambique, the Research Associate (National Resident Advisor) will support the implementation of the IGM programme, with a focus on macroeconomic analysis, fiscal modeling, and data systems development.
Under the overall supervision of UNU-WIDER’s Senior Research Fellow in Maputo, Mozambique, the responsibilities include:
- Development of macroeconomic and fiscal analysis tools
- Design, build, and improve macroeconomic and fiscal modeling tools in collaboration with technical staff at DNPED and other relevant directorates at MPD and the Ministry of Finance (MF).
- Support fiscal analysis and financial programming to inform national economic planning.
- Support the coordination of macroeconomic analysis and data among key government entities.
- Perform other duties as assigned by the supervisor
- Support identifying relevant datasets for a data repository and facilitate collaboration with relevant institutions such as INE, AT, and the Bank of Mozambique.
- Clean, harmonize, and prepare data for secure storage for use in policy analysis and research.
- Coordinate with UNU-WIDER’s regional data initiatives to promote peer learning and share best practices.
- Support training and mentoring activities to build long-term data management capacity within MPD and CEEG-UEM.
- Ongoing technical assistance and strategic planning support to DNPED
- Support the design, implementation, and monitoring of IGM’s capacity development programme at DNPED, including mentoring staff and coordination of training activities.
- Lead and contribute to the production policy papers/notes by coordinating research efforts and aligning them with MPD’s strategic priorities.
- Provide technical assistance in economic analysis and policy research, ensuring alignment with IGM’s thematic areas such as macroeconomics, public finance, and poverty analysis.
- Contribute to government planning exercises and meetings, promoting the use of evidence generated by the IGM programme.
- Support the planning, monitoring, and reporting exercises at DNPED.
- Bridging research and policy
- Support the translation of research findings into policy recommendations and their dissemination among relevant audiences through the production of blogs and research and policy briefs and through conceptualizing outreach and dissemination events, including academic and policy seminars, workshops and conferences.
- Support IGM’s policy engagement and strategic communication activities by presenting the IGM programme research and analytical outputs to relevant target audiences, including local and international academia, local policymakers, programme donors and other relevant stakeholders.
- Perform other duties as assigned by supervisor.
Key Performance Indicators
- Quality and relevance of macroeconomic and fiscal analysis tools developed
- Quality of collaboration with institutional and technical partners, in particular in view of setting up relevant data infrastructure
- Timely and quality input to programme documents (such as work plans), results frameworks, plans and reports at DNPED
- Degree of integration of IGM-generated evidence into policy formulation processes
- Contribution to the visibility and reputation of UNU-WIDER and the IGM programme among national stakeholders (ministries and other government entities, donors, UN System in Mozambique, Civil Society)
Competencies
Values:
- Inclusion — take action to create an environment of dignity and respect for all, regardless of age, culture, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, gender expression, geography, grade, language, nationality, racial identity, religion, sex, sex characteristics, sexual orientation, social origin or any other aspect of identity
- Integrity — act ethically, demonstrating the standards of conduct of the United Nations and taking prompt action in case of witnessing unprofessional or unethical behaviour, or any other breach of UN standards
- Humility — demonstrate self-awareness and willingness to learn from others
- Humanity — act according to the purposes of the United Nations: peace, dignity and equality on a healthy planet
Behaviours:
- Connect and collaborate — build positive relationships with others to advance the work of the United Nations and work coherently as One UN
- Analyse and plan — seek out and use data from a wide range of sources to understand problems, inform decision-making, propose evidence-based solutions and plan action
- Deliver results with positive impact — hold oneself and others accountable for delivering results and making a positive difference to the people and causes that the United Nations serves
- Learn and develop — pursue own learning and development and contribute to the learning and development of others
- Adapt and innovate — demonstrate flexibility, agility and the ability to think and act in novel ways
Qualifications
1) Education and certification
- Master’s or PhD in economics, statistics, econometrics, or a related discipline with strong quantitative skills
2) Nationality
- This is a locally recruited position and limited to candidates who have the Mozambique nationality
3)Required skills and experience
- Three (3) or more years of relevant experience, including in macroeconomic modelling, fiscal analysis, and data management is an advantage.
- Proven experience in financial programming and development of analytical tools.
- Excellent quantitative skills. Knowledge of STATA is required and familiarity with other software, such as R, Oxmetrics, SQL, QGIS would be an asset.
- Strong interpersonal, communication, and teamwork skills.
- Demonstrated initiative and ability to work independently.
- Desired
- Prior experience providing technical advisory services to the Government of Mozambique or development partners.
- Experience in policy research and writing policy briefs.
3) Language Requirements:
- Fluency in English and Portuguese is required
Remuneration
The successful candidate will be employed under PSA contract. UNU offers an attractive compensation package including an annual gross salary of USD 52,872, commensurate with the experience and qualifications of the candidate. Benefits include 30 days annual leave and a health insurance scheme.
UNU is not liable for any taxes that may be levied on the remuneration you receive under this contract. Payment of any such taxes remains the sole responsibility of PSA holders.
Duration of contract
The duration of the initial contract is 1 year. This is Personnel Service Agreement (PSA) contract with UNU, with the possibility for renewal subject to requirements and satisfactory work performance. The combined duration on a PSA contract with UNU may not exceed six (6) years. The mandatory age of retirement for PSA holders is 65 years.
Starting date
As soon as possibleHow to Apply
To apply to UNU, you will not need an account. Instead, we ask that you:
- Apply via the apply link;
- fill out the UNU P11 Form (please avoid using similar forms provided by other United Nations organisations);
- provide a motivation statement (in the P11 form); and
- answer a few questions that are tailored to the position.
You may wish to refer to the UN Values and Behaviours Framework for more information.
Application Deadline
16 November 2025
Submissions must be received by [23:59, UTC +2] on the deadline; late entries will not be accepted.
Assessment
Evaluation of qualified candidates may include an assessment exercise which may be followed by a competency-based interview, background checks, and references.
Special Notice
This is a locally recruited position and no relocation expenses or allowances apply. The position is limited to persons who have the Mozambique nationality.
PSA holders are neither “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations nor “officials” for the purpose of the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations (1946). They are subject to the Rector’s authority and may be assigned to any of the activities or offices of the United Nations University. The Rector reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a level below that advertised. UNU is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities to apply and become part of the organisation. Applications from developing countries, and from women are strongly encouraged. Eligible internal applicants are also encouraged to apply. UNU has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNU, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. If you have supervisory function, you need to have awareness on gender related issues.
Information about UNU rosters
UNU reserves the right to select one or more candidates from this vacancy announcement. We may also retain applications and consider candidates applying to this post for other similar positions with UNU at the same grade level and with similar job description, experience and educational requirements.
Scam Warning
UNU does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process. Should you receive a solicitation for the payment of a fee, please disregard it. Furthermore, please note that emblems, logos, names and addresses are easily copied and reproduced. Therefore, you are advised to apply particular care when submitting personal information on the web.
HOW TO APPLY:
Applications must be submitted via our dedicated platform. The application links are available on the UNU-WIDER website as follows
