Research Assistant

Result of Service The objective of this Individual Contractor (IC) assignment is to provide research support to the overall work of the section and the deliverables in the areas of competition, consumer protection and national development planning. In particular, the 4th Arab Competition Forum, the 1st Arab Consumer Protection Forum, the ABLF report and portal, and the ANDP &ALP portals, in addition to the national workshops.

Work Location UN-House ESCWA

Expected duration 6 Months

Duties and Responsibilities The governance and planning section at Cluster 3 and Cluster 6 will be embarking on different activities in 2023. Mainly the organization of the 4th Arab Competition Forum, the 1st Arab Consumer Protection Forum, the production of the second version of the Arab Business Environment Legislative Framework (ABLF) report and portal that is an interactive repository of regulations and legislations related to the business environment of 22 Arab States (Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, UAE, Yemen, Comoros, Djibouti, Algeria, Somalia). The section will also be updating its other portals, namely, the Arab National Development Planning (ANDP) portal and the Arab Legislation Portal (ALP).

Additionally, the section will be producing technical material, training material, and organizing a number of workshops on competition and consumer protection law and policy as well as national development planning. The IC support is needed in overall preparation of substantive and training material for the section outputs.

The IC is to undertake the following assignments:

- Researches, extracts, and compiles basic information and technical data on specific topics, particularly those related to the legislative and regulatory frameworks of member countries to update the ABLF report and portal. - Assists in monitoring developments/amendments in the areas assigned by collecting, selecting, analyzing and compiling materials from multiple sources, e.g., relevant databases, the library and the Internet. - Assembles original statistical material; adjusts reported data from different sources and load data into computerized database system. - Assists in the evaluation and examination of data sets and information for accuracy, clarity, and validity. - Assists in the maintenance of relevant computerized databases, particularly the Arab Business Legislative Framework (ABLF) dashboard. - Prepares a variety of reports, presentations, tables, lists, graphs, charts and/or diagrams related to the preparation of the current ABLF report. - Support in reviewing the design and updating the content of the portal ALP and ANDP. - Support in the work programme mainly on preparing training and substantive material for our 4th Arab Competition Forum. - Support in preparing training material for workshops planned in competition and national development planning in addition to other technical studies and papers we are planning to produce in 2023. - Collect new data related to National Development Planning and to regulatory frameworks pertaining to the business environment. - Provide support in updating different portals, including the Arab National Development Planning (ANDP) portal and the Arab Legislation portal (ALP). - Review for the design, functionality and content of the portals in collaboration with ICTS. - Support internal coordination procedures. - Contribute to supporting the overall implementation of the program. - Contribute to drafting Concept Notes, NVs, Project proposals, TORs . - Participate in the substantive and policy discussions of the team.

Qualifications/special skills Bachelor's degree in economic, politics, social science or related area is required. An advanced university degree in the above fields is desirable.

All candidates must submit a copy of the required educational degree. Incomplete applications will not be reviewed. A minimum of 2 years of experience in data collection and research is required. Previous experience in visuals and infographics is an advantage.

Languages Languages English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat; and Arabic is a working language of ESCWA.

For this position, fluency in English and Arabic is required.

Note: “Fluency” equals a rating of ‘fluent’ in all four areas (speak, read, write, and understand) and “Knowledge of” equals a rating of ‘confident’ in two of the four areas.

No Fee THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.