Development Economic Analyst

Update

UNDP is the UN’s global development network, an organization advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience, and resources to help people build a better life. UNDP works in about 170 countries and territories, working with national counterparts on solutions to global and national development challenges. In Bhutan, over last 50 years, UNDP has been supporting the Royal Government to attain its national priorities. In 2024, UNDP started implementation of the Country Programme Document 2024-2028, aligning to the country’s 13th Five Year Plan (13th FYP).

In 2023, Bhutan graduated from the UN list of Least Developed Countries (LDCs). Over the past decades, the country has made remarkable progress in reducing income and multidimensional poverty, aligned with its commitment to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Despite the impressive progress, the country is grappling with critical socio-economic challenges such as large-scale emigration of the productive and skilled labor force, youth unemployment, declining fertility rate, increasing trade deficit, and shrinking fiscal space. These challenges take place amidst a slow post-pandemic economic recovery and against the broader backdrop of structural challenges, such as limited economic diversification, a still-nascent private sector, absence of robust regulatory and institutional framework.

Bhutan’s 13th FYP (2024-2029) sets out the ambitious target of doubling the size of the country’s economy within the next five years and then doubling it again over the subsequent five year, reaching USD 10 billion by 2034, a target year that Bhutan plans to reach the high-income status. To achieve this, Bhutan must maintain a nominal GDP growth rate of approximately 11.9% annually for the next 12 years1. If development plans uphold as projected, the GNI per capita would experience an annual increase of 11% over the same period, propelling Bhutan into the ranks of upper-middle-income Southeast Asian countries.

Recognizing the challenges and potential opportunities in Bhutan’s 21st-century economy, the Royal Government of Bhutan aims to accelerate and foster a robust economic recovery and growth. It is in this context that the Royal Government of Bhutan requested UNDP’s policy advisory assistance to support the Prime Minister’s Office in a high-level consultation and the subsequent development of a development roadmap for the realization for the government’s development vision as outlined above.

At the core of UNDP’s policy support and high-level consultation is the institutionalization of a Bhutan Innovation Lab, that will execute three key functions of carrying out on-demand policy analysis and provide advisory services, undertake targeted policy analysis and experimentation through people centered and innovative design approaches and oversight of the implementation of the visioning exercise roadmap and strategies to accelerate the implementation of the 13th FYP and achieve the target of developed economy by 2034.

To support this initiative, UNDP seeks to recruit a Development Economic Analyst. The Analyst will contribute towards the analysis and implementation plan of the high-level development vision roadmap led by the Prime Minister's Office with inputs from various partners.

Under the overall guidance of the Director, Office of the Cabinet Affairs and Strategic Coordination and Director, Office of the Prime Minister, and supervision of the Deputy Resident Representative at UNDP Country Office, the Development Economic Analyst will lead the development and analysis of the three critical areas identified in the vision roadmap and other policies and strategies which are priority for the lab. The Development Economic Analyst will also support the labs work in critical analysis of complex development challenges and policy design.

Duties and Responsibilities

Provision of Advisory Support
• Carry out high-quality, policy-relevant research on key priority sectors identified for the lab
• Analysis of economic, social and political economy issues relevant to the successful implementation of the roadmap.
• Identification and analysis of issues that impact upon effective implementation of the roadmap and targets and the development of ‘accelerator interventions’ that help unlock sustained progress across multiple development areas.
• Monthly compilation, analysis and interpretation of economic and statistical data, through research of the big bets outlined in the roadmap and preparation of top-quality analysis and reports.

Ensure Policy and Strategy Development
• Facilitate policy dialogue on economic issues with the Government, development partners, donors, civil society, private sector, and contributors to development of policies as relevant.
• Provision of policy options, particularly from pro-poor perspectives, on macroeconomic and development issues related to the roadmap to governments and other development actors.
• Sound contributions to knowledge networks and communities of practice through identification of best practices and lessons learned.
• Participate in the design and implementation of a series of policy reviews related to the roadmap and beyond.
• Lead and coordinate research and policy work of the lab and supervise the work of external consultants and research assistants/trainees as needed.

Ensure Policy Design and Experimentation
• Carry out empirical/statistical analysis by analyzing multiple survey datasets and researching analytical documentation related to the work of the lab experiments.
• Manage policy experimentation processes with key government partners and other relevant stakeholders
• Guide and support the experimenter in translating actionable intelligence emerging from research into policy experiments/frameworks

Build Strategic Partnership and Resource Mobilization
• Development of partnerships with stakeholders including development partners, IFI’s (International Financial Institutions), private sector, civil society areas based on strategic goals of the roadmap
• Analysis and research of information on development partners and donors, preparation of substantive briefs on possible areas of cooperation.
• Contribute to resource mobilization by preparing potential pipeline projects for the lab.
• Assist the Lab in preparation of its strategic plan and Action Plan for its sustainability.
• Communicate key messages relating to the lab's work in a variety of forums, including specialized journals, as well as in print, broadcast and online media.
• Undertake any other related actions as requested by the Prime Minister's Office

The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.

Results/expected outputs:

As an active member of the UNDP Bhutan Country Office and core technical member for the Bhutan Innovation Lab, the UN Volunteer is expected to provide timely, high-quality, and context-sensitive economic and policy support, including:
1. Strategic Economic Analysis and Insights
Delivery of rigorous macroeconomic and policy analysis that informs the Lab’s experimentation agenda and supports the realization of Bhutan’s long-term vision to become a high-income economy by 2034.
2. Design and Implementation of Policy Experiments
Co-creation and testing of innovative policy prototypes in collaboration with government counterparts, using human-centered design, systems mapping, and behavioral insights to address complex challenges such as youth unemployment, emigration, and fiscal sustainability.
3. Support to Vision Roadmap and 13th FYP Acceleration
Technical contributions to the monitoring and implementation of Bhutan’s development vision roadmap and identification of “accelerator interventions” within the Lab’s thematic priorities.
4. Evidence-based Policy Advisory
Provision of actionable, data-driven policy options to government partners on issues related to economic transformation, structural diversification, and sustainable growth pathways.
5. Knowledge Generation and Lab Sustainability
Production of knowledge products, case studies, and documentation of innovation processes and results; support to the development of the Lab’s strategic and sustainability plans, including resource mobilization pipelines.