Associate Officer

Representing the UN Secretary-General in Egypt, the United Nations Resident Coordinator (UNRC) and the Resident Coordinator’s Office (UNRCO) facilitate the work of the UN Country Team (UNCT), support efforts towards a strategic positioning of the UN Development System in the national development context and manage the dialogue process with the Government of Egypt, civil society and private sector. The UNRC also holds the leadership role over the strategic initiatives and joint activities of the UNCT, as well as oversight of the various results groups, joint programmes, and other inter-agency initiatives.

For the UNRC and the UNCT to successfully fulfil their expanding mandates in Egypt, the UNRC needs the necessary human and technical resources at her/his disposal to effectively manage and lead the coherent implementation of the new UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) for the years 2023 to 2027, and the integrated implementation of the SDGs in furtherance of national development priorities as outlined in the national Sustainable Development Strategy (Egypt’s Visio 2030). To this effect, the UNRCO supports the work of the UNRC by providing strategic integrated technical and advisory support. This includes serving as a one-stop-shop for advisory services anchored in the UNSDCF. This dedicated support both ensures coherence across the various management groups, and enables equal opportunities for all UNCT members, including Non-Resident Agencies (NRAs), to take the strategic leadership in the implementation and oversight of the UNSDCF. The UNRCO will also be convening SDG initiatives that aim at complementing the implementation of the UNSDCF and accelerate the achievement of the 2030 Agenda in cross-cutting priority themes.

Egypt is a lower middle-income country, with a population of 105 million people. It is impacted heavily by the wars in Ukraine, Sudan and Gaza, also in terms of rising prices and a strain on public finances. The inflation for April 2023 was 31.8%, driven by rising food prices (40.5%) and devaluations of the Egyptian Pound. Against the backdrop of the socio-economic challenges in the country, a National Dialogue was launched in May 2023, providing space to various stakeholders, including different societal parties and NGOs, to contribute to discussions on wide-ranging issues organized into three tracks – Political, Social and Economic.

Regionally, Egypt plays a critical role in facilitating aid and supporting the mediation efforts related to the current war in Gaza. Egypt is also involved in discussions with Ethiopia and Sudan on an agreement on the operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. Recent developments in neighboring countries have also impacted Egypt, including the outbreak of the conflict in Sudan, which has led to an influx of over 500,000 refugees and asylum-seekers into Egypt, further increasing the strain on its resources.

The UN Resident Coordinator’s responsibilities include ensuring the coordination of the UN’s development activities, creating a platform of coordinated delivery, promoting the enhancement of national capacities and ensuring effective advocacy of UN values, standards, principles and activities on behalf of the UN with the highest level of Government.

This UNV assignment is part of the Office of the United Nations Resident Coordinator Office. As the designated representative of the UN Secretary-General in Egypt, the UN Resident Coordinator guides the UN’s engagement in development activities in the country.

The UNV will closely work with the Strategic Adviser, who is part of the Peace and Development Advisers cadre. S/he will support and assist to identify opportunities to build UNCT and national capacities for social cohesion and prevention, through programs, analysis and policy engagement in areas of prevention, inclusion of migrants and refugees, human rights, governance, transparency, rule of law, humanitarian-development-peace (HDP) nexus, Women, Peace and Security (WPS) and Youth, Peace, and Security (YPS) among others.

Under the direct supervision of Strategic Adviser, the UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks:
• Assists in conducting research and analysis, including through social media monitoring, pertaining to issues related to the political and socio-economic situation;
• Supports the coordination of joint projects on issues related to migrants and refugees, human rights, governance, among others;
• Supports in the preparation of presentations, briefs, and reports, incl. for the UNCT;
• Support the mapping and identification of key stakeholders;
• Assists in the development of talking-points, speeches;
• Carries out other functions as outlined by the supervisor.