Consultancy on Financing for Development: Domestic Resource Mobilization and Curbing Leakages

Organizational Context

The UN Secretariat's Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) supports Arab countries in strengthening national and regional financing systems for sustainable development. ESCWA employs an integrated approach combining policy dialogue, research, capacity-building, and digital innovation to assist member states in mobilizing and managing diverse financing sources, including domestic resources, private investment, and international cooperation, while addressing illicit financial flows.

Job Purpose

This consultancy aims to support ESCWA's Financing for Development (FfD) activities by providing analytical and technical expertise. The role involves mapping productive linkages, estimating financing-space linkages, and developing data-driven models to identify diversification opportunities and prioritize sectors. The consultant will contribute to diagnostics of the financing landscape, analyze financing rifts, and support regional cooperation on domestic resource mobilization and integrated financing solutions. The work is crucial for developing practical tools and policy recommendations to enhance revenue mobilization, address illicit financial flows, and design integrated financing strategies aligned with national development priorities and the SDGs.

Responsibilities

The consultant will map productive linkages across pilot countries' production bases and financing structures to identify sectoral interdependencies, bottlenecks, and transformation opportunities. Responsibilities include estimating latent financing-space linkages using structural configurations and visualization tools, and constructing a high-dimensional proximity matrix to map productive and financing linkages and identify leakage channels. The consultant will develop and apply data-driven analytical methods and econometric models to assess structural feasibility, upgrading potential, and capability spillovers across interconnected sectors and products. This involves preparing panel datasets, integrating matrices into modeling frameworks, and generating alternative upgrading pathways. Deliverables will include analytical matrices, technical notes, diagnostic reports, Python-based frameworks, sector/product clustering matrices, and summary reports, along with other requested outputs like graphs and briefings.

Work Experience

A minimum of 1.5 years of professional experience in analyzing macro-financing and industrial policy issues, particularly with data-driven, microfinancing, and econometric modeling, is required. One year of experience in research, data analytics, and data analysis is also necessary. Experience with research, data extraction, or using statistical tools is required.

Skills

Proficiency in STATA statistical package for data processing and analysis. Knowledge of Python and machine learning techniques. Good knowledge of econometrics is desirable. Strong analytical and data modeling capabilities. Ability to conduct research and data analysis.

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