National Economic Specialist

Background

The UNDP Office in Botswana works closely with its government partners and other national and subnational stakeholders to support the introduction of policies that promote inclusive economic growth and sustainable development, aligned with national and subregional priorities. At the heart of this support is a focus on complex issues related to several thematic areas/SDGs, including their complexity, dynamics, entry points, and the integration of policies, data, analysis, innovation, and finance. As the impact of COVID-19 has shown, twenty-first-century challenges are increasingly complex, interconnected, and unpredictable. People are engaging with information, institutions, and society in new and increasingly digital ways, and institutions are having to adapt at an increasing pace. The CPD has identified key domains of change in climate change and sustainable resource management, inequality, corruption, and accountability, and unemployment, economic diversification, and digital innovation. These domains are addressed through levers of change, such as women and youth as rights-holders; communities, the private sector, and the informal sector as transformational agents; and institutions as duty-bearers, each leveraging UNDP capacity to deliver through innovative and agile partnerships for a green, just, prosperous Botswana. 

In 2025, the Government of Botswana adopted the Twelfth National Development Plan (NDP 12), marking Botswana’s bold and transformative step toward achieving the national aspiration—"True North"—of a “high-income, digitally enabled, export-driven, and economically diversified Botswana where every citizen is employed, empowered, and fulfilled." The plan spans five years (2025/26–2029/30) and serves as the first comprehensive roadmap under the new administration following the peaceful political transition in October 2024. NDP 12 is built on a paradigm shift from a government-led, resource-dependent growth model to a private sector-driven, industrialized, and export-oriented economy. At its core is the Botswana Economic Transformation Programme (BETP), which aims to mark a turning point in the nation’s pursuit of sustainable, inclusive, and future-ready growth. By covering prioritized six economic sectors (Tourism, Agriculture, Manufacturing, Financial Services & Digitalization, Energy & Mining, and Infrastructure), alongside three social focus areas (Healthcare, Education, and Social Protection), the BETP seeks to be a game-changer for the country’s growth pathway and to respond to challenges the country is facing, including limited diversification, high unemployment, high poverty and inequality, and fiscal pressures that threaten the sustainability of our growth path.

In this context, the UNDP Office in Botswana is recruiting a National Development Economist to coordinate support for the implementation of the SDGs in the country through its country program...