Sample cover letter for Full Time position at UNDP

I believe I am the most suitable for this consultancy service because I have the educational qualification professional experience and other relevant qualities to successfully meet the requirements of the TOR. I will briefly discuss why I believe so.

I have two Masters degrees, one in Applied Trade Policy Analysis from the economics department of Addis Ababa University and the other in Globalization and Development from the University of Antwerp, Belgium. I have taken several courses on quantitative research methods both in my undergraduate and graduate studies. I completed all of my studies with the greatest distinction from my class. The thesis I wrote in partial fulfilment of the Master of Science in Globalization and Development, which required the use of strong quantitative skills, was awarded by the Province of Antwerp.

My professional background is composed of progressive experience in research. I started working at the microfinance network in Ethiopia as an assistant research officer to identify and investigate problems faced by the microfinance industry in the country. Afterwards, I worked for the Ethiopian Development Research Institute (EDRI) in different positions. I was an assistant survey coordinator for a nation-wide survey on model farmers in Ethiopia responsible for administering and supervising the data collection, verification and entry. I have also worked as a research assistant in different research projects on economic transformation, livestock sector and livelihood diversification. My positions in these projects required abilities to review relevant literature; clean, compile and analyze quantitative data and participate in the writing of research findings. I was also able to improve my quantitative skills on both cross-sectional and time series econometrics.

The larger share of my experience in research was obtained while working as an Assistant Researcher for the Young Lives study, which is a long – term international project on childhood poverty, coordinated by the University of Oxford. My duties included writing research papers on different aspects of children’s livelihood which required the use of an effective combination of qualitative and quantitative data. I was able to add vigour to my knowledge and skills of panel data econometrics while working at this project. Two of the studies I have co-authored and presented at international conferences are part of the Young Lives peer reviewed working papers series.

Working at the country's main economic research think tank for the past 5 years has familiarized me with both qualitative and quantitative research methods. The diversity in the research projects I have been working for has enabled me to progressively sharpen my research skills. I now have developed the ability to quickly understand research contexts and draw upon my quantitative skills to produce the research output of interest.

Given the fact that both my educational and professional background are highly related with economics and international development I have always been very keen in learning more about the recent global developments and, therefore, UN member states. This also contributes to my suitability of the job.

I believe I have a combination of academic background, diligence, experience, and capacity to work in teams and independently and ability to deliver under strict deadlines and in multicultural settings. These competencies conflated with a proven track record for delivery makes me a strong candidate for the position.