LocationsJPO Story - Emily Shorrock
May 16, 2024
Emily and colleagues on a field mission in rural Kampong Chhang province, Cambodia
What is your educational background?
I have a Master of Arts in Economics from Queen’s University in Kingston, Canada. I also hold an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Economics, with a minor in Political Science, from Concordia University in Montreal, Canada.
What made you apply to the JPO programme/what is your motivation to work with your UN agency?
My career to date has been guided by curiosity and a desire to search out new challenges – both personal and professional. After completing my Master’s degree, I started my career as an economist and policy analyst with the Government of Canada, working across a range of social policy issues including gender equality, public health, multiculturalism and anti-racism, including the launch of Canada’s first national childcare system. I also worked in a major program for private sector partnerships and innovation.
As fulfilling as this work was, I was eager to keep pushing myself to learn and experience more. Working for UNDP seemed to offer both challenge and opportunity in equal measure. Supporting sustainable development is perfectly aligned with my training as an economist and my experience working on issues related to social and economic inclusion. However, there seemed to exist a gap between what I was doing and international development, and it was hard to know how to enter the UN space. When I found out about the JPO program, it seemed like the perfect opportunity.
What are the main activities/tasks you are working on? What is a day at the office/in the field like?
I am currently the gender analyst with UNDP Cambodia, supporting gender mainstreaming across all of the Country Office’s work. For example, I am currently drafting the new UNDP Cambodia Gender Equality Strategy to guide Country Office efforts on supporting and promoting gender equality in a concrete and consistent manner. This strategy will cover topics such as programs, operations, projects, financing and human resources. I will also support the coordination of the Country Office’s application for the UNDP Gender Equality Seal.
Being an economist has proven a value-add to my work, giving me the ability to reinforce gender policy advocacy and programming through data and research. For example, I designed and coordinated a new study that uses economic modelling to demonstrate the benefits of increased government investment in the care economy, a key barrier to women’s full economic participation. With colleagues, I have also worked to launch a study on the drivers behind women’s over-representation in the informal sector of Cambodia’s economy.
Emily Shorrock, Gender Analyst at UNDP Cambodia
In your day-to-day work, what SDG(s) are you helping to implement?
As a gender specialist, my work primarily revolves around making progress on SDG 5: Gender Equality.
However, gender is a dynamic that impacts all of the SDGs. Its cross-cutting nature means that I have had the opportunity to contribute to a wide range of projects, from sustainable energy, to disaster risk reduction, to decent work and formalization.
What is the most challenging project that you have worked on/are working on?
As of April 2024, I have commenced design of a new UNDP Cambodia project on transformational change for gender equality. This project will link all of the Country Office’s gender-related activities together under one comprehensive Theory of Change. The project will comprise of institutional transformation, data and evidence, gender mainstreaming and resource mobilization activities, among others.
I joined the JPO program seeking challenge, and this is a good one. Working on designing a UNDP project from the ground up is challenging and a rewarding experience. It requires strong analysis, strategic thinking and engaging the right partners.
What has been the most rewarding experience to date for you at your duty station? (work and/or non-work related)
In 2023, I was part of a field mission to Ratanakiri province, one of the most remote regions of Cambodia. We visited villages where UNDP had installed solar panels, giving these communities access to electricity for the first time. Reaching some villages required a long journey, including driving on dirt roads, crossing a river by boat, and 45 minutes on a motorbike through the jungle. It was a privilege to see a pocket of the world so different from where I grew up, and to have the opportunity to sit and talk with women in these communities about how access to sustainable energy had changed their lives.
What set of skills have you developed most throughout your assignment?
How to turn ideas and research into real world change by working with partners, such as government and other UN entities, mobilizing resources, and translating evidence into action. I have also had the privilege of working in a multi-cultural environment, as well as with stakeholders with different interests and perspectives, which requires strong interpersonal skills.
What piece of advice would you give to those who are considering applying to the JPO Programme?
If you see a JPO opportunity funded by your national government, don’t hesitate – even you’ve never been to the duty station, or it would be in a role that is new for you. You will be surprised by how much you can achieve and grow if only you push yourself outside of your comfort zone.
Emily at a panel event on the gender dimensions of clean energy at Clean Energy Week 2023, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
How do you feel your JPO assignment will influence your career choices/opportunities within the UN?
The JPO program has given me a strong entry-point into a future career within the UN system. Being a JPO comes with perks, such as having a training budget (the Duty-related Travel and Training Allocation). I am personally planning on using mine for a short assignment at a regional office, which is a great chance to learn more about supporting gender equality at the regional level.
Now that I have had this experience of working for the UNDP in Cambodia as a JPO, I feel that more doors have opened for me, and that I have been given the foundation to explore further meaningful opportunities in the future.
What is the biggest motivator for you when it comes to your work?
In this role, I can say that I truly believe in the organization’s values and its aspirations for the world. In my current position, I am able to use my skills to help support goals that align with my own personal values – namely, feminism and gender equality. It is motivating to use my skills as an economist to support causes that I believe in deeply.
Could you tell us about a funny anecdote or a curious tradition that you have experienced in your duty station?
I have learned that my Cambodian colleagues are very fond of dancing and karaoke… I would probably rather jump off of a bridge. However, ask me in a year whether their passion has converted me to the cause.
The JPO program has given me the opportunity to support gender equality and sustainable development while experiencing an amazing country, Cambodia. It has been a life changing experience and I feel incredibly fortunate.Emily Shorrock
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