UNDP Jobs - 30249- Governance and Development Effectiveness Specialis

Governance and Development Effectiveness Specialist

Location :

Bangkok, THAILAND

Type of Contract :

FTA International

Starting Date :

01-Aug-2012

Application Deadline :

10-Jun-12 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

P-3

Duration of Initial Contract :

1 year

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

The UNDP Asia Regional Governance Programme (ARGP) II’s goal is to leverage democratic governance to deliver not only as a means to other development goals, but as an essential end in itself. ARGP prioritizes widening opportunities, particularly for women, youth and socially excluded groups, to participate in democratic process and hold governments accountable to the people. At the same time, it addresses the underlying challenges of inequality and exclusion to deliver on priority development outcomes of MDG acceleration and climate resilience.

This Specialist will focus on delivering policy and programming support that relates to development effectiveness including how policy and programming work in other areas of democratic governance relate to sustainable development over-all, and development effectiveness agenda, in particular. The Specialist will work with a range of regional partners and UNDP country offices to support governments in delivering reforms that strengthen their management of ODA and other forms of development finance as well as ensuring the UNDP and UN programming supports principles of development effectiveness, and integrates gender equality and women’s empowerment into aid effectiveness efforts to increase their impact. The Specialist will work to the priorities established in the RBAP Annual Business plan and ARGP.

The Specialist will encourage home grown solutions and innovations, and foster space for South-South lessons-exchange and mutual support across developing and middle income countries in the region. An underlying thread in the strategy is investing in regional institutions and capacities for catalyzing democratic governance reform in Asia-Pacific. The Specialist will support the DG team in deepening its knowledge and policy analysis portfolio to ensure technical guidance provided to Country Offices draws upon and enriches lessons at country, regional and global levels. To ensure maximum impact of our development work and efficient use of our resources, the Specialist will foster institutional partnerships with sister UN agencies and other development partners. Collaboration with new partners will continually be explored. Given limited resources available, the Specialist will support the DG team to take a strategic approach to resource mobilisation, prioritising the mobilisation of additional resources for those outputs rated as highest priority by the programme countries.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Governance and Development Effectiveness Policy Specialist in APRC will provide substantive and technical support regarding Governance and Aid Effectiveness and report to the Democratic Governance Practice Team Leader at the APRC. The Specialist will provide specific support for UNDP’s policy and programming in two related areas: (i) strengthening UNDP’s policy advice and technical support for the enhancing the governance of aid at country levels; and (ii) mainstreaming and applying development effectiveness principles and approaches in democratic governance programming.

Regional Policy Advocacy and Advisory Services:

Support UNDP Country Offices in developing and strengthening their policy dialogue and capacity development support for government counterparts in pursuit of more effective governance of aid and over-all development resources. These will cover three areas:

Engagement with government and other stakeholders (including parliaments and broader civil society) on developing and implementing aid policy in order to enhance development effectiveness and transparency and accountability in the use of development resources;
Strengthen the effectiveness of democratic governance programming, with a focus on supporting the establishment of appropriate aid delivery modalities in specific areas of governance programming and ensuring coherence with national development plans and aid policies. Work will also cover support to development of democratic governance programmes or sector specific interventions that apply principles of aid effectiveness, accountability, human rights, and gender equality;
Work with country offices to leverage resources for governance and aid effectiveness programming, including through regional partnerships such as, but not limited to the multi-donor facility on Capacity Development for Development Effectiveness (CDDE).

Policy Development:

Facilitate regional and global policy development on democratic governance that are grounded on cutting edge development effectiveness principles and practices from the region, fed into HQ policy processes, and replicated in countries of the Asia Pacific. Two main functions:

Strengthen UNDP’s democratic governance and development effectiveness policies and programmes as well as its potential for influence within the international community by effectively channeling the views and perspectives from partner countries in the region to the global level;
Promote UNDP policy on democratic governance, grounded on strong aid effectiveness principles at the country level through expert advice to country teams and by facilitating engagement between HQ and country teams in priority areas including the design and use of aid modalities in specific areas governance programming.

Partnership Building

Effectively position the regional governance team to ensure that its approach to democratic governance and development effectiveness policy and programming is understood and supported by UN and external partners. Two main functions:

Support the DG Practice Leader to develop and implement a strategic results-based management framework for guiding the DG team’s work in governance policy and programming in the region, as well as in developing strategies to approach existing and potential development partners, to mobilize resources and to strengthen partnerships in pursuit of regional democratic governance priorities;
Support UNDP APRC in its negotiations and relationship building with actual and potential development partners.

Knowledge Management:

Collaborate with UNDP Country offices, regional Governance team, and across UNDP’s practices at regional and global levels, to support governments and other stakeholders in using knowledge to strengthen the governance of development and aid resources across a range of countries in the region. Two main functions:

Enhance the Democratic Governance (DG) team’s regional knowledge management platforms through internet based and other media, with a focus on the CDDE ‘web portal’, and its linkages with other DG platforms;
Work with UNDP Country Offices and other stakeholders, including through the Asia Pacific Aid Effectiveness and global Democratic Governance Communities of Practice, to support partner countries in establishing and disseminating evidence, which is used as part of both in-country and south-south initiatives to strengthen the governance of aid.

Competencies

Corporate:

Demonstrates integrity and fairness, by modeling the UN/UNDP’s values and ethical standards;
Promotes the vision, mission and strategic goals of UNDP;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.

Functional:

Strong ability to apply various governance related development theories to the specific context, including translating democratic governance principles into effective policy and programme interventions in the field;
Demonstrated capacity to integrate principles of aid effectiveness, accountability, human rights, and gender equality in policy making and programming;
Capacity to interact with senior officials and credibly influence senior decision makers in UNDP programme countries and other international development organizations;
Strong analytical, negotiation and communication skills, including ability to produce high quality practical Specialisty reports and knowledge products;
Professional and/or academic experience in one or more of the areas of the Democratic Governance Practice.

Leadership:

Strong managerial/leadership experience and decision-making skills;
Ability to conceptualize and convey strategic vision from the spectrum of global development experience;
Knowledge and expertise in UNDP’s programming processes;
Proven ability to lead a practice area and drive for results with a strong knowledge of results-based management and budgeting.

Managing Relationships:

Demonstrated well developed people management and organizational skills;
Strong ability to manage teams; creating an enabling environment, mentoring and developing staff;
Excellent negotiating and networking skills;
Strong resource mobilization and partnering skills.

Managing Complexity:

Ability to address global development issues;
Substantive knowledge and understanding of development cooperation with the ability to support the practice architecture of UNDP and inter-disciplinary issues including gender mainstreaming;
Demonstrated substantive leadership and ability to integrate global knowledge with broader strategic, policy and operational objectives;
A sound global network of institutional and individual contacts.

Knowledge Management and Learning:

Ability to strongly promote and build knowledge products;
Promotes knowledge management in UNDP and a learning environment in the office through leadership and personal example;
Seeks and applies knowledge, information and best practices from within and outside of UNDP;
Provides constructive coaching and feedback.

Judgment/Decision-Making:

Mature judgment and initiative;
Proven ability to provide strategic direction in practice area;
Independent judgment and discretion in advising on handling major policy issues and challenges.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master degree in development studies, Economics, Public Policy, Organizational Design, Management Systems, law, economics or public policy/public administration.

Work Experience:

7 years of overall relevant professional experience as well as a proven professional record in democratic governance;
Work experience in a developing country context is a necessity;
A track record of extensive national/international working experience with increasing managerial responsibilities in the development arena and UNDP’s practice areas;
Experience in leading/managing knowledge product development and dissemination.

Language Requirement:

Fluent in English. Working knowledge in the UN official language of the region is an asset.

Remark:

This is Development Project Funded (PDF) post;
Qualified femal candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.