UNDP Jobs - 31561- Senior Advisor – Strengthening Capacities for Nego

SENIOR ADVISOR – STRENGTHENING CAPACITIES FOR NEGOTIATING, IMPLEMENTING ANE MONITORING INVESTMENT CONTRACT IN THE NATURAL RESOURCE SECTOR IN AFRICA
Location :	Addis Ababa, ETHIOPIA
Application Deadline :	07-Aug-12
Additional Category	Democratic Governance
Type of Contract :	FTA International
Post Level :	P-5
Languages Required :	English French
Starting Date : (date when the selected candidate is expected to start)	01-Sep-2012
Duration of Initial Contract :	one year
Background
A precondition for transforming natural resources wealth in Africa into long-term advances in human development is to ensure that governments capture the rents and manage the economic and political effects of the extraction process. In turn this is impacted by the terms under which governments enter into contracts and agreements with international companies. Typically, and particularly when it comes to mineral resources, these terms are negotiated through a process characterized by profound bargaining and information asymmetries. Moreover, often capacities to monitor implementation of contracts and ensure adherence to regulatory frameworks are weak. This can lead to sub-optimal results for the host country in the form of foregone revenues and missed opportunities for sustainable utilisation of the resource, investments in human development and structural transformation. There are also often weak policy and institutional linkages between increased revenue flows from the investments and exploitation of the natural resources and pro-poor and community development initiatives. Within the context of its regional Governance Programme: Consolidating Democratic and Participatory Governance in Africa, UNDP aims at strengthening the capacity of African countries to negotiate, manage and regulate large-scale investment contracts, particularly in the natural resources sector, as well as strengthen their capacity for pro-poor natural resource revenue management. The outcomes of the regional governance programme are: Enhanced political participation and management of elections Strengthened political and economic governance and enhanced service delivery More effective regional institutions Better understanding, codifying and sharing best African practices in governance The programme recognises Africa’s momentum and progress in political governance in recent years and the need to leverage current positive economic growth trends with targeted interventions aimed at enhancing economic governance capacities and making the development process more inclusive. The work on natural resources management falls within outcome area 2 and will be implemented in coordination with other efforts under that outcome.
Duties and Responsibilities
The Senior Advisor leads the provision of technical assistance and initiatives to strengthen capacities in the area of negotiation, implementation and monitoring of investment contract in the natural resource sector among national governments, regional partners and UNDP Country Offices in sub-Saharan Africa. Under the supervision of the Chief Economist at the Regional Bureau for Africa, the Senior Adviser will assume responsibility for performing the following duties: Timely and effective support given to 3-5 selected countries in all phases of its negotiation, implementation and monitoring of investment contracts, including sourcing, selecting and facilitating the work of highly qualified technical assistance. Support to national governments and UNDP country offices in these and other countries to develop complimentary activities, if feasible within the country programme framework and in partnership with other stakeholders at the national level. Promote strategic partnerships with key regional bodies (such as African Union and the NEPAD Agency), development partners (such as African Development Bank, Economic Commission for Africa and World Bank) and other organizations (such as Revenue Watch Institute, International Senior Lawyers Project, EITI, Publish What You Pay). Develop knowledge products that can inform global policy formulation, South-South collaboration and knowledge exchange, and position UNDP as a broker of knowledge in the areas of negotiation, regulation and management of investment contracts, as well as pro-poor revenue management. Provide strategic advice to the senior management of the Regional Bureau for Africa in the area of natural resource management specifically in the formulation of the next Regional Cooperation Framework.
Competencies
Corporate Competencies: Demonstrates integrity and fairness.Shows strong corporate commitment. Demonstrates commitment to UNDP’s mission, vision and values. Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability. Values intellectual rigour and honesty. Responds to and supports others in the organization who request advice. Functional Competencies: Champions knowledge-building and sharing. Makes valuable contributions (e.g., documented knowledge, community building) to UNDP practices. Demonstrates strong substantive and process knowledge. Ability and disposition to travel extensively, especially in the Africa region. Capacity to formulate and test/implement innovative approaches to capacity development. Effectively applies existing knowledge to improve performance. Strong strategic analytical skills combined with an ability to anticipate emerging trends and issues with implications for African development. Strong leadership skills and proven ability to motivate and manage a team of seasoned policy analysts in diverse development sectors. Dynamic, visionary leader, capable of engaging at high political, technical and analytical level with other UNDP units and international Centres of Excellence dealing with African development and to represent the Director and Deputy Directors of the Regional Bureau for Africa as needed.
Required Skills and Experience
Education: Advanced university degree in Management, Law, Economics, Business Administration or other related field. Experience: At least 10 years of proven track record in participating in or providing strategic guidance and advice in contract negotiations/renegotiations, preferably both in developed and developing countries. Proven ability to establish partnerships and/or networks in the area capacity development for contract negotiations and revenue management. Track record of policy reform and innovation on capacity development, strategic decision-making and organizational leadership. Experience in dealing public sector reform and capacity development issues Proven professional credibility and extensive network of international institutional and individual contacts. Research and publications record on African development issues in general and contract negotiations/regulatory frameworks/revenue management is an asset. Language requirements: Excellent oral and written communication skills in English or French, with an adequate working knowledge of the other. Knowledge of a third language, preferably Portuguese, would be an asset.
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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.