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The Office of the UN Resident Coordinator is intimately involved in the design and operationalization of the UN reform programme in Mali which aimed at enhancing development impact, effectiveness and efficiency with greater collaboration within the UN Country Team and to support Mali counterparts and enhance partnership with donor community.

When the UN System works together to provide a well-coordinated, focused, and coherent response to the country’s priority problems, the impact it can have is much greater than when UN agencies work alone. No single agency has the range of funds, skills, knowledge, and experience to tackle the multi-dimensional causes of poverty. Working together, the UN System can provide advice and assistance in a wide range of issues, and can ensure that the support provided by each agency is complementary, rather than duplicative.

The real benefit from UN coordination is therefore the increased impact that the UN System support will have on reducing poverty. Other important benefits include the reduced transaction costs caused by the UN for Government; strengthened national capacity for monitoring impact on poverty reduction and other important national goals; and the increased recognition by Governments and other partners of the potential strength of the UN System, when it works as a coherent whole. 

Enhancing the prospects of a seamless transition requires a correspondingly strengthened coordination support capacity for the role of Resident Coordinator, as exists for the HC, especially for the strategic analysis and results-based planning needed to integrate the UN’s operational response to transition challenges.

As the designated representative of the Secretary-General, and team leader of the UN system organizations, the Resident Coordinator assumes overall responsibility for and coordination of the operational activities for development of the United Nations system carried out a the country level, in conformity with the objectives and priorities of the Government and mandates and objectives of United Nations system organizations.
Under the guidance and the direct supervision of the Resident Coordinator, the Strategic Planning Advisor will:

Manage the Office of the Resident Coordinator:

• Supervise and guide the work of the RCO Staff;
• Oversee and manage the budget of the RCO;
• Support the RC in enhancing system-wide coherence and aid effectiveness by providing strategic and operational guidance to UN reform;
• Strengthen the capacity of the UN Country Team to coordinate and plan an integrated UN response to emerging development issues in Mali
• Be responsible of the annual RCO planning and reporting.

Provide guidance and support to the RC in assessment and analytical processes for the UN system in the transition from a crisis or post-conflict situation.

• To support and facilitate needs assessment processes and any other analytical work to help determine the UNCT strategy and priorities, reflecting the overall framework of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
• Facilitate and monitor quality of UN contributions to internal and external medium to long term needs assessment exercises and other similar analytical work;
• Reinforce capacity of the UN Country Team to analyze political, social and economic trends, including support to preparation of key periodic situational analyses.
• To support and facilitate the definition of the UN’s strategy, role, and common priorities.
  To support various coordination mechanisms including support to lead agencies of Theme Groups and Inter-Agency Task Forces.
• To facilitate, at the request of the RC and UNCT, consultations with the Government, donors and organizations of the UN system, and provide technical support for policy and programme development and related strategic initiatives. At the request of the RC or UNCT, represent the RC or UNCT in various national and UN meetings as well as in regional coordination of UN activities;
• Where appropriate, the UN Coordinator Advisor will work with the Peace and Governance Advisor in country, to ensure a coordinated and complementary approach to post-conflict recovery.

Provide input and guidance to the design of UN strategic plans:

• Support the RC in the preparation and coordination of UN strategic plans (such as the UNDAF, ISF, Transition Plan or similar), based on needs assessments, analysis and other identified priorities and strategies.
• To support the RC and UNCT in engaging bilateral and multilateral donors, including for resources mobilization, and to direct the initiation and development of related preparatory and follow-up action.
  Provide input and guidance in the development of appropriate modalities for a multi-donor trust fund and or resource mobilization mechanisms. 
• Support the RC and the UNCT in the preparation of a Common Country Assessment (CCA) and a UN Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF), when appropriate.
• Ensure appropriate linkages are made to other ongoing initiatives – e.g. the preparation of the national budget, I-PRSPs or donor strategies.

Provide policy advice and technical support to the RC and UNCT on UN System collaborative programming and monitoring processes for transition response:

• Provide strategic and technical support to the UNCT and monitoring processes for transition response.
  Monitor, on behalf of the UNCT, the effective implementation of the monitoring and evaluation plan;
  Monitor progress of UN system response against the MDGR and/or other frameworks as defined by international conferences.
• Monitor relevant developments in the Security Council, and within the Peace and Security departments of the United Nations HQ.
• Support the UNCT in the development of a common work plan ensuring timeliness, coherence and quality of results and the promotion and development of proposals for UN System capacity building initiatives in order to achieve shared results.

Advise the UN Resident Coordinator on, and to facilitate, planning and management of UN System coordination for transition at the country level:

• Ensure the synergies of the UNCT on institutional and organizational issues, to promote a united and coherent UN system, consistent with the organizational mandate.
• Draw upon other UN experiences, lessons learned and knowledge networking to provide contributions to UNCT decision-making and learning.
• Promote the use of simplification and harmonization strategies, including the opening of UN Houses, common premises etc. in order to reduce the burden on national partners and to maximize the effectiveness of an integrated UN operation.
• Support the RC in the development and implementation of a UN strategy on common services and common premises, which effectively links security, financial, operational aspects;
• Where relevant, liaise closely with OCHA to ensure complementarity in policy advice, coordination mechanisms and field presence.
• Liaise closely with the Bretton Woods institutions to ensure complementarity in coordination of development assistance;
• Supervise and provide guidance to RC office staff, and ensure effective budgeting, reporting and management of resources.
• Support the RC in identifying and managing required resources for coordination; Where the UNCT decides to promote joint programmes in a given area, support the elaboration, negotiation and implementation of these programmes through concrete and immediate support on operational and substantive issues as required;
• Establish system to effectively monitor and report progress of UNCT against jointly agreed results including regular reports such as: reporting against conference declarations, producing the RC Annual Report, UN Thematic Reports, Unified UN Development Reports, inputs to the Secretary-General’s Quarterly Reports to the Security Council.
• Contribute to knowledge sharing (notably through training) amongst UN staff on issues relating to the UN Reform Agenda and post-crisis transition.

Represent the UNCT on the Joint Assistance Strategy for Mali Working Group:

• Ensure UN inputs in relation to policy processes related to the implementation of the aid effectiveness agenda.
  

Corporate Competencies:

• Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’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
• Treats all people fairly without favoritism

Functional Competencies:

Knowledge Management and Learning

• Conflict analysis and assessment.
• Facilitating multi-stakeholder national/local dialogues for conflict management
• Building national capacities to manage/prevent/reduce conflict.
• Outstanding knowledge of facilitation/training, process and coordination skills
• Sound knowledge of and exposure to a wide range of post-conflict, peace-building, good governance, human rights and development-related issues
• Knowledge and experience in political, governance and electoral  processes
• Experience in providing strategic policy advice (including report writing) and experience of UN inter-agency planning and policy processes
• Ability to work under pressure in a stressful environment;

Development and Operational Effectiveness:

• Ability to lead strategic planning, results-based management and reporting
• Strong analytical capacity, including the ability to analyze and articulate conflict management, peace-building, recovery and development dimensions and related issues that require a coordinated UN response.
• Good knowledge of institutional mandates, policies and guidelines pertaining to peace-building, recovery and development issues and sound knowledge of the institutions of the UN system.
• Willingness to keep abreast of new developments in the field.  

Management and Leadership:

• Excellent communication (spoken and written) skills, including the ability to draft/edit a variety of written reports and communications and to articulate ideas in a clear, concise style
• Ability to plan own work, manage conflicting priorities and work under pressure of tight and conflicting deadlines.
• Fully proficient computer skills and use of relevant software and other applications
• Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to establish and maintain effective partnerships and working relations
• Very strong leadership capacities to guide dialogue activities in mixed groups.
  

Education: 

• Master degree or PhD, in development economics, political science, statistics, international development and/or management and coordination

Experience: 

• At least 7 years of professional work in Development, Aid Coordination area with at least four years work experience in the field;
• Prior experience in the field. Good knowledge of UN as whole, and the role of the UN Resident Coordinator system
• Experience with UNDAF planning, reviewing or evaluating;
• Experience with the DaO is an asset.
  Familiarity with the aid context and development process in Africa would be an advantage.
• Excellent organizational and management skills.
• Ability to negotiate at decision-making level. 
• Ability to handle effectively multiple tasks without compromising quality, team spirit and positive working relationships. 
• Ability to operate effectively in a changing and complex environment, and to produce results under stress;
• Strongnterpersonal and communication skills.
• Good knowledge of UN system, procedures and operational activities for development. Previous experience in UNDAF development or recovery plans will be considered as plus.
• Knowledge of results-based management, monitoring and evaluation

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in French and English