Background
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), 2005 guarantees wage employment on public works to any adult who is willing to do casual manual work. In case there is inability to provide 100 days of wage employment per household per year, the household will be provided with a daily unemployment allowance. The programme is expected to cover poor households on the principle of self-selection.
The Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD)-UNDP partnership on ‘Governance and Accelerated Livelihoods Support’ helps strengthen the effectiveness of key Ministry programmes by providing (a) technical assistance to the state government and NGOs in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Odisha to improve sustainable livelihoods with linkages to Panchayati Raj Institutions for governance in left wing extremism affected areas (b) policy advice and technical assistance to the Ministry and the state governments to help improve the efficiency, accountability and inclusiveness of National Rural Livelihoods Mission and the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Scheme and (c) policy advice and technical assistance to the Ministry and state governments to help “green” select schemes.
Under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme, UNDP provides technical support for efficient and accountable implementation through (a) introducing mechanisms for regular feedback to the Ministry and state governments of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Bihar on operational bottlenecks in MGNREGP (b) analysing operational procedures and recommending steps for rationalizing them; (c) establishing social audit directorates in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Bihar; and (d) developing strategies for skill development of households employed under MGNREGP through NRLM.
Studies have highlighted several challenges in implementing the MGNREGP. They have underlined the importance of participatory planning and strengthening of existing capacities for achieving the envisaged results, and the need for effective monitoring and social audit to address concerns of efficiency and accountability.
As part of its support to MGNREGA, UNDP is looking for a dynamic individual to support the ministry in anchoring the social audit component of the programme. The selected candidate will be placed within the Ministry of Rural Development, New Delhi.
The Social Inclusion officer will work under the guidance and supervision of the Joint Secretary, MGNREGA and Programme Analyst, UNDP. The incumbent will be primarily responsible for the work of the ministry social inclusion. S/he will develop performance indicators for physical and financial monitoring of MGRNEGP through social inclusion lens for Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, UP and Maharashtra. S/he will be responsible for collection and establishment of baselines, field visits to collect data and improve implementation, data analysis, preparation of reports for briefing and recommendation to state and national governments on social inclusion under the programme with a focus on quality of all the deliverables.
Duties and Responsibilities
Under the direct supervision of the Joint Secretary and Programme Analyst, UNDP, the Social Inclusion Officer will be responsible for the following functions:
Monitoring:
- Support the programme divisions for the MGNREGA in select states and as guided by the national performance measurement requirements;
- Assist in the development of training modules on social inclusion for states;
- Plan and conduct training for state and district level officials to enhance access for the poor;
- Conduct continuous analysis of monitoring information of MGNREGS operations of the states;
- Analyse MGNREGA performance from district data and field reports;
- Analyse, on a monthly basis, the overall number and status of persons receiving employment.;
- Assist in updating the distribution plans and monitoring status reports of the state governments;
- Identify potential problems and facilitate overall programming decisions;
- Review the MIS and quality of works on a regular basis;
- Liaise with state and districts administrations;
- Coordinate with the National Cell to ensure MGNREGA performance guidelines/parameters are being adhered to;
- Compile field level information required for operational reports when required;
- Regular monitoring of MGNREGA Management Information System (MIS);
- Perform any other related tasks consistent with the level of the post and/ or assigned by the Joint Secretary, MGNREGA and Programme Analyst, UNDP.
Key Deliverables:
- Regular reports based on monitoring and review of regular sources of information and data such as information from central government, district officials, national and local NGOs, news clippings;
- Surveys, field monitors and government publications for assigned states;
- Updated Fact Sheets and Information package about the states;
- Overview of the programme and its various components for dissemination to external audience.
- Assist in the preparation, writing and editing of all other reports required by the Ministry of Rural Development – for example specific Annual Report, Field Study Reports, etc.
- Monthly reporting provided to the State Governments, Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on the performance of the Scheme.
Competencies
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:
Job Knowledge/Technical Expertise:
- Knowledge and experience of social inclusion;
- Understands Management Information System (MIS) and applies fundamental concepts and principles of a monitoring tool;
- Possesses basic knowledge of organizational policies and procedures relating to the position and applies them consistently in work tasks;
- Demonstrates good knowledge of information technology and applies it in work assignments.
Building Strategic Partnerships:
- Establish, build and sustain effective relationship, partnerships and alliances;
- Result-orientation and ability to develop strategic approaches.
Results-Based Programme Development and Management:
- Assesses project performance to identify success factors and incorporates best practices into project work;
- Researches linkages across project activities to identify critical points of integration;
- Monitors specific stages of project implementation;
- Identify problems and propose solutions.
Promoting Organizational Learning and Knowledge Sharing:
- Generates new ideas and approaches, researches best practices and proposes new, more effective ways of doing things;
- Documents and analyses innovative strategies and new approaches.
Required Skills and Experience
Education:
- Master’s Degree or equivalent in Development Studies, Rural Development, Business Administration, Public Administration, Human Rights, Economics, Political Sciences, Social Sciences or Governance related field.
Experience:
- At least five years (post-masters) work experience preferably in preferably with monitoring and evaluations tools, results frameworks required for public programmes and social inclusion;
- Experience of coordinating multi-stakeholder projects.
Language:
- Fluency in English and Hindi is essential. Knowledge of regional language(s) would be an asset.