UNDP Jobs - 42048- Project Associate, Planning Commission

Project Associate, Planning Commission – UNDP Project, Strengthening Capacities for Decentralised Planning - (Open to Indian Nationals only)

Location :

New Delhi, Planning Commission, INDIA

Type of Contract :

Service Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

09-Dec-13 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

SB-3

Duration of Initial Contract :

One Year (renewable)

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 Government of India – UNDP project “Strengthening Capacities for Decentralised Planning” is being implemented by the Planning Commission in partnership with State governments. The project is envisaged in the context of the 12^th Five Year Plan goal of faster, sustainable and more inclusive growth. It is designed to strengthen capacities of government and other actors involved in development planning at local level for improving quality, effectiveness and outreach of development programmes.

A key outcome of the United Nations Development Action Framework (UNDAF) 2013-2017 is “to ensure that governance systems are more inclusive, accountable, decentralised and programme implementation more effective for the realization of rights of marginalized groups, especially women and children”. The UNDAF places emphasis on participation of all stakeholders, particularly those belonging to SCs, STs, other disadvantaged groups and women in the national development process. It also underscores the strategic importance of specialized knowledge, capacity development approaches and experience on issues relating to decentralization, strengthening local governments, local planning and community monitoring.

Directly contributing to the above-mentioned India UNDAF outcome, the project will focus on providing support to the States for strengthening Decentralized District Planning and implementation systems and processes as per the priorities areas identified by the States themselves. The project support will be catalytic in nature and leverage existing resources already available at the State levels. The project will strengthen the content of planning and help improve implementation in select districts/Blocks to better address MDGs and national priorities such as inclusive growth and improved delivery of basic services. Issues of gender and social inequalities will be focused upon. The process will be made more participatory and inclusive of the priorities of poor women and men, especially from SC/ST and minority communities. Further, the project will work towards greater integration of planning and implementation process across PRIs and line departments as well as vertically from village to district levels.

The project will be implemented at the national level and in identified States covered under the United Nations Development Action Framework (UNDAF).

Duties and Responsibilities

The Project Associate will work under overall direction of the National Project Director and direct guidance of the Project Manager towards operationalizing the project results framework. S/he will assist in setting up the monitoring, reporting and documentation system of the project at the district, State and national levels. S/he will perform the following functions:

Assist in developing the MIS system for the project in accordance with the project results framework;
Support in preparation and execution of the monitoring and evaluation plan for the project at the national, State and district levels and extend necessary assistance to the State/district/sub-district personnel in this respect;
Ensure regular reporting on progress from local to national levels as per agreed frequency and preparation of project progress reports at the national level;
Support in knowledge management of good practices and building up a learning and practice system in the context of replication of integrated district planning in different States.

In specific terms the Project Associate will discharge the duties and responsibilities as given below:

Assist in preparation of the project operational plan with detailed breakdown of activities and budgets;
Develop project monitoring and evaluation plan in the results-based management (RBM) perspective aligned with the project objectives and results framework and support its implementation;
Develop the baseline for the project in keeping with the project results framework for use in monitoring, review and evaluation processes during the project cycle;
Assist in the preparation of Annual Work Plans (AWP) at national level and analysis/ review of the State AWPs for due processing;
Provide technical assistance in developing evidence base on different steps and processes of integrated district planning (IDP) in course of the project cycle with a view to documenting the models on IDP evolving in identified districts;
Support in developing evidence-based documentation on IDP at national level incorporating/analyzing the information emerging from the project States;
Extend technical assistance to States/districts relating to integration of community monitoring processes and other accountability methodology (i.e. social audit) in planning and implementation;
Support in providing guidance for strengthening participatory and inclusive local planning and implementation processes at different local government levels and integration of plans in a RBM perspective;
Extend technical assistance for preparing bottom-up gender sub-plans as an integral part of the district planning process and mainstreaming gender issues and concerns in district planning, implementation and monitoring;
Support knowledge sharing and development in the area of monitoring and evaluation focusing on learning and achievements of the project at different levels and also using lessons/inputs adapted from other practices at national and international levels;
Support in setting up of the project reporting system from sub-district up to the national level;
Assist the project team and implementing partners in preparing quarterly and annual progress reports in consistency with the project results framework and monitoring system;
Facilitate regular reporting and compilation of project progress at the national level on a quarterly as well as annual basis for submission to Planning Commission and UNDP;
Based on the analysis of project monitoring data, identify and escalate programmatic issues and concerns to the Project Manager and the National Project Director;
Assist the Project Manager in undertaking periodic review of project progress against the AWP and other key project milestones;
Providing assistance on any other issues related to the implementation and monitoring of the project as assigned by the Project Manager and under the guidance of the National Project Director;
Provide necessary assistance to project teams at different levels in organizing learning visits, seminars and such other events;
Contribute to design and conduct of project evaluations (mid-term and term-end) and provide necessary professional / organizing support to the teams tasked for such purposes;
Perform any other duty or responsibility the National Project Director assigns as relevant to the implementation of the project.

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:

Knowledge Management and Learning:

Keeps abreast of new developments in the area of professional discipline and job knowledge and seeks to develop himself/herself professionally;
Shares knowledge and experience with the team and other stakeholders.
Strong gender sensitivity and analysis skills

Relationship Building:

Contributes to effective and sustainable strategic partnerships with Government Agencies and main constituents, advocate effectively, communicate sensitively across different constituencies;
Builds strong relationships with the Project Management Team and with the project partners, focuses on impact and result for the project partners and responds positively to feedback;
Ability to work independently and under pressure.

Communication Skills:

Excellent oral, writing and documentation skills;
Researches best practices and poses new, more effective ways of doing things;
Documents innovative strategies and new approaches Demonstrates strong oral and written communication skills;
Good interpersonal and presentation skills, with an ability to work in a multi-cultural environment.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master’s Degree in Social Sciences or related disciplines from a reputed institute;
Additional qualification in statistics or information management will be an asset.

Experience:

3 to 5 years of progressively responsible research, monitoring and evaluation and/or project management experience at State or national level;
Experience of working with governments at State and/or national level will be desirable;
Experience of working on governmental planning, monitoring and implementation systems and familiarity with inclusive planning methods/processes will be an advantage;
Experience of preparing case studies on good practices will be an asset;
Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc) and advance knowledge of spreadsheet and database packages.

Language:

Excellent command in spoken and written English;
Excellent command in spoken and written Hindi.

Travel:

Willingness to travel on short notice.