Background

The Government of India launched the “National Rural Livelihood Mission” (NRLM) in June 2011 after restructuring its flagship scheme “Swarnjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana” (SGSY). This had been done in view of the shortcomings pointed out by various independent evaluation/research studies and recommendations by various committees and the experience of implementation of the programme over the last ten years. The NRLM functions in a mission mode for target based time bound delivery of outcomes following a demand driven approach which would allow the states to formulate their own poverty alleviation plans on the basis of available allocation, resources and skills. The Budget requirement for NRLM is Rs. 20, 000 crore for the 12th plan.
 
Aajeevika Skills is a sub-mission under NRLM. It has evolved out of the need to: 
  • Cater to the occupational aspirations of the rural youth who are poor; and
  • To diversify incomes of the rural poor.
UNDP is partnering with the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) for the “Governance and Accelerated Livelihood Support” (GOALS) project which will focus on strengthening the effectiveness of key MoRD programmes to improve sustainable livelihoods in areas affected by left-wing extremism, helping improve the efficiency, accountability and inclusiveness of MGNREGP and NRLM; and helping “green” MGNREGP, NRLM and IAY. 
 
As part of its support to NRLM, UNDP is looking for a dynamic individual for the position of Chief Operating Officer for the North-East under Aajeevika Skills.
 
Summary of Key Functions:
 
The Chief Operating Officer (North-East) will work under the guidance and supervision of the Joint Secretary, Aajeevika Skills and Programme Analyst, UNDP. The incumbent will be primarily responsible for the work of Aajeevika Skills in the north-east. The COO (North-East) will work towards attainment of the results envisaged by Aajeevika Skills to the required standards of quality and within the constraints of time and cost. 
 
For this, s/he will ensure that the Aajeevika Skills:
  • Delivers on its objectives; and
  • Achieves its goals at state and district levels.
with particular focus on the north-east.
 
S/he will undertake any other task assigned by the Joint Secretary, Aajeevika Skills and Programme Analyst, UNDP.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the guidance and direct supervision of the Joint Secretary, Aajeevika Skills and Programme Analyst, UNDP, the Chief Operating Officer (North-East) has the responsibility for the following tasks:
 
Thematic Responsibilities:
  • Lead the skills and placement linked jobs initiatives of Aajeevika Skills to make skill development as an entitlement of the poor in the north-east region;
  • Review and overhaul skill development and training systems for improving existing occupations in the north-east; 
  • Develop vibrant partnerships with various skill development organizations, the private sector, industry associations and sector specific employers’ associations in the north-east;
  • Prepare quarterly and annual reports to be submitted to GoI and UNDP;
  • Perform any other related tasks consistent with the level of the post and/or assigned by the Joint Secretary, Aajeevika Skills and Programme Analyst, UNDP.
Operational Responsibilities: 
  • Understanding the needs and aspirations of the rural youth, particularly the poor and the vulnerable;
  • Building partnerships with implementing partners, government agencies at various levels, multilateral and bilateral donors;
  • Forging linkages with the private sector industry and institutions;
  • Talent acquisition, capacity building and team management;
  • Coordinating Monitoring and Evaluation with the Technical Support Agencies (TSA);
  • Coordinating proposal evaluation and approval processes;
  • Resolution of implementation issues by coordinating with the implementing agencies, monitoring agencies and state governments and district administration;  
  • Addressing concerns of trainees, trainers, employers and Project Implementation Agencies (PIAs);
  • Ensuring timely fund disbursal subject to fulfillment of project conditions;
  • Providing policy and programmatic inputs.

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 about India’s development administration systems;
  • Good understanding of development issues such as human development, inclusive development, gender, participation; 
  • Good understanding of management issues relating to Human resource Management, budgeting, partnership management for development projects;
  • Demonstrates comprehensive knowledge of information technology and applies it in work assignments;
  • Good communication, interpersonal and presentation skills, with an ability to work in a multi-cultural environment.
Building Strategic Partnerships:
  • Peoples’ orientation and the ability to work with people;
  • Establish, build and sustain effective relationships, partnerships and alliances, advocate effectively and communicate sensitively;
  • Strong networks across diverse sectors at leadership levels;
  • Result-orientation and ability to develop strategic approaches;
  • Identifies problems and propose solutions;
  • Demonstrates extremely strong influencing and facilitation skills.
Promoting Organizational Learning and Knowledge Sharing:
  • Generates new ideas and approaches, researches best practices and proposes new, more effective ways of doing things;
  • Builds staff competence, creating an environment of creativity and innovation;
  • Shares knowledge across the organization and builds a culture of knowledge sharing and learning.
Core Competencies:
  • Demonstrates/safeguards ethics and integrity;  
  • Builds and promotes effective teams using mentoring and conflict resolution skills;
  • Works as a team member;
  • Facilitates and encourages open communication in the team, communicating effectively;
  • Demonstrates corporate knowledge and sound judgment;
  • Ability to work independently and under pressure;
  • Schedules activities to ensure optimum use of time and resources; monitors performance against development and other objectives and corrects deviations from the course;
  • Self-development, initiative-taking;
  • Fair and transparent decision making; calculated risk-taking;
  • Approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
  • Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:
  • Graduate degree in Economics, Social Sciences, Political Science, Other sciences, Rural Development, Development Studies or related field. Masters degree or a post graduate diploma in these fields will be desirable.

Experience:

  • A minimum of 7 years’ experience in a senior level of responsibility at the state or national level in rural development, rural livelihoods, skill development and/or related fields.
With minimum 2 years of experience in:
  • Leading large scale rural livelihoods promotion/skill development programmes;
  • Coordination and facilitation of senior, complex teams;
  • Providing management advisory services;
  • Hands-on experience in design, monitoring and evaluation of rural development/skill development projects;
  • Experience in handling partnerships including funding.

Language:

  • Fluency in English and Hindi is essential. Knowledge of regional language(s) would be an asset.

Others:

  • Willingness to travel extensively.

Remuneration package is Rs. 2,71,937/- per month (taxable).