Background

Under the overall guidance of the Country Director / Deputy Country Director and the direct supervision of the Innovation for Development Team Leader/ARR, the Programme Analyst analyzes political, social and economic trends and participates in the formulation, management and evaluation of programme activities within the Innovation for Development Portfolio.  The Innovation & Development portfolio covers the areas of south/south cooperation, Youth, SSC and people living with disabilities.

The Programme Analyst supervises and leads programme support staff.  He/She works in close collaboration with all staff in the Programme Team to share knowledge, lessons learned, and promote synergies and mutual support, as well as with the Operations Team to maximize implementation effectiveness.  In addition, He/She liaises with counterparts in other UN Agencies, UNDP HQ focal points, development partners, national officials in government and civil society, technical advisors and experts, ensuring successful UNDP programme implementation.

Duties and Responsibilities

Ensures implementation of programme strategies focusing on achievement of the following results:

• Thorough analysis and research of the political, social and economic situation in the country and preparation of substantive inputs to Common Country Assessment (CCA), UN Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF), Country Programme Document (CPD), Country Programme Action Plan (CPAP) and other strategy documents;
•  Analysis and synthesis of proposals on the areas for support and interventions within the Innovation for Development practice area.

Participates in effective management of the Country Programme within the Innovation for Development Practice Area focusing on quality control from formulation to implementation of the country programme achieving the  following results:

• Provision of inputs to the design and formulation of the Country Programme within the area of responsibility; translating national and UNDP priorities into programmes and projects in the area of innovation for development.
• Implementation of project management standards, including project initiation, presentation of the project to Project Appraisal Committee (PAC), entering project into Atlas, preparation of contribution agreements; determination of required revisions;
  
• Coordination of the mandatory and budget re-phasing exercises, closure of projects through review. Programme Analyst can perform functions of Manager Level 1 in Atlas for Purchase Orders (POs) and vouchers approval; participates in recruitment processes for projects;
• Programme assurance and oversight of projects under responsibility, including field monitoring and day-to-day implementation troubleshooting;
• Application of conceptual models in support of programme design;
• Financial and substantive monitoring and evaluation of the projects, identification of operational and financial problems, development of solutions. Participation in audit of National Implementation (NIM) projects;
• Preparation of inputs for reporting, including donor reporting;
• Quality assurance of progress reports prepared by projects.

Supports creation of strategic partnerships and implementation of the resource mobilization strategy focusing on achievement of the following results:

• Analysis and research of information on donors, preparation of substantive briefs on possible areas of cooperation within the field of specialization, identification of opportunities for initiation of new projects, active contribution to the overall office effort in resource mobilization.

Provides top quality advisory services to the Government and ensures facilitation of knowledge building and management focusing on achievement of the following results:

• Identification of sources of information related to policy-driven issues. Identification and synthesis of best practices and lessons learned directly linked to programme country policy goals within the area of specialization;
• Sound contributions to knowledge networks and communities of practice;
• Organization of training for the operations/ projects staff on programme issues;
• Professional growth through active learning.

Competencies

Functional Competencies:      

Advocacy/Advancing A Policy-Oriented Agenda:
Preparing information for advocacy

• Identifies and communicates relevant information for a variety of audiences for advocating UNDP’s mandate.

Results-Based Programme Development and Management:
Contributes into results through primary research and analysis

• Assesses project performance to identify success factors and incorporates best practices into project work;
• Researches linkages across programme activities to identify critical points of integration;
• Monitors specific stages of projects/programme implementation.

Building Strategic Partnerships: 
Maintaining a network of contacts

• Maintains an established network of contacts for general information sharing and to remain up-to-date on partnership related issues;
• Analyzes and selects materials for strengthening strategic alliances with partners and stakeholders.

Innovation and Marketing New Approaches:
Enhancing processes or products

• Generates new ideas and proposes new, more effective ways of doing things.

Resource Mobilization (Field Duty Stations):
Providing inputs to resource mobilization strategies

•  Analyzes information/databases on potential and actual donors.

Promoting Organizational Learning and Knowledge Sharing:
Basic research and analysis

• Generates new ideas and approaches, researches best practices and proposes new, more effective ways of doing things.

Job Knowledge/Technical Expertise:
Fundamental knowledge of own discipline

• Understands and applies fundamental concepts and principles of a professional discipline or technical specialty relating to the position;
•  Possesses basic knowledge of organizational policies and procedures relating to the position and applies them consistently in work tasks;
• Strives to keep job knowledge up-to-date through self-directed study and other means of learning;
• Demonstrates good knowledge of information technology and applies it in work assignments.

Global Leadership and Advocacy for UNDP’s Goals:
Preparing information for global advocacy

• Identifies and communicates relevant information for advocacy for UNDP’s goals for a variety of audiences.

Client Orientation:
Establishing effective client relationships

• Researches potential solutions to internal and external client needs and reports back in a timely, succinct and appropriate fashion;
• Organizes and prioritizes work schedule to meet client needs and deadlines.

Core Competencies:

• Demonstrating/safeguarding ethics and integrity;
  
• Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment;
• Self-development, initiative-taking;
• Acting as a team player and facilitating team work;
• Facilitating and encouraging open communication in the team, communicating effectively;
• Creating synergies through self-control;
• Managing conflict;
• Learning and sharing knowledge and encourage the learning of others. Promoting learning and knowledge management/sharing is the responsibility of each staff member;
• Informed and transparent decision making.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:   

• Master’s Degree or equivalent in Business Administration, Development Studies, Political Sciences, Law;  Social Sciences or related field;
• Prince2 training and certification and UNDP Project Management course are required (to be completed during 1st year)

Experience:

• Experience at the national or international level in providing management advisory services and hands-on experience in design, monitoring and evaluation of development projects;
• Additional years of experience constitute a strong advantage;
• Experience in partnerships building and advocacy are desired;
• Proficiency in the usage of office software packages and in handling of web based management systems is essential.

Language:

• Fluency in Arabic and English is a must.