Background

UNDP Afghanistan Mission statement

UNDP supports stabilization, state building, governance and development priorities in Afghanistan. UNDP support, in partnership with the Government, the United Nations system, the donor community and other development stakeholders, has contributed to institutional development efforts leading to positive impact on the lives of Afghan citizens. Over the years UNDP support has spanned such milestone efforts as the adoption of the Constitution; Presidential, Parliamentary and Provincial Council elections; institutional development through capacity-building to the legislative, the judicial and executive arms of the state, and key ministries, Government agencies and commissions at the national and subnational levels. UNDP has played a key role in the management of the Law and Order Trust Fund, which supports the Government in developing and maintaining the national police force and in efforts to stabilize the internal security environment. Major demobilization, disarmament and rehabilitation and area-based livelihoods and reconstruction programmes have taken place nationwide. UNDP Programmes in Afghanistan have benefited from the very active support of donors. UNDP Afghanistan is committed to the highest standards of transparency and accountability and works in close coordination with the United Nations Mission in Afghanistan and the UN system as a whole to maximize the impact of its development efforts on the ground.

Organizational Context

UNDP supports stabilization, state building, governance and development priorities in many countries and jurisdictions, including the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.

In partnership with the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GoIRA), the United Nations System, the donor community and other development stakeholders, UNDP has contributed to institutional development efforts that positively impact on the lives of Afghan citizens. Over the years, UNDP support has spanned milestone efforts such as the adoption of the Afghan Constitution; Presidential, Parliamentary and Provincial Council elections; institutional development through capacity-building to the legislative, the judicial and executive branches of the GoIRA, and key Government ministries, agencies and commissions at the national and sub-national levels. UNDP Afghanistan, benefitting from the very active support of donors, is committed to the highest standards of transparency and accountability and works in close coordination with the United Nations Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and the UN System as a whole to maximize the impact of its development efforts.

Years of conflict have damaged Afghanistan’s economic, political, physical, social and institutional structures. Reconstruction demands a secure environment in which there is credible leadership and enforced Rule of Law. Strong, legitimate and effective public administration structures, responsive to the needs of ordinary citizens - especially the poor and the marginalized – are precursors to any sustainable development. To this end, UNDP Afghanistan supports the Office of the Presidency of Afghanistan so that it can effectively discharge its core functions and provide effective and efficient support to the Presidency.

Since 2004, UNDP has been providing support to the Office of the President in Afghanistan which includes four distinct but interconnected offices, namely the office of the Chief of Staff to the President, the Office of the Chiefs of Staff to the two Vice-Presidents and Office of Administrative Affairs. UNDP’s assistance has mainly focused on strengthening institutional capacity of the abovementioned office to more effectively and efficiently discharge their functions.

The “Strengthening of the National Policy Planning and Management Capacity” (SNPPMC) is built on the lessons learned and results of the previous projects with shifting its focus on strengthening the processes and procedures for more effective policy/decision making in the centre of the government. 

The (SNPPMC) is a follow up of the National State Governance Project (NSGP) implemented by UNDP from (2010-2014) with a distinct focus on improving national policy and decision making at the centre of government. The project will seek to strengthen institutional capacity of the central government offices for development of a system for effective policy planning, development coordination and management. It will work with the Office of Administrative Affairs and Council of Ministers Secretariat and the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President and Vice-Presidents, over a period of two and half years to provide policy advice, technical support for institutional capacity development and enhancing coordination among various offices involved in supporting the national policy and decision making.

Note: UNDP Afghanistan reserves the right to select one or more candidates from this vacancy announcement.  We may also retain applications and consider candidates applying to this post for other similar positions with UNDP Afghanistan at the same grade level and with similar job description, experience and education requirements.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Technical Specialist (Policy and Planning) will act as the lead advisor of the SNPPMC, providing technical and procedural assistance for all strategic decisions and activities of the Project. This would involve sharing of international comparative experiences as well as substantive expertise, study of the national development context and existing policy decisions, and coordination and consultation with all relevant stakeholders.

Against this background, the Technical Specialist (Policy and Planning) will focus on the following key functions and expected results:

Summary of key functions:

• Strategic and Policy Advice;
• Support to Project Design and Implementation;
• Knowledge Building and Sharing;
• Management of project staff;
• Partnership development and resource mobilization.

Strategic and Policy Advice:

• Act as the key senior policy advisor to the Project Counterparts which includes the Office of Administrative Affairs (OAA), the Chief of Staff Office to the President and the two Vice-President Offices;
• Provide intellectual leadership by delivering constitutional, political, institutional and policy advice on all aspects of policy planning and management , and by guiding the development and implementation of Project strategies and implementation modalities;
• Establish links between national development goals, UNDP priorities and existing policy statements of the GoIRA and the international community;
• Ensure the incorporation of best practices and lessons learned on policy planning and management and management affairs of central government offices worldwide;
• Through ongoing analysis of the political, social, security and economic contexts, ensure that the Project's support to centre of government offices in Afghanistan remains at all times relevant and timely;
• Maintain a sound understanding of government and political processes in Afghanistan.

Support to Project Design and Implementation:

• Ensure that the Project’s activities are designed and implemented according to best practices and are in line with the Annual Work Plans;
• Ensure that systems are in place for monitoring and evaluating the Project's delivery of agreed results, and assist in the formulation and updating of the indicators that measure quantitative and qualitative outputs and outcomes of the Project;
• Conceptualize, plan, participate and coordinate periodic reviews and assessment of overall Project or specific components;
• Where applicable, identify specialized additional technical expertise to strengthen the processes for policy formulation and implementation
• Provide advice and recommendations on how UNDP and other agencies under the UN System can further strengthen and cooperate with the Project;
• Advise the members of the Project Team in the preparation of the Project activities and budgets;
• Monitor the achievements of the capacity development initiatives and ensure follow-up support;
• Provide substantive reports and updates to the UNDP management, government counterparts;
• Prepare periodic project reports and present project progress reports to the Project Management Board;
• Ensure all project activities are implemented based on UNDP’s rules and policies.

Knowledge Building and Sharing:

• Lead the process of knowledge creation and dissemination of national and international know-how in the area of policy formulation and management of center of government; 
• Provide substantial input to the Project's handbooks and information materials;
• Provide quality assurance on the knowledge products of the Project, in terms of quality of the content, the process and the usage of the knowledge products, and serve as peer reviewer of the main publications;
• Identify knowledge gaps among target groups and design measures to address such gaps;
• Actively support the sharing of Project results and products, lessons learned and good practices with other UNDP and UN projects, ministries and agencies of the GoIRA, donors, and etcetera.

Management of project staff:

• Provide management of, and direct guidance to, national and international technical staff working with the Project, including national and international technical advisers and national and international consultants. This will include consultations to ensure the technical staff are addressing technical requirements for the effective and efficient delivery of outcomes and activities;
• Enable and support professional development opportunities for Project staff employed in  the SNPPMC;
• Contribute to all activities of the Project, as appropriate;
• Oversee and provide quality assurance to regular project and activity reporting.

Partnership development and resource mobilization:

• Consider the most effective and time-efficient way of liaison and coordination with donors, CSOs and other relevant stakeholders;
• Network and build credible relations with donor partners, embassies and government interlocutors;
• Prepare proposals for mobilization of human, technical and financial resources from international development organizations, non-governmental organizations and the private sector; and
• Assist the UNDP Country Office in mobilizing resources to support the achievement of Project outputs and outcomes.

Impact of result:

• Ensure the timely and effective delivery of the Project in accordance with the Project Document;
• Ensure that the Project resources are utilized in full compliance with UNDP's rules and regulations and in accordance with the instructions of the Project Management Board;
• Ensure that the UNDP has a wide network of interlocutors within the GoIRA and the international community in support of the Project and its activities.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

• Demonstrates commitment to UNDP’s mission, vision and value;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability; 
• Project management or programme experience at a senior level with UNDP, UN or other development agencies;
• Treats all people fairly without favouritism; and
• Fulfills all obligations to gender sensitivity and zero tolerance for sexual harassment.

Functional Competencies:

• Knowledge and expertise in supporting the centre of government offices on  strengthening and democratic governance;
• Ability to review and evaluate the key organizational components, mechanisms and processes for policy formulation, implementation and monitoring;
• Ability to analyze work methods, work flows, etcetera, in order to rationalize them for improved efficiency;
• Ability to advocate and provide policy advice;
• Excellent negotiation and representational skills at senior level;
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, ability to foster networks and partnerships, and good working knowledge of information and computer technology;
• Displays analytical judgment and demonstrated ability to handle confidential and politically sensitive issues in a responsible and mature manner;
• Demonstrates strong intellectual and operational capacity in providing and coordinating advisory services to stakeholders; and
• Ability to assist in the formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of programs.

Communications and Networking skills:

• Excellent oral communication skills and conflict resolution competency to manage inter-group dynamics and mediate conflicting interests of varied actors;
• Excellent written communication skills, with analytical capacity and ability to synthesize project outputs and relevant findings for the preparation of quality project reports;
• Maturity and confidence in dealing with senior and high-ranking members of national and international institutions, parliament, government and non-government;
• Excellent inter-personal skills and the ability to work in a multi-cultural, multinational, multi-stakeholder setting,  and a demonstrable ability to motivate people and work in a team setting; and
• Substantial level of self-organization, being methodical, sets priorities and pays attention to details.

Management and leadership:

• Proven supervisory skill, results-based management and reporting;
• Excellent leadership skills and sound ‘hands-on’ management of staff;
• Focuses on impact and result for the centre of government offices as beneficiary;
• Ability to analyze work methods, work flows, etcetera, in order to rationalize them for improved efficiency;
• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
• Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities;
• Results driven, ability to work under pressure and to meet required deadlines;
• Good understanding and actual practice of capacity development of institutions;
• Prince2 Training and certification would be an asset.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Master’s degree in public policy, political science, law, public administration, institutional/organizational development, or related field.

Experience:

• At least seven (7) years  of work experience in the area of democratic governance,  and preferably within a mature democratic system;
• providing advisory services to senior interlocutors or institutional clients, preferably in a center of government offices;
• experience working in developing or post-conflict countries;
• Experience in the development of a model manual of policies and procedures for a government institutions, preferably in a parliament;
• Good understanding of national government processes in relation to a parliamentary institution;
• Exposure to politically tense settings;
• Excellent computer skills, with MS Office (Word, Excel, Power Point); and
• In-depth knowledge and experience with project monitoring and evaluation in a development context.

In addition, the following professional experiences are considered as strong advantage/asset:

• Familiarity with Afghanistan and its political, social and economic context;
• Successful working experience in Afghanistan or other Islamic countries;
• Familiarity with, and actual use of, work and system of policy planning and management.

Languages:

• Excellent command of written and spoken English;
• Some knowledge of Dari/Pashto would be beneficial.

Interested and qualified International candidates should apply on-line through the UNDP Jobs site at http://www.af.undp.org/content/afghanistan/en/home/operations/jobs/   and please ensure that to fill up and upload Personal History Form-P.11 which is available at http://www.af.undp.org/content/afghanistan/en/home/operations/jobs/    in the relevant field of the on-line application

Incomplete applications or applications received after the closing date will not be given consideration. Please note that only applicants who are short-listed will be contacted.

For more detailed information about UNDP Afghanistan please visit our website at www.undp.org.af  

Successful candidates must be prepared to start work within 6 weeks of the offer of appointment.

Qualified female candidates are highly encouraged to apply.