UNDP Jobs - 49314- Learning Centre Officer

Learning Centre Officer

Location :

Naypyitaw, MYANMAR

Type of Contract :

Service Contract

Starting Date :

01-Oct-2014

Application Deadline :

29-Oct-14 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

SC-9

Duration of Initial Contract :

One year

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 Constitution of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar (the Constitution) came into force in 2008. Chapter 4 of the Constitution establishes the Union Legislature or Pyidaungsu Hluttaw comprising two Hluttaws which are generally equal in status:

the Pyithu Hluttaw (People’s Assembly) formed with representatives elected on the basis of township as well as population and representatives being the Defence Services Personnel nominated by the Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Services. Section 109 provides that the Pyithu Hluttaw will have a maximum of 440 representatives with not more than 330 elected representatives and 110 nominated, as prescribed above;
the Amyotha Hluttaw (Nationalities Assembly) formed with representatives elected in equal numbers from Regions and States and representatives being the Defence Services Personnel nominated by the Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Services. Section 141 provides that the Amyotha Hluttaw will have a maximum of 224 representatives with 168 representatives elected in an equal number of 12 representatives from each Region or State inclusive of relevant Union territories and 1 representative from each Self-Administered Division or Self-Administered Zone and 56 nominated, as prescribed above.

The term of the Union Hluttaw is 5 years from the day of the first session of the Pyithu Hluttaw. The current term expires in late 2015.

The parliamentary support programme in Myanmar:

In April 2013 the UNDP Myanmar Country Action Plan (CPAP), 2013-15, was signed between the Government of Myanmar and UNDP. This CPAP presented a change in the way that UNDP worked in Myanmar from a restricted mandate with a focus on human development at the community level to a new programme with three pillars covering (i) Local Governance; (ii) Climate Change, Environment, Energy and Disaster Risk Reduction and (iii) Democratic Governance.

The Democratic Governance programme contains four areas of complementary work:

(a) Development Effectiveness;
(b) Parliamentary Strengthening;
(c) Access to justice); and
(d) Public Administration.

Together with the International Parliamentary Union (IPU), UNDP has engaged with the Union Parliament of Myanmar to identify areas where the capacities can be strengthened to enable the Parliament to effectively discharge its constitutional mandate. The parliamentary strengthening component was developed based on a series of assessment missions and discussions with senior political leaders and administration in both the Pyithu Hluttaw and the Amyotha Hluttaw. It covers capacity building for the Parliamentarians, the Parliamentary Administration as well as for the Regional/ State Parliaments.

The first year of programming under the new Country Programme sought a balance of immediate activity implementation and establishing solid foundations for longer term support. Immediate support activities were started at the beginning of 2013 to strengthen the relation with the Union Parliament and programme activities were implemented based on the request and consultation with the parliament. For the remaining time of the country programme the activities will support the parliament in strengthening its representative, oversight and legislative functions and responsibilities. Emphasis has been placed on strengthening the Parliamentary Administration and in particular the capacities of staff.

A plan for a learning centre to serve the needs of both MPs and staff to provide better services has been developed and will be implemented in coordination with the parliament. Likewise an ICT plan has been developed and implementation is already under way. Information management will be an important part of this activity. Research and library training is well under way and will continue. Preparation has also been made in regards to develop a strategic plan. There are also activities being implemented under a separate output of the programme for the sub-national parliaments with opportunities for linkages and coordination with several of the Union Parliament activities.

The parliamentary administration and the role of the learning centre

Offices (often referred to as Secretariats in other jurisdictions) with separate structures have been established in the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, Pyithu Hluttaw and the Amyotha Hluttaw [Hluttaw Office] under the direction of 3 Directors General to provide advisory and support services to the Speakers, Plenaries, Committees and Members.

The ongoing heavy demands on the Union Hluttaw place enormous pressure on the Hluttaw Office in relation to performing its functions efficiently and effectively. A consistent message that has been delivered from the Speaker, Chairs of Committees, Members and the Directors General and senior officers, is that despite having established the relevant structures the Parliament does not have sufficient experienced, skilled and knowledgeable human resources to meet the demands of the institution.

It is recognised that this places untenable demands on experienced senior and middle managers who are currently responsible for both managing and responding to the urgent requirements of the Union Hluttaw. It is also recognised that under these circumstances there is much current demand for important services by Members (such as, research, briefings, legal drafting advice, procedural support and access to information) that cannot be met at present.

In 2013, the Speakers and the Union Assembly leadership began planning and implementing a phased approach to increase staffing levels. At the time, there was approximately 500 staff, or in terms of support staff, about one staff for two members. The leadership’s goal is to match international standards with a ratio of four support staff per member, as soon as possible. The phased approach would see staffing levels increase by approximately 1000 staff in 2014 and by another 1000 in 2015. However, given that the Union Hluttaw has only three years of parliamentary tradition and institutional development, senior staff have become concerned that increasing staff numbers alone will not result in the service delivery improvements urgently required. Clearly staff development and training is going to remain an institutional priority in the short and medium term.

As a result the UNDP/IPU programme, with the support of the Parliament developed, a detailed proposal for the creation of a' Learning Centre' within the parliament which has been approved and implementation is underway. The Learning Centre will, in a systematic way, address the immediate and long term training needs and knowledge development of both MPs and the administration. It is critical that there is the necessary management and supporting capacity in place to plan and develop the Learning Centre and deliver high quality courses and teaching. The Learning Centre is proposed to provide services across the Union Hluttaw which will need coordination and collaborative planning.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Learning Centre Officer is responsible for UNDP/IPU activities related to the learning centre. He/she will advise on all matters pertaining to the Learning Centre to the Hluttaw and UNDP/IPU. The National Officer will support the Hluttaw managers who will be responsible for the Learning Centre (expected to be designated Deputy Director General) in developing the long term sustainability of the Centre by building the capacity of the Learning Centre managers and staff from the Hluttaw in managing the Learning Centre in the longer perspective. The position will support the Hluttaw manager in leading the Learning Centre operations by assisting in and transferring skills related to:

Management of the Parliamentary Learning Centre:

Implementation of the overall strategic vision of the Parliamentary Learning Centre;
Management of operations, outputs and outcomes of the three administrative units under the Learning Centre Administration (Administration; Teaching and Course Development, and Facilities Management);
Providing effective human resource management including staff training, learning and career development;
Participation in internal control mechanisms for adherence to UNDP rules and regulations in contracts, assets, procurement, recruitment, etc. as required;
Contribution to programme management processes and team cohesion to ensure success of implementation of the Parliamentary Support Project; and
Ensuring the effective application of Results Based Management tools, elaboration and implementation of coherent work plans, project and programme documents, and preparation of compelling proposals and achievement of results.

Design and Implementation:

Formulation and implementation of capacity development proposals approved by the Learning Centre Management Advisory Group and/or the MP Steering Committee;
Formulation of plans for approved proposals, including writing high-level business analysis requirements, detailed technical specifications, project implementation plans, budgeting and resources allocation plans;
Formulation of requests for information (RFIs) and request for proposal (RFPs) for the implementation of approved projects and the procurement of services and equipment from vendors and suppliers;
Maintaining knowledge and expertise of contemporary teaching and staff capacity development best practice and innovative approaches, including developments across the public sector, that develop solutions that meet organizational needs and strategic objectives;
Developing annual workplans for the Parliamentary Learning Centre;
Developing and implementation of the Learning Centre strategic plan for the Union Assembly and incorporating it into the Strategic Plan for the Union Hluttaw.

For UNDP/IPU activities the position will in particular be responsible for:
Monitoring and Evaluation

Analyzing and monitoring progress and advise on timely corrective actions for proper delivery;
Contributing to quarterly, mid-year and annual reporting; and
Contributing to the identification of risks and issues.

Reporting:

Oversee partner reporting and where necessary help them to improve in line with UNDP and project reporting standards;
Provide timely inputs to donor reports on implementation, the achievement of outputs as well as contribute to reporting on progress towards outcomes and impact; and
Participation in Output Board.

Budgeting and Financial Management:

Responsible for developing budgets for Learning Centre activities under the Parliamentary Strengthening component.

Partnerships and Learning:

Designing and coordinating support from national and international capacity development agencies;
Developing and implementing proposals to support links/access between the Hluttaw and the state and regional parliaments and other outreach proposals;
Strategically linking and coordinating the work of the Learning Centre across all other programme areas including ICT; and
In conjunction with Strategic and Technical Advisor, prepares and quality controls knowledge products.

Impact of Results:

Achievement of the above key results will contribute to the successful implementation of the country programme, particularly the Parliamentary Support Project under Democratic Governance programme.

Competencies

Functional Competencies:

Job Knowledge/Technical Expertise:

Understands general principles of primary area of specialization (Parliamentary Strengthening) as well as the fundamental concepts of related disciplines (Elections, Political Party Strengthening; Political Economy Analysis) ;
Keeps abreast of new developments in area of professional discipline and job knowledge and seeks to develop him/herself professionally;
Demonstrates basic knowledge of information technology and applies it in work assignments; and
Demonstrates comprehensive understanding and knowledge of the current guidelines and project management tools and utilizes these regularly in work assignments.

Results-Based Programme Development and Management:

Assesses parliamentary support programme 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 programme implementation;
Analyzes country situation to identify opportunities for programme development;
Participates in the formulation of proposals and ensures substantive rigor in the design and application of proven successful approaches and drafts proposals accordingly.

Advancing A Policy-Oriented Agenda-Operating information for policy input:

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

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.

Client Orientation:

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;
Facilitating and encouraging open communication in the team, communicating effectively;
Learning and sharing knowledge and encourage the learning of others. Promoting learning and knowledge management/sharing is the responsibility of each staff member.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

A Bachelor or Master in Education, Business or Public Administration/ Management, a relevant Social Science or a related discipline.

Experience:

Candidates with Bachelor degree requires 4 years while candidates with Master degree will require 2 years of relevant working experience in a field such as education or an institute or body providing capacity development and training;
Relevant working experience in a field such as education or an institute or body providing capacity development and training;
Proven project cycle management experience with sound knowledge and experience in all aspects of project cycle (design, implementation, monitoring & evaluation);
Proven experience of reporting;
Ability to work well in multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural teams.

Language:

Fluency in Myanmar and English is essential.

Note:

“Candidates must apply on-line through UNDP job website together with duly filled and signed UN-P11 form, academic qualification certificates. Applications without these document will not be considered. P11 form can be downloaded here:
http://sas.undp.org/documents/P11_Personal_history_form.docx”