UNDP Jobs - 50053- Programme Manager (Parliament, CSO & HR), UNDP Ira

Programme Manager (Parliament, CSO & HR), UNDP Iraq

Location :

Baghdad, IRAQ

Type of Contract :

FTA International

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

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

Post Level :

P-5

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 Iraqi Council of Representatives (CoR) is the highest lawmaking organ of the country. In addition to its core legislative function of lawmaking, representation and oversight, the CoR is empowered by the Constitution to appoint and dismiss the president of the Republic, the Prime Minister and Ministers. It has the powers to aggregate citizens’ opinion and inputs into draft legislations; approve budget estimates and exercise oversight of executive branch agencies on issues of public interest and in the interest of transparency and accountability.

Despite its enormous constitutional role as the immediate representatives of the people, the Iraqi parliament remains a young institution (the third parliamentary term commenced in July 2014), and often perceived as weak and less effective in comparison to its executive counterpart. The parliament only commenced its fourth term in July 2014 since the introduction of the 2005 democratic constitution. This view perception could further be reinforced going by the high turn-over of members resulting from the outcome of the April election. The parliament is currently made up of a high number of newly elected members who have little experience and understanding of parliamentary processes and procedures.

UNDP Iraq has been supporting and advising key national and sub-national Iraqi institutions, namely the COR, Human Rights Institutions and civil society; strengthening their capacities, building knowledge, advising on structures and mechanisms and exposure to international best practices. Participatory and accountable governance at this moment in time in Iraq is seen as absolutely crucial for inclusiveness, wider political and social representation as well for democracy, peace and protection of human rights.

In light of the above, UNDP-Iraq intends to recruit a Programme Manager for Parliament, CSO and Human Rights, who will report to the Portfolio Manager, Enhancing Accountability, Responsiveness and Participation, to provide management support and coordination across all the projects of the related thematic sector. The Programme Manager will provide high level technical input into these Iraqi national processes and will oversee the strategic development of the UNDP portfolio and programme ensuring delivery of results as planned in the strategic and accountability framework, applying excellent diplomatic skills to engage with very senior government officials within a very complex and volatile political environment.

Duties and Responsibilities

Policy Advisory and Specialized Technical Support:

Provide policy, technical and managerial advice to the Government of Iraq including inter alia COR, Council of Ministries, Human Rights Commission, KRG counterparts and other relevant Government institutions with focus on establishment of policies, laws, frameworks and mechanisms and strengthening the capacity and policy for efficient, accountable and consultative decision making;
Advise, support, guide and provide inputs to assure quality control in the formulation of relevant, high quality, results-based and rights-based country programme and its projects;
Provide strategic and specialized technical advice to the senior management on the development of systems, processes and mechanisms to support effective programme planning, implementation, monitoring and timely progress reporting;
Develop, review and evaluate proposals and oversee the preparation of donor proposals and reports to ensure quality, compliance with requirements as per established rules and regulations;
Prepare policy document, briefs and other strategic papers/materials for the use in the development and presentation of a coherent perspective to help define strategies and plans of action for implementation.

The Programme Management, Monitoring and Oversight:

Provide substantive and managerial leadership of UNDP’s Participatory and Accountable Governance Programme. Manage programme and project teams (project advisors, technical staff, project specialists, and support staff);
Lead, coordinate and build/sustain partnerships with participating UNCT members, for the enhancement of technical strength and programmatic synergies of the programme;
Lead the annual process of gathering information and preparing reports on progress of the project implementation, assessing results and identifying areas for action and/or decision to ensure achievement of results as planned and in accordance with goals and objectives and accountability framework;
Manage the allocation of funds and monitor and ensure the appropriate utilization of resources;
Lead in preparing project proposals including strategies to build partnerships and mobilize resources;
Develop a resource mobilization plan for the programme;
Develop a plan for the overall monitoring and evaluation of the programme and reporting on progress;
Sustainable and solid relationships developed with counterparts, resulting in enhanced reputation and credibility of UNDP.

Advocacy and support to UN coordination, joint programming and reform:

Provide technical expertise and coordinate with other programme and project managers to ensure complementarity/harmonization amongst the activities and plans;
Advise on ways to incorporate and apply HRB/ RBM/ MDGs approaches as well as addressing cross cutting themes (i.e. human rights, gender mainstreaming, inclusion of youth and people with disabilities) in all projects plans and programming exercises;
Lead in establishing and maintaining effective consultations with governments, partners, stakeholders and donors to achieve active collaboration, cooperation and alliances on project development and implementation, resource mobilization and sustained partnerships;
Represent UNDP when requested and as appropriate to consult, collaborate and/or interact on common issues and activities and participate in the UNDAF process to ensure the active participation of the project in these processes;
Coordinate and work with the other programme and project managers to ensure complementarity/harmonization amongst the activities and plans.

Knowledge management and capacity building:

Identify areas that may require improvement and capture best practices/lessons learned, using corporate monitoring tools and corporate reports. Take action to improve areas of weakness;
Ensure regular assessments of the strategic and implementation plans. Identify lessons learned and areas of emphasis to guide programme improvements and future strategic development plan;
Manage the process of collecting and sharing lessons learned to build knowledge and capacity of partners and stakeholders;
Design and implement capacity development and institutional building activities to enhance skills and knowledge in Results Based Management, results based budgeting and systematic quality assurance;
Contribute to the development and maintenance of the programme knowledge networks and practices, and development of knowledge products.

Competencies

Core Competencies:

Promoting ethics and integrity, creating organizational precedents;
Building support and political acumen;
Building staff competence, creating an environment of creativity and innovation;
Building and promoting effective teams;
Creating and promoting enabling environment for open communication;
Creating an emotionally intelligent organization;
Leveraging conflict in the interests of UNDP & setting standards;
Sharing knowledge across the organization and building a culture of knowledge sharing and learning;
Fair and transparent decision making; calculated risk-taking.

Functional Competencies:

Advocacy/Advancing A Policy-Oriented Agenda:

Builds consensus concerning UNDP’s strategic agenda with partners on joint initiatives;
Dialogues with national counterparts and other stakeholders to strengthen advocacy efforts, incorporating country, regional and global perspectives.

Results-Based Programme Development and Management:

Identifies country needs and strategies using a fact-based approach;
Makes use of a variety of resources within UNDP to achieve results, such as cross-functional teams, secondments and developmental assignments, and collaborative funding approaches;
Ensures the full implementation of country programme and Financial Resources to obtain results.

Building Strategic Partnerships:

Makes effective use of UNDP’s resources and comparative advantage to strengthen partnerships;
Creates networks and promotes initiatives with partner organizations.

Innovation and Marketing New Approaches:

Creates an environment that fosters innovation and innovative thinking;
Conceptualizes more effective approaches to programme development and implementation and to mobilizing and using resources

Resource Mobilization:

Contributes to the development of resource mobilization strategies at CO level;
Actively develops partnerships with potential donors and government counterparts in all sectors at country level;
Strengthens the capacity of the country office to mobilize resources.

Promoting Organizational Learning and Knowledge Sharing:

Promotes UNDP as a learning/knowledge sharing organization

Job Knowledge/Technical Expertise:

Possesses expert knowledge of advanced concepts in primary discipline, a broad knowledge of related disciplines, as well as an in-depth knowledge of relevant organizational policies and procedures;
For managers: applies a broad knowledge of best management practices; defines objectives and work flows, positions reporting relationships in such a way as to obtain optimum effectiveness for the unit/branch;
Keeps abreast of new developments in area of professional discipline and job knowledge and seeks to develop him/herself personally;
Demonstrates comprehensive knowledge of information technology and applies it in work assignments;
Demonstrates expert knowledge of the current programme guidelines and project management tools and manages the use of these regularly in work assignments.

Global Leadership and Advocacy for UNDP’s Goals:

Advocates for increased priority given to human development issues internationally and in national planning frameworks;
Advocates for increased resources at international and national level.

Client Orientation:

Anticipates constraints in the delivery of services and identifies solutions or alternatives;
Proactively identifies, develops and discusses solutions for internal and external clients, and persuades management to undertake new projects or services;
Advises and develops strategic and operational solutions with clients that add value to UNDP programmes and operations.

Technical skills required:

Functionally-related professional management skills;
Ability to plan and prioritise work activities to meet organizational goals and organize and oversee work processes efficiently to achieve quality results;
Knowledge of strategic planning processes, programming;
Knowledge of fund raising, project and programme drafting.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master Degree in International Relations, Law and Human Rights, social science and any other related fields.

Experience:

Minimum 10 years of development experience that combines intellectual, strategic and managerial leadership in development programmes and projects;
Extensive working experience in Governance, Support to Civil Society, Rule of Law and Human Rights and/or Gender;
Proven ability to direct multi-disciplinary teams in a multilateral work environment;
Track record with of successful programme management preferably within the UN, WB or international donor community;
Experience with and knowledge of UNDP policies and procedures;
Experience with UN or international organization working in post-conflict country, especially Iraq would be an advantage;
Experience from previous UN assignments and/or multilateral organizations and bi-lateral aid organizations would be an asset;
Knowledge of Prince2 or other Results Based Management methodologies would be an asset;
Knowledge of ATLAS and PeopleSoft would be an asset.

.Language Requirements:

Fluency in the English both written and oral;
Arabic language skills are considered essential.

Note:

Female candidates are encouraged to apply;
Willingness to undertake regular field visits to participating Governorates and interact with different stakeholders in Iraq is a must.