Background

The Millennium Declaration and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) provide the basis for the UN’s strategic positioning and support to national development plans. Drawing on best practices from a global perspective, the UN formulates and coordinates innovative approaches to development that are suited to the unique political, economic and social context of Papua New Guinea (PNG).

PNG’s MDG Progress Report (2010) reveals that the country achieved some of the country-tailored targets set in the Medium Term Development Strategy 2005-2010, particularly on MDG 1 (poverty reduction) and MDG 4 (child mortality), but did not achieve any of the internationally agreed MDG targets. It is unlikely that PNG will meet any of the MDGs by end 2015.

The UN system in Papua New Guinea supports national development and humanitarian operations in the country through the activities of 14 UN agencies represented on the ground.

Delivering as One in Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea became a UN Delivering as One (DaO) self-starter country in 2007, with the design of the One Programme and (UNDAF) Action Plan. Since then, the UN Country Team (UNCT) has proceeded with an advanced reform programme aimed at reducing duplication, fragmentation and transaction costs of the programming efforts of the UN, while enhancing transparency and accountability of UN interventions in the country. The overall aim of the DaO model is to provide development assistance in a more coordinated manner, in order to increase the UN system’s impact through more coherent programmes.

With the full support and encouragement of the Government of Papua New Guinea (GoPNG), the UNCT have put in place a Joint UN Country Strategy based on five pillars:

  • One Country Programme;
  • One Fund;
  • Communicating as One;
  • Operating as One;
  • One House.

The UN Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) 2012-2015, Action Plan and Results Matrix constitute the overarching programming and operational framework for all UN agencies. The current UNDAF 2012-2015 is the second joint programme where the UN in PNG coordinates human and financial resources under the DaO framework.

The UNDAF is aligned to government frameworks and national priorities, namely Vision 2050, the Development Strategic Plan 2010-2030 and Medium Term Development Plan 2011-2015. In 2014, the GoPNG launched an addendum to the PNG Development Strategic Plan 2010-2030. In line with this, the government is extending the current 2011-2015 Medium Term Development Plan by two years to 2017 to take into account changes to the 2010-2030 Development Strategic Plan. In the spirit of DaO, to fully support the achievement of PNG’s national priorities and goals, the UN system is in the process of aligning the current UNDAF 2012-2015 and Action Plan to the revised time-frame. Development of a new UNDAF 2018-2021 will commence in quarter 4 of 2016.

The current UNDAF 2012-2015 comprises four cluster outcomes. Under these clusters there are ten outcomes, with a task team dedicated to each outcome (one outcome has two task teams, making eleven Task Teams in total). The Task Teams are multi-agency, ensuring programmes are jointly designed and implemented.

One Fund

The functioning of the PNG UN Country Fund – the ‘One Fund’ - represents positive progress on the harmonization of resource mobilization efforts across the UN in PNG. The ‘One Fund’ allows the UN in PNG to move towards a single financing method for development.

The governance arrangements of the PNG UN Country Fund ensure national ownership and alignment with national priorities through the Government of Papua New Guinea’s co-chairing of the UN Programme Steering Committee. The management responsibilities are divided between the Resident Coordinator, the Government of PNG - UN Programme Steering Committee and the UN Country Team.

The Resident Coordinator is responsible for the strategic leadership of the PNG Country Fund. This involves:

  • engaging in joint resource mobilisation for the PNG UN Country Fund;
  • ensuring the allocation process is documented;
  • ensuring consolidated PNG Country Fund level reporting in collaboration with the administrative agent and based on submissions received from participating UN organizations.

The Government of PNG - UN Programme Steering Committee is responsible for:

  • monitoring the overall results of the UNDAF;
  • outlining programmatic priorities;
  • allocating resources at the inter-agency outcome level.

The UNCT is responsible for:

  • monitoring the overall delivery of joint UN country strategy results;
  • meditation of disputes in case of disagreements on allocations, utilization or management of the PNG UN Country Fund;
  • outlining programmatic priorities;
  • allocating resources at the inter-agency outcome level.

Under the Delivering as One framework, the Resident Coordinator’s Office (RCO), under the leadership of the Resident Coordinator (RC), provides high-quality coordination, facilitation, monitoring and evaluation, and reporting services to the RC, the UNCT, and donors.

The RCO supports the UNCT and the Task Teams on a wide array of inter-agency activities in line with development agendas, priorities and frameworks.

The RCO covers several functional areas, including:

  • Strategic analysis and planning;
  • Management of the UN country programming cycle;
  • Management of UN joint programmes;
  • Representation of and support of UN secretariat and UN agencies;
  • Support to national coordination systems and processes.

Under these functional areas, key activities and responsibilities include:

  • Oversight of thematic working groups;
  • Monitoring, reporting and evaluation;
  • Ensuring mainstreaming of cross-cutting issues;
  • Engagement with national aid management structures; supporting coordination requirements at national, sub-national or sectoral levels.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of the Coordination Specialist, with guidance provided by the M&E and Statistics Specialist, the Coordination Analyst manages data and facilitates UN activities implementation. The Coordination Analyst works in close collaboration with the operations, programme and project teams of the UN agencies to resolve complex UN programme-related issues and information delivery.

The Coordination Analyst reinforces capacity of the UN Country Team to use the UNDAF in a flexible and effective manner, to support national strategies, to develop and implement joint programmes, to monitor progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Global Conferences.

Key functions include:

  • Provides support to Task Teams to ensure they meet the reporting, monitoring and evaluation requirements and deadlines;
  • Provides support to the implementation of the resource mobilization strategy by maintaining a database of donor information. This includes recording information on donor contributions in a timely, organized and accessible manner. Analyses information in support of partnership-building initiatives;
  • Monitors Task Team activity progress and reports to RCO, UNCT and RC on programme implementation, including delivery rates. Identifies opportunities for strengthening Task Team cooperation and programme delivery.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

  • Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UN’s values and ethical standards (including honesty, impartiality, objectivity and integrity);
  • Advocates and promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UN (including high level commitment to deliver results and quality work);
  • Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
  • Treats all people fairly without favouritism.

Functional Competencies:

  • Shares relevant knowledge and experience from within and outside the UN Country Team;
  • Encourages UN staff to share knowledge; commitment to learning management;
  • Develops deep understanding of and commitment to UNDAF, UN System reform and MDGs/SDGs.

Coordination Effectiveness:

  • Experience of building and sustaining effective partnerships with UN Agencies, government and main partners through advocating effectively, and communicating sensitively across different constituencies.

Management and Leadership

  • Focuses on delivering impact and results;
  • Establishes priorities; schedules activities to ensure optimum use of time and resources; monitors performance against development and other objectives and corrects deviations from the course;
  • Evaluates information accurately and identifies key issues required to resolve problems;
  • Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
  • Demonstrates excellent oral and written communication skills;
  • Builds strong relationships with UN staff, clients and external actors;
  • Manages conflict and stress, remaining composed;
  • Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexity;
  • Responds positively to critical feedback and differing points of view;
  • Solicits feedback from staff about the impact of his/her own behaviour with a view to constant improvement.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

  • Master’s Degree or equivalent in Economics, Social Sciences, International Relations, Political Sciences, Statistics, Demography or related field.

Experience:

  •  2 years of relevant hands-on experience in monitoring and evaluation of development projects and Results-based Management.
  • Experience with the UN System, UN Programming and UN coordination structure would be an advantage.
  • Experience in the usage of computers and office software package is essential.

Language Requirements:

  • Fluency in English and a national language of the duty station.