Background
Under the overall guidance and direct supervision of the Country Programme Advisor, the Country Associate performs functions that support the Country Operations Support team of the Regional Hub. The Country Associate promotes a client-oriented approach consistent with UNDP rules and regulations. S/He works in close collaboration with other central units at HQ, the Regional Bureau and the Regional Hub in Istanbul for resolving complex proqramme-related issues and information delivery.
Duties and Responsibilities
Summary of Key Functions:
- Provides support to the team’s proactive and targeted representation & coordination function
- Ensures CO portfolio management support, including crisis
- Provides support to CO planning, evaluation, monitoring and reporting activities
- Provides programme and administrative support to the Country Operations Support Team and Regional Hub Directorate
- Provides support in creation of strategic partnerships and implementation of resource mobilization strategy and facilitation of knowledge building and knowledge sharing
1. Provides support to the team’s proactive and targeted representation and coordination function
- Support in conduct of desk research, tracking emerging and evolving crisis and complex development situations, compiling information for UNDP programming;
- Support in the preparation of briefing notes on all CO, sub-regional and regional aspects, particularly ahead of crisis coordination meetings. Helps in the preparatory activities and Support in the preparation of minutes from the meetings and follow-up on action points with all relevant stakeholders
- Helps collect required information and inputs into internal briefings, position options and corporate internal papers
2. Provides support to targeted and aligned CO portfolio management, including crisis
- Support to improved alignment of CO programmes with corporate and regional priorities, offering by compiling information from other country programmes, evaluations, performance analytics, and other available sources of lessons learned
- Support in providing monitoring data on country programme and project performance to inform RBx management decision in preparing for or responding to crisis situations and for inputs to briefing notes on country-level crisis with up to date information for HQ meetings;
- Assistance to the follow up on performance indicators/success criteria, targets and milestones, preparation of reports.
- Programmatic and operational support to the team during the preparation and implementation of programme cycles
- Assistance in financial monitoring of country office core and non-core resources, developing and updating databases and producing reports on the current and projected financial status and liaising with the respective HQ units as necessary
- Supports the country offices on finance, programming and other issues by providing recommendations, information, and follow-up support
- Liaison with the COs and other HQ Units and assistance in the preparation of analysis reports on aggregate databases on ROARs, CPAP/AWP, GLOC status and host country contributions, cost recovery, programme advance authorizations, and administrative issues for the division
3. Provides support to CO planning, evaluation, monitoring and reporting activities
- Support to the Country Operations Support team in its CO programming function
- Assistance in sharing the Bureau’s newly developed policies and priorities with the CO leadership, disseminating corporate analysis on sub-regional trends, and providing first level of oversight of compliance with corporate programme management standards.
- In close coordination with the Planning and Operations Team, helps ensure monitoring of CO operational, financial performance and efficiency, and timely implementation of audit recommendations, identifying issues and/or delays and escalating concerns to Country Advisor
- Assistance in consolidating all CO managerial performance information to facilitate effective and efficient corporate oversight functions.
4. Provides programme and administrative support to the Country Operations Support Team and Regional Hub Directorate
- Assistance in research and preparation of thematic reports, meeting briefs, and financial data on countries of the region for the analysis and reporting requirements of the Country Operations Support Team and Regional Hub Directorate
- Maintains and disseminates information on corporate programme and operational policies and procedures
- Supports team’s activities, at the programmatic, operational and logistical level in organizing conferences on behalf of the Country Operations Support Team.
- Maintaining contacts with other UNDP/UN HQ units, other UN Agencies, government offices, and donors about country programmes and activities, cost-sharing, trust funds, and reporting, to assist in fulfilling the "one-stop-shop" function of the division
- Compilation and dissemination of country office publications and reports and maintaining and disseminating a record of country office publishing plans and achievements
- Provides support for visits to country offices by Regional Hub Directorate and Country Operations Support Team staff
- Serves as back-up for the other support staff in the Regional Hub when they are out of office on leave
- Proper control of the supporting documents for payments, review of NEX projects Financial Reports.
- Maintenance of the internal expenditures control system which ensures that vouchers processed are matched and completed, transactions are correctly recorded and posted in Atlas
- Timely corrective actions on unposted vouchers, including the vouchers with budget check errors, match exceptions, unapproved vouchers.
5. Provides support in creation of strategic partnerships and implementation of resource mobilization strategy and facilitation of knowledge building and knowledge sharing
- Collection and assistance in analysis of information on donors, preparation of donor’s profile and database, establishment of contacts with donor counterparts.
- Tracking and reporting on mobilized resources.
- Organization of trainings for the operations/projects staff on programme.
- Synthesis of lessons learnt and best practices in programme
- Sound contributions to knowledge networks and communities of practice.
Competencies
Functional Competencies:
Advocacy/Advancing A Policy-Oriented Agenda
- Identifies relevant information for advocacy for a variety of audiences
- Makes research of contacts in the media, government, private sector, donors, other agencies, civil society in other stakeholders for UNDP’s advocacy efforts
Results-Based Programme Development and Management
- Provides information for linkages across programme activities to help identify critical points of integration
- Provides information and documentation on specific stages of projects/programme implementation
- Participates in the formulation of project proposals
Building Strategic Partnerships
- Analyzes general information and selects materials in support of partnership building initiatives
- Maintains databases of donor information
- Tracks and reports on mobilized resources
Innovation and Marketing New Approaches
- Documents and tracks innovative strategies/best practices/new approaches
- Tracks bottlenecks, problems and issues, and proposes solutions
- Responds positively to new approaches
Resource Mobilization
- Maintains information/databases on potential and actual donors
- Maintains database of project files
- Provides data and information needed for preparation of project documents
Promoting Organizational Learning and Knowledge Sharing
- Researches best practices and poses new, more effective ways of doing things
- Documents innovative strategies and new approaches
Job Knowledge/Technical Expertise
- Understands the main processes and methods of work regarding to the position
- Possesses basic knowledge of organizational policies and procedures relating to the position and applies them consistently in work tasks
- Identifies new and better approaches to work processes and incorporates same in own work
- 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
- Demonstrates in-depth understanding and knowledge of the current guidelines and project management tools, and utilizes these regularly in work assignments
Global Leadership and Advocacy for UNDP’s Goals
- Identifies relevant information for advocacy for UNDP’s goals for a variety of audiences
- Maintains a network of contacts in the media and civil society, for use in UNDP’s advocacy efforts
Client Orientation
- Reports to internal and external clients in a timely and appropriate fashion
- Organizes and prioritizes work schedule to meet client needs and deadlines
- Establishes, builds and sustains effective relationships within the work unit and with internal and external clients
- Responds to client needs promptly
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.
Required Skills and Experience
Education:
- Secondary Education with specialized secretarial training.
- University Degree or equivalent would be desirable, but it is not a requirement.
Experience:
- 6 years of progressively responsible secretarial, administrative or programme experience is required at the national or international level.
- Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) and advance knowledge of spreadsheet and database packages, experience in handling of web based management systems.
Language Requirements:
- Fluency in English, both oral and written, is required; working knowledge of other UN official language is an asset