UNDP Jobs - 51509- Anti-Corruption Specialist

Anti-Corruption Specialist

Location :

Suva, FIJI

Type of Contract :

FTA International

Starting Date :

01-Feb-2015

Application Deadline :

31-Dec-14 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

P-4

Duration of Initial Contract :

1 year

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

Renewable subject to performance & funding

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

Corruption is a global phenomenon that has existed for a long time in many parts of the world. Evidence from across the world continues to confirm that corruption negatively impacts development. In the Pacific, it is clearly evident that corruption hurts the poor disproportionately, hinders economic development, undermines State accountability and capacity to provide equitable and responsive public services, and diverts investments from infrastructure, institutions and social services. Furthermore, corruption fosters an anti-democratic environment characterized by uncertainty, unpredictability and declining moral values and disrespect for constitutional institutions and the rule of law. Corruption, therefore, reflects a democracy, human rights and governance deficit that negatively impacts on poverty and human security and undermines the ability of countries in the region to achieve the MDGs.

Although Pacific island countries now have various accountability institutions, recent research has found that they have struggled to be effective in combating corruption. At the heart of their limited impact has been a problematic lack of genuine political will. At a more operational level, limited skilled staff, small budget allocations and problems of coordination amongst existing institutions continue to be serious problems. In small islands states, capacity issues and lack of resources are particularly challenging problems, compounded by often un-costed proposals to set up multiple separate institutions (e.g. Ombudsman, leadership tribunals, national human rights institutions, anti-corruption commission).

In this context, UNDP has been working for the last ten years with Pacific partners to raise awareness and build capacity on tackling corruption regionally and nationally. UNDP has worked closely with partner countries, in particular within the framework of promoting ratification and implementation of the UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) together with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). To date, 10 PICs have now ratified UNCAC – PNG (2007), Fiji (2008), Palau (2009), Vanuatu (2011), Cook Islands (2011), Marshall Islands (2011), Solomon Islands (2012), FSM (2012), Nauru (2012) and Kiribati (2013). The remaining non-ratifying PICs are all actively considering ratification, with technical support to that end being provided by the UNDP Pacific Centre and UNODC.

Building on the work that UNDP Pacific Centre had done, in 2012, the UNDP Pacific Centre entered into a tripartite Pacific Regional Anti-Corruption (PRAC) Project. This joint UNDP-UNODC Project aims to help Pacific Island Countries (PICs) fight corruption by supporting: i) ratification of the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC); ii) UNCAC implementation through the strengthening of policies, laws, measures and institutional frameworks; and iii) engagement in the UNCAC processes, including the Implementation Review Mechanism.

The project draws on the strong global partnership between UNDP and UNODC and the comparative advantages of both organizations in the fight against corruption. More generally, through the project UNDP and UNODC will provide responsive, demand-driven technical assistance to support individual countries to develop policies, laws and institutional frameworks to advance the effective implementation of UNCAC, as well as provide capacity development support to existing national accountability institutions, being sensitive to the particular operating contexts of small islands states. The Project will also strengthen the capacity of non-state actors with a view to improving their ability to prevent, detect, investigate, prosecute and sanction cases of corruption more effectively. Finally, the Project will seek to advance research, knowledge sharing, peer-learning and the identification and dissemination of good practices within and beyond the region with a view to advance the regional and in-country policy dialogue and create a platform for innovative, suitable and sustainable measures to prevent and combat corruption at regional level and within the individual countries in the region.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Pacific Regional Anti-Corruption Specialist in the Pacific Centre will provide substantive and technical advice and advocacy on anti-corruption initiatives at the regional, and national levels. The Specialist will provide specific support for UNDP’s policy and programming, both in general governance-related work, and specifically in: (i) implementing the UN-PRAC Project together with UNODC; ii) strengthening the quality of UNDP’s policy advice and technical support to Pacific governments and UNDP country offices to promote transparency and accountability, in particular to address the effects of corruption on the poor and disadvantaged groups; and (ii) mainstreaming and applying accountability and anti-corruption norms and principles in UN/UNDP programming.

Regional Policy Advocacy and Advisory Services:

Engage in effective advocacy with UNDP Country Offices towards Pacific Governments, CROP agencies, regional and international organizations and CSO counterparts on the value and means of promoting accountability and addressing corruption in the Pacific;
Provide technical advice to UN/UNDP Country offices and government counterparts on how to promote accountability and tackle corruption in the Pacific, including by providing technical advice and support to implement UNCAC, with a special focus on UNCAC Chapters II (Preventive Measures) and III (Criminalization and Law Enforcement);
Advocate with UNDP Country Office/UN Country Teams Senior Managers to support the inclusion of accountability and anti-corruption norms and principles in country-level programming frameworks at various stages in the UN/UNDP’s programme planning cycle, and to support the design of national/sub-regional anti-corruption projects as appropriate;

Work with UNDP Country Offices to:

Engage with government and other stakeholders (including civil society) on developing and implementing policies and programmes to progress development efforts and governance interventions in the area of anti-corruption, including specific anti-corruption programmes and sector-specific anti-corruption interventions, with a focus on anti-corruption and MDGs achievement;
Support the establishment and strengthening of effective national accountability institutions, in locally-appropriate ways for small island states, including through the establishment of multi-function accountability institutions;
Provide technical support to governments and CSOs to develop and implement national freedom of information (FOI) policies and laws;
Manage a CSO small grant mechanism and other interventions designed to specifically strengthen Pacific CSO capacity to support anti-corruption initiatives;
Work with UN country teams and UNDP country offices to leverage technical and other resources for governance and anti-corruption programming, including through regional partnerships.

Policy Development

Facilitate regional and global policy developments on accountability, anti-corruption and FOI that are grounded in cutting edge policy developments and practices from the region, fed into HQ policy processes, and replicated in countries throughout the Pacific;
Strengthen UNDP’s policies and programmes in the areas of governance, accountability, anti-corruption and FOI, as well as UNDP potential for influence within the international community by effectively channeling the views and perspectives from partners in the region to the global level;
Promote UNDP policy on democratic governance, accountability, anti-corruption and FOI, grounded in international norms and standards and best practices at the country level through expert advice to country teams and by facilitating engagement between HQ and country teams in priority areas.

Partnership Building

Effectively collaborate with UNODC in implementing the UN-PRAC project, as well as with the various UNDP and UNODC global anti-corruption projects, with a view to developing a second phase of UN-PRAC (2016-2020).
Effectively position the regional governance programmes and initiatives to ensure that the Pacific Centre’s approach to accountability, anti-corruption and FOI policy and programming is understood and supported by UN agencies, CROPs, regional and international organizations and other external partners;

Effectively position UNDP’s contribution to the democratic governance practice area:

Within the UN System, to foster consistency in approach;
Within the global and regional level by continually scanning and assessing activities of non-UNDP players in the local context;
In support of UNCTs and UNDP Country Office programming arrangements with government counterparts;
Under the leadership of UNDP Country Offices / UNCTs, engage national, regional and global partners in programme responses (including but not limited to UNODC, Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, Pacific Islands Legal Officers Network, Pacific Association of Supreme Audit Institutions and other relevant donors and/or development partners);
Lead partnership building with regional / local institutions and consultancies which are conversant in UNDP’s position and approaches and well placed to formulate and support the implementation of the practice area in response to local, national and global strategies;
Mobilize resources in support of the Pacific Centre’s regional governance programme and national level programming by UNDP country offices.

Quality control and assurance

Provide quality assurance to ensure alignment of democratic governance, human rights and justice policies and programming, with UNDP’s global development policies and international norms and standards
Coordinate the delivery of demand-driven technical advisory services to UNDP country offices, government counterparts and/or regional and international organizations ensuring professionalism in support (e.g. timeliness / responsiveness, quality in deliverables, with global coordination etc.);
Apply an integrated and holistic approach to UNDP’s work on democratic governance and ensure cross-practice and cross-regional collaboration linking to global experiences and international best practices, norms and principles.

Knowledge Management

Collaborate with UNDP Country offices, the Asia-Pacific regional Governance team in APRC in Bangkok, and UNDP’s regional and global anti-corruption programmes to support Pacific governments and other national and regional stakeholders in using knowledge to strengthen democratic governance, and the application of international accountability, anti-corruption and FOI norms and standards;
Prepare practical, action-oriented and relevant knowledge products pertaining to democratic governance, accountability, anti-corruption and FOI in the Pacific region;
Broker and promote local, regional and global knowledge exchange, through learning networks, partnerships and programme implementation, codification of lessons learned
Work with UNDP Country Offices and other stakeholders, the democratic governance team in the Asia-Pacific Regional Centre in Bangkok and in other UNDP regional centres, the Asia Pacific Anti-Corruption Community of Practice, and the Pacific Accountability Network, to support Pacific countries in developing and disseminating evidence and lessons;
Contribute to, and participant in, relevant country level, regional and global knowledge sharing events.

Competencies

Corporate:

Demonstrates integrity and fairness, by modeling the UN/UNDP’s values and ethical standards;
Promotes the vision, mission and strategic goals of UNDP;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.

Functional:

Strong ability to apply various governance related development theories to the specific context, including translating democratic governance principles into effective anti-corruption policy and programme interventions in the field.
Ability to identify opportunities for integrating accountability, transparency and integrity into UNDP democratic governance programmes and its linkages to poverty/MDGs.
Capacity to interact with senior government officials and credibly influence senior decision makers in UNDP programme countries and other international development organizations
Strong analytical, negotiation and communication skills, including ability to produce high quality practical advisory reports and knowledge products

Demonstrated practical professional experience in designing, implementing and monitoring anti-corruption and/or FOI initiatives in developing country settings
Knowledge of accountability, transparency and anti-corruption assessments and other methodologies for evaluating vulnerabilities in governance systems, institutions and processes and risks in policies, programs and projects.

Leadership:

Strong managerial/leadership experience and decision-making skills;
Ability to conceptualize and convey strategic vision from the spectrum of global development experience;
Knowledge and expertise in UN/UNDP’s programming processes;
Proven ability to lead a thematic area of work and drive for results with a strong knowledge of results-based management and budgeting.

Managing Relationships:

Well-developed people management and organizational skills;
Strong ability to work in teams; creating an enabling environment, mentoring and developing partners and colleagues;
Excellent negotiating and networking skills;
Strong resource mobilization and partnering skills.

Managing Complexity:

Ability to address global development issues;
Substantive knowledge and understanding of development cooperation with the ability to support the practice architecture of UNDP and inter-disciplinary issues;
Demonstrated substantive leadership and ability to integrate global knowledge with broader strategic, policy and operational objectives;
A sound global network of institutional and individual contacts.

Knowledge Management and Learning:

Ability to strongly promote and build knowledge products;
Promotes knowledge management in UNDP and a learning environment in the office through leadership and personal example;
Seeks and applies knowledge, information and best practices from within and outside of UN/UNDP.
Provides constructive coaching and feedback.

Judgment/Decision-Making:

Mature judgment and initiative;
Proven ability to provide strategic direction in practice area;
Independent judgment and discretion in advising on handling major policy issues.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Post-graduate (Master’s) degree in development studies, economics, law, international relations, political science or related area.

Experience:

At least 7 years of progressively responsible relevant work experience in international development in the area of anti-corruption, accountability and/or FOI, as well as general governance-related work;
Proven professional record in the areas in the area of anti-corruption, accountability, and/or FOI;;
Demonstrated ability to handle discrete/sensitive political issues with tact and diplomacy;
Demonstrated team building and project management skills in a multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural environment;
Good knowledge and understanding of UN/UNDP;
Familiarity with Pacific development issues at regional and national levels, and working experience in the Pacific would be an advantage;
Passion and commitment to knowledge management and innovation.

Language:

Fluent in English (written and spoken).