UNDP Jobs - 51866- Re-advertisement - Quality Assurance Specialist

Re-advertisement - Quality Assurance Specialist

Location :

Bangkok, THAILAND

Type of Contract :

FTA International

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

18-Mar-15 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

P-3

Duration of Initial Contract :

1 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

Candidates who previously applied need not re-apply.

Under the guidance and supervision of the Strategic Planning Advisor, the Strategic Planning Specialist provides direct assistance to oversight of the Regional Bureau’s regional planning, monitoring, and reporting cycle ensuring the alignment with the Strategic Plan, Bureau priorities, vision, and resource allocations for the region. S/he develops and prepares analysis and reports on the Bureau’s performance against its corporate targets and results commitments, identifying and mitigating risks against the enterprise risk management framework. The Strategic Planning Specialist leads in the collection and compilation of data and provides to the Strategic Planning and Oversight team in-depth analyses of aggregated regional performance results, coordinating global, regional and country level progress against the Bureau’s work plan and in line with corporate requirements. S/he provides support to the development of UNDP’s monitoring and evaluation strategy for the region and actively assists in building the capacity of Bureau staff for results quality assurance and compliance with evaluation policies and corporate standards.

Duties and Responsibilities

Regional Planning:

Provides seasoned technical support to the analysis of the regional planning exercise and results-based work plan development, analyzing strategic options particularly in terms of resource implications;
Conducts data analysis of developments and trends at the country and regional levels to guide the conceptualization of results frameworks and establish performance indicators and targets;
Analyses results reported by UNDP Country Offices in Asia Pacific so as to show regional contribution to outcome level change;
Constantly scans the operational environment and RBAPs portfolio of programmes in the region to identify existing or emerging trends in areas of work and recommend any actions that would be relevant for RBAP management to consider;
Helps ensure proper coordination and information sharing on planning of region-wide activities, soliciting continuous inputs from staff into the strategic thinking process and raising their awareness of the Regional Bureau’s strategic direction;
Assists in and provides inputs to the preparation of ad hoc reports, briefing materials and position papers, based on analysis and scenario planning, for the Bureau leadership and high level meetings ensuring comprehensiveness and quality of data.

Regional Strategic Performance Oversight:

Helps ensure monitoring of regional performance against programmatic and operational targets;
Helps oversee consistency of country programme interventions with UNDP’s policies to develop capacity for strengthened accountability in key areas and make recommendations for relevant actions to the Bureau’s leadership;
Strengthens monitoring capacity within Bureau through identification and sharing of traditional and innovative data collection and analysis methods;
Contributes to the development of the Bureau’s monitoring and evaluation plans in line with corporate priorities and in consultation and coordination with relevant units. Analyzes impact of audit and evaluation recommendations and proposes changes and remedial actions to address deficiencies and mitigate risks;
Helps coordinate the production of the regional annual results report and support the Country Advisors in monitoring and reporting regional results, including synthesis of RBM performance;
Support monitoring of progress against established baselines, milestones and targets;
Collect and analyze data on programme implementation performance at aggregate level and alert on possible risks or deviations.

Representation and External Relations:

Liaise with governance bodies and stakeholders on budget/programme performance or substantive programmatic issues as appropriate;
Participate in inter-agency meetings to better harmonize and inform the planning and monitoring of results;
Develop and maintain partnerships with academic institutions, UN Agencies and other bodies around data gathering, monitoring and analysis;
Help mobilize, foster and strengthen strategic partnerships with UN and other relevant bodies and provide substantive inputs to those partnerships. In close collaboration with BERA, support the development and implementation of a regional resource mobilization strategy.

Knowledge Management:

Contribute to UNDP’s innovation and knowledge generation on strategic planning, leveraging the strategic planning function and its linkages with evaluation and audit recommendations;
Keep the Regional Bureau and Country Offices informed of new trends, tools and methodologies for planning, monitoring and reporting, and foster their collaboration on analytical research of operational and programmatic performance, including through proactive engagement with BPPS teams.

Competencies

Core Competencies:

Innovation

Ability to make new and useful ideas work.

Leadership

Ability to persuade others to follow.

People Management

Ability to improve performance and satisfaction.

Communication

Ability to listen, adapt, persuade and transform.

Delivery

Ability to get things done.

Technical/Functional Competencies:

Primary:

Strategic Planning

Ability to make decisions that align with strategy, vision, and mission;

Marketplace Analysis

Ability to research, discover trends, and make recommendations pertaining to a particular market.

Data Analysis / Measurement

Ability to evaluate, transform and model data to derive relevant findings &
Ability to set goals and indicators and to interpret and synthesize results into usable information to inform policy, strategy, and/or action.

Representation

Ability to productively share UNDP knowledge and activities (at UN and other venues).

Relationship Management

Ability to engage with other parties and forge productive working relationships.

Secondary:

Report Writing

Ability to prepare quality reports.

Results-based Management

Ability to manage programmes and projects with a strategy aimed at improved performance and demonstrable results.

Knowledge Management

Ability to capture, develop, share and effectively use information and knowledge.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Advanced university degree (Master’s or equivalent) in economics, business administration, social sciences or related disciplines.

Experience:

5 years of progressively responsible development experience in development cooperation at the international level;
Experience in using quantitative and qualitative data analysis techniques for measuring development results in a large development organization or government.

Language Requirements:

Fluency in English, both written and oral;
Working knowledge of another UN language will be desirable.

Other:

Technical: ability to use data analysis software such as STATA, SAS, SPSS is required;
Knowledge of geographic information mapping software would also be an advantage.