UNDP Jobs - 51947- Special Assistant

Special Assistant

Location :

New York, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Type of Contract :

FTA International

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

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

Post Level :

P-3

Duration of Initial Contract :

One year renewable

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 Bureau for Policy and Programme Support (BPPS) has the responsibility for developing all relevant policy and guidance to support the results of UNDP’s Strategic Plan. BPPS’s staff provides technical advice to Country Offices; advocates for UNDP corporate messages, represents UNDP at multi-stakeholder fora including public-private dialogues, government and civil society dialogues, South-South and Triangular cooperation initiatives, and engages in UN inter-agency coordination in specific thematic areas. BPPS works closely with UNDP’s Crisis Response Unit (CRU) to support emergency and crisis response. BPPS ensures that issues of risk are fully integrated into UNDP’s development programmes. BPPS assists UNDP and partners to achieve higher quality development results through an integrated approach that links results based management and performance monitoring with more effective and new ways of working. BPPS supports UNDP and partners to be more innovative, knowledge and data driven including in its programme support efforts.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Special Assistant based with the BPPS Directorate at HQ is responsible for the provision of advisory, analysis, coordination, and quality assurance support to the BPPS Director and/or Deputy, under the direction of the Directorate Manager who reports to the Bureau Director. S/he collaborates with teams within the bureau and throughout UNDP as whole, including regional/central bureaux, Regional Hubs, Country Offices and Global Policy Centers to support the representational, advocacy, partnership, and communications commitments of the Director and the Deputies of BPPS. S/he supports relevant bureau-specific, UNDP, and UN management mechanisms and for tracking and ensuring follow-up on senior management directives, commitments, and agreements with internal and external stakeholders. S/he is responsible for performing and contributing to the following:

Scheduling and front-office support;
Review, analysis, and quality assurance;
Coordination;
Management support.

Scheduling and front-office support to the BPPS Director and/or Deputy

Manages the daily schedule, mission planning and calendar of engagements for the BPPS Director and/or Deputy, in collaboration with the Executive Associate;
Coordinates and manages forward planning of the quarterly and long-term calendar of the BPPS Director and/or Deputy, ensuring strategic prioritization of engagements;
Drafts correspondence, notes-to-the-file, and coordinates/contributes to other routine documentation required by the BPPS Director and/or Deputy;
Facilitates implementation of the requests, directives and commitments of the BPPS Director and/or Deputy, in coordination with relevant managers and teams within the bureau;
Maintains regular contact with the Office of the Administrator, the Directorates of other Bureaux, and external stakeholders such as Missions to the UN, UN System partners, IGOs, NGOs, donors, and other multilateral agencies to keep the BPPS Director and/or Deputy abreast of key developments within the organization; and
Works in close collaboration with the other BPPS Special Assistant and backstops him/her when absent on leave or on mission.

Review, analysis, and quality assurance of documents for the BPPS Director and/or Deputy:

Reviews speeches, briefs, background papers, etc for substantive accuracy, completeness, strategic messaging, in liaison with the Briefing and Communications Team as well as other units throughout BPPS and UNDP as needed;
Provides clear and timely guidance to staff to facilitate preparation of briefs and speeches for the BPPS Director and/or Deputy;
Drafts and contributes to speeches and briefs for the BPPS Director and/or Deputy as necessary;
Reviews and analyzes relevant BPPS documents and submissions for the approval or clearance of the BPPS Director and/or Deputy to ensure alignment with corporate guidance and standards as well as to ensure quality and comprehensiveness of input;
Channels feedback/comments/questions from the BPPS Director and/or Deputy to teams and vice versa;
Performs research on topics as assigned, analyzes information and synthesizes into a clear summary to facilitate decision-making by the BPPS Director and/or Deputy.

Coordination of substantive preparation and follow-through on the engagements (including missions) of the BPPS Director and/or Deputy

Coordinates substantive preparations, including agenda, accompaniment, and supporting materials for all engagements of the BPPS Director and/or Deputy;
Attends meetings and travels with the BPPS Director and/or Deputy on official visits, as needed;
Organizes official side-meetings and visits on the BPPS Director and/or Deputy while on mission;
Prepares all meeting reports and correspondence in a timely manner, including back-to-office reports for the Administrator; and
Facilitates and tracks follow-up actions with relevant focal points within BPPS and UNDP, in line with commitments made by the BPPS Director and/or Deputy.

Management and communication support

Coordinates preparation of submissions and background documentation for BPPS/UNDP/UN management mechanisms including the BPPS senior management/policy group, the EG, OPG, the Executive Board, and S-G's Policy Committee;
Participation as Secretary for Bureau’s management/policy group meetings, responsible for recording decisions, coordinating development of the agenda, gathering and analyzing information to support decision-making, and communication of relevant decisions to staff;
Manages the BPPS system to track internal management/policy group as well as OPG/EG/EB/PC commitments;
Coordinates and provides quality assurance for management responses to Executive Board decisions;
Supports the organization of regular staff meetings and special events;
Supports effective internal communications with staff;
Advises the BPPS Director and/or Deputy on a range of issues relating to management and the overall “state of the bureau”, including emerging concerns of staff;
Coordinates special projects and assignments on behalf of the BPPS Director and/or Deputy, frequently involving senior managers of the Bureau as well as a broader constituency.

Competencies

Core

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

Primary

Partnerships;
Ability to engage with other agencies, donors, and other development stakeholders and forge productive working relationships;
Priority setting;
Ability to scan and synthesize diverse sets of information to arrive at strategic priorities and positioning recommendations;
Research;
Knowledge of various programme information for research to provide recommendation and guidance to management;
Knowledge Curation;
Abiliy to turn raw information into useful knowledge, relevant for context, or responsive to stated need;
Substantive positioning of UNDP;
Knowledge of global institutions (such as the UN, IFIs), processes (such as G20 and various UN initiatives), good grasp of UNDP’s niche, and ability to engage and foster strong networks with those institutions;
Coordination;
Ability to manage complex relationships through pathways of knowledge exchange, capacity development, funding relationships and strategic engagement.

Secondary

Project Management;
Ability to plan, organize, and control resources, procedures and protocols to achieve specific goals;
Relationship Management;
Ability to engage with other parties and forge productive working relationships;
Report and Brief Writing;
Ability to prepare quality reports and briefs.

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 professional work experience with the United Nations system, with sound knowledge of UN/UNDP systems, procedures and policies;
Experience working in developing country settings is an asset.

Language Requirements:

Fluency in English, both written and oral;
Working knowledge of another UN language is an asset.