UNDP Jobs - 57868- Internship - Monitoring and Evaluation fo Global F

Internship - Monitoring and Evaluation fo Global Fund Sub-Recipients

Location :

Home-based

Type of Contract :

Internship

Starting Date :

15-Jul-2015

Application Deadline :

10-Jul-15 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

Intern

Duration of Initial Contract :

6 weeks

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

Up to end of August 2015

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 United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the UN’s global development network, advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. We are on the ground in 170 countries and territories, working with governments and people on their own solutions to global and national development challenges to help empower lives and build resilient nations.
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.

BPPS supports UNDP’s 2014-2017 Strategic Plan, focusing on 7 outcomes including strengthening institutions to progressively deliver universal access to basic services (outcome 3). The HIV Health and Sustainable development team, within BPPS, is helping to contribute towards this outcome.

HIV, Health and Development Approach

UNDP is a founding cosponsor of the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), a partner of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and a co-sponsor of several other international health partnerships. UNDP’s work on HIV, health and development leverages the organization’s core strengths and mandates in human development, governance and capacity development to complement the efforts of specialist health-focused UN agencies. UNDP delivers three types of support to countries in HIV, health and development.
First, UNDP helps countries to mainstream attention to HIV and health into action on gender, poverty and the broader effort to achieve and sustain the Millennium Development Goals. For example, UNDP works with countries to understand the social and economic factors that play a crucial role in driving health and disease, and to respond to such dynamics with appropriate policies and programmes outside the health sector. UNDP also promotes specific action on the needs and rights of women and girls as they relate to HIV.

Second, UNDP works with partners to address the interactions between governance, human rights and health responses. Sometimes this is done through focused or specialized programmes, such as promoting attention to the role of legal environments (law and access to justice) in facilitating stronger HIV responses, including the use of flexibilities in intellectual property and human rights law to lower the cost of drugs and diagnostics and to increase access to HIV-related treatment. UNDP also works to empower and include people living with HIV and marginalized populations who are disproportionately affected by HIV - also known as key populations - such as sex workers, men who have sex with men, transgender people. Beyond these focused efforts, UNDP plays a key role in ensuring attention to HIV and health within broader governance and rights initiatives, including support to district and municipal action on MDGs, strengthening of national human rights institutions and increasing access to justice for marginalized populations.

Third, as a trusted, long-term partner with extensive operational experience, UNDP supports countries in effective implementation of complex, multilateral and multisectoral health projects, while simultaneously investing in capacity development so that national and local partners can assume these responsibilities over time. The UNDP/Global Fund partnership is an important part of this work, facilitating access to resources for action on MDG 6 by countries that face constraints in directly receiving and managing such funding. UNDP partners with countries in crisis/post-crisis situations, those with weak institutional capacity or governance challenges, and countries under sanctions. When requested, UNDP acts as interim Principal Recipient in these settings, working with national partners and the Global Fund to improve management, implementation and oversight of Global Fund grants, while simultaneously developing national capacity for governments or local entities to be able to assume the Principal Recipient role over time.

UNDP’s Partnership with the Global Fund

As of May 2015, UNDP served as the Principal Recipient (PR) for 51 grants, covering 25 countries and 1 Regional Programme, funded by the Global Fund. UNDP also provides capacity support to a number of national entities managing Global Fund grants directly and Country Coordinating Mechanisms. In its role as interim PR, UNDP is responsible for the financial and programmatic management of grants, as well as the procurement of health and non-health products. In all cases, the implementation of grants must be done in accordance with UNDP policies and procedures, as well as the policies and guidelines of the Global Fund. Given the importance of the partnership with the Global Fund, UNDP continues to strive towards providing high value-added services to governments and the Global Fund, both in its role as interim PR, and increasingly as a significant technical partner to governments implementing Global Fund grants.

A dedicated BPPS team, housed within the HHD Group, supports the partnership with the Global Fund. This UNDP Global Fund Partnership Team’s primary function is to provide quality and timely support to Country Offices to implement high performing Global Fund grants – in close coordination with Regional Bureaux – and to manage UNDP’s partnership with the Global Fund at the corporate level.

The team’s key goals are to: (i) enhance results and performance of Global Fund grants managed by UNDP; (ii) further strengthen UNDP’s risk management of its Global Fund portfolio; (iii) scale-up and systematize UNDP’s work to develop the capacity of national entities to take over as PR; (iv) enhance the value of UNDP as a policy and programme partner; and (v) manage corporate-level agreements to streamline operational and oversight procedures and requirements. The portfolio is constantly evolving with the potential to be nominated as PR for ongoing GF programmes both country and regional programmes.

Objective

An important component of the work of the UNDP Global Fund Programme Team is to support countries in establishing sound monitoring and evaluation (M&E) structures in order to ensure alignment with Global Fund methodology and that programs successfully reach their targets. The Team is currently supporting multiple countries with the grant-making process of the Global Fund funding model and is looking to identify an intern to provide support, as detailed below.

Duties and Responsibilities

The intern will work under the overall supervision of the Senior Programme Advisor and under the direct guidance of the team’s M&E focal point to achieve the following:

Specific responsibilities of the intern will include:

Support in with the standardization of tools for monitoring and evaluation of Sub-recipients (SRs);
Assist in collation of CO indicators for the 2015 top ten indicator harmonization exercise;
Support COs in reporting to the Global Fund by assisting with the finalization of PU/DRs;
Support with the development of programme M&E plans;
Support in the review of UNDP Sub-recipient audit results;
Compiling and reviewing SR capacity assessments;
Providing other support as needed.

Competencies

Functional:

Highly skilled with Microsoft Word, Excel, internet;
Strong facility with understanding and manipulating various forms of data, especially epidemiological data;
Familiarity with statistical concepts.

Project and resource management:

Exceptional organization skills;
Ability to work independently.

Communications and advocacy:

Exceptional writing and research skills;
Ability to accept and act on constructive feedback;
Strong capacity to communicate clearly, both orally and in writing.

Partnership building and team work:

Demonstrated flexibility to excel in a multi-cultural environment;
Provides and receives constructive feedback.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Currently enrolled in a master’s degree programme or equivalent in one or more of the following fields: public health, epidemiology, law, health policy, economics, international development, or a closely related field.

Experience:

Demonstrated experience or interest in health, development, or a closely related field;

Language:

Fluency in written and spoken English required;
Knowledge of other UN languages preferred.

Interested candidates should:

Submit a CV/resume;
Submit a brief letter of interest highlighting (a)reasons for interest in this internship, (b) relevant experience and skills, (c) ; specific areas of interest as they relate to the responsibilities outlined above.

A desk review will be completed to select the most suitable candidate for the internship.

Conditions for internships:

The UNDP internship programme does not provide a salary or remuneration for the internship; The cost associated with the internship will have to be born by the nominating institution, the related government or by the intern;
The selected intern will need to provide proof of health and life/accident insurance; UNDP will accept no responsibility for costs arising from accidents and/or illness or death incurred during the internship;
The intern is responsible for obtaining necessary visas and arranging travel to and from the duty station where the internship will be performed;
Interns are not eligible to apply for, or be appointed to, any post in UNDP during the period of the internship or for six months immediately following the expiration date of internship;
Interns are not staff members and may not represent UNDP in any official capacity;
Only those students who will return to their studies upon completion of their internship assignments are eligible.