UNDP Jobs - 58326- Regional Representative (West Bengal & North-East)

Regional Representative (West Bengal & North-East),Deen Dayal Upadhyay Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY), GOI-UNDP Project “Governance and Accelerated Livelihood Support

Location :

Guwahati, INDIA

Type of Contract :

Service Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

02-Aug-15 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

SB-5

Duration of Initial Contract :

One Year (extendable)

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

UNDP Country Programme (2013-17) is aligned with the Government of India’s Twelfth Plan priorities and seeks to improve the effectiveness of national programmes and policies for disadvantaged regions and groups especially women, Scheduled Castes, Schedule Tribes, minorities, displaced persons and persons with disabilities. UNDP’s partnership with the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) under “Governance and Accelerated Livelihoods Support” aims to strengthen the effectiveness of key Ministry programmes by providing (a) technical assistance to the state government and NGOs in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Odisha to improve sustainable livelihoods with linkages to Panchayati Raj Institutions for governance in focus districts; (b) policy advice and technical assistance to the Ministry and the state governments to help improve the efficiency, accountability and inclusiveness of National Rural Livelihoods Mission and the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Scheme; and (c) policy advice and technical assistance to the Ministry and state governments to help “green” select schemes.

According to Census 2011, India has 55 million potential workers between the ages of 15 and 35 years in rural areas. At the same time, the world is expected to face a shortage of 57 million workers by 2020. This presents a historic opportunity for India to transform India rural youth into a powerful demographic dividend that can help realize the nation’s ambitious target of skilling 500 million by 2022 and contribute to its economic growth agenda.

The Ministry of Rural Development, GOI is a critical partner to this national agenda and aims to contribute to the same through the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY).

The DDU-GKY, a part of the National Rural livelihood Mission” (NRLM ), was restructured in September 2014 and launched with a revised focus on building skills of rural youth benchmarked to global standards. The DDU-GKY is a part of a long and pioneering history of skill development which saw the origin of placement-linked skill training programmes to the launch of the Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana-Special Projects in 2004-05 and its evolution to Aajeevika Skills in 2013 and its further revision to DDU-GKY.

UNDP, under the GOALS Project, provides technical support to NRLM for efficient and inclusive implementation through (a) positioning professional managers and domain experts to improve implementation at the state level; (b) strengthening the social mobilisation in favour of women from persistently excluded groups; and (c) developing and testing of context-specific, market-led, livelihood strategies that will enable institutions of the poor women to secure their role in markets and supply chains and ensure higher and sustained returns.

As part of this support, UNDP is looking for a dynamic individual for the position of the Regional Representative (West Bengal and North East).

Summary of Key Functions:

The Regional representative (WB & North-East) will work under the supervision of the COO, DDU-GKY and Programme Analyst, UNDP. The Regional Representative will be a key part of the national management team tasked with the responsibility of facilitating effective implementation of DDU-GKY in West Bengal and the North East Region, with primary focus on the North East. S/he will also provide capacity building support to the states in the region. S/he will work towards attainment of the results envisaged under the program to the required standards of quality and as per the approved policy.

Key Results to be achieved are:

Achievement of skill training and placement targets;
Transition of the states in the region to AP (Action Plan) status;
Making DDU-GKY the most credible and preferred skill training programme for eligible youth, training partners and employers;
Ensure 100% adherence to Standard Operating Procedures in the region.

S/he will undertake any other task assigned by the COO, DDU-GKY and Programme Analyst, UNDP.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of the COO, DDU-GKY and Programme Analyst, UNDP, the Regional Representative (West Bengal and North-East) has the responsibility for the following tasks:

Ensure effective implementation of DDU-GKY through:

Identification of skill training projects and training partners for approval of proposals by MORD;
Coordination of projects for approval;
Ensuring timely and standards-led implementation of approved projects;
Building capacity of PIAs;
Undertaking regular monitoring of projects in the region and coordinate review by the Ministry;
Timely preparation and presentation of MIS;
Build capacity of the state agencies;
Provide inputs to policy related matters;
Designing and undertaking surveys to evaluate effectiveness of interventions;
Coordinating and liaising with the state government on programmatic issues;
Coordinating and liaising with MoRD;
Any other task required to achieve efficient and effective results.

Ensure effective technical and capacity building support to the State Rural Livelihood Missions (SRLM) responsible for rolling out of DDU-GKY in the region. Specific tasks include:

Liaise with the state government for effective functioning of SRLM / State Skills Mission (SSM) responsible for implementing DDU-GKY;
Facilitate staffing, build and nurture effective sensitive support teams at various levels; in the state in line with the DDU-GKY guidelines;
Facilitate capacity building support to the staff of SRLM / SSM and Communities (members, leaders, cadres and institutions) at multiple levels in various ways;
Facilitate SRLM in developing and fine-tuning of programme strategies for social mobilization & institution building, including development of key institutional processes relating to training, project appraisal, partnership management, MIS and IT systems, development of Annual Action Plans and State Perspective Plans, Monitoring & Evaluation and others;
Support troubleshooting during implementation;
Facilitate SRLM in managing convergence with Rural Livelihoods component of NRLM and community partnerships; and
Be the link between NMMU-MoRD and SRLM.

Undertake effective monitoring of the programme so as to achieve targets in a time-bound manner.

Support all activities related to programme budgeting and fund management in the assigned role.

Perform any other related tasks consistent with the level of the post and/ or assigned by the COO, DDU-GKY and Programme Analyst, UNDP.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

Demonstrates commitment to UNDP’s mission, vision and values;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.

Functional Competencies:

Job Knowledge/Technical Expertise:

Good knowledge of government rules and procedures;
Good understanding of management issues relating to Human resource Management, project appraisal for development projects;
Demonstrates comprehensive knowledge of information technology and applies it in work assignments;
Good communication, interpersonal and presentation skills, with an ability to work in a multi-cultural environment.

Building Strategic Partnerships:

Peoples’ orientation and the ability to work with people;
Establish, build and sustain effective relationships, partnerships and alliances, advocate effectively and communicate sensitively;
Result-orientation and ability to develop strategic approaches;
Identifies problems and propose solutions;
Demonstrates extremely strong influencing and facilitation skills.

Promoting Organizational Learning and Knowledge Sharing;

Generates new ideas and approaches, researches best practices and proposes new, more effective ways of doing things;
Builds staff competence, creating an environment of creativity and innovation;
Shares knowledge across the organization and builds a culture of knowledge sharing and learning.

Development and Operational Effectiveness:

Capacity to gather comprehensive information on complex problems or situations, evaluate information accurately and identify key issues required to resolve problems;
Builds strong relationships with the NMMU team and State Rural Livelihoods Mission, focusing on impact and result;
Possesses basic knowledge of organizational policies and procedures relating to the position and applies them consistently in work tasks.

Leadership and Self-Management:

Demonstrates/safeguards ethics and integrity;
Has ability to work under supervision as well as with self-initiative and motivation;
Establishes priorities for self and other members of the team; schedules activities to ensure optimum use of time and resources; monitors performance against development and other objectives and corrects deviations from the course;
Proven ability to coordinate the work of others and to work as part of a team and share knowledge with others;
Leads teams effectively and shows conflict resolution skills;
Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complex situations;
Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
Responds positively to critical feedback and differing points of view. Also solicits feedback from staff about the impact of his/her own behaviour.

Knowledge and Skills:

Proficiency in MS-Office, especially Word, Excel and PowerPoint. Advanced knowledge of spread sheet, database and research packages will be an asset;
Good communication, interpersonal and presentation skills, with an ability to work in a multi-cultural environment;
Knowledge and familiarity with the region.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Graduate degree in Economics, Social Sciences, Political Science, Other sciences, Rural Development, Development Studies or related field. Masters’ Degree will be an advantage.

Experience:

Minimum 10-12 years of relevant experience at the state/national level in:
Leading implementation of large rural development / social sector projects. Experience is leading projects at GOI/ State government level will be given preference;
Design, monitoring and evaluation of development projects;
Coordination and facilitation of senior, complex teams;
Experience of India’s development administration systems will be an asset;
Experience of implementing development programmes in eastern and North-eastern region and/or international experience in conflict areas would be an asset.

Language:

Fluency in English and Hindi is essential. Knowledge of regional language(s) would be an asset.

Travel:

Willingness to travel.

Note:

Placed within the Govt.

Remuneration package is Rs. 2,32,091 per month (taxable). UNDP also offers additional benefits which include medical insurance coverage and limited pension reimbursement for contract holder and encourages work life balance.

UNDP strives to have a workforce which reflects diversity and gender balance, and applies an equal opportunities approach. UNDP does not solicit or screen for information in respect of HIV or AIDS status. All selection is on merit.