UNDP Jobs - 63677- Individual Consultant (1 Post)

Individual Consultant (1 Post) – Project Manager - State Level (For Indian Nationals Only)

Location :

Bhopal – Madhya Pradesh, INDIA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

01-Apr-2016

Application Deadline :

19-Feb-16 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

National Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

One Year (with possibility of extension on availability of funds, extension of the project)

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 UNDP India Country Programme Action Plan (CPAP) for the period 2013-17, signed with the Government of India enables UNDP to provide Development Support Services to the country. The aim of the Development Support Services is to help government improve the administrative efficiency and effectiveness of government programmes and schemes both at the national and state level. The signed CPAP, states that UNDP will provide demand-based development support services, including procurement support services, with requisite professional skills, personnel and technical resources with a view to supporting administrative efficiency and developing capacities of government agencies.

Government of Madhya Pradesh has launched a comprehensive entrepreneurship support programme in August 2014 named Mukhyamantri Yuva Udyami Yojana (Chief Minister Young Entrepreneur Scheme http://www.dif.mp.gov.in/schemewiseTarAllo/MMYUYojana.pdf) wherein any resident of Madhya Pradesh aged between 18-40 years with minimum qualification of class 10th can make an application through the General Manager, District Industry Centre for setting up a new small scale enterprise in the industry/ service sector for an amount of INR 10 lakh to 1 crore. The scheme is implemented by the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Employment.

The benefits available to the entrepreneur under the scheme are three fold:

Capital investment subsidy of 15% of the project cost (maximum INR 1.2 million);
Interest Subsidy of 5% on applicable interest for 7 years;
Applicable Guarantee Fee for 7 years.

There is a provision of entrepreneurial training under the scheme which will build the capacity of the first generation entrepreneurs in areas like accounting, finance, marketing and general management. Government of Madhya Pradesh and UNDP’s are partnering to establish an institutional mechanism for providing training and hand-holding support to 5000 entrepreneurs covered under the MYUY scheme across the 51 districts of the state.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Project Manager will be based at the office of Department of Industry, Govt of Madhya Pradesh in Bhopal and under the overall supervision of the Industry Commissioner, he/she would carry out the following tasks:

Results Management:

Provides solutions and guidance to the project team for meeting project results in a timely and cost effective manner, with complete buy-in of the Department of Commerce, Industry and Employment, Government of Madhya Pradesh the training partners and in keeping with the key organizational mandate and principles of UNDP;
Signs responsible for technical inputs and strategic directions to assess the project progress in line with the monitoring and evaluation indicators and ensure achievement of project outputs as outlined in the project document;
Develops monitoring plan and facilitates the review of the system and capacities relating to the delivery of project
Undertakes regular field visits to monitor the implementation of the project and provide technical inputs to address gaps and bottlenecks;
Regularly reviews the progress made by all the training partners and steers the work planning process.

Financial management:

Guarantees and leads on assuring the integrity of financial systems, review of budget requirements and the consistent application or rules and regulations;
Manage, lead and implement all planning, budgeting, implementing and monitoring processes of the project, and track use of financial resources in accordance with UNDP rules and regulations;
Signs responsible for the prompt and timely delivery of all programmatic activities against all set deadlines;
Signs responsible for the Project’s financial delivery and monitors at all times financial exception reports for unusual activities, transactions, and investigate anomalies or unusual transactions;
Monitors and manages potential risks to the project delivery and is responsible for taking immediate corrective measures to provide timely guidance to project team to mitigate these risks. Escalates issues to Industry Commisioner, Government of Madhya Pradesh and Management Specialist, UNDP as needed.

Partnership Management

The project results are to be achieved in close collaboration and partnership with government, training providers, other development partners and vendors. Project Manager is responsible for ensuring smooth partnership, building synergies , managing potential conflicts and overlaps in working with:

Industry Department officials both at HQ as well as at the district level;
Training partners;
Stakeholders including Bankers, RSETIs, technical institutions both within the state as well as national level institutions;
Represent UNDP in the various technical meetings, resource groups, other forums related to enterprise development in the state.

Knowledge Management:

Prepares periodic progress reports on activities, outputs and outcomes to meet internal UNDP requirements and for the Government of Madhya Pradesh;
Monitors and manages documentation of the implementation process and analytical learnings from the implementation to inform effective scale up;
Provides periodic status reports, annual reports, case studies, etc. in a timely manner.

Project Team Management:

Manages , guides and mentors the project team at Bhopal including problem solving and defusing conflicts, finding solutions;
Discharges administrative and other responsibilities associated with the position.

Competencies

Functional Competencies:

Job knowledge and technical expertise

Has strong knowledge of project area and keeps abreast with new developments in areas of professional discipline and seeks to develop herself/himself professionally;
Has sound knowledge of project management tools and utilises these regularly in work and assignments.

Results based management:

Plans and produces quality results to meet established goals;
Demonstrates ability to generate innovative, practical solutions to challenging situations;
Ability to work independently and with minimum supervision.

Building and managing strategic partnerships:

Identifies common interests and goals and carries out join initiatives with partners;
Makes effective use of resources and comparative advantage to strengthen partnerships.

Advocacy:

Brings visibility and sensitizes decision makers to relevant emerging issues;
Uses the opportunity to bring forward and disseminate materials for advocacy work.

Client Orientation:

Demonstrates an understanding of client / partner / donor perspective and strives for high quality client oriented services;
Establishes smooth relationship and enabling environment between clients and service providers.

Leadership and Management:

Is results driven and solution oriented, is able to work under pressure;
Uses fair and transparent decision making and calculated risk taking;
Ability to identify problems, propose solutions and take immediate corrective measures.

Corporate Competencies:

Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
Demonstrates integrity and ethical standards.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Essential - Post Graduate degree/diploma in Management, Finance, Organizational Behaviour, Entrepreneurship development, Marketing and/or relevant fields.

Experience:

Essential - A minimum of 5 years’ experience in small enterprise development, large scale training programmes for MSME entrepreneurs, marketing of SME products;
Desirable - Work experience in Madhya Pradesh or nearby states.

Language:

Excellent knowledge of written and spoken Hindi and English is required.

Duration of the Work:

The contract will be awarded for one year initially. Working days will be as per the State Government policy.

Travel:

Extensive travel within the state and districts would be required.

Schedule of Payments:

Consolidated Annual Consultancy Fee (Remuneration) of INR 12,00,000/- payable in equal monthly instalments, upon submission of monthly progress report certified by the reporting officer.

Institutional Arrangement:

Contract will be administered by UNDP on behalf of the State Government of Madhya Pradesh;
All the logistic support related to Office space, Computers, official travel will be provided by the Government of Madhya Pradesh as per their prevailing rules;
Consultant will be entitled for 2 days leave per month (non-encashable) with prior approval of the Supervisor.

Documentation required:

Personal CV, indicating all past experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate and at least three (3) professional references.

Evaluation Method and Criteria:

Preliminary shortlisting would be done based on the following criteria:

Educational Qualification 50% Marks;
Relevant Experience 50% Marks.

The shortlisted candidates will be required to undergo a online written test. Only those candidates who score 60% and above in the written test will be eligible to appear for the interview. The Interviews will be conducted either through telephone/skype or face to face in Bhopal. The interview will be based on the competencies (skills) required as per the ToR. If face-to-face interviews are conducted, travel costs will be borne by the shortlisted candidate.

For any clarifications, please write to sandeep.sharma@undp.org