Antecedentes

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.

The Programme Specialist, Poverty and Sustainable Development is responsible for contributing substantive policy and programme advisory services to the Country Offices and applying the products and tools relevant to the thematic area of Poverty and Sustainable Development. S/he acts in response to requests from country offices and in collaboration with the integration and coordination team. S/he contributes to the collaborative process of policy development, research and programmes on poverty and inequality measurement. Working closely with the Sustainable Development and Development Planning and Inclusive Sustainable Growth teams, the Programme Specialist supports MDG Acceleration Framework (MAF) implementation and subsequently the transition to an SDG support framework, focusing on the poverty and inequality aspects of the SDGs. Working to ensure the execution of quality and coherent policy and programme advisory services within their region and across other regions as well as alignment with the Strategic Plan, s/he advances the mission of UNDP and increases the credibility and recognition in this thematic area.

S/he is responsible for performing and contributing to the following:

• Programme Support and Policy Advice;
• Support Policy Development;
• Policy Positioning and Representation;
• Partnerships and Resource Mobilization;
• Knowledge Management.

Deberes y responsabilidades

Programme Support and Policy Advice:

• Execute policy, strategy, and programme initiatives on poverty, inequality and sustainable development to support key results, outcomes, and outputs of the Strategic Plan;
• Support country offices in developing and implementing strategic frameworks, programmes, and projects;
• Coordinate the production of relevant analysis and guidance for policy advice and programme support that responds to country office needs;
• Apply multi-disciplinary approaches, including through setting up, coordinating, and engaging with Development Solution Teams (DSTs), to deliver advisory services and programming needs in line with emerging client needs and corporate standards, as well as maintaining and developing networks of experts in UNDP’s areas of work;
• Develop and implement solutions in crisis and conflict situations in response to requests coordinated by CRU and ensure proper use of policy and tools in this context;
• Incorporate gender equality and human rights-based approach in policy and programming work; and
• Provide relevant contributions to UNDP SURGE.

 Support Policy Development:

• Support policy development and innovation through consolidation of  relevant lessons from projects and programmes;
• Provide guidance and input to teams in Regional Hubs in their provision of policy advisory services to country offices on all poverty and sustainable development programming efforts, including on MAF implementation and SDGs baseline and goal setting, helping them to ensure relevance of the services provided to country and regional context including crisis situations;
• Identify gaps and opportunities for development of new policies and guide the overall team priorities and workplans;
• Provide Quality Assurance to ensure alignment with global development policies, norms and standards;
• Ensure cross-practice approach and cross-regional collaboration;
• Create methods for reviewing policy services in the area of Poverty and Sustainable Development and assess policy success, as well as communicate these methods to other country offices and regions; and
• Conceptualize and recommend policy innovations in the thematic area to improve programme delivery.

Policy Positioning and Representation:

• Under the guidance of the team leader, mobilize, foster and strengthen strategic partnerships with UN entities and other relevant bodies at the regional level, and provide inputs to those partnerships in support of UNDP initiatives;
• Prepare briefing notes and speeches;
• Advocate the importance of the thematic area of Poverty and Sustainable Development in various fora at the regional level, including academia and civil society, with a view to deepen related political commitment and related reforms; and
• Support Team Leaders in engagement in UN interagency coordination in relevant policy areas by organizing and participating in regional meetings on poverty and sustainable development related issues.

Partnerships and Resource Mobilization:

• In collaboration with BERA, support the Team Leader to engage with regional partners and develop/implement resource mobilization plan under corporate guidelines, including to fulfill corporate and donor reporting, advocacy and information-sharing requirements;
• Provide substantive inputs related to regional external partnerships for Poverty and Sustainable Development; and
• Support team leader in fostering strategic partnerships with UN and external regional partner institutions, including HDRO, UNDESA, ECLAC, UNICEF, ILO and the World Bank, Governments, private sector, academia, NGOs, and CSOs at regional and local level and provide substantive inputs to those partnerships in support of UNDP initiatives focusing on sustainable development outcomes.

 Knowledge Management:

• Coordinate team contributions and support to corporate KM activities, at region-specific level to help influence/advance policy dialogue in the thematic area of Poverty and Sustainable Development in collaboration with policy teams at HQ and in Regional Hubs;
• Provide sound contributions to knowledge networks and communities of practice; and
• Coordinate and perform knowledge extraction, analysis, documentation, codification of results/lessons learned regarding pro poor approaches in the roll out of SDG implementation/ acceleration initiatives, ensuring that knowledge sharing and content management is in line with guidelines and performed using corporate tools.

Competencias

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:

Primary:

Poverty and Human Development:

• Knowledge of poverty, human development and inclusive and sustainable growth issues and the ability to apply to strategic and/or practical situations.

Development planning:

• Knowledge of development planning processes at the national and local level and the ability to apply to strategic and/or practical situations.

Project and Programme Management:

• Ability to plan, organize, and control resources, procedures and protocols to achieve specific goals.

Partnerships:

• Ability to engage with other agencies, donors, and other development stakeholders and forge productive working relationships.

Knowledge Management:

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

Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):

• Knowledge of the Millennium Development Goals and Sustainable Development Goals and the ability to apply to strategic and/or practical situations.

Secondary:

Resource Mobilization:

• Ability to identify and organize programmes  and projects to implement solutions and generate resources.

Coordination:

• Ability to manage complex relationships through pathways of knowledge exchange, capacity development, funding relationships and strategic engagement.

Trends and emerging areas analytics:

• Ability to scan the horizon and identify approaches and initiatives to bring into policy and programme design.

Habilidades y experiencia requeridas

Education:

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

Experience:

• 7 years of professional work experience providing policy advice and programme support in the general area of Poverty and Sustainable Development in different development contexts, including good understanding of multidimensional poverty and inequality measurement and targeting;
• Strong analytical skills in economic and social dimensions of sustainable development;
• Experience working in developing country settings is required and experience in crisis contexts is an asset.
   

Language:

• Fluency in English and Spanish, both written and oral;
• Working knowledge of another UN language preferably relevant to the region in which this position is based is an asset.