Background

The violence of climate risks, the crisis of debt post COVID-19, an uneven embrace of technology infrastructure, concerning rise in digital risks, uncertain political unrest – point to development futures that are increasingly uncertain. How can we ensure that the authority in which we make decisions today consider its impact on a future that doesn’t yet exist, and yet its impact will resonate in that future.

To grapple with this uncertainty requires taking both a long-term perspective and being anticipatory in the face of emerging realities. This goes beyond just reliance on one tool or method, but a much more intentional approach to grapple with liminality, push past traditional shackles of short-term programming and planning and challenge our assumptions, mental models and values that have shaped our governance approaches to date.

UNDP Asia Pacific are embracing and embedding both the practice of anticipation and foresight into our internal policies and strategic pathways, as well as how we support our partners. We do this to ‘hedge our bets’ on the future – that we cannot any longer rely on static ideas of governance but rather a much more holistic, adaptive, wider metropolis that proactively identifies emerging risks, opportunities and changing tides is the only way in which we can ensure our policies are fit not just for today, but for tomorrow.

The UNDP RBAP, Strategic, Policy and Partnership team is taking an applied systems approach of foresight to build the processes, knowledge, capabilities, and culture to be anticipatory, in our internal ways of working, and in what we offer externally. The ability to be anticipatory—to act in preparation of ‘what could happen’—is the learned skill and application of foresight.

SPP is establishing a roster of Strategic Foresight consultants to provide advisory on design and implementation to country offices and governments on anticipatory governance and applied foresight.

Successful candidates will be invited to join UNDP’s GPN ExpRes ONE Roster under one or more of the four profiles and may be considered for future similar assignments with UNDP. Retention in the Roster of selected experts will be contingent on continuous delivery of satisfactory services.

The GPN ExpRes Roster is a recruitment and deployment mechanism which maintains pre-vetted consultants and offers the ability to contract them quickly for support by UNDP offices worldwide. It currently provides pre-selected and technically vetted consultants across 28 profiles and 144 sub-profiles across all technical areas supported by the Global Policy Network of UNDP. Following the successful review for the roster, candidates may be considered for various short-term assignments with UNDP in this technical area. Retention on the Roster of selected experts will be contingent on continuous delivery of satisfactory services. 

Duties and Responsibilities

To support UNDP’s work with UNDP RBAP, country offices and government to test and apply foresight methodologies in line with the UNDP Strategic Foresight vision to inform better anticipatory decision making and risk management.

Consultants recruited to the GPN roster will provide services in 4 associated technical areas (also known as “profiles”):

1. Foresight and Anticipatory governance advisory and strategy
2. Foresight data, research, analysis and knowledge
3. Futures and Foresight capability building
4. Speculative design

Applicants can apply to one or more options from the above profiles. Successful applicants will join the UNDP’s roster of experts and be contacted based on arising needs.

Competencies

Applicants can apply to one or more from the technical competence categories below. All applicants are expected to have corporate and functional competence.

C.1. Foresight and Anticipatory governance advisory and strategy

• Provide strategic planning and strategy development support on foresight and anticipatory governance
• Advisory to country offices to initiate and implement foresight and anticipatory government initiatives
• Strategy development
• Strategic Planning and implementation of foresight and anticipatory offer

C.2. Foresight data, research, analysis and knowledge

• Collect foresight data and conduct research to produces analysis on emerging trends and futures
• Conduct analysis and produce knowledge products, papers and reports
• Conduct horizon scanning research and analysis

C.3. Futures and Foresight capability building

• Design and implement futures and foresight capability building that include
• Develop train the trainer programmes
• Design and Facilitate workshops

C.4. Speculative design

• Designing experiential futures projects to change decisions and policy
• Producing, managing and implementing creative and experiential futures

C.1. TECHNICAL COMPETENCE PROFILES

Additional area of cross cutting expertise in Strategy Development. 

Applicants can indicate experience in Strategy Development as a cross cutting area of expertise. Strategy Development expertise includes:

• Experience in ‘futures informed’ and ‘adaptive’ strategic planning and development in organizations, setting the vision and objectives for organizational planning
• Can conduct risk analysis that can be incorporated into the principles of foresight and planning process
• Experience in design, planning and producing policy analysis
• Experience in anticipatory innovations in public administration and service delivery. Experience in policy innovation for both governments and organizations

C. 2. CORPORATE COMPETENCE

• Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UN’s values and ethical standards.
• Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP.
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.
• Treats all people fairly without favouritism.
• Fulfils all obligations to gender sensitivity and zero tolerance for sexual harassment.

C. 3. FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCE

• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, resourcefulness, initiative, maturity of judgment, tact, and negotiating skills, and the ability to cope with situations which may pose conflict.
• Openness to change and ability to receive/integrate feedback.
• Ability to accommodate additional demands on short notice. 
• Ability to work under pressure and stressful situations.
• Ability to manage heavy workload and solve complex problems.
• Experience with mission driven organizations and/or UNDP/UN an asset.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Minimum Bachelor’s degree in a development related field or equivalent (Degree or equivalent in Public Administration, Political Science, International Development Studies, Future Studies, Organisational Development,)

Work experience:

• Minimum of 5 years of relevant experience inclusive of extensive national and international working experience in future studies, foresight and related topics, especially in relation to international development.
• Demonstrated experience in working with the public service in countries on issues of foresight, public sector innovation and development.
• Demonstrated experience in developing innovative facilitation tools for foresight processes.
• Experience in knowledge product development and dissemination.

Languages:

Fluency in English. Written and spoken knowledge of an additional UN language is highly desirable

APPLICATION PROCEDURE: 

The application involves identifying which profiles you have experience and expertise in, outlining specific skills and uploading a Personal CV or P11, indicating all past experience from similar projects.

• Please do not include your financial proposal at this stage. Only successful candidates (technically qualified) will be invited to register onto the ExpRes roster platform and indicate a tentative daily fee.
• Once the successful candidates have been invited to join the GPN ExpRes and registered on the dedicated platform, they are considered vetted and may be proposed for assignments with UNDP offices for which specific ToRs will be developed.

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

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.