UNDP Jobs - 109821- Director – Unipod at Juba University

Director – Unipod at Juba University

Location :

Juba, SOUTH SUDAN

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

14-Nov-2022

Application Deadline :

02-Nov-22 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

12 months

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

12 months

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

South Sudan has eight government sponsored universities and 35 other private learning institutions offering both degrees and diploma courses. Indicative figures drawn from different universities show that enrollment is higher in schools of social sciences and humanities compared to science and technology (GEPA Study 2021).This could be attributed to the poor state of science and technology learning infrastructure. Furthermore, there is lack of funding and technical support for development-oriented research. Research conducted in South Sudan universities is mostly linked to pursuance of high education degrees. The need for applied research, especially those contributing directly to improvement of the situation of the people of South Sudan, coupled with the need to widen access to science and technology is imperative for the country to catch with developments in the region.

While recent studies on youth employability (UNDP 2022) suggest that the number of South Sudanese young entrepreneurs, innovators, artists and techno-savvy is on the increase, exposure to the latest technological development, access to internet and innovation skills remain a challenge. There is reliance on theory-based education, which undoubtedly derail the swift ability to attain their maximum potentials. Furthermore, young women and girls are the most disadvantaged and marginalised and, in most cases, reluctant to pursue Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) field of study due to gender stereotype and misconception as being a male type of profession as opposed to women.

Since applied skills, entrepreneurship, creativity, and innovation are on high demand and many youths need opportunities for exposure and practice, UNDP has secured resources to create a university pod. The UniPod is a physical space and creative culture in which would-be innovators from within the University’s students and faculty populations across all disciplines as well as community outside the University of Juba can collaborate and work together to explore their own innate design talent to find solutions to their problems irrespective of their academic backgrounds. The UniPod project is intended to enhance innovation and accelerated learning for students and talented youth in the University of Juba to address community challenges through practice.

Gender Equality in Public Administration (GEPA) Study was carried out by the National Transformational Leadership Institute, Ministry of Gender Child and Social Welfare and UNDP at national (2021) and state (2022) levels.

Duties and Responsibilities

Program Design and Execution:

Develop programs that enable the UniPod to achieve both the overall vision and specific deliverables
Write documentation that clearly conveys program processes and guidelines
Lead and work with the Head of Engineering and team, the tech transfer office, the university leadership and UNDP
Hire and manage teams as needed to execute these programs
Design and conduct research into best practices for supporting hardware entrepreneurs, and develop systems that ensure the UniPod is continually refining and improving its model and the offerings to our community, within the framework designed by the UNDP team

Administrative:

Develop systems for the execution of daily tasks (travel, payments, HR, procurement, communications, and others as necessary)
Hire and manage contractors for a variety of processes (construction, procurement, design, research, etc.)
Liaise with partners, clients, and funders as necessary to ensure the smooth flow of communications
Working with the leadership team, develop performance targets and reviews for staff and the organization as a whole, to ensure that goals are being achieved and resources put to effective use

Any other duties as needed to ensure smooth and successful daily operation

Competencies

Corporate Competencies

Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality, and age sensitivity and adaptability
Demonstrates diplomacy and tact in dealing with sensitive and complex situations
Strong communication, team building, interpersonal, analysis, and planning skills

Professionalism

Demonstrates professional competence and mastery of the subject matter
Demonstrates experience in subject matter
Demonstrates ability to negotiate and apply good judgment
Shows pride in work and in achievements
Is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines, and achieving results

Planning & Organizing

Organizes and accurately completes multiple tasks by establishing priorities while taking into consideration special assignments, frequent interruptions, deadlines, available resources, and multiple reporting relationships
Plans, coordinates, and organizes workload while remaining aware of changing priorities and competing deadlines
Establishes, builds, and maintains effective working relationships with staff, partners, and beneficiaries to achieve the planned results

Communicating Information and Ideas

Facilitating and encouraging open communication in the team, communicating effectively.
Delivers verbal/written information in a timely, clear, organised and easily understood manner
Strong communication skills and the ability to listen and take direction and leadership from others.

Self-Management & Emotional Intelligence

Creating synergies through self-control, and tolerates conditions of stress, uncertainty or ambiguity and continues to maintain a positive outlook to work productively.

Other Corporate competencies

Demonstrates integrity by displaying UNDP’s values and ethical standards,
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability
Ability to establish effective working relations in a multicultural team environment.
Excellent supervisory, team building, diplomatic and interpersonal skills.
Resourcefulness, initiative, and maturity of judgement.
Strong communication and advocacy skills.
Ability to work in a complex environment requiring liaison and collaboration with multiple factors.
Ability to demonstrate sensitivity, tact and diplomacy.
Excellent analytical, organizational and negotiation skills, especially resource management systems.
Excellent networking skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education

An advanced (MSc or higher) degree in an Engineering, International Development related field, or in Business and/or Operations or related field.

Experience

Five years’ experience in industry in roles of progressively increasing responsibility
Proven expertise in financial management and grant reporting
A deep understanding of, and commitment to, tech-based entrepreneurship support
The ability to analyse and improve workflow and program processes in a new and quickly changing field
Strong research and analytical skills
Practical, hands-on knowledge of open-community, multidisciplinary, and multimaterial workshop design, management, and operations
A high level of confidentiality, tact, and diplomacy
Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, both written and verbal

Language

Fluency in spoken and written English