Background
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), 2005 guarantees wage employment on public works to any adult who is willing to do casual manual work. In case there is inability to provide 100 days of wage employment per household per year, the household will be provided with a daily unemployment allowance. The programme is expected to cover poor households on the principle of self-selection.
The Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD)-UNDP partnership on ‘Governance and Accelerated Livelihoods Support’ helps 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 left wing extremism affected areas (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.
Under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme, UNDP provides technical support for efficient and accountable implementation through (a) introducing mechanisms for regular feedback to the Ministry and state governments of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Bihar on operational bottlenecks in MGNREGP (b) analysing operational procedures and recommending steps for rationalizing them; (c) establishing social audit directorates in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Bihar; and (d) developing strategies for skill development of households employed under MGNREGP through NRLM.
Studies have highlighted several challenges in implementing the MGNREGP. They have underlined the importance of participatory planning and strengthening of existing capacities for achieving the envisaged results, and the need for effective monitoring and social audit to address concerns of efficiency and accountability.
As part of its support to MGNREGA, UNDP is looking for a dynamic individual to support the ministry in anchoring the social audit component of the programme. The selected candidate will be placed within the Ministry of Rural Development, New Delhi.
The Social Audit Officer will work under the guidance and supervision of the Joint Secretary, MGNREGA and Programme Analyst, UNDP. The incumbent will be primarily responsible for coordinating the activities of the Ministry of Rural Development targeted at improving the implementation of social audit within the framework of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. She/he will be the focal person within the Ministry to the state governments and other relevant stakeholders. Social Audit Officer will participate in the strategic planning process of the Ministry, developing strategies and policy documents to support the implementation of social audit within MGNREGP. She/he will regularly monitor MGNREGP social audit outcomes and implementation challenges and formulate action points to address these challenges. Social Audit Officer will also support innovative initiatives to strengthen social audits and provides expertise in developing training, especially for women, Scheduled Castes and Schedule tribes to engage in social audit processes.
Duties and Responsibilities
Under the direct supervision of the Joint Secretary and Programme Analyst, UNDP, the Social Audit Officer will be responsible for the following functions:
- Track implementation of social audit within MGNREGA across the country and identify issues to be documented.
- Support State Government in setting up of Social Audit Directorates and coordinate the work of social audit officers at State level;
- Monitor, evaluate and report on the progress in social audit activities in coordination with Monitoring & Evaluation Officer;
- Support state governments in conducting training on social audit;
- Develop the content of Management Information System (MIS) regarding social audit in coordination with MIS Officer;
- Coordinate social audit activities with the State Governments and other relevant stakeholders;
- Support State Governments in their efforts to improve their social audit processes;
- Identify and write case studies on social audit success stories and ensure effective dissemination of such information among all concerned parties;
- Organise meetings, conferences and workshops on social audit;
- Support innovative initiatives to strengthen the implementation of social audits;
- Develop strategies and training material for training state government officials, Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRI) members and staff, block and district level officers, local resource persons and beneficiaries.
Perform any other related tasks consistent with the level of the post and/ or assigned by the Joint Secretary, MGNREGA and Programme Analyst, UNDP.
Key Deliverables:
- MGNREGA Social Audit unit at National level;
- MGNREGA Social Audit Directorates effectively established in selected States;
- Best practices and lessons learnt documented and disseminated;
- Strong supervision and coordination of the functions of State level social audit officers;
- Social audit training material developed for state government officials, Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRI) members, block and district level officers engaged, local resource persons and beneficiaries;
- Monthly reporting provided to the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on the tasks and responsibilities performed.
Competencies
Corporate Competencies:
- Demonstrates integrity by modeling 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 favoritism.
Functional Competencies:
Social Audit Expertise
- Knowledge and experience of social audit.
Job Knowledge/Technical Expertise
- Understands and applies fundamental concepts and principles of community participation and social audit;
- Possesses basic knowledge of organizational policies and procedures relating to the position and applies them consistently in work tasks.
Building Strategic Partnerships
- Establish, build and sustain effective relationship, partnerships and alliances;
- Result-orientation and ability to develop strategic approaches;
- Identify problems and propose solutions;
- Demonstrates good knowledge of information technology and applies it in work assignments.
Results-Based Programme Development and Management
- Assesses project performance to identify success factors and incorporates best practices into project work;
- Researches linkages across project activities to identify critical points of integration;
- Monitors specific stages of project implementation.
Promoting Organizational Learning and Knowledge Sharing
- Generates new ideas and approaches, researches best practices and proposes new, more effective ways of doing things;
- Documents and analyses innovative strategies and new approaches.
Required Skills and Experience
Education:
- Master’s Degree or equivalent in Development Studies, Rural Development, Business Administration, Public Administration, Human Rights, Economics, Political Sciences, Social Sciences or Governance related field.
Experience:
- At least five years (post-masters) work experience preferably with rural development and poverty alleviation programmes.
- Experience of conducting/participation in social audits -conducted in accordance with the Rules of Audit of Schemes issued by Ministry of Rural Development.
Language:
- Fluency in English and Hindi is essential. Knowledge of regional language(s) would be an asset.