Background

Under the guidance of Country Director and under the direct supervision of Deputy Country Director Programme, Senior Policy Advisor/Policy Specialist advises Senior Management on macroeconomic and development policies and trends and relevant linkages to UNDP programmes. The Senior Policy Advisor/Policy Specialist provides analysis for formulation of strategies and briefings to Senior Management. The Senior Policy Advisor/Policy Specialist works closely with Government counterparts to identify alternative macroeconomic and development policy options and to enhance the policy impact of UNDP projects and programmes. The Senior Policy Advisor/Policy Specialist monitors economic, political, social and environment policy developments and advises the Country Director and other members of the UNDP and its partners on policy issues. S/he contributes to UNDP’s policy dialogue with the Government and donors.

The Senior Policy Advisor/Policy Specialist leads and supervises a team of UNDP experts, international and national consultants and project staff. The Senior Policy Advisor/Policy Specialist maintains a network with colleagues from UNDP, UN Agencies, IFIs, Government officials, multi-lateral and bi-lateral donors, academia and civil society.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Advice to UNDP management on economic and development issues
• Advice to Government counterparts and facilitation of knowledge building on economic and development issues
• Building of strategic partnerships and implementation of resource mobilization strategy
• Advocacy and promotion of UNDP’s mandate and mission

• Compilation, analysis and interpretation of economic and statistical data, thorough research of the economic and development issues in the country and production of relevant reports aimed at promoting equitable economic growth and human development;
• Provision of top quality analysis and substantive inputs to UNDP strategic plans, background research and other strategic documents;
• Provision of authoritative advice on possible areas for UNDP support and adjustment of on-going programmes to ensure that UNDP programmes are in line with national policies and priorities;
• Selection of strategic research topics, surveys and/or case studies;
• Production and launch of economic reports, including National Human Development Reports;
• Formulation and facilitation of UNDP inputs and CO support to national poverty reduction efforts in the context of PRSP and poverty monitoring, including of the MDG;
• Direct participation in sub-regional, regional and inter-agency initiatives related to development issues.

• Facilitation of policy dialogue on economic and development issues with the Government, donors, civil society, private sector; contributions to development of policies as relevant;
• Provision of policy options, particularly from pro-poor perspectives, on macroeconomic and development issues to governments and other development actors;
• Sound contributions to knowledge networks and communities of practice through identification of best practices and lessons learned;
• Assessment of the country’s macro-economic policies and their impact on poverty reduction, growth, equity, etc.;
• Training and capacity building support for UNDP staff and Government officials on economic and development issues.

• Research and analysis of information on donors, preparation of substantive briefs on possible areas of cooperation.
• Production of periodic updates and briefs on country development situation to be used by stakeholders, CO and HQ.
• Undertaking of selected studies/research on emerging development concerns that feed into government/development  partners processes.

• Policy advocacy for the Millennium Development Goals, Human Development and pro-poor and equitable economic growth by participating in relevant forums, conferences and trainings;
• Production of high quality research papers for UNDP presentation at international workshops and conferences.
• Support to monitoring progress and formulation of strategies towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals;
• Establishment of advocacy networks at national level and linked to international networks. Relevant, high-impact advocacy campaigns are implemented with key partners;
• Sound contributions to knowledge networks and communities of practice;
• Management of events and publications on economic issues, including annual Global Human Development Reports launches in the country, advocacy of the main Reports findings among relevant Governmental agencies, civil society organizations and donors.

Competencies

• Contributes to the elaboration of advocacy strategies by identifying and prioritizing audiences and communication means;
• Performs analysis of political situations and scenarios, and contributes to the formulation of institutional responses.

• Effectively networks with partners seizing opportunities to build strategic alliances relevant to UNDP’s mandate and strategic agenda;
• Sensitizes UN Partners, donors and other international organizations to the UNDP’s strategic agenda, identifying areas for joint efforts;
• Develops positive ties with civil society to build/strengthen UNDP’s mandate;
• Identifies needs and interventions for capacity building of counterparts, clients and potential partners.

• Makes the case for innovative ideas documenting successes and building them into the design of new approaches;
• Identifies new approaches and strategies that promote the use of tools and mechanisms;
• Develops and/or participates in the development of tools and mechanisms, including identifying new approaches to promote individual and organizational learning and knowledge sharing using formal and informal methodologies.

• Understands more advanced aspects of primary area of specialization as well as the fundamental concepts of related disciplines;
• Serves as internal consultant in the area of expertise and shares knowledge with staff;
• Continues to seeks new and improved methods and systems for accomplishing the work of the unit;
• Keeps abreast of new developments in area of professional discipline and job knowledge and seeks to develop him/herself professionally;
• Demonstrates comprehensive knowledge of information technology and applies it in work assignments;
• Demonstrates comprehensive understanding and knowledge of the current guidelines and project management tools and utilizes these regularly in work assignments.

• Identifies and develops activities to enhance the visibility of UNDP;
• Develops promotional activities based on monitoring/evaluation information identifying areas requiring higher visibility;
• Reviews documents and materials intended for use within and outside the organization in order to ensure consistency and validity of messages;
• Creates and cultivates networks of partners to promote UNDP’s image;
• Conducts assessments of activities to improve impact and effectiveness;
• Global Leadership and Advocacy for UNDP’s Goals;
• Analysis and creation of messages and strategies;
• Performed analysis of political situations and scenarios, and contributes to the formulation of institutional responses;
• Uses the opportunity to bring forward and disseminate materials for global advocacy work and adapts it for use at country level.

• Leverages different experiences and expertise of team members to achieve better and more innovative outcomes;
• Leverages multi disciplinary, institutional knowledge and experience of other countries and regions to promote UNDP’s development agenda;
• Participates in dialogue about conceptual innovation at the country and regional levels.

• Anticipates client needs;
• Works towards creating an enabling environment for a smooth relationship between the clients;
• Demonstrates understanding of client’s perspective.

• Promoting ethics and integrity, creating organizational precedents;
• Building support and political acumen;
• Building staff competence, creating an environment of creativity and innovation;
• Building and promoting effective teams;
• Creating and promoting enabling environment for open communication;
• Creating an emotionally intelligent organization;
• Leveraging conflict in the interests of UNDP & setting standards;
• Sharing knowledge across the organization and building a culture of knowledge sharing and learning;
• Fair and transparent decision making; calculated risk-taking.

Required Skills and Experience

Educational requirements:

• Master’s Degree in Economics, Public Policy or in a related discipline.

• Minimum 7 years of relevant experience at the national or international level in policy dialogue, formation and advocacy;
• Experience in providing Senior Policy Advisor/Policy Specialist services and establishing inter-relationships among international organizations and national governments;
• Additional 8 years of relevant experience will be an advantage;
• Extensive experience is required in research, policy analysis and advocacy, design, monitoring and evaluation of development projects;
• Usage of computers and office software packages;
• Handling of web-based management systems; and, advanced programmes for statistical analysis of data.

Language requirements:

• Strong written and spoken skills of the UN working language of the duty station.

Note:

Recommended/Alternate candidates resulting from the selection process will also be kept on our Roster for future similar positions for the timeframe of two years.