UNDP Jobs - 45262- Programme Officer

Programme Officer

Location :

Beijing, CHINA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

30-Apr-14 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

1 year with possibility of extension

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

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

The Greater Tumen Initiative (GTI) (originally known as the Tumen River Area Development Programme –TRADP), is an intergovernmental cooperation mechanism in Northeast Asia, supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), with a membership of four countries: People’s Republic of China, Republic of Korea, Mongolia and Russian Federation.

In 1995, member governments signed formal agreements to establish the intergovernmental cooperation mechanism, aimed at strengthening economic and technical cooperation, and attaining greater growth and sustainable development for the peoples and countries in Northeast Asia and the Tumen River area in particular.

Since its creation, the GTI has remained a unique intergovernmental platform for economic cooperation, fostering peace, stability and sustainable development in Northeast Asia. It is playing a significant role in expanding policy dialogue and strengthening a business-friendly environment in the region, therefore contributing to the improvement of living standards through the development of infrastructure and the promotion of trade and investment.

In 2005, the member countries agreed to assume the full ownership, and focus on the promotion of regional cooperation in the key sectors of economy: energy, transport, tourism, trade & investment and environment as a cross-cutting sector.

In recent years, GTI member countries recognized the importance to expand cooperation in wider areas, and agreed to establish the new mechanisms under the GTI framework. In this connection, the Northeast Asia Local Cooperation Committee was established in 2013. More institutional framework, such as NEA Exim Bank Association, GTI Research Institutions Network, GTI Agriculture Board, NEA National Chambers Association will be launched in 2014.

In this context, the GTI Secretariat is recruiting a Programm Officer to be in charge of agriculture sector and local cooperation to promote the regional cooperation in the field.

Duties and Responsibilities

Summary of Key Functions

The incumbent’s main responsibilities would be classified into three main parts:

Provision of research results in following areas:

To analyze current condition of agriculture and local cooperation in the GTR; to identify promising areas or projects based on mutual interests; to envisage future prospects for the development, and to prepare recommendations of the GTI agricultural and local cooperation’s strategic direction to member governments;
To research demands for regional cooperation in the agriculture sector and local cooperation; to explore ways to promote multi-level cooperation dialogues and projects among governments and stakeholders in the region.

Identification and Implementation of projects

To provide strategic vision of regional cooperation in agriculture and local cooperation and identify relevant project proposals;
To develop work plan to implement the approved agriculture and local cooperation projects;
To mobilize funding for GTI agriculture and local cooperation projects;
To evaluate the impact of GTI agriculture and local cooperation projects in the Greater Tumen Region.

Establishment and operations of institutional framework

To cooperation with GTI National Coordinators, to establish the GTI Agriculture Board which consists of government agencies in the agriculture sector among member countries;
To create a networking mechanism consisting of research and/or technical institutions that may provide high-level expert support to the Agriculture Board in implementing the cooperation projects;
To strengthen partnerships with research institutes, industry players, regional and international organizations involved through the institutional frameworks;
To organize the annual meeting of Agriculture Board and NEA Local Cooperation Committee, workshops and seminars.

Others

To perform other duties as requested by the Director of GTI Secretariat.

In particular, the Programme Officer is responsible for following responsibilities

Consult with GTI National Coordinators, local governments and Agriculture Board members on regional strategy, needs and projects in the agriculture sector and local cooperation;
Organize studies in the agriculture sector and local cooperation;
Monitor the progress of projects and submit annual report on agriculture sector and local cooperation activities to the GTI Consultative Commission;
Identify new projects in the agriculture sector and local cooperation suitable for public sector financing;
Implement the projects by organizing workshops for involved parties;
Monitor and manage the work of the Agriculture Board and NEA Local Cooperation Committee to integrate their aims and activities into the annual work plan;
Evaluate the impact of completed projects on growth and development indicators for the region;
Attract donors to mobilize financial resources.

Competencies

Deep knowledge of agriculture policies, as well as main interests in projects in Northeast Asia in related field;
Capacity to support multi-sectoral programmes in the international arena and the ability to supervise international professional staff;
Knowledge of international organization regulations, rules, policies and procedures would be an asset.
Teambuilding and good communication skills
Ability to work with large-scale multinational projects and keep deadlines
Good command of Microsoft Office software packages (Word, Power Point, Excel);

Required Skills and Experience

Education

Master’s Degree or equivalent in Agriculture, Economics, International Relations or Development Studies

Experience

Minimum 3 years directly relevant working experience at the national or international level, hands-on experience in design, monitoring and evaluation of development projects;

Language

Fluency in both written and spoken English;
Knowledge of 1-2 GTI languages (Chinese, Korean, Mongolian or Russian) is an advantage