Background

UNDP Country Programme (2013-17)is aligned with the Government of India’s Twelfth Plan priorities and seeks to improve the effectiveness of national programmes and policies for disadvantaged regions and groups especially women, Scheduled Castes, Schedule Tribes, minorities, displaced persons and persons with disabilities. UNDP’s partnership with the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) under “Governance and Accelerated Livelihoods Support” aims to 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.
 
The Government of India, Ministry of Rural Development had launched the “National Rural Livelihood Mission” (NRLM) in June 2011 after restructuring its existing centrally sponsored flagship Scheme “Swarnjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana” (SGSY). The NRLM functions in a mission mode for target based time bound delivery of outcomes following a demand driven approach which would allow the states to formulate their own poverty alleviation plans on the basis of available allocation, resources and skills. UNDP, under the GOALS Project, provides technical support to NRLM for efficient and inclusive implementation through (a) positioning professional managers and domain experts to improve implementation at the state level; (b) strengthening the social mobilisation in favour of women from persistently excluded groups; and (c) developing and testing of context-specific, market-led, livelihood strategies that will enable institutions of the poor women to secure their role in markets and supply chains and ensure higher and sustained returns. 
 
The position of a Regional Representative has been envisaged in at regional level to facilitate State Rural Livelihoods Missions in implementing NRLM in North-east states.
 
As part of its support to NRLM, UNDP is looking for a dynamic individual for the position of Regional Representative (North-East), NRLM.
 
Summary of Key Functions:
 
The Regional Representative (North-East) will work under the guidance and supervision of the Mission Director, NRLM and Programme Analyst, UNDP. The incumbent will primarily be responsible for providing programme management support and technical assistance to the north-eastern states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, and Tripura, working in close coordination with the National Mission Management Unit (NMMU) - set up by NRLM to provide programme management support. The incumbent will work towards attainment of the results envisaged by the Mission to the required standards of quality and within the constraints of time and cost. 
 
For this, s/he will:
  • Ensure that the NRLM delivers on its objectives in the north-eastern region;
  • and Facilitates the State Rural Livelilhoods Mission teams in the north-east in achieving the NRLM goals.  
S/he will undertake any other task assigned by the Mission Director, NRLM and Programme Analyst, UNDP.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the guidance and direct supervision of Mission Director, NRLM and Programme Analyst, UNDP, the Regional Representative for North East will:
 
Ensure effective technical and implementation support to the State Rural Livelihood Missions (SRLM) responsible for rolling out of NRLM in these states. Specific tasks include:
  • Liaise with the state governments for effective functioning of SRLMs;
  • Facilitate staffing, build and nurture effective sensitive support to SRLM teams at various levels;
  • Help establish appropriate systems for effective functioning of the SRLMs;
  • Arrange capacity building support to the staff of SRLMs and Communities (members, leaders, cadres and institutions) at various levels in various ways;
  • Facilitate development and implementation of context-specific Community Operations Manuals with protocols in Implementation Blocks;
  • Facilitate SRLMs in developing and fine-tuning of program strategies for social mobilization and institution building, financial inclusion and livelihoods based on learning from pilots;
  • Facilitate SRLMs in developing guidelines for implementation of specific interventions as and when they are being introduced and scaled-up;
  • Facilitate SRLMs to operationalize various systems including FM, Procurement, M&L, MIS, ICT and learning systems including baseline and thematic studies, process monitoring, and community monitoring;
  • Facilitate SRLMs in their HR Management including communitisation at various levels within the SRLMs and the Community Institutions;
  • Lead the North-East Cell of the National Mission Management Unit of NRLM for supporting SRLMs;
  • Facilitate Perspective and Annual Action Plan Processes in SRLMs;
  • Facilitate State Anchoring Support to SRLMs;
  • Facilitate Periodic Missions to States;
  • Leverage and oversee NIRD-NRLM Resource Cell at Guwahati for Capacity Building and Technical Support to SRLMs;
  • Support troubleshooting during implementation;
  • Facilitate SRLMs in managing convergence and partnerships; and
  • Be the link between NMMU-MoRD and SRLMs through the North-East Cell.
Perform any other related tasks consistent with the level of the post and/ or assigned by the Mission Director, NRLM. and Programme Analyst, UNDP.  
 

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: 

Job Knowledge/Technical Expertise:
  • Possesses understanding of issues pertaining to poverty reduction and livelihoods with knowledge of programme management systems;
  • Possesses ability to research and conceptualise on issues related to poverty reduction and livelihoods, and analyze data.
Building Strategic Partnerships:
  • Ability to build and sustain effective partnerships with Government Agencies and main constituents, advocate effectively, communicate sensitively across different constituencies;
  • Responds positively to critical feedback and differing points of view.
Development and Operational Effectiveness:
  • Ability to develop, implement and build capacities on new systems;
  • Capacity to gather comprehensive information on complex problems or situations, evaluate information accurately and identify key issues required to resolve problems;
  • Builds strong relationships with the NMMU team and State Rural Livelihoods Missions, focusing on impact and result;
  • Possesses basic knowledge of organizational policies and procedures relating to the position and applies them consistently in work tasks.
Leadership and Self-Management:
  • Proven ability to coordinate the work of others and to work as part of a team;
  • Leads teams effectively and shows conflict resolution skills;
  • Establishes priorities for self and other members of the spearhead team; ensures optimum use of time and resources;
  • Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude.
Knowledge and Skills: 
  • Proficiency in MS-Office, especially PowerPoint and Excel;
  • Strong facilitation skills;
  • Strong communication (written and oral) skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

  • Master’s Degree or equivalent in Science, Engineering, Technology, Management, Agriculture, Veterinary Science, Dairying, ICT, Economics, Social Sciences, Political Science, Development Studies or related fields.

Experience:

More than 8 years of relevant experience at the state/national level in:

  • Large Poverty Reduction/Livelihoods Projects as part of senior management;
  • Coordination and facilitation of senior, complex teams;
  • Providing management advisory services;
  • Design, monitoring and evaluation of development projects;
  • India’s development administration systems.

Language:

  • Proficiency in spoken and written English. Good knowledge of regional languages of North East and Hindi is an asset
Remuneration package is Rs. 256,240/- per month (taxable).