Antecedentes

Myanmar

My government [has] embarked on a transformation that I believe is unparalleled in modern times. It is a multi-faceted transformation that to be successful must be successful in all its parts - President U Thein Sein, Chatham House, England,  July 2013.

Myanmar is going through a phase of rapid and unprecedented change. Since the introduction of a new Constitution in 2008, the transition from military to civilian rule has accelerated. There has been an ongoing sequence of reforms that have unleashed changes in the political and economic landscape. In the past few years, the President and legislatures have pushed forward a remarkable transformation process that was difficult to imagine not so long ago.

In July 2013, at a historic state visit to England, President U Thein Sein reiterated the importance of public administration reforms, which form the third ‘wave’ of overarching reforms initiated by his administration. He noted in 2013 that reforms are surging ahead ‘at a time of weak institutions or institutions that evolved in a very different environment and to serve very different purposes’, and that ‘there are the mentalities that have grown up over long decades of isolation and sanctions, [which] need to be changed.’ Transforming durable military governance and resolving issues around dispersal of power (civilian/military, amongst state institutions, and vertically) will be critical for deeper governance reform, however, conscious of the need to demonstrate results and deliver evidence of a change in government mind-set, the President has also emphasised the need to develop and implement tangible quick wins or ‘pilots’ for reforms to be delivered by his administration. With elections fast approaching in 2015, the timeframe for implementation of these quick wins is tightening.

Since his speech in July 2013, the President has created a ‘Reform Steering Committee’ comprised of senior government officials and advisors, and designated new ‘super Ministers’ for his office, one of whom, has the specific portfolio for administrative reforms. Under the guidance of the President’s Office, the government and its development partners have set up new structures and institutions to manage this multi-faceted process. Structures to coordinate international support to reforms were created under the Nay Pyi Taw Accord (the aid effectiveness instrument) in September 2013, and in May 2014, government bodies for the oversight and implementation of reform ‘quick wins’ and long term strategies were created. The development partner ‘Public Administrative Reform Sector Working Group’- which is co-chaired by UNDP- thus interacts with a government sector working group, and an overarching Administrative Reform Coordination Committee. These government bodies attempt to address the natural tendency of institutions to function in silos by bringing together actors from across government, including ministers from states and regions, to deliberate and resolve reform issues. The overarching vision for these reforms stems from the Framework for Economic and Social Reforms (2012-2015), which stresses the importance of ‘Effective and Efficient Government’ and the need to restructure its core institutions and to streamline main functions.

As well as the President’s Office, the General Administration Department in the Ministry of Home Affairs is a key stakeholder in public administration reforms.The 2008 Constitution provided a new framework for governance in Myanmar: among the features distinguishing it from the previous order is the establishment of state and region governments; among its more conservative features is the preservation of military authority in public administration and in the legislature. The Ministry of Home Affairs is led by a serving military officer answerable to the Commander in Chief of the Military, and its GAD is responsible for performing essential administrative functions at regional, district and township level. The GAD is responsible for coordination of overall reforms, chairing various bodies, and performing a secretariat role, with the support of UNDP (and the co-lead, the EU.)

A second critical stakeholder is the Union Civil Service Board, which has responsibility for the selection, training, discipline and promotion of public service personnel at the Union (central/national) level, supporting the formation of Region/State Civil Service Boards, and promoting the development of a professional public service, including through international relations on civil service matters. The Union Civil Service Board is another critical partner of UNDP, and has already taken steps to improve the quality and relevance of training provided to civil servants.

UNDP

UNDP supports the Government of Myanmar reform processes by means of three programmes, or pillars: 1) Local governance and community development, 2) energy and environment, and 3) Democratic governance. Under the Democratic Governance Pillar, UNDP supports all branches of the government both at national and sub-national level, and will improve the institutional environment in which people interact with government. The Pillar has four closely inter-connected and mutually reinforcing areas: a) development effectiveness, b) public administration, c) rule of law and access to justice and d) public administration responsiveness.

The Public Administration responsiveness output has a dual focus. Firstly, it promotes innovations in public administration and effective coordination of overall public administration reforms. Secondly, it enhances the capacity of the civil service by strengthening integrity and representation in the ranks of the civil service and by improving the quality of training and support provided to civil servants by the Union Civil Service Board. The two sub-outputs under the Public Administration Responsiveness are:

• Capacities developed at the Union level to advance, coordinate and implement incremental public administration reforms;
• Strengthened capacities of the Union Civil Service Board (UCSB) and other ministry training institutes to train and establish a professional, transparent and representative civil service.

Role Description

The Programme Specialist Public Administration will lead and provide programmatic support to Output 4 of the Democratic Governance Pillar on Public Administration.

Under the direct supervision of the Team Leader, Democratic Governance and under the technical direction of the Chief Technical Adviser for Public Administration (to be hired and to be based in Naw Pyi Taw), the Programme Specialist is responsible for implementation and overall coordination of activities under Output 4 (Public Administration) of Pillar 3 of the Country Programme including strategic planning, formulation of work plans and monitoring and evaluation of activities.
He/ She will work in close collaboration and coordination with project staff in both Yangon and Naw Pyi Taw and will also be responsible for identifying synergies with other outputs in Pillar 3 and across the country programme as well as the integration of cross-cutting themes, namely Gender, peace building, HIV/ AIDS etc. The Programme Specialist will also promote coordination and close collaboration with other parts of UNDP including the Asia Pacific Regional Centre based in Bangkok, and relevant teams in other offices.

Deberes y responsabilidades

Under the direct supervision of the Team Leader, Democratic Governance, and acting in close coordination with and taking technical leadership from the Chief Technical Advisor for Public Administration, the Programme Specialist provides strategic management, coordination and implementation in the programme area of public administration:

Management of Public administration Component:

• Implements the overall strategic vision of public administration with a view to building national capacities, to support the overarching objectives of the Country Programme, in close collaboration with Programme, Programme Management Support Team and Operations;
• Leads the public administration programme team;
• Manages and supervises national officers, international and local consultants;
• Manages all programmatic activities under the public administration output;
• Participates in internal control mechanisms for adherence to UNDP rules and regulations in contracts, assets, procurement, recruitment, etc. as required;
• Ensures the integration of cross-cutting issues, such as gender, HIV/AIDS, peace building, human rights and ICT, into the design, monitoring and evaluation of the public administration programme;
• Contributes to wider Pillar 3 (Democratic Governance) management processes and team cohesion.

Design and Implementation:

• Development of annual workplans for the public administration component;
• Oversee day to day implementation of the public administration component activities;
• Analyze and monitor progress and advise on timely corrective actions for proper delivery;
• Manage the delivery of the workplan and its outputs through consultants, contractors and NGOs, including developing terms of reference, participating in procurement, selection and hiring, and overseeing their delivery to ensure high quality outputs;  
• Together with programme counterparts, identify new areas of support and facilitate implementation of new initiatives;
• Ensure the effective application of RBM tools, elaboration and implementation of coherent work plans, project and programme documents, preparation of compelling proposals and achievement of results;
• Ensure compliance of operation with UNDP rules and regulations.

Monitoring and Evaluation:

• Ensure that Monitoring and Evaluation data for public administration output pillars are delivered in a timely manner and in an appropriate format;
• Conducts regular monitoring and evaluation visits and the participation of Programme Board and/or Steering Committee meetings;
• Contribute to quarterly, mid-year and annual reporting;
• Contribute to the identification of risks and issues and updating of risk logs in ATLAS.

Reporting:

• Oversee partner reporting and where necessary help them to improve in line with UNDP and project reporting standards;
• Provide timely inputs to donor reports on implementation, the achievement of outputs as well as contribute to reporting on progress towards outcomes and impact;
• Promote information sharing and coordination with UN agencies.

Budgeting and Financial management

• Has approval authority in Atlas and ensures the integrity of financial and administrative operations as well as the consistent application of UNDP rules and procedures for programme and operations issues related to public administration, in coordination with Operations and Programme Management staff and other support staff;
• Allocate budgets to programmatic activities and carry out timely budget revisions when necessary;
• Oversee and provide quality control of financial reports submitted by counterparts and liaise with counterparts to ensure the transparent and accountable use of funds;
• Advise counterparts on workplan development, develop checklists for all counterparts to assist in implementation and ensure that capacity support to counterparts are carried out in a timely and appropriate manner.

Partnerships and Learning:

• Develops partnerships with other agencies providing support to the public administration;
• Ensures that UNDP and wider international best practice and lesson learning is fed into programmatic and strategic development of the public administration component in UNDP Myanmar.

Impact of Results    

Achievement of the above key results will contribute to the successful implementation of the country programme, particularly the public administration Output.

Competencias

Corporate Competencies:

Ethics and Integrity:

• Promotes integrity and fairness by modeling UN values and ethical standards; shows willingness to work without bias with all persons regardless  of gender, nationality, religion or culture.

Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment:

• understands the structure and hierarchy of UN/UNDP, process flows throughout the organization, products and services, their measures of effectiveness, and perceptions of clients.

Developing and empowering staff:

• helps staff to identify their unique strengths and weaknesses, training and development needs, tying those to their personal and career aspirations.

Working in teams

• Builds effective teams, bringing diverse background, skills and expertise to maximize innovation and goal achievement;
• Recognizes opportunities to meet organizational priorities through team work, inspires and motivates staff to achieve them collectively encouraging them to think and act co-operatively, openly and honestly;
• Manages and resolves conflicts with individuals and groups both within and outside the organization to achieve win-win solutions.

Communicating information and ideas:

• Expresses own ideas/interests/concerns with clarity with the intent to enhance dialogue.

Conflict management/negotiating and resolving disagreements:

• Builds consensus by focusing attention on areas of agreement and by getting others to confirm them;
• Remains calm, composed and patient, regardless of his/her own state of mind in the face of conflict.

Informed and transparent decision making

Functional Competencies:

Building Strategic Partnerships: identifying and building partnerships

• Sensitizes UN Partners, donors and other international organizations to the UNDP’s strategic agenda, identifying areas for joint efforts;
• Identifies needs and interventions for capacity building of counterparts, clients and potential partners;
• Takes responsibility for achieving agreed outputs within set deadlines and strives until successful outputs are achieved;
• Builds strong relationships with clients, focuses on impact and responds positively to constructive feedback;
• Promotes UNDP’s agenda in inter-agency meetings.

Job Knowledge/Technical Expertise: In-depth knowledge of the subject-matter

• Understands more advanced aspects of primary area of specialization (public administration) as well as the fundamental concepts of related disciplines (Political Economy Analysis; Development Planning; Public Financial Management; Decentralisation);
• Continues to seek 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.

Promoting Learning and Knowledge Sharing

• Leverages different experiences and expertise of team members to achieve better and more innovative outcomes;
• 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;
• Promotes knowledge management and a learning environment through leadership and personal example;
• Experience in capacity development and facilitating positive transformational change.

Habilidades y experiencia requeridas

Education

• Masters Degree in Political Science, International Relations, Development Studies or any other relevant field.

Experience

• A minimum of 7 years of experience in fields of governance, decentralization or peace-building;
• A minimum of 2 years of relevant professional experience in public administration and institutional development; experience in civil service management and overall public administration reforms or reform initiatives;
• Proven management experience, preferably within UNDP or another UN agency, with sound knowledge and experience in all aspects of project cycle (design, implementation, monitoring & evaluation);
• Prior experience of governance work in Myanmar, South-East Asia and/or countries in transition would be an asset;
• Strong interpersonal and written and oral communication skills;
• Ability to work well in multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural teams.

Language Requirements:

• Excellent command of written and spoken English.

Mode of Assessment:

Online written test and interview.