UNDP Jobs - 60886- Senior Policy Advisor on the 2030 Agenda for Susta

Senior Policy Advisor on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

Location :

New York, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Type of Contract :

FTA International

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

20-Oct-15 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

P-6

Duration of Initial Contract :

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 Bureau for Policy and Programme Support (BPPS) has the responsibility for developing all relevant policy and guidance to support the results of UNDP’s Strategic Plan. BPPS’s staff provides technical advice to Country Offices, advocates for UNDP corporate messages, represents UNDP at multi-stakeholder fora including public-private dialogues, government and civil society dialogues, South-South and Triangular cooperation initiatives, and engages in UN inter-agency coordination in specific thematic areas. BPPS works closely with UNDP’s Crisis Response Unit (CRU) to support emergency and crisis response. BPPS ensures that issues of risk are fully integrated into UNDP’s development programmes. BPPS assists UNDP and partners to achieve higher quality development results through an integrated approach that links results-based management and performance monitoring with more effective and new ways of working. BPPS supports UNDP and partners to be more innovative, knowledge and data driven including in its programme support efforts.

The Strategic Policy and Global Positioning (SPGP) Unit within BPPS has primary objective to lead UNDP’s policy research agenda, policy incubation, provide forward-looking analysis, identify emerging development trends in multiple contexts (including crisis) and collaborate with academia and think tanks to advance UNDP’s contribution to global policy debates and the implementation of UNDP’s Strategic Plan.

In September 2015, UN Member UN Member States adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (Agenda 2030), a universal and transformative set of commitments for ending poverty and protecting the planet. The Agenda 2030 and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set out concrete aspirations to end hunger and disease; fight inequality and discrimination; and tackle climate change. The SDGs also recognize the importance of peaceful and inclusive societies as a prerequisite and indivisible component of sustainable development. UNDP will support UN Member States and other stakeholders in the implementation of these commitments. This support is framed by the United Nations Development Group (UNDG) common approach to supporting SDG implementation, MAPS, comprising: Mainstreaming of Agenda 2030, Acceleration towards the SDGs, and Policy Support drawing on the expertise and programmatic experience of different parts of the UN. UNDP will also support the UNDG Chair in the process of preparing Guidelines for National SDG Reports. UNDP and DESA, as co-conveners of the UN Task-Force on post-2015, will mobilize of the UN development system towards supporting SDG implementation.

In this context, the role of the SPGP Unit is to ensure that UNDP plays a constructive and supportive role to UNDG in its efforts to support SDG implementation, and will take the lead in working with DESA on behalf of UNDP. The Unit will be tasked with defining, in collaboration with relevant units, the initial offering of support on SDG implementation, and to ensure that this offering is informed by the experiences with implementation on the ground and by the broader debates and analytical advances on SDG implementation. The Unit will also lead on providing analytical contributions to the policy discussions around SDG implementation.

Duties and Responsibilities

In this context, the role of the Senior Policy Advisor on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development will be:

To lead and support senior managers in UNDP’s engagement with UNDG processes, contributing towards a mutually reinforcing support by the UN Development System to the implementation of the SDGs;
To closely work with DESA, and lead and support UNDP’s role as co-chair, with DESA, of the UN Task Force on post-2015;
To lead within UNDP, in collaboration with relevant units, the definition of UNDP’s offering on Mainstreaming and Acceleration, and to reinforce integrated Policy Support;
To lead on analytical work, capturing lessons on the implementation of the SDGs to refine UNDP’s offering, and to contribute with analytical findings to global debates on SDG implementation. This will resource senior UNDP management with high quality substantive content and advice on positioning in the SDG implementation debate;
To representing the work of BPPS and UNDP on SDGs related work (and UNDG/UN contributions) with external stakeholders, including resource mobilization.

The incumbent will be reporting to the Chief of Profession/Director of SPGP.

To lead and support senior managers in UNDP’s engagement with UNDG processes, contributing towards a mutually reinforcing support by the UN Development System to the implementation of the SDGs:

Work with UNDG co-leads to ensure that the UN Development System provides a cohesive and internally consistent support to SDG implementation;
Support UNDP senior managers in their engagement in UNDG, providing high-level policy advice;
Support processes that allow for effective coordination and consultations with relevant stakeholders;

To lead within UNDP, in collaboration with relevant units, the definition of UNDP’s offering on Mainstreaming and Acceleration, and to reinforce integrated Policy Support:

Work with other technical teams in BPPS to define tools to support Acceleration and to provide guidance to ensure integrated Policy Support;
Closely work with the SDG Campaign to ensure effective citizen and civil society engagement;
Lead in the contribution, from the perspective of Agenda 2030, to UNDP strategic and planning processes;

To lead on analytical work, capturing lessons on the implementation of the SDGs to refine UNDP’s offering, and to contribute with analytical findings to global debates on SDG implementation:

Provide briefings for UN/DP senior management as necessary; Provide position papers on the 2030 Agenda for interagency and intergovernmental discussions;
Advise on developments in intergovernmental discussions on Agenda 2030;
Capture the experiences and positions on SDG implementation from governments, civil society; academia and the private sector and distil lessons to continuously improve UNDP’s offering;
Define and lead an analytical policy research agenda to enable UNDP to contribute to global debates on SDG implementation.

To represent the work of BPPS and UNDP on SDGs related work (and UNDG/UN contributions) with external stakeholders, including resource mobilization:

Present the work of BPPS in conferences and meetings on the 2030 Agenda and SDGs organized by different stakeholders;
Define a roadmap to influence the global discourse on the 2030 Agenda by feeding the outcomes of UNDG/DP work into other processes;
Coordinate processes with the rest of the UN, linkages with other existing initiatives, country/regional level engagement, and effective communication of the project outside the UN, including supporting resource mobilization.

Competencies

Core:

Innovation

Ability to make new and useful ideas work.

Leadership

Ability to persuade others to follow.

People Management

Ability to improve performance and satisfaction.

Communication

Ability to listen, adapt, persuade and transform.

Delivery

Ability to get things done.

Technical/Functional:

Primary:

Development and Operational Effectiveness

Ability to contribute to strategic planning and reporting; formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development programmes and projects, as well as mobilize resources;
Ability to provide necessary vision and intellectual leadership to enable the team to deliver expected development results;
Ability to bring together a cohesive team and efficient and effective management of financial and human resources of the team;
Ability to integrate knowledge with broader strategic, policy and operational objectives;
Ability to analyze key facets of poverty reduction and solid knowledge of inclusive green growth issues and ability to frame them in a holistic manner with strong skills on sustainable human development.

Innovative Approach to Problem-Solving and Global Development Issues

Ability to analyze and understand development cooperation, with emphasis on functional issues related to analysis, advocacy, partnership building, outreach to RSCs and Country Offices, and resource mobilization efforts;
Ability to provide advisory services to developing countries in areas related to inclusive green growth, equity, resilience, social protection and cross-cutting themes.

Knowledge Management and Learning

Ability to promote a knowledge-sharing and learning culture in the office;
Ability to work towards continuing personal learning and development in one or more practice areas, acts on learning plan and applies newly acquired skills;
Ability to advocate innovative ideas documenting successes and building them into the design of new approaches and capture lessons learned, reflects on positive and negative experiences to feed into improved performance both at an individual and organizational level.

Advocacy/Advancing a Policy-Oriented Agenda

Ability to analyze and create messages and strategies;
Ability to contribute to the elaboration of advocacy strategies by identifying and prioritizing audiences and communication means;
Ability to use the opportunity to bring forward and disseminate materials for advocacy work.

Promoting Organizational learning and knowledge sharing

Ability to develop tools and mechanisms;
Ability to make the case for innovative ideas documenting successes and building them into the design of new approaches;
Ability to Identify new approaches and strategies that promote the use of tools and mechanisms.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master's Degree in Economics, Business, International Relations, Development, Public Administration, or related field (Ph.D. is an asset).

Experience:

A minimum of 15 years’ experience in international development, programme development, partnership building, or analytical work in development issues;
Experience in resource mobilization processes;
Experience in coordinating large and complicated processes with multiple different actors; government, civil society and public sector;
Work experience with the UN system, especially in leadership roles.

Language Requirements:

Fluency in English;
Knowledge of a second UN language would be advantageous.