UNDP Jobs - 85228- SDGs Technical Specialist

SDGs Technical Specialist

Location :

Maputo, MOZAMBIQUE

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

15-Jul-2019

Application Deadline :

10-Jun-19 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

12 months

Languages Required :

English Portuguese

Expected Duration of Assignment :

12 months

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

Mozambique is a Least Developed Country in Southern Africa. with a population of 28.86 million people (52.2 percent women).

For two decades, economic growth in Mozambique has averaged over 7 percent annually, making it one of the top ten fastest-growing economies in the world, and indicating its potential for inclusive, sustainable development. Its economic growth, driven mainly by primary commodities’ exports, such as, aluminium, coal and electricity, declined to 4.3% in 2016 due to continued fiscal tightening, investment slowdown, and the debt crisis. In 2017, extractive sector’s exports are, however, expected to increase and drive growth back up to 5.5%. The country’s hopes are relying strongly in the gas discovery and exploitation, as the medium-term source for employment and national revenues. The Government foresees investments in the extractive sector as the catalyst for industrialization and diversification of economy that will lead the country to middle-income status, by 2053.

The UNDP Human Development Report 2016 ranks Mozambique as a low human development country (181/188 countries), with a Human Development Index of 0.418, a life expectancy of 55.5 years, 9.1 expected years of schooling, 3.5 mean years of schooling and a gross national income per-capita of US$ 1,098.

The country has made important progress in different areas of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). However significant challenges remain. The latest national poverty assessment, released in October 2016, indicates that in 2014/2015, 46.1% of the population was still living below the poverty line, with asymmetries at the regional and provincial level. Notwithstanding a 5.6% reduction in poverty incidence from the previous poverty assessment, in absolute terms the number of poor people in Mozambique has remained relatively unchanged. Therefore, close to 13 million of Mozambicans, a little less than the total population of 28,8 million, are still poor. High levels of poverty are compounded with high inequality. The country´s Gini Coefficient was 0.47, in 2008. In 2015, Mozambique ranked 139th, out of 188 countries, in the Gender Inequality Index (0.574), with high levels of maternal mortality (489 deaths per 100,000 live births). Women’s share in parliament was 39.6% in 2015, and their labour force participation rate stands at 82.5% for ages 15 and older.

The country faces high level of vulnerabilities to natural disasters. In March 2019, several areas of Mozambique were severely affected by the cyclone Idai, with thousands of fatal victims and millions in damages. Also, in April cyclone Kenneth impacted the northern part of the country. Starting in 2016, the country’s economy suffered a severe contraction because of the fall in commodity prices and the El-Nino drought. The country crisis deepened later the same year, following the disclosure of USD 2.2 billion loans contracted at commercial rates and the country’s multiple defaults on its sovereign commitments. This led to a freeze in donor support to the national budget and the suspension of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Mozambique programme. At the same time, tensions between the Government and the main opposition party gave way to a rise in military hostilities.

A year later Mozambique President and the leader of Renamo, the main opposition party signed a peace agreement calling for greater decentralization and the reintegration of ex-combatants. In 2019 provincial governors will be elected for the first time and ex-combatants are being re-integrated.To strengthen the coherence of national processed related to the SDGs, UNDP has signed with the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF), the project “SDGs Integration into Mozambique´s Planning and Budgeting”. The prior aims at strengthening capacities for whole-of-government and whole-of-society approaches to manage complex interventions and to enhance inclusiveness. This entails technical and organizational support to MEF’s technical, policy and financing coordination to ensure convergence of its efforts in integrated planning and budgeting, setting up an integrated financing framework, mobilizing

resources and supporting the adoption of a results-based management system with a strong focus on SDG 1 – Poverty Eradication and SDG 10 - Reducing Inequalities. Other SDGs that will be consider are SDG 5 - Gender Equality; SDG 8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth, SDG 13 - Climate Action and SDG 16 - Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions. This will be in sync with the Transforming Aspirational GoM’s long term National Strategy for Economic Development (Estratégia Nacional de Desenvolvimento Económico – ENDE).

The project’s theory of change suggests an integrated approach that addresses three interlinked challenges that form the basis for the project’s outputs:

1. Priority Sustainable Development Goals integrated into national planning and budgeting
2. Financing for the Sustainable Development Goals improved
3. Advocacy and Engagement with the Sustainable Development Goals enhanced

The project will use existing institutional framework and processes to strengthen the political space for citizen participation in the national dialogue about good governance and inclusive economic development. This will be achieved through three outputs:

Output 1. Priority Sustainable Development Goals integrated into national planning and budgeting,

Output 2. Financing for the Sustainable Development Goals improved, and

Output 3. Advocacy and Engagement with the Sustainable Development Goals enhanced.

The results framework follows the guidance of Agenda 2030 and the SDGs and is aligned with national policies and strategies, UNDP country Document programme (CPD), United Nations Development Assistance Plan 2017-2020 and other relevant frameworks.

To support the successful implementation of the Project, UNDP Mozambique is recruiting a Technical Specialist as project coordinator and manager.

Duties and Responsibilities

Duties and Responsibilities of the SDGs Technical Specialist

The project “SDGs Integration into Mozambique´s Planning and Budgeting” will be implemented in Three (3) years’ time frame, starting in 2019.

Under the direct supervision of the UNDP Mozambique the UNDP Senior Economic Advisor, the SDGs Technical Specialist (STE) will be responsible for providing technical and management support in the “Moçambicanização” of the 2030 Agenda, including the SDGs, translating its universal principles and goals into a narrative and a set of actions that are able to articulate what the SDGs will deliver for the people of Mozambique.

The SDGs Technical Specialist (STE) will be based in the MEF, where s/he will work under the functional responsibility of MEF’s National Director of Planning and Budget. The SDGs Technical Specialist duties and responsibilities are listed below:

Provide policy advise to support the prioritization of SDGs with higher impact and the alignment of the planning and budgeting processes, including of programmes and projects.

Coordination of the elaboration of the report on quantitative analysis of SDG accelerators.

Dissemination and prioritization of SDGs, including: i) review and validation of policy options resulting from macro-economic analysis of accelerators; ii) convey the policy options to the different sectors.

Assist on organization of national conference to mobilize resources – public, private, external, internal - to finance development.
Policy advise for higher domestic resources mobilization.
Examine the extent to which current efforts to strengthen private sector development and policies and strategies to attract private sector investment (such as the Integrated Investment Plan (IIP), the priorities of the Strategic Plan for the Promotion of Private Investment (PEPIP), the priorities agenda for the promotion of Public Private Partnerships) are aligned with national priorities as reflected in ENDE and PQG 2020-2024 and adjust to improve alignment.
Contribute to the establishment of an electronic monitoring system to track the impact of FDI (linked with ENDE), including the extractive industry and the PPPs, with the SDGs working with APIEX.

Identify opportunities and challenges to leave no one behind for SDGs and extractive industry in Cabo Delgado province.

Coordinate the elaboration of a feasibility assessment based on Extractive Industries, particularly for SDGs 1, 10 and 13, in the province to: i) explore relations between the SDGs and extractive industry; ii) identify opportunities and challenges in achieving the SDGs 1, 10 and 13; iii) implications for local SDG plan and budget.
Assist on organization of a multi-stakeholder dialogue in Cabo Delgado involving the SDG Reference Group, local communities, government and private sector to present assessment and (ii) make recommendations on the integration of SDG in provincial plans and budget and (iii) establish strategic partnerships to achieve progress in the SDGs.
Assist to integrate recommendations into plans and/or establish partnerships to achieve selected SDGs.

Promote policy dialogues around Agenda 2030 with relevant stakeholders

Assist on organization multi-stakeholder’s policy dialogues to build consensus around key issues that could influence the 2020-2024 National Development Plan and budgeting processes in Mozambique in the context of the 2063 and 2030 development agendas. Topics to be addressed: i) Mozambique National Development Planning in the era of the 2030 and 2063 Development Agendas; ii) Identification of the SDGs Accelerators for the Mozambican Economy; iii) Private sector financing to identify market opportunities associated with the SDGs; iv) Financing for development.
Provide substantive contributor on the processes related with the elaboration of a National Human Development Report 2020/21.

Mobilize interest and engagement of relevant stakeholders with the SDGs.

Build public awareness about Agenda 2030 particularly SDGs 1, 5, 10, 13 and 16 by

(i) developing an Information, Education and Communication strategy for Agenda 2030 and SDGs;

(ii) formulating and printing package of informative material on Agenda 2030 focusing on integrated approach and SDGs;

(iii) Carry out dissemination and advocacy in media including social media.

Participate on journalists trainings on Agenda 2030 particularly SDGs 1, 5, 10, 13 and 16.
Assess civic engagement in public policy and identify what could help enhance it.

Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;

Background and national context

Mozambique is a Least Developed Country in Southern Africa. with a population of 28.86 million people (52.2 percent women).

To strengthen the coherence of national processed related to the SDGs, UNDP has signed with the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF), the project “SDGs Integration into Mozambique´s Planning and Budgeting”. The prior aims at strengthening capacities for whole-of-government and whole-of-society approaches to manage complex interventions and to enhance inclusiveness. This entails technical and organizational support to MEF’s technical, policy and financing coordination to ensure convergence of its efforts in integrated planning and budgeting, setting up an integrated financing framework, mobilizing resources and supporting the adoption of a results-based management system with a strong focus on SDG 1 – Poverty Eradication and SDG 10 - Reducing Inequalities. Other SDGs that will be consider are SDG 5 - Gender Equality; SDG 8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth, SDG 13 - Climate Action and SDG 16 - Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions. This will be in sync with the Transforming Aspirational GoM’s long term National Strategy for Economic Development (Estratégia Nacional de Desenvolvimento Económico – ENDE).

The project’s theory of change suggests an integrated approach that addresses three interlinked challenges that form the basis for the project’s outputs:

Priority Sustainable Development Goals integrated into national planning and budgeting
Financing for the Sustainable Development Goals improved
Advocacy and Engagement with the Sustainable Development Goals enhanced

Output 1. Priority Sustainable Development Goals integrated into national planning and budgeting,

Output 2. Financing for the Sustainable Development Goals improved, and

Output 3. Advocacy and Engagement with the Sustainable Development Goals enhanced.

To support the successful implementation of the Project, UNDP Mozambique is recruiting a Technical Specialist as project coordinator and manager.

Duties and Responsibilities of the SDGs Technical Specialist

The project “SDGs Integration into Mozambique´s Planning and Budgeting” will be implemented in Three (3) years’ time frame, starting in 2019.

Provide policy advise to support the prioritization of SDGs with higher impact and the alignment of the planning and budgeting processes, including of programmes and projects.

Coordination of the elaboration of the report on quantitative analysis of SDG accelerators.
Dissemination and prioritization of SDGs, including: i) review and validation of policy options resulting from macro-economic analysis of accelerators; ii) convey the policy options to the different sectors represented in National SDG Reference Group and other key actors; iii) prioritize SDGs by integrating accelerators into national planning and budgeting/PQG; iv) revise National Framework of SDG Indicators.

Assist on monitor and coordinate for mainstreaming and integration of SDGs.
Substantive contributor to knowledge paper on poverty eradication and inequality reduction with policy and budgetary policy advice.
Substantive contributor and manager of day to day processes of the Mozambique National SDGs Report to be presented to the UN High Level Panel through the Voluntary National Review.

Support localization of SDGs at local level.

Organize annual training at provincial, municipal and district level for government staff to identify SDG priorities and appropriate indicators, mainstream SDG into local plans and budgets and establish partnerships with stakeholders including private sector, media, academia, parliament; with UNDP support highlight SDG 1,5,8,10,16.
Adapt, print and distribute Guide/tools for Localizing SDGs developed in Brazil to assist the integration of SDGs.

Improve technical, policy and financing coordination for sustainable development.

Facilitate and contribute to training staff at line ministries in the use of the revised planning and budgeting system (SPO), a Performance and Programme-Based Budgeting system being updated with support from European Union to link program results to inputs from sectors and/or province.
Contribute to conducting economic modeling and projections of flows to simulate policy options to provide input to the annual Social Economic Plans; review policy integration tools available to test policy options in the formulation of development plans;
Built technical capacity for economic modeling coordinating with other initiative such as UNU-Wider’s support to MEF’s Economic and Finance Research Dept.

Review donor interventions supporting the SDGs from traditional and emerging south-south partners based on data from revamped ODAMoz, an initiative supported by the World Bank, and the Evaluation Report of on the Global Partnership for Development (Busan Agreement) and present findings and discuss a system for better coordination and tracking of impact with national authorities and development partners.
Provide technical assistance to promote coordination of development partners and financing for development including its alignment to ENDE to generate synergies - better value for money, multiplier effect in aid investments- track impact and identify gaps in the implementation of the SDGs (Map development partners in the country and alignment with the SDGs).

D. Mobilize and align funding for development to national priorities.

Contribute to developing a financing strategy to mobilize external and internal public and private resources.
Elaboration of Policy briefs related to integrated financing for development for SDGs 1 and 10.
Assist on organization of national conference to mobilize resources – public, private, external, internal - to finance development.
Policy advise for higher domestic resources mobilization.
Examine the extent to which current efforts to strengthen private sector development and policies and strategies to attract private sector investment (such as the Integrated Investment Plan (IIP), the priorities of the Strategic Plan for the Promotion of Private Investment (PEPIP), the priorities agenda for the promotion of Public Private Partnerships) are aligned with national priorities as reflected in ENDE and PQG 2020-2024 and adjust to improve alignment.
Contribute to the establishment of an electronic monitoring system to track the impact of FDI (linked with ENDE), including the extractive industry and the PPPs, with the SDGs working with APIEX.

Identify opportunities and challenges to leave no one behind for SDGs and extractive industry in Cabo Delgado province.

Promote policy dialogues around Agenda 2030 with relevant stakeholders

Mobilize interest and engagement of relevant stakeholders with the SDGs.

Build public awareness about Agenda 2030 particularly SDGs 1, 5, 10, 13 and 16 by (i) developing an Information, Education and Communication strategy for Agenda 2030 and SDGs, (ii) formulating and printing package of informative material on Agenda 2030 focusing on integrated approach and SDGs (iii) Carry out dissemination and advocacy in media including social media.
Participate on journalists trainings on Agenda 2030 particularly SDGs 1, 5, 10, 13 and 16.
Assess civic engagement in public policy and identify what could help enhance it.
Provide training and material to CSOs to engage in sustainable development from advocacy, to planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluating.

Assist parliament meet its commitment to strengthen national ownership of the SDGs, particularly SDG 1 and 10.

Assess Parliament’s needs, opportunities and interest to integrate SDGs - with a focus on 1, 5, 8, 10, 13 and 16 - into their legislative, oversight and representative role.

Provide trainings and material to assist parliament and parliamentarians fulfill their roles in implementing the SDGs.

Innovation for Development

Provide to the Ministry of Economy and Planning with innovative ways to approach the deliverables of the project, staying abreast of innovative approaches, tools and mechanisms.
Nurture partnerships with UNDP Global Policy Network, as well as world renowned research and policy institutions that can engage with innovative approaches to the deliverables of the project.
Built on South-South and Triangular cooperation to share innovative field experiences in the areas of the project.

The SDGs Technical Specialist (STE) is expected to be a “hands on” professional that will guarantee the delivery of the project with the best quality possible. For some products, already identified by the UNDP CO, the STE will have technical support from national consultants and/or research institutions, UNDP Global Policy Network and/or others.

For the day to day operational project management of the project, the STE will count with the support of the UNDP operational platform. Specific contributions will also be provided to the STE by the UNDP Country Economist. For quality assurance, the STE will have the technical advice and substantive supervision of the UNDP Senior Economic Advisor.

Competencies

Core Values and Guiding Principles:

Integrity: Demonstrating consistency in upholding and promoting the values of UNDP in actions and decisions, in line with the UN Code of Conduct.
Cultural Sensitivity/Valuing diversity: Demonstrating an appreciation of the multicultural nature of the organization and the diversity of its staff. Demonstrating an international outlook, appreciating differences in values and learning from cultural diversity.

Corporate Competencies:

Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UN's values and ethical standards;

Personal Competencies:

Strategic thinking and strong analytical skills.
Innovation as core of his/her approach to development challenges.
Excellent organizational skills, ability to take initiative, work independently, be result oriented, and meet deadlines.
Politically wise when addressing sensitive issues.
Excellent interpersonal skills as team leader and team player
Tactful and open to feedback on performance
Strong oral and written communication skills in English and Portuguese. Ability to gather information quickly and prepare quality reports in various written formats.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master’s degree in economics, international relations, development, or related areas
Bachelor’s degree in economics (required).

Experience

Minimum 7 years of well documented and successful working experience in development areas related to the areas of this terms of reference (TORs).
Strong analytical skills, covering socio-economic and development issues. Statistical and econometric skills are relevant.
Experience with advocacy, development planning and budgeting processes, public policy-making and mainstreaming of global agendas into national and local plans and budgets.
Experience with data analysis, and monitoring systems of national level interventions and plans.
Previous experience as team member and contributing author on substantive publications. Provision of documented examples will be required.
Working experience engaging private sector in developing initiatives, would be an asset
Working experience in developing country settings, as well as, with governmental and non-governmental counterparts.

Language:

Fluency in English is required.
Fluency in Portuguese is a highly relevant advantage.
Excellent communication and writing skills in English and Portuguese.

The selection of the individual consultant will be done following UNDP procurement rules and regulations. UNDP will assess the consultant’s profile, qualifications and skills to ensure high level consultant is recruited using the below evaluation criteria.

Shortlisted consultants will be invited to an interview.

Application Submission Process

The application submission is in 2 steps:

Step 1: Interested individual consultants must include the following documents when submitting the applications in UNDP job shop (Please note that only 1 (one) file can be uploaded therefore please include all docs in one file):

Personal History Form (P11), indicating all past experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the candidate and at least three (3) professional references (the template can be downloaded from this link: http://europeandcis.undp.org/files/hrforms/P11_modified_for_SCs_and_ICs.doc).

Step 2: Submission of Financial Proposal

Applicants are instructed to submit their financial proposals, lump sum, in US Dollars for this consultancy to procurement.mozambique@undp.org, using the financial proposal template available here: http://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_file.cfm?doc_id=45780.

The proposals should be sent via email with the following subject heading: “Agenda 2030 agenda 2063 Consultant /Consultancy Services" by the deadline for this vacancy. Proposals received after the deadline will not be considered. To assist the requesting unit in the comparison of financial proposals, the financial proposal should be all-inclusive and include a breakdown.