UNDP Jobs - 40312- Junior Professional Officer (JPO)

Junior Professional Officer (JPO) - Programme and Communications Officer - Local Governance and Microfinance (Kuwaiti Nationals only)

Location :

Bangkok, THAILAND

Type of Contract :

FTA International

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

19-Oct-13 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

P-2

Duration of Initial Contract :

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

One year

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

Supervision:

Title of Supervisor: Regional Technical Advisor for Local Development Finance and Regional Technical Advisor for Inclusive Finance

Content and methodology of supervision: As part of the UNDP JPO programme overall framework, the JPO will benefit from the following supervision modalities:

Structured guidance provided by the supervisor, especially in the beginning of the assignment, with the purpose of gradually increasing the responsibilities of the JPO
Establishment of a work plan, with clear key results
Effective supervision through knowledge sharing and performance/development feedback throughout the assignment
Easy access to the supervisor
Participation in Unit/Team/Office meetings to ensure integration and operational effectiveness
Guidance and advice in relation to learning and training opportunities within the field of expertise
Completion of the yearly UNDP Results and Competency Assessment (RCA)
If more than one supervisor; clear agreement of the roles and responsibilities between the relevant parties.

Content and Methodology of Supervision: The Programme and Communications Office for Local Development Finance and Inclusive Finance reports to the Regional Technical Advisor for Local Development Finance and to the Regional Technical Advisor for Inclusive Finance. Within the framework of the annual results Competency Assessment (RCA), setting of annual key results, mid-term reviews and final evaluations of results achieved will be done together with the supervisor. Performance discussions will take place once or twice a year.

Duties and Responsibilities

UNCDF is the UN’s capital investment agency for the world’s 49 least developed countries. It creates new opportunities for poor people and their businesses by increasing access to microfinance and investment capital. Its mandate is to promote sustainable, inclusive growth in the world’s 49 least developed countries. UNCDF focuses on the least developed among the developing countries, UNCDF’s work is in Sub-Saharan Africa, 30% in Asia and the Pacific. 50% is in post-crisis countries. All UNCDF work is done via national systems (Paris Principles).

UNCDF programmes aim at reducing poverty by promoting Financial Services for the Poor and Public Finance for Local Development.

Promoting Financial Inclusion: Today 2.5 billion adults—more than a half of the world’s working adults —are excluded from formal financial services. This is most acute among low-income populations in emerging and developing economies, where approximately 80% of poor people are excluded. UNCDF’s ability (unique in the United Nations system) to provide grants and loans directly to the private sector helps bring microfinance to underserved markets. UNCDF pursues an “inclusive finance” approach, which is designed to ensure that a range of financial products – savings, credit, insurance, payments, remittances – are available to all segments of society, at a reasonable cost and on a sustainable basis. Within a given least developed country, UNCDF begins with a sector assessment of opportunities and constraints at the macro-level (policy), meso-level (support infrastructure) and retail level (financial service provider). This assessment is combined with a gap analysis of areas not supported by other development partners. This leads to a tailored programme of support designed to seize opportunities, remove constraints and fill gaps to build an inclusive financial sector. In 2011 ‘SmartAid for Microfinance Index’ UNCDF received the highest score amongst agencies participating in SmartAid Index 2009 and SmartAid Index 2011.
Public Finance for Local Development: Public investment is inadequate and inefficient in many least developed countries, especially in rural areas where most poor people still live. UNCDF works to ensure that local capital investment – in schools, irrigation schemes roads, water supply – is sustainable, and responds to the needs of poor communities. UNCDF local development finance programmes strive to improve the capacity of local governments to plan, allocate and manage resources; and ensure that lessons learned at the local level are fed into national policies and can be replicated at scale.

UNCDF has three regional offices in Dakar (Senegal), Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) and Bangkok (Thailand). The Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific is based in Bangkok and covers Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Nepal, Solomon Islands and Timor Leste.

The Programme & Communications Officer for Local Development Finance and Inclusive Finance will be responsible for supporting the Regional Technical Advisor for Local Development Finance and the Regional Technical Advisor for Inclusive Finance in UNCDF Asia-Pacific Regional Office to effectively manage the Local Development Finance and Inclusive Finance portfolios in Asia as well as regional and global programmes based out of Asia.

The post holder will be responsible for:

Maintaining the LDF and IF reporting system, which will include monitoring performance-based agreements and follow-up as needed;
Supporting the formulation of new LDF and IF projects, including desk research, documentation, drafting concept notes and project documents;
Supporting the Senior Regional Technical Advisors to follow-up on operational issues emerging from missions and discussions with projects and country governments;
Support other LDF and IF Regional Technical Advisors with their portfolios as needed;
Assist the regional office in gathering and analyzing data from CO for quarterly and annual reports;
Supporting the analysis of data from projects, programmes and country programmes to improve the quality and substance of UNCDF’s reporting on project performance and the achievement of development results;
Supporting country programme planning and design of internal and external strategies with a communications and outreach objective;
Supporting country programmes efforts to use communication for development strategically to further enhance programme objectives and support our key counterparts (Governments and Private Institutions) in meeting their objectives through improved communication and knowledge management
Supporting country programmes and regional office with partnership and resource mobilization efforts through knowledge sharing and external communication
Ensuring facilitation of knowledge building and management and developing and implementing a research and knowledge management strategy for LDF and IF projects in Asia, as well as regional and global projects based out of Asia to capture project achievements and enable cross-sharing of good practices and lessons-learned;
Other tasks as assigned.

Expected Outputs:

Research and knowledge management strategy developed for LDF and IF programmes in Asia to capture achievements and share good practices and lessons-learned;
Active engagement with key stakeholders in Asia to raise the visibility of UNCDF’s latest initiatives and expertise in the inclusive finance agenda;
Timely research and documentation prepared for the formulation of new LDF and IF programmes;
Technical backstopping / trouble shooting on demand meeting expectations of the Regional Senior Technical Advisors for Local Development Finance and Inclusive Finance and Regional Portfolio Specialist;
Critical mass of field data of best quality accessible to UNCDF managers at regional (PMs, RTAs), and HQ level (Directorate, LDFPA and FIPA) for assessing project and corporate performance (half year and annual basis);
Quantitative and qualitative information to assess the achievement of the intended development results.

Competencies

Core competences:

Ethics & Values
Working in Teams
Communicating Information & Ideas
Self-management & Emotional intelligence
Decision making

Functional competences:

UN experience, particularly in economic and social development and results-based management of programmes
Experience of knowledge management and knowledge sharing tools and practices Advocacy/Advancing a Policy-Oriented Agenda
Strong organizational skills, methodological approach and attention to detail

Training and Learning:

As part of the UNDP JPO programme overall framework, the JPO will benefit from the following training and learning opportunities:

Participation in a two-week long Programme Policy and Operations Induction Course in New York within the first 3 to 6 months of assignment
Use of yearly JPO duty-related travel and training allocation (DTTA)
Other training and learning opportunities

In addition, the JPO will benefit from the following specific training and learning modalities/opportunities in the receiving office:

Upon completion of the assignment, the JPO will have / be able to:
Project management with particular emphasis on Local Development Finance and inclusive Finance programmes
Substantive knowledge on local development issues
Familiarity with results-based management approach and its use
Participation in the UNCDF-organized regional workshops.

Required Skills and Experience

Required Education and Work Experience:

Master's Degree or equivalent Advanced Degree in a related field of expertise
Alternatively, candidates with a Bachelor’s degree in a related field of expertise and four years of experience will be considered.
A minimum of two years of paid working experience in a relevant field

Language:

Working knowledge of English

Other desirable education and work experience:

2 years proven experience in an area related to public administration, decentralization, social science, public finances and results-based management.

Agency:

UNDP-UNCDF

Duration of assignment:

One-year fixed-term appointment, renewable at least once subject to satisfactory performance, recommendation by respective office and donor agreement.

Language skills:

fluency in English with excellent written communication skills

Background Information:
Information on the receiving office:

UNCDF is the UN’s capital investment agency for the world’s 49 least developed countries.

Both of UNCDF´s Practice Areas – Local Development and Finance – have gained increasing attention in recent years for a variety of reasons, such as the realization of the need for building capacity at sub-national government levels for the efficient delivery of social services and local infrastructure; or the necessity to build inclusive financial sectors that provide financial services to poor people and micro- and small enterprises. In these areas, UNCDF offers a unique mix of cutting edge technical expertise and investment capital, while fostering coherence and harmonization through the participation in Sector Wide Approaches in both Practice Areas. UNCDF works exclusively in the Least Developed Countries and enjoys, based on its documented successful programmes that deliver concrete and sustainable developmental results, a strong support by the LDCs.

Bangkok is a family Duty Station.

Living conditions at the Duty Station:
The JPO will be stationed in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand. When requested and/or necessary, s/he is expected to travel and spend time at project sites outsides in the countries covered by the Asia Regional Office. Thailand is a middle-income country that has seen remarkable progress in human development in the last twenty years. Thailand now has a Human Development Rating of 0.768. It will achieve most if not all of the global Millennium Development Goals well in advance of 2015. Thailand has reduced poverty from 27% in 1990 to 9.8% in 2002, and the proportion of underweight children has fallen by nearly half. Most children are in school; universal primary school enrolment is likely to be achieved within a few years. Malaria is no longer a problem in most of the country. Annual new HIV infections have been reduced by more than 80% since 1991, the peak of the epidemic. Strides are being made toward gender equality. For detailed information on living conditions, please visit the website http://www.un.or.th/thailand/index.html

FC:

30000