UNDP Jobs - 3610- Country Adviser

Country Adviser

Location :

Johannesburg, SOUTH AFRICA

Type of Contract :

100 Series

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

22-Feb-08 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

P-5 (ICS-12)

Duration of Initial Contract :

Languages Required :

English French

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

This position has been identified as a result of the Regional Bureau for Africa (RBA) completing its Job Fair and is one of seven concurrent vacancy announcements. It is being advertised as an ad hoc vacancy, but will adhere to corporate recruitment processes for the filling of 100 Series vacancies in UNDP.

Encompassing 45 countries, RBA is UNDP’s largest Regional Bureau, with almost one third of the countries in crisis or post-crisis situations. To help the Africa region overcome its development challenges, UNDP’s strategic goal in Africa is to develop the region’s capacity to promote pro-poor growth and accountability (CD-PGA), as a strategy for accelerating its progress towards achieving the MDGs. Achieving this strategic goal requires a refocusing of UNDP’s resources in the region on capacity development, and strengthening its own internal capacity in required substantive and managerial areas. The RBA Strategy and Management Review conducted in mid-2006 recommended far-reaching managerial changes for UNDP in Africa to achieve this goal, including by enhancing its standards of efficiency and accountability in a number of key functions including: i) Innovative region-wide strategic thinking, advocacy and partnerships; ii) translation of corporate and RBA strategies and goals into successful capacity development results on the ground; iii) more strategic partnerships and support to UN reform; and iv) continuous upgrading and enhancement of in-house substantive and managerial effectiveness and accountability.

Post-specific Context:

To meet the above challenges, the RBA Strategy and Management Review recommended an RBA HQ structure comprising a Directorate, and four Divisions, namely: i) Policy and Strategy (PSD); ii) Country Operations (2 geographical Divisions -CODs), and iii) UN Support and Partnerships (UNSP). In view of Africa’s development challenges, the scope and depth of work of the CODs is complex. It requires a mastery of a broad range of developmental issues, as well as considerable change management expertise, to provide Country Offices with the support they need to translate the strategy into effective capacity development initiatives and results. It also requires permanent interaction between the Bureau and sister UN Agencies at managerial and operational levels to promote joint programming and support UN reform. To meet these challenges, a new organisational structure has been put in place requiring, among other things, the relocation of the CODs to the Africa region to strengthen their proximity to field realities, and promote operational synergies with other UN agencies and other field-based partners.

The Country Advisor is a key member of the Deputy Director’s team, supporting his/her oversight responsibilities vis-à-vis Country Offices and consulting regularly with the Regional Service Centres (RSC), to ensure coordinated support to the COs in her/his portfolio. The Country Advisor operates under the guidance of and delegated authority from the Deputy Director, managing a portfolio of approximately 5 to 6 programme countries. S/he continuously monitors and analyzes the political, economic and social developments in his/her portfolio of countries, to enable informed support, monitoring and oversight of CO operations and programme. In addition to working with the RSCs, the Country Advisor also interacts closely with relevant HQ units to coordinate, sequence and ensure coherence and complementarity in the support provided to COs.

Duties and Responsibilities

Managerial Functions:

The Country Advisor supervises Programme Associates who work with his/her Country Office portfolio in a team based structure to support the implementation of the work plan of the Country Operations Division. In addition to this direct supervisory function, the Country Adviser is responsible, from time to time, for managing staff on a project or task and activity basis. Where such management functions become necessary, they are performed in line with established UNDP principles, rules and regulations governing the management of human, financial and material resources assigned to projects. Overall, all managerial/leadership functions of the Country Adviser are performed in an integrated and team relationship with the other Units of the COD, in line with established UN and UNDP management norms, rules and regulations, and in conformity with UNDP’s accountability framework for managers.

Technical functions:

1. Monitor, support and report on CO performance with special emphasis on programme quality and delivery targets, managerial efficiency, compliance, and CO financial sustainability.

2. Undertake formulation and oversee implementation of regional and sub-regional programmes and projects, in collaboration with COs.

3. Participate in joint initiatives with other personnel of UN Agencies assigned to the region to support UNCTs within the RDT framework.

4. Interact closely and constantly with the Regional Service Centers to ensure quality and coordinated support to COs

5. Continuously scan the partnership environment of the countries in his/her portfolio to identify new partnership and RM opportunities and harness UNSP technical support to develop and sustain them;

6. Contribute towards knowledge creation and management in the Bureau by monitoring Country Programmes for best practices and providing related feedback to COs.

Function 1: For COs in his/her portfolio. monitor, support and report on CO performance with special emphasis on programme quality and delivery targets, managerial efficiency, compliance, and CO financial sustainability.

Contributes to the analysis and formulation phase of the CCA/UNDAF for the COs in his/her portfolio to ensure quality and relevance of UN and UNDP’s support to national development priorities through coordinated and focused programmes;
Supports the formulation of high quality, relevant country programmes, liaison with HQ units for review and approval, and provide oversight of compliance with corporate guidelines and consistency with corporate and Bureau policies and strategies;
In close consultation with the RSC, central units, and the RBA Chief of Staff, ensures that support services from regional and HQ structures are properly coordinated including in particular support to CO change management processes;
Monitors closely COs to ensure timely support and proactive oversight;
Works closely with the Business & Operational Performance Analyst, monitor mutually agreed results frameworks, performance indicators and targets to effectively measure CO capacity and performance, in line with corporate and RBA strategic objectives, accountability framework, and indicators. In this effort, corporate monitoring and oversight tools such as the Balanced Score Card, Atlas snapshot and dashboard, Global Staff Surveys, audit, evaluation and other corporate reports, will be consistently utilized;
Ensures continued close monitoring and dedicated support for COs in his/her portfolio that are identified jointly with the Office of Finance as requiring special attention;
Liaises closely with the Recovery Adviser, and with BCPR on emerging or ongoing CPR issues and ensures timely identification of needs and required support from RBA/BCPR to crisis and post- crisis countries;
Keeps himself/herself apprised of key events and issues in other programme countries covered by the COD so as to adequately stand in for other Country Advisers in their absence.

Expected key Results: For the COs in his/her portfolio: i) Timely and coordinated programme and management support to programme formulation and implementation; ii) Strengthened managerial compliance and accountability as measured by BOM/DOF indicators. iii) Enhanced CO capacity to implement the RBA strategy making UNDP a capacity development partner of choice in the region.

Function 2: Undertake formulation and implementation of regional and sub-regional programmes and projects, in collaboration with PSD and concerned actors, to contribute to regional cooperation and integration.

Contributes to the PSD-led formulation of the Regional Cooperation Framework and regional programmes and projects to support Africa’s regional development agenda, by consulting with COs in her portfolio to make proposals to PSD during the formulation process through identification of strategic areas of intervention drawing on country support experience;
Identifies, in liaison with COs in his/her cluster as well as other COD clusters, areas where synergies between countries can be harnessed through joint multi-country programming, and lead the effort to undertake such programming;
Develops and enhance COD contacts and liaison with sub-regional organizations (ECOWAS, SADC, CEMAC, etc) to ensure continued identification and harnessing of capacity development partnership opportunities within the CD-PGA framework;
In liaison with Deputy Director, the Regional Programme Specialist, directly oversees, on behalf of COD, implementation (monitoring, reporting, etc) of regional and inter-country programmes and projects in his/her sub-region of responsibility, or assigned to him/her by the Deputy Director;

Expected results: i) Efficient and effective implementation and oversight of regional programmes and projects; ii) improved partnerships with regional organizations; iii) new strategic regional interventions developed.

Function 3: Contribution, under the guidance of the Deputy Regional Director, to implementation of UN reform and joint programming, within the RDT framework.

Monitors support needs of COs in his/her portfolio as they relate to joint programming;
Follows up on behalf of the Deputy Director on RDT decisions to ensure that UNDP COs in his/her portfolio take necessary action to implement them within the UNCT framework;
Participates in joint RDT initiatives to support joint offices, providing technical support and guidance to COs on joint programming and joint office management, and ensuring: 1) fulfillment of UNDP fiduciary and programmatic responsibilities; 2) adequate UNDP CO support to effective harmonization and integration of structures, processes, and services; and 3) the creation of synergies for UNDP activities through harnessing of expertise from across the UN.

Expected result: Timely, effective and valuable UNDP support and participation in RDT/UNCT joint interventions; ii) Efficient support to COs on joint programming and other RDT initiatives.

Function 4 : Interact closely and consistently with the Regional Service Centers to ensure quality, timely and coordinated services to COs in the areas of Policy Advice and Management.

Creates and oversees an effective system to consolidate and respond to CO requests for support services and works with RSC’ to plan and prioritize support;
Establishes monitoring and feedback mechanisms for RSC services to COs to ensure timeliness and quality, developing quality indicators and liaising with RBA and respective HQ policy units as necessary to ensure quality control;
Support Bureau oversight of the RSCs.

Expected results: i) Support to COs in the areas covered by the RSCs is adapted to CO needs, more effective, better monitored, coordinated and prioritized; ii) efficient Bureau oversight of the RSCs.

Function 5: Continuously scan the partnership environment of the countries in his/her portfolio to identify new partnership and RM opportunities and harness UNSP technical support to develop and sustain them;

Liaises closely with UNSP and BRSP to assist COs in his/her portfolio in building new partnerships, harnessing resource mobilization opportunities, and strengthening credibility with donors, in particular through improved performance and compliance in implementing donor-funded programmes.
Builds and sustain RBA’s strategic partnerships with key regional inter-governmental organizations and CSOs to coordinate approaches for capacity development at regional level and support country-level efforts;
Mobilizes resources for the implementation of the CD-PGA in the region, including through the Regional Cooperation Framework, by undertaking effective advocacy and formulating quality regional programmes and projects;

Expected results: i) Effective and coordinated support to country level partnership building and resource mobilization; ii) Effective and coordinated support to sub-regional and regional partnership building and resource mobilization.

Function 6: Contribute towards knowledge creation and management in the Bureau

Provides feedback and advice on country level publications including NHDRs, MDGRs etc, in close coordination with the Policy and Strategy Division, RSC and other relevant units;
Works with relevant RBA and corporate units to identify and disseminate best programme and management practices;
Participates actively in at least one Practice Area, proving written evidence-based contributions to reflect knowledge garnered in his/her day to day ;
Liaises with PSD and the RSC to strengthen corporate knowledge management principles and policies within COs.

Expected results: Knowledge creation and management activities and products in the Africa region capture the experiences and best practices of UNDP’s work on the ground, are enhanced in quality, and are better grounded in the region’s capacity development needs.

Impact of Results

As a key member of the team contributing to the formulation and implementation of strategies to meet the UNDP objectives for supporting Africa, the results expected from the position of Country Adviser are critical to:
the quality of development results and management efficiency of the COs in his/her portfolio;
the quality of support from RBA and the Regional Service Centers to COs in his/her portfolio;
UNDP’s standing as a partner for regional organizations;
the effectiveness of UNDP as a knowledge-based organization;
the overall image of the Organization in the eyes of the COs in his/her portfolio.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies

Demonstrated commitment to UNDP’s mission, vision and values.
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability. The candidate selected will be required to take UNDP’s mandatory training on UN Programme on the Prevention of Harassment, Sexual Harassment and Abuse of Authority within two months of their assuming their functions in this position.

Functional Competencies

Strategic thinking cognitive ability
Demonstrated negotiating, cultural sensitivity and diplomatic skills
Demonstrated well-developed people management and organisational skills
Team-building and team membership skills
Ability to conceptualize and convey strategic vision from the spectrum of development experience
Capacity to organize information, tools, and resources to support achievement of strategic objectives
Designs and implements policies and procedures for planning and acting effectively
Ability to leverage information technology, executive information systems, management techniques and tools for optimal office performance
Strong international, communication and presentation skills

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Advanced University degree in a development-related area of study.

Experience:

At least 10 years of active participation or leadership in a position with programme management responsibilities; Experience with oversight and support to management operations and managerial change processes.

Language Requirements:

Fluency in English or French, with working knowledge of the other.