UNDP Jobs - 90253- Information Technology (IT) and E-Governance Speci

Information Technology (IT) and E-Governance Specialist (1 position), Level SB 4/ Peg II

Location :

Programme Coordination Unit (PCU), Kathmandu, NEPAL

Type of Contract :

Other

Starting Date :

01-May-2020

Application Deadline :

11-Mar-20 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

Other

Duration of Initial Contract :

1 year with possibility of extension

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

July 2022

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 Constitution of Nepal turned Nepal into a federal state with three levels of government with the intent of transforming the country from a centralized unitary state into a federal country and to ensure economic equality, prosperity and social justice. The Constitution marks a fundamental paradigm shift in the system, structure and functioning of sub-national governance in Nepal and requires massive reorientation of the institutions, systems, work cultures and styles of functioning.

The Provincial and Local Governance Support Programme (PLGSP) is the national flagship programme of the Government of Nepal (GoN) to build institutional, organizational and individual capacity at all levels of government, with special focus on the provincial and local levels. The ultimate goal of the Programme is to attain functional, sustainable, inclusive and accountable provincial and local governance. The Programme aims to contribute to delivery of quality services at provincial and local levels, promote better local infrastructure and enhance economic prosperity. The Programme will achieve 14 outputs under the following three outcomes:

Government institutions and inter-governmental mechanisms at all levels are fully functioning in support of federal governance as per the Constitution;
Provincial and local governments have efficient, effective, inclusive and accountable institutions; and
Elected representatives and civil servants at provincial and local governments have the capacity and serve citizens to their satisfaction.

The PLGSP serves as an umbrella programme of the Government in providing capacity development support to the provincial and local governments. As such, the Programme will establish a common framework for coordination and coherence of all governance-related programmes at the provincial and local levels and accommodate other donor-funded programmes.

The Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration (MoFAGA) is the executive agency of the Programme. The seven provincial governments, the 753 local governments, the restructured Local Development Training Academy (LDTA) and seven provincial-level training centres (Provincial Centres for Good Governance) are the implementing agencies of the Programme. The Programme is supported by four international development partners, namely, the Department for International Development (DfID) of the United Kingdom, the European Union (EU), the Government of Norway, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, and the United Nations.

The Programme Coordination Unit (PCU) headed by the National Programme Director (NPD) functions as the Secretariat to the governing bodies of the Programme at the federal level namely, National Executive Committee chaired by the MoFAGA Secretary, and the National Steering Committee chaired by the Hon. Minister of the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration. With regards to the Programme implementation, the PCU will have dual tasks: (i) provide technical support to federal agencies on demand basis, (ii) serve as the federal anchor point to guide, backstop and mentor the Provincial Programme Implementation Units (PPIUs).

MOFAGA is partnering with UNDP to receive Technical Assistance (TA) for the implementation of the Programme. As the first step, a key priority of the TA is recruitment of TA personnel, their capacity building and knowledge enhancement, including orientation and continuous backstopping support in coordination with the Programme Management so that they deliver on the intended outputs.

This Terms of Reference (ToR) describes the functions, responsibilities and expected results of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and E-Governance Specialist in the PCU as well as qualifications/experience, competencies and selection criteria required of the incumbent.

Duties and Responsibilities

The overall responsibilities of the assignments are to:

Provide strategic advice on E-Governance, Information Communication Technology (ICT) and related issues, and lead the coordination of programme initiatives on E-Governance and IT;
Contribute to the achievement of PLGSP Output 5: Modernized provincial government systems enable horizontal and vertical accountability to all citizens and mainstream GESI; and Output 8: Modernized LGs have strong administrative systems, and accountable PFM systems;
Serve as the focal person of the ICT and E-Governance Experts at the PPIUs and provide them with backstopping support as required;
Support in ensuring mainstreaming of Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) throughout programme interventions; and
Perform any other tasks assigned by the concerned authorities.

1. Provide strategic advice on E-Governance, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) related issues, and lead the coordination of Programme initiatives on E-Governance and IT:

Provide advice and guidance to MOFAGA and PCU) on strategic and policy issues to strengthen the E-Governance systems at all levels of government, including related to accessibility and increased connectivity;
Take stock of the IT and e-governance issues at the province and local levels and prepare notes for policy and programmatic purposes,
Lead the planning of the PLGSP activities related ICT and E-Governance and provide inputs on the preparation of the Annual Strategic Implementation Plan (ASIP) and trimester workplans of the Programme particularly in relation to Outputs 5 and 8;
Provide support and guidance to the PPIU and PCGGs in the preparation of ASIPs and trimester workplans relating to ICT and E-Governance;
Support analysis of information and take stock of actions on issues related to ICT and E-Governance based on findings and recommendations of the Federalism Capacity Needs Assessment and the Local Institutional Self-Assessment tool (LISA) and provide necessary inputs to annual work plans based on the current context;
Support MoFAGA and the PCU in providing necessary technical guidance in relation to ICT and E-Governance across programme implementation;
Facilitate sensitizations of Programme staff and external stakeholders on concepts, issues, challenges and opportunities related to ICT and E-Governance;
Support Public Finance Management (PFM) Specialist to develop guidelines and tools to implement the Innovative Partnership Fund (IPF);
Review the initiatives, knowledge products, and training packages created for various stakeholders on IT and E-Governance systems.

2. Contribute to the achievement of PLGSP Output 5: Modernized provincial government systems enable horizontal and vertical accountability to all citizens and mainstream GESI; Output 8: Modernized LGs have strong administrative systems, and accountable PFM systems:

Support federal level government to develop tools and systems in support of the province and local governments in promoting e-governance;
Coordinate with PCU, Provincial Programme Implementation Units (PPIUs) and the Provincial Centers for Good Governance (PCGGs) in developing, introducing and maintaining E-Governance systems to promote transparency and accountability;
Support in development and harmonization of the ICT based management tools, systems and guidelines at the province and local levels;
Support to ensure that the use of ICT and E-Governance systems for data integration and information sharing are in place both vertically and horizontally, within and between different levels of government;
Provide regular backstopping support to the Information Technology and E-Governance Expert to develop necessary monitoring system for quality reporting;
Support to develop and roll out of computer software on public finance management, planning etc. including SUTRA;,
Coordinate with GESI Specialist and Public Financial Management (PFM) Specialist to make sure the province level ASIPs are harmonized to contribute to the above programmatic outputs.

3. Serve as the focal person of the ICT and E-Governance Experts at the PPIUs and provide them with backstopping support as required:

Provide backstopping and coordination support to the ICT and E-Governance Experts (PPIU) and Local Governance Experts (PCGG) on ICT and E-Governance related issues;
Ensure regular communication with the ICT and E-Governance Experts and serve as their focal person, providing guidance and support on a regular basis and as needed;
Support the IT and E-Governance Experts to monitor and analyze the trends on E-Governance at provincial and local government levels to ensure they receive the required support to strengthen and effectively utilize their E-Governance systems;
Coordinate with National Programme Manager (NPM)/National Programme Director (NPD) and UNDP to provide training and other capacity development activities to the IT and E-Governance Experts and facilitate learning and experience sharing among them;
Review reports received from PPIUs relating to ICT and E-Governance, and compile inputs to PCU progress reports as required;
Regularly monitor the risks and issues pertaining to E-Governance, support implementation of mitigation measures in discussion with ICT and E-Governance Experts and PCU team, and provide inputs to the overall risk log of the Programme;
Provide backstopping support in drafting of Terms of Reference for programme activities and consultancies/procurement actions related to ICT and E- Governance;
Assist in drafting terms of reference for any activities and consultancies related to E- Governance;
Working with the National Planning Commission and Planning and Monitoring Division of the Ministry to develop comprehensive monitoring as well as reporting frameworks/format
Participate in field visits to provincial and local level, as required.

4. Support in ensuring mainstreaming of Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) throughout programme interventions:

Provide inputs related to IT and E-Governance to GESI Specialist (PCU) for the development of GESI tools and support their implementation at federal level;
Ensure that accessibility for women and excluded/marginalized groups is a key factor in the development and roll-out of ICT and E-Governance systems at all levels, with particular attention to digital accessibility for persons with disability;
Develop and facilitate capacity development sessions for PLGSP TA Staff and external stakeholders on the importance of GESI-responsive ICT and E-Governance systems; and
Support dissemination of information, learnings and good practices to promote GESI mainstreaming and GESI-responsive capacity development initiatives related to ICT and E-Governance.

5. Perform any other tasks assigned by the concerned authorities.

Impact of Results

Strengthened ICT and E-Governance systems are available and utilised at the federal, provincial and local levels;
Streamlined and coordinated support is provided to provincial and local governments on IT and E-Governance systems.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

Demonstrates integrity by modelling the Government of Nepal (GoN) and UN’s values and ethical standards;
Serves and promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of the GoN and of UNDP;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
Good inter-personal skills;
Clear and upfront communication skills;
Treats all people fairly without favouritism;
Display cultural and gender sensitivity and adaptability;
Collaborates effectively in a team environment;
Organized and good with following-up on pending issues; meets deadlines;
Promote learning and knowledge management/sharing;
Focused on delivering results by taking calculated-risks and problem-solving approach;
Fair and transparent decision making; regularly shares information with team members; and
Actively works towards continuing personal learning and development.

Functional Competencies:

Promotes sharing of knowledge and experience, and actively works towards continued learning and development on personal level as well as for supervisees;
Good practical knowledge of inter-disciplinary development issues;
Ability to go beyond established procedures and models, propose new approaches which expand the range of projects;
Demonstrates strong numerical and analytical skills;
Has experience working with Monitoring and Evaluation tools;
Experience in developing business plans for financial institutions including energy enterprises;
Experience in coordination, technical assistance and advisory support top government and private institutions;
Experienced in delivering training and other needed capacity/ institutional building support to a wide range of stakeholders including financial institutions;
Demonstrates excellent organizational and administrative skills;
Identifies and communicates relevant information for a variety of audiences for advocating GoN and UNDP’s mandate;
Analyzes and selects materials for strengthening strategic alliances with partners and stakeholders;
Understands and applies fundamental concepts and principles of a professional discipline or technical specialty relating to the position;
Possesses basic knowledge of organizational policies and procedures relating to the position and applies them consistently in work tasks;
Demonstrates good knowledge of information technology and applies it in work assignments;
Effectively networks with partners seizing opportunities to build strategic alliances relevant to GoN and UNDP’s mandate and strategic agenda;
Assesses project performance to identify success factors and incorporates best practices into project work;
Monitors specific stages of projects/programme implementation;
Researches linkages across programme activities to identify critical points of integration; and
Oversees and documents the process of strategy formulation for programmes at Project level.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master’s Degree in E-governance, Information and Communication Technology, Computer Science or any other related field.

Experience:

At least five years of experience working in areas related to information and communication technology and e-governance with introduction of innovative strategies and tools in public service delivery;
Experience in working at the national/international level with IT/E-Governance systems development is essential;
Demonstrated track record of delivering high-quality reports and knowledge products on time;
Sound understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their implications local governance would be an advantage.

Language requirements:

Fluency in English and Nepali, both written and oral, at professional level are essential;
Knowledge of any of the local languages will be an added advantage.