Background
UNDP operates in about 170 countries and territories, helping to achieve the eradication of poverty, to reduce inequalities and to increase sustainability. We help countries develop policies, leadership skills, partnering abilities, institutional capabilities and build resilience in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
With the COVID-19 pandemic, the global context for development has fundamentally changed. The world faces the greatest socio-economic shock in a generation, coming at a time of acute inequality, ecological fragility and growing distrust within and amongst societies. This pandemic is a health crisis. But not just a health crisis. Tackling COVID-19 is also a humanitarian and development crisis that is threatening to leave deep social, economic and political scars for years to come, particularly in countries already weighed down by fragility, poverty and conflict. Working at the heart of the United Nations family the UN Development Programme (UNDP) is responding to a growing volume of requests from countries to help them prepare for, respond to and recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing particularly on the most vulnerable. UNDP is fully operational in 170 countries and territories and focused on our COVID-19 response. We are mobilizing all our assets to respond to this unprecedented challenge.
The COVID-19 crisis has also brought new needs for digital government services and more demand on existing services. UNDP is supporting countries to prepare, respond to and recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated economic crisis using its integrator and convening role, its global networks and its mobilization capacity. This includes supporting governments in their digital transformation journey both in the short term (in response to immediate needs emerging from the crisis) and in the long term (accelerating the path towards the adoption of digital services).
UNDP is establishing a pool of pre-vetted consultants who can help provide digital advisory and implementation services both in the response and recovery of COVID-19 as well as the broader SDG agenda. This includes support for digitization at UNDP and UNDP’s digitization support to governments.
Successful candidates will be invited to join UNDP’s GPN ExpRes ONE Roster under one or more of the 13 new digital areas and may be considered for future similar assignments with UNDP. Retention in the Roster of selected experts will be contingent on continuous delivery of satisfactory services.
The GPN ExpRes Roster is a recruitment and deployment mechanism which maintains pre-vetted consultants and offers the ability to contract them quickly for support by UNDP offices worldwide. It currently provides pre-selected and technically vetted consultants across 28 profiles and 144 sub-profiles across all technical areas supported by the Global Policy Network of UNDP. Following the successful review for the roster, candidates may be considered for various short-term assignments with UNDP in this technical area. Retention on the Roster of selected experts will be contingent on continuous delivery of satisfactory services.
Duties and Responsibilities
To support UNDP’s work with partners and governments on the use of digital methodologies, tools and systems to accelerate progress of SDGs and effectively respond to and recover from COVID.
Consultants recruited to the GPN roster will be recruited to provide services in 13 associated technical areas (also known as “profiles”):
- Digital transformation advisory & strategy
- Data analysis, visualisation and management
- Software development, systems integration and methods
- Technology infrastructure and hardware
- Emerging technologies
- Innovation & entrepreneurship
- Human centered design, research and prototyping
- Design facilitation and communications
- Partnerships, eco-systems and standards
- Change, capacity & organisational development
- Digital finance
- Digital health
- Digital supply chain
Applicants can apply to one or more options from the above profiles, including any relevant further expertise in the cross-cutting area of e-Governance. Successful applicants will join the UNDP’s roster of experts and be contacted based on arising needs.
Competencies
Applicants can apply to one or more from the technical competence categories below. All applicants are expected to have corporate and functional competence.
C.1. TECHNICAL COMPETENCE PROFILES
- Digital transformation advisory and strategy
- Data analysis, visualisation and management
- Software development, systems integration and methods
- Technology infrastructure and hardware
- Emerging technologies
- Innovation & entrepreneurship
- Human centered design, research and prototyping
- Design facilitation and communications
- Partnerships, eco-systems and standards
- Change, capacity & organisational development
- Digital finance
- Digital health
- Digital supply chain
C1.a. Digital transformation advisory and strategy
Advisory and operational support to initiate, develop and implement various digital transformation initiatives including:
- Digital strategy
- Digital transformation planning and scoping, at corporate and project levels
- Digital readiness and maturity assessments
- Business process evaluation, design & optimisation
C1.b. Data analysis, visualisation and management
Harnessing the power of data to generate insights and inform decision making including:
- Developing & implementing data strategies
- Data visualizations, presentation and information design
- Data warehousing, collection and management
- Data privacy and protection
- Data science with big data and deep learning.
C1.c. Software development, systems integration and methods
Provide practical technical support to the operational deployment of projects and programmes including:
- Enterprise, mobile and web software development expertise
- Advise on and/or implement complex systems integration and interoperability initiatives
- Use and/or advise on agile methodology and agile software development.
C1.d. Technology infrastructure and hardware
Technical information communications technology expertise required to enable and operate digital projects including:
- Software and development environment setup
- Hardware management and expertise, from servers to mobile computing devices
- Cyber and information technology security
- Internet and digital connectivity
C1.e. Emerging technologies
Supporting new opportunities with insights into and experience with frontier technologies including:
- Distributed ledgers and blockchains
- Artificial intelligence and machine learning
- Mixed, augmented realities and spatial computing
- Remote sensing and satellite technology
- Internet of things and hardware automation including 3D Printing and drones
C1.f. Innovation & entrepreneurship
Catalysing more innovations and encouraging a more entrepreneurial problem solving culture including:
- Innovation process and programme management, from sourcing, incubating, accelerating and scaling a portfolio.
- Lean startup methodology to increase effectiveness and learning
- Entrepreneurship and intraprenuership experience
C1.g. Human centered design, research and prototyping
Supporting the creation of digital initiatives that human centered including:
- User research and usability testing
- Rapid digital and service prototyping
- Service and systems design
- User interface and user experience design
C1.h. Design facilitation and communications
Harnessing the diversity of groups and better communication through:
- Design thinking and workshop facilitation, both in person and remotely
- Digital communications and storytelling
- Visual communications and video
- Creative direction and behaviourial science
- Social and digital marketing
- Graphic design
C1.i. Partnerships, eco-systems and standards
Helping mobilise and leverage a wider community through:
- Open source, open standards and open innovation expertise
- Partnership development with private, public and civil society entities
- Digital ecosystems strategy and experience
C1.j. Change, capacity and organisational development
Supporting digital transformation through critical organisational processes and culture including:
- Human and organisational capacity development
- Culture and change management
- Vendor management and documentation
- Legal and regulatory with digital
- Impact monitoring and evaluation
C1.k. Digital finance
Enabling stronger digital expertise in finance including:
- Digital payments network and infrastructure. Expertise in the enterprise back office with familiarity with standards, security and interoperability.
- Digital finance products and services including mobile money and wallets, bill payments and transfers, mobile and online banking, pay-as-you-go, personal finance, micro insurance, savings and investments.
- Emerging digital finance offerings, technology and business models such as direct lending, alternative and crypto currencies, peer to peer insurance, robo-advisers, crowd funding, equity raising and smart contracts.
- Digital finance platforms, policies and regulation. Design and support ecosystems in rapidly growing digital and mobile networks while managing financial data privacy and protection.
C1.l. Digital health
Advisory and technical support to strengthen national capacities and to support countries’ health program implementation, including:
- Health data systems, integration and interoperability including electronic health management systems.
- Health data privacy and protection, including policies for ethical and rights-based data collection, storage and use
- Digital health policy and regulations for equitable, inclusive and rights based digital health interventions
- Emergent and mobile digital health innovations including telemedicine, virtual learning for health workers, digital screening and diagnostics tools, and tailored mobile and communications platforms
- Digital health strategy and transformation for sustaining digital tools and skilled workforce.
C1.m. Digital Supply Chain
Support to strengthen supply chains and enable product track and trace capabilities to ensure visibility of chain of custody, assure quality and equity, and prevent diversion. Expertise to include:
- Supply chain systems and process assessment for digital platforms
- Supply chain systems design, development and selection
- Methods to enable end to end traceability, monitoring, forecasting and accountability
Additional area of cross cutting expertise in e-Governance.
Applicants can indicate experience in e-Governance as a cross cutting area of expertise. e-Governance expertise includes;
- Access and right to information. Expertise in developing and training capacity to support platforms that enable dialogue, with experience in intergovernmental and multi-stakeholder efforts,
- e-Government and e-Governance. Experience with advancing inclusive governance using digital development, leveraging technologies to advance human rights and marginalized groups. Develop strategies, plans and programmes with governments while addressing known barriers.
- Innovations in public administration and public service delivery. Experience with innovation tools for government and innovation mechanisms like incubators and accelerators.
- Open Data and Open Government. Practical implementation experience with open principles for government to inform policies and strategies, with familiarity with emerging trends and issues.
- Digital Identity in the Public Sector & Elections. Technical expertise and experience in the public and/or electoral sector with respect to credentials and identity solutions.
- ICTs/Digital technologies and empowerment. Promoting and developing efforts to enhance participation and advocacy among groups such as youth, women and civil society.
C.2. CORPORTE COMPETENCE
- Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
- Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP;
- Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
- Treats all people fairly without favoritism.
- Fulfils all obligations to gender sensitivity and zero tolerance for sexual harassment.
C.3. FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCE
- Strong interpersonal and communication skills, resourcefulness, initiative, maturity of judgment, tact, and negotiating skills, and the ability to cope with situations which may pose conflict;
- Openness to change and ability to receive/integrate feedback;
- Ability to accommodate additional demands on short notice;
- Ability to work under pressure and stressful situations;
- Ability to manage heavy workload and solve complex problems.
- Experience with mission driven organizations and/or UNDP/UN an asset;
Required Skills and Experience
Education:
Bachelor’s degree in a development related field or equivalent (Business Administration, Public Administration or Management, Computer Science , Innovation Management or equivalent)
Work experience:
- 5+ years of relevant professional experience
- International exposure and/or field experience with UNDP or other development organizations is an asset.
- Working understanding of digital technology and emerging innovations
- Working knowledge of digital methodologies and ways of working
- Proven track record in delivering projects with technical as well as business stakeholders.
Languages:
Fluency in English. Written and spoken knowledge of an additional UN language is highly desirable.
APPLICATION PROCEDURE:
Qualified candidates are requested to apply online via the following form: https://tinyurl.com/applyundpdigitalroster
The application involves identifying which profiles you have experience and expertise in, outlining specific skills and uploading a Personal CV or P11, indicating all past experience from similar projects.
- Please do not include your financial proposal at this stage. Only successful candidates (technically qualified) will be invited to register onto the GPN ExpRes roster platform and indicate a tentative daily fee.
- Once the successful candidates have been invited to join the GPN ExpRes and registered on the dedicated platform, they are considered vetted and may be proposed for assignments with UNDP offices for which specific ToRs will be developed.