Policy Specialist- Governance and Gender

Background

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion are core principles at UNDP: we value diversity as an expression of the multiplicity of nations and cultures where we operate, we foster inclusion as a way of ensuring all personnel are empowered to contribute to our mission, and we ensure equity and fairness in all our actions. Taking a ‘leave no one behind’ approach to our diversity efforts means increasing representation of underserved populations. People who identify as belonging to marginalized or excluded populations are strongly encouraged to apply. Learn more about working at UNDP including our values and inspiring stories.

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.

UNDP is the knowledge frontier organization for sustainable development in the UN Development System and serves as the integrator for collective action to realize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UNDP’s policy work carried out at HQ, Regional and Country Office (CO) levels, forms a contiguous spectrum of deep local knowledge to cutting-edge global perspectives and advocacy. In this context, UNDP invests in the Global Policy Network (GPN), a network of field-based and global technical expertise across a wide range of knowledge domains and in support of the signature solutions and organizational capabilities envisioned in the Strategic Plan.

Within the GPN, the Bureau for Policy and Programme Support (BPPS) has the responsibility for developing all relevant policy and guidance to support the results of UNDP’s Strategic Plan. BPPS’s staff provides technical advice to COs, advocates for UNDP corporate messages, represents UNDP at multi-stakeholder fora including public-private dialogues, government, and civil society dialogues, and engages in UN inter-agency coordination in specific thematic areas. BPPS works closely with UNDP’s Crisis Bureau (CB) to support emergency and crisis response. BPPS ensures that issues of risk are fully integrated into UNDP’s development programmes. BPPS assists UNDP and partners to achieve higher quality development results through an integrated approach that links results-based management and performance monitoring with more effective and new ways of working. BPPS supports UNDP and partners to be more innovative, knowledge and data driven including in its programme support efforts.

Managed by BPPS, the Seoul Policy Centre (USPC) was established in 2011 as the UNDP Seoul Policy Centre for Global Development Partnerships following an agreement between the Government of the Republic of Korea (RoK) and UNDP signed in November 2009. The Centre’s functions and activities were set out to include: (1) To serve as the immediate interface with the Government on all aspects relating to the evolving RoK – UNDP partnership; (2) To serve as knowledge centre for comparative experiences and approaches of new development partners in reducing poverty and achieving sustainable human development; and (3) To facilitate and promote learning, networking, policy dialogue and consultation among new development partners and to contribute to capacity development in developing countries. USPC’s profile has continued to evolve since its inception.

Since 2015, the USPC has been brokering partnerships and knowledge-sharing activities between the RoK and developing countries, under its flagship knowledge-sharing programme, called SDG Partnerships, in the various field including governance and gender, development cooperation, and environmental resilience. Drawing on the joint expertise of RoK and UNDP’s Global Policy Network, USPC’s SDG Partnership Programme convenes global and bilateral policy discussions, produces knowledge products to share RoK’s technical expertise, and provides seed funding together with technical support to selected UNDP Country Offices and their partners. As envisioned in UNDP Strategic Plan, the SDG Partnership programme therefore combines the local experiences with a rich global network, tapping into countries’ knowledge and shared experiences, and delivering values and lessons to our partners.

While undertaking incremental improvements where needed the new triennial work programme (2023-25) will continue to be anchored in its original mandate and build on the Centre’s existing vision as facilitator of global knowledge exchange and country-level application of innovative and tested-and-proven development solutions for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The Centre will carry out the related policy research and analytical work to more strongly contribute to corporate thought leadership on development cooperation and SSTC priorities and related global development debates through the following substantive areas: (i) Development Cooperation Approaches and Modalities; (ii) Governance and Gender (including a focus on Anti-corruption and SGBV); (iii) Green Recovery and Transition (including a focus on Sustainable Forestry); and (iv) Private Sector Engagement. Cross-cutting issues such as digital transformation and inclusive approaches to leave no one behind (e.g. gender, youth) will be considered for all substantive areas.

Job Purpose and Organizational Context

The Policy Specialist based in the USPC is responsible for contributing substantive advice and technical expertise, advocacy, relationship building and knowledge to the thematic area of governance and gender within the Seoul Policy Centre, BPPS, and UNDP as a whole. S/he collaborates with teams across UNDP’s Headquarters, Global Policy Centres, Regional Hubs, and Country Offices, to provide quality policy services and advance UNDP’s credibility in this thematic area, delivering coherence and technical advice.

S/he is responsible for performing and contributing to the following:

• Policy Research and Development;
• Policy Advice / Programme Support Delivery;
• Policy Positioning and Representation;
• Partnerships, Resource Mobilization and Strategic Planning;
• Knowledge Management.

1. Policy Research and Development

• Lead the conduct of research and development to contribute to the Centre’s policy and research agenda, including the Governance and Gender team’s research on digital anti-corruption and digital sex crime prevention tools;
• Coordinate and conduct analysis of data, case evidence and research findings to distill relevant lessons from projects and programmes to inform policy formulation and guidance;
• Undertake policy research in close collaboration with UNDP’s Rule of Law, Security and Human Rights (ROLSHR) Team under Crisis Bureau (CB), Gender Team under BPPS, Global Anti-Corruption Team based in Oslo Global Centre, and relevant GPN colleagues in support of UNDP’s strategic ambitions and Strategic Plan;
• Support the quality assurance of policy services and foster policy innovation in the specific thematic areas by reviewing lessons learned and evaluations to enhance programme delivery.

2. Policy Advice / Programme Support Delivery

• Lead the development of new Expressions of Interest (EOI) based on ongoing research and consultations with Korean partners and UNDP colleagues; support the evaluation and selection process;
• Monitor and support implementation activities in ongoing SDG Partnerships on a) Transparency & Accountability; and b) SGBV, including substantive content preparation for webinars, capacity building activities, knowledge products and follow up with government counterparts;
• Support country-led discussions on fight against corruption and sexual and gender-based violence and formulation of related policy recommendations for potential submission to country governments; support the development of new service offers for COs in this substantive area;
• Lead formulation of new programme and meet policy and programming needs in line with corporate guidance and standards.
• Ensure reaching the annual target of at least 90% financial delivery of allocated resources of Governance and Gender Team.

3. Policy Positioning and Representation

• Present Korea’s anti-corruption and SGBV response policy mechanisms in close collaboration with UNDP’s Rule of Law, Security and Human Rights (ROLSHR) Team under Crisis Bureau (CB) and Gender Team under BPPS, Global Anti-Corruption Team based in Oslo Global Centre, as well as relevant GPN colleagues, as appropriate, in key governance fora, including on technical and expert bodies;
• Coordinate and draft briefing notes and speeches;
• Advocate the importance of the thematic area in various fora, including academia and civil society;
• Develop and strengthen relations with relevant policymakers, researchers, donors, and regional and sub-regional organizations, including with sister UN agencies working on issues of transparency & accountability and sexual and gender-based violence.

4. Partnerships, Resource Mobilization and Strategic Planning

• Support the USPC Director to engage with global, regional and local partners and forge productive working relationships;
• Conduct outreach and communications activities on governance and gender-related Centre services in support of achieving UNDP Strategic Plan Outcomes in close collaboration with BPPS and BERA;
• Provide substantive and content input to contribute to mobilizing, fostering and strengthening strategic partnerships with UN entities and other relevant bodies and provide inputs to those partnerships in support of UNDP initiatives;
• Coordinate Governance and Gender Team and the Centre to help influence/advance policy dialogue in the thematic areas in collaboration with GPN including policy teams in other Global Policy Centres, at HQ and in Regional Hubs;
• Research and analyze information on current and potential partners, preparation of substantive briefs on possible areas of cooperation;
• Support the implementation of USPC’s triennial programme (2023-2025) in line with UNDP’s Strategic Plan priorities, and the development of revised USPC focus areas for research and project implementation.
• Support USPC Director by providing timely and quality inputs into USPC’s annual Steering Committee meetings, corporate reporting exercises (including ROAR), and IWP.
• Maintain and strengthen ongoing partnerships with local partners, such as, Korean National Police Agency, Anti-Corruption & Civil Rights Commission, Seoul Sunflower Center, Korean Women’s Development Institute, and identify new partnerships and new partnering modalities with Korean Entities in this substantive area in close collaboration with ROLSHR, BPPS Gender Team, Global Anti-Corruption Team and relevant GPN colleagues.

5. Knowledge Management

• Coordinate Governance and Gender Team’s contributions and support to corporate knowledge management (KM) activities to influence and advance policy dialogue in the thematic area in collaboration with policy teams in other Global Policy Centres, at HQ and in Regional Hubs;
• Coordinate and performs knowledge extraction, analysis, documentation, codification of results/lessons learned in the specific thematic area to help ensure internal synergies and inform the broader policy work of BPPS, and verify that knowledge-sharing and content management is in line with guidelines and performed using corporate tools;
• Support the USPC Director in advancing development cooperation discussion, knowledge exchanges and experience sharing, and contributing case evidence to the broadening and deepening of UNDP’s SSTC modalities.

Competencies

Core
Achieve Results:

• Set and align challenging, achievable objectives for multiple projects, have lasting impact.

Think Innovatively:

• Proactively mitigate potential risks, develop new ideas to solve complex problems.

Learn Continuously:

• Create and act on opportunities to expand horizons, diversify experiences

Adapt with Agility:

• Proactively initiate and champion change, manage multiple competing demands.

Act with Determination:

• Think beyond immediate task/barriers and take action to achieve greater results.

Engage and Partner:

• Political savvy, navigate complex landscape, champion inter-agency collaboration.

Cross-Functional & Technical

2030 Agenda: Peace – Governance:

• Transparency and Anti-Corruption.

2030 Agenda: Peace – Rule of Law, Security and Human Rights:

• Justice and Security for Women incl. GBV.

Business Direction & Strategy – Strategic Thinking:

• Ability to develop effective strategies and prioritized plans in line with UNDP’s objectives, based on the systemic analysis of challenges, potential risks and opportunities; linking the vision to reality on the ground, and creating tangible solutions. Ability to leverage learning from a variety of sources to anticipate and respond to future trends; to demonstrate foresight in order to model what future developments and possible ways forward look like for UNDP.

Business Direction & Strategy – System Thinking:

• Ability to use objective problem analysis and judgement to understand how interrelated elements coexist within an overall process or system, and to consider how altering one element can impact on other parts of the system.

Business Development – Knowledge Generation:

• Ability to research and turn information into useful knowledge, relevant for content, or responsive to a stated need
  Business Management – Results-based Management:
  Ability to manage programmes and projects with a focus at improved performance and demonstrable results.

Business Management – Portfolio Management:

• Ability to select, prioritize and control the organization’s programmes and projects, in line with its strategic objectives and capacity; ability to balance the implementation of change initiatives and the maintenance of business-as-usual, while optimizing return on investment.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Advanced university degree (Master’s or equivalent) in public administration, political science, social science, international relations, development studies, law and/or other related field.

Experience:

• A minimum of five(5) years of progressively responsible professional work experience providing policy advice and programme/project management in the area of governance, including anti-corruption and gender;
• Demonstrated experience in project delivery planning, design, management and support;
• Proven work experience in capacity building programmes, regional/global events organization and/or knowledge management is desirable;
• Prior work experience in an international or national government organization, or a large-scale private organization in a multicultural environment is required ; UNDP experience is an additional advantage;
• Extensive experience in research and policy-level analysis is required;
• Demonstrated capacity to write clear and well-constructed reports and knowledge products is required;
• Experience in the usage of computers, office software packages, video conferencing platform (including Zoom and Microsoft Teams), and social media is required;
• Experience in development policy analysis, design and management of collaborative arrangements and international development projects and facilitation of policy dialogues on issues of international development policy, preferably in the area of governance, including anti-corruption and gender, an advantage.

Language Requirement:

• Excellent command of the English language, both written and oral;
• Working knowledge of another UN language is desirable.

Note:

Please note that continuance of appointment beyond the initial 12 months is contingent upon the successful completion of a probationary period.

Disclaimer

Important information for US Permanent Residents (‘Green Card’ holders)

Under US immigration law, acceptance of a staff position with UNDP, an international organization, may have significant implications for US Permanent Residents. UNDP advises applicants for all professional level posts that they must relinquish their US Permanent Resident status and accept a G-4 visa, or have submitted a valid application for US citizenship prior to commencement of employment.

UNDP is not in a position to provide advice or assistance on applying for US citizenship and therefore applicants are advised to seek the advice of competent immigration lawyers regarding any applications.

Applicant information about UNDP rosters

Note: UNDP reserves the right to select one or more candidates from this vacancy announcement. We may also retain applications and consider candidates applying to this post for other similar positions with UNDP at the same grade level and with similar job description, experience and educational requirements.

Non-discrimination

UNDP has a zero-tolerance policy towards sexual exploitation and misconduct, sexual harassment, and abuse of authority. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles.

UNDP is an equal opportunity and inclusive employer that does not discriminate based on race, sex, gender identity, religion, nationality, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy, age, language, social origin or other status.

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How to apply

Please refer to the official posting and apply at: bit.ly/USPCcareers