Project Coordination Specialist – IPSA 10

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.

Office/Unit/Project Description

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 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 Country Offices; 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.

Sustainable Finance Hub

The Sustainable Finance Hub (SFH), a finance and innovation platform, draws on a critical mass of UNDP expertise, initiatives, and partnerships to support the mobilization and leveraging of resources for the SDGs and lead the implementation of the new UNDP private sector strategy and other initiatives. The SFH is an integral part of both the BPPS and the Bureau of External Relations and Advocacy (BERA), as well as part of the GPN. The SFH serves as a connector, broker, and global coordinator among internal and external actors; curates and manages UNDP’s catalogue of service offers on SDG financing to governments, investors and companies, via the COs, to significantly enhance the scale and impact of UNDP’s work.

UNDP’s Insurance and Risk Finance Facility

The collaboration between the insurance industry and the development sector has grown significantly over the last five years. Key initiatives, such as the Insurance Development Forum, Insu Resilience Global Partnership and the Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance, have evolved into significant policy and standard setting partnerships, bringing together countries, the development sector, and the private and mutual/cooperative sectors of industry. The Tripartite Agreement between the German Government, UNDP and Insurance Development Forum (and its private sector members) is a flagship example of such transformative partnerships. Increasingly, these partnerships are moving beyond policy to programming, with a strong focus on not only delivering insurance and risk financing solutions to countries and communities, but also on long-term transformational change of insurance markets.

UNDP’s growing work in this space led to the creation of the Insurance & Risk Finance Facility (IRFF), within the SFH. This work covers a range of critical areas where insurance and risk transfer solutions and collaboration with the industry can add significantly to achieving and delivering on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs.). Covering households, businesses and food systems, countries and communities, nature, investment, development, advocacy and innovative solutions, UNDP’s work will look to not only develop and deliver insurance solutions together with countries and communities, it will also look to work with partners to transform insurance markets, working on legislation, regulation and institutional capacity.

With the IRFF’s growing in scope and size, and the addition of Finance Resilience in Agriculture (FRA) component funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) there is a need for robust coordinated approach that ensures cohesion in country implementation, streamlined processes compliant with donor requirements and vision of the facility, tracking of results and processes, as well as knowledge management and information sharing.

Duties And Responsibilities

Reporting to IRFF’s Project Management Specialist, the Project Coordination Specialist will play a crucial role in supporting and overseeing the implementation of the IRFF’s portfolio of country projects and coordination of the IRFF Innovation Challenge Fund. The responsibilities have been categorized into 4 interconnected areas:

• Strategic Project Coordination and Implementation
• Effective operational support
• Coordination of the Innovation challenge
• Knowledge Management and Capacity Building
• Strategic Project Coordination and Implementation
• Portfolio Management: Support strategic planning, quality assurance, and oversight of the Facility’s portfolio of country projects to ensure effective project delivery, efficient resource utilization, and alignment with project documents and objectives.
• Strategic Work Planning and Integration: Evaluate work plans submitted by country offices to ensure completeness, accuracy, and alignment with overall project objectives, strategies, and timelines.
• Resource Management: Coordinate the allocation and utilization of project resources, review budget allocations, monitor usage for efficiency and collaborate with relevant parties to address challenges and ensure optimal utilization.
• Portfolio Analysis and Performance Assessment: Conduct comparative analysis of project portfolios, evaluating performance, implementation challenges, opportunities, timelines, and results as needed for reporting and decision-making.
• Risk Identification and Management: Proactively identify potential implementation risks and uncertainties, providing timely advice to technical leads or project leadership, and proposing necessary solutions to mitigate risks and ensure successful project delivery.
• Action Point Updates: Prepare tripartite updates for monthly PCU calls and coordinate with NPOs to ensure all relevant issues are addressed; Collaborate with RTLs and NPOs to track action points, decisions, and follow-up actions from strategic meetings, ensuring timely implementation and issue resolution to maintain project momentum and accountability.
• Monitoring and Evaluation Coordination: Coordinate with relevant project teams, implementing partners, and stakeholders to align M&E activities with project objectives, timelines, and reporting requirements; Aid in data collection, analysis, and system maintenance to ensure informed decision-making and the integrity of project data.
• Progress Reporting: Analyze project data collected over the quarter or year, interpreting trends, patterns, and performance indicators to assess project progress and outcomes; Coordinate the compilation and dissemination of quarterly progress reports, ensuring they are completed in a timely manner and shared with the project team.
• Research and Analysis: Conduct research, analysis and other ad-hoc tasks in relation to country projects on thematic areas such as Resilience Share, Global Shield, Tripartite expansion, Loss and Damage and others as requested by technical leads.
• Effective operational support Operational Liaison: Serve as the primary contact for operational inquiries from Regional Technical Leads and National Project Officers, ensuring prompt resolution of requests and providing essential input to facilitate the smooth delivery of support services.
• Compliance: Ensure project activities and use of financial resources are in adherence to project objectives, UNDP POPP as well as donor requirements; Ensure implementation of effective internal control framework (ICF), proper maintenance of financial resources management system and record keeping; Facilitate project audits and evaluations.
• Budget Management: Lead budgetary exercises in Quantum, ensuring regular analysis and reporting on budget approvals and project delivery status at the country level; Provide necessary guidance on reprogramming of country project work plans as required.
• Delivery Monitoring: Regularly monitor progress toward planned activity, identify bottle necks and propose appropriate actions to prevent delays and anticipate issues; Alert the IRFF leadership about any financial shortfalls or over-expenditures, and propose budget revisions for corrective action when necessary.
• Financial Compliance and Reporting: Support financial reports including developing financial monitoring and reporting formats as per UNDP and donor requirements.
• Responsible Party Management: Liaise with the designated officials from the implementing partner and ensure that the project activities are implemented according to the agreed workplan, UNDP’s rules and regulations (POPP) and reported promptly; Review advances provided and ensure FACE forms submitted are accurate; Assist in the organization of HACT assurance activities, including spot checks;
• Procurement and Recruitment Support: When requested, prepare draft TORs for recruitment and procurement processes and initiate these in accordance with the plans, following UNDP policies and procedures and in a timely manner.
• Innovations Challenge Coordination
• Fund Management: In close liaison with Technical Lead Administer the Innovation Challenge Fund, including application processes, fund disbursement, and compliance with financial regulations.
• Application Oversight: Manage the receipt, evaluation, and selection of proposals, ensuring transparency and adherence to criteria.
• Contracting and Budgeting: Facilitate contract negotiation, budget monitoring, and expenditure tracking for funded projects.
• Budget Management: Monitor and track the budget allocated to the Innovation Challenge Fund, ensuring funds are utilized efficiently and effectively. Prepare budget forecasts, expenditure reports, and financial analyses to inform decision-making and resource allocation.
• Risk Management: Identify and mitigate risks associated with innovation projects, ensuring proper risk assessment and management strategies are in place to minimize potential challenges.
• Timeline and Milestone Tracking: Develop and maintain project timelines, milestones, and deliverables for funded projects. Monitor progress against established timelines, identify potential delays or bottlenecks, and take corrective action as needed to keep projects on track.
• Reporting and Documentation: Prepare progress reports, financial documentation, and maintain records for accountability and transparency.
• Knowledge Sharing: Capture lessons learned, promote best practices, and facilitate knowledge sharing to enhance innovation outcomes.
• Quality Assurance: Implement quality assurance measures to assess project outcomes and identify areas for improvement.
• Compliance and Risk Management: Ensure compliance with UNDP policies, procedures, and donor requirements throughout the project lifecycle. Identify and mitigate operational risks associated with funded projects, implementing appropriate risk management strategies to safeguard project outcomes.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Coordinate communication efforts with stakeholders, including applicants, implementing partners, and project teams. Provide timely updates, respond to inquiries, and facilitate dialogue to foster collaboration and alignment with project objectives
• Knowledge Management and Capacity Building IRFF Digital Ecosystem: Actively contribute to the development and enhancement of the IRFF digital ecosystem, focusing on both structural improvements and content development.
• Results Tracking: Ensure effective knowledge management and results tracking by maintaining regular updates of SharePoint lists and files directory.
• Power BI Maintenance and Enhancement: Contribute to the maintenance and enhancement of the PowerBI results and process tracking system to facilitate data-driven decision-making.
• Process Improvement: Proactively identify and implement digital corporate tools to streamline processes and enhance coordination. Develop and refine IRFF guidelines and processes aimed at optimizing country implementation.
• Capacity Building: Provide comprehensive capacity building support to National Project Offices in operations, administration, quality assurance, and the utilization of Monitoring and Evaluation tools and guidelines.
• Cross-Country Learning: Facilitate knowledge exchange and learning opportunities among National Project Officers by organizing virtual meetings, and peer-to-peer learning exchanges.
• Lessons Learned Documentation: Synthesize lessons learned and best practices related to finance and implementation across country office projects to inform future decision-making and improve project outcomes.
• Documentation Standards: Establish and maintain standards for documentation and knowledge sharing to ensure consistency, accuracy, and accessibility of information across the project.
• Knowledge Networking: Actively contribute to knowledge networks and the Intranet learning space to foster collaboration, knowledge sharing, and continuous learning among project stakeholders.
• The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.

Institutional Arrangement

The role will report to the project Management and Coordination Specialist

Competencies

Core

Achieve Results: LEVEL 3: Set and align challenging, achievable objectives for multiple projects, have lasting impact

Think Innovatively: LEVEL 3: Proactively mitigate potential risks, develop new ideas to solve complex problems

Learn Continuously: LEVEL 3: Create and act on opportunities to expand horizons, diversify experiences

Adapt with Agility: LEVEL 3: Proactively initiate and champion change, manage multiple competing demands

Act with Determination: LEVEL 3: Think beyond immediate task/barriers and take action to achieve greater results

Engage and Partner: LEVEL 3: Political savvy, navigate complex landscape, champion inter-agency collaboration

Enable Diversity and Inclusion: LEVEL 3: Appreciate benefits of diverse workforce and champion inclusivity

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies

• Competencies

Thematic Area Name Definition

2030 Agenda Partnerships

SDG Finance

• Insurance for development

Business Management Results-based Management

• Ability to manage programmes and projects with a focus at improved performance and demonstrable results

Business Management Partnerships Management

• Ability to build and maintain partnerships with wide networks of stakeholders, Governments, civil society and private sector partners, experts and others in line with UNDP strategy and policies.

Business Direction and 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 and 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

Required Skills And Experience

Min. Education requirements

An advanced University degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in Social/ Political Science, Law, Public Administration, Gender, Development Studies, or any other related field is required. Or

A first-level university degree (bachelor’s degree) in combination with an additional two years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Min. years of relevant work experience A minimum of five (5) years (with a master’s degree) or seven (7) years (with a bachelor’s degree) of relevant experience in project management /coordination in the public sector (national or multilateral, or private sector (academic or non-governmental, corporate) is required.

Required Skills

• Hands-on experience in development projects and establishing relationships with country offices, service providers, regional teams and various implementing partners required.
• Previous experience with ERP system is required.
• Experience in the usage of computer and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) and working knowledge of spreadsheet and database packages is required

Desired skills in addition to the competencies covered in the Competencies section

• Working experience both at UNDP country and global levels will be an advantage.
• Experience and Knowledge of UN/UNDP procurement and financial rules and regulations will be an advantage.
• Working experience in UNDP Quantum system is an added advantage.
• Previous experience with UNDP Innovation Challenge procedures, understanding of systems thinking and other innovative tools and methodologies used by organization, experience of working with Accelerator labs will be an asset.
• Research experience in the risk financing and insurance an advantage
• Experience in monitoring and evaluation of development projects is an advantage.
• Experience developing PowerBI or any other digital platform a definite advantage.

Required Language(s)

• Fluency in English is required (with exceptional writing, presentation, and communication skills).
• Working knowledge of another UN language is an asset.

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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