Policy Analyst (re-advertisement)

Dhaka

Organization: UNDP - United Nations Development Programme
Location: Dhaka
Grade: Level not specified - Level not specified
Occupational Groups:
- Political Affairs
- Legal - Broad
Closing Date: Closed

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.

The Transformative Governance for Sustainable Development, IP Project of the Democratic Governance (DG) Portfolio of UNDP Bangladesh aims to strengthen and deepen further UNDP’s ongoing engagement with key public institutions, including the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Bangladesh National Parliament, Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), justice institutions, and legal aid service providers, including the National Legal Aid Service Organization (NLASO), Women Judges Association to explore innovative solutions to governance challenges. The project aspires to support the parliamentarians with constituency-specific data to articulate their demands and contribute to evidence-based policy formulation, planning, and allocation of resources to address regional differences and encourage inclusive development. Besides, this project will explore engagement with the NGO Affairs Bureau and Inspection, Monitoring, Evaluation Division (IMED) of the Ministry of Planning to support strong monitoring and oversight functions of development projects considering the country’s Annual Development Programme size is increasing with over 2500 projects as well as donor-funded projects through national and international NGOs. Moreover, UNDP, through this project, will support the relevant Government Ministries/Divisions/Agencies, such as the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Division, Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA), etc. in promoting transformative economic policies to deliver environmentally sustainable, inclusive, and resilient economic development in Bangladesh. This will include technical and policy advocacy supports, such as a Digital Business Identification (DBID) platform, socio-economic dashboard, digital transformation of Government-to-Business (G2B) services, and research support for evidence-based economic policymaking on the investment climate.

This project consists of seven components:

Support the Bangladesh Parliament and MPs in evidence-based policy formulation.
Engage with the Governance Innovation Unit (GIU) to advance governance innovation solutions).
Promote civic education for responsive citizenship to support sustainable LDC graduation.
Enable peaceful national elections and strengthen citizen engagement and policy support.
Support access to affordable justice and legal aid services.
Provide technical assistance to NGOAB and IMED to improve monitoring and oversight functions of development projects.
Promote transformative economic policies for sustainable, inclusive, and green economic growth, trade, and investment in Bangladesh.

Under component - 7 (TEPP) of the IP project, a Research and Analytics Unit (RAU) has been established in BIDA to provide research support for informed economic policymaking on the investment climate in the context of LDC graduation. The Unit will provide an analysis of contemporary economic issues relevant to investment and business development, assess short-term changes in socio-economic activities, and recommend appropriate strategies to accelerate policymaking for improved investment governance in Bangladesh.

UNDP seeks to recruit a Policy Analyst who will lead a research team to be engaged for the Research and Analytics Unit (RAU) to support the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) in its investment planning.

The activities of the Policy Analyst will be coordinated by the Economist, TEPP and evaluated by the Assistant Resident Representative, DG Portfolio.

Duties and Responsibilities:

The Policy Analyst is expected to perform the following duties in coordination and consultation with TEPP management:

Lead the Unit’s research activities and provide technical support.

Design and implement targeted policy research on the investment climate and related economic development agenda using both primary and secondary data.
Manage the research agenda of RAU that includes the following three work streams:
Fill information and knowledge gaps in priority sectors.
Identify the broken and weak links and good practices for better inter-agency coordination for investment facilitation.
Create evidence and value propositions for the upgradation of the investment climate.
Guide the research team to make sure that they deliver quality outputs.
Write and oversee high-quality evidence-led policy briefs, reports, papers, and other knowledge products that will be shared both internally and externally, including with key government counterparts.

Provide strategic management of the Unit’s activities and support administrative, operational, and logistical processes.

Ideate, prepare, and implement the plan of action for the Unit priorities on relevant themes.
Put in place a suitable framework to monitor and review the progress of work as delineated in the work plan.
Lead the preparation of the quarterly and annual progress reports for the Unit.
Liaise with the individual consultants/consulting firms hired for large-scale research.
Maintain documents according to required standards.

Facilitate knowledge management and engage with the partners and stakeholders for the effective implementation of the research unit’s activities.

Lead the preparation of communication materials for policy advocacy, knowledge sharing and strategic partnership.
Hold dialogues with the relevant stakeholders to gather insights on the upcoming investment challenges in the context of LDC graduation and other developments in the world economic order that are affecting the global economy.
Facilitate workshops/consultations/seminars with the participation of the relevant stakeholders to validate and disseminate the outputs of the unit.
Exchange information/experience with partners and relevant stakeholders to ensure synergies and integration.

Any other tasks relevant to the duties and responsibilities of the position assigned by TEPP.

Competencies:

Core competencies:

Achieve Results: LEVEL 2: Scale up solutions and simplifies processes, balances speed and accuracy in doing work.
Think Innovatively: LEVEL 2: Offer new ideas/open to new approaches, demonstrate systemic/integrated thinking.
Learn Continuously: LEVEL 2: Go outside comfort zone, learn from others and support their learning.
Adapt with Agility: LEVEL 2: Adapt processes/approaches to new situations, involve others in change process.
Act with Determination: LEVEL 2: Able to persevere and deal with multiple sources of pressure simultaneously.
Engage and Partner: LEVEL 2: Is facilitator/integrator, bring people together, build/maintain coalitions/partnerships.
Enable Diversity and Inclusion: LEVEL 2: Facilitate conversations to bridge differences, considers in decision making.

People Management competencies:

UNDP People Management Competencies can be found on the dedicated site.

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies:

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
Effective Decision Making: Ability to take decisions in a timely and efficient manner in line with one’s authority, area of expertise and resources.

Business Development

Knowledge Generation: Ability to research and turn information into useful knowledge, relevant for context, or responsive to a stated need.

Business Management

Working with Evidence and Data: Ability to inspect, cleanse, transform and model data with the goal of discovering useful information, informing conclusions, and supporting decision making.

Digital & Innovation

Data Analysis: Ability to extract, analyse and visualize data (including Real-Time Data) to form meaningful insights and aid effective decision making.

2030 Agenda: Prosperity

Inclusive Growth: Economic transformation, policy and planning

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

Required Skills and Experience:

Education:

Advanced university degree (master’s degree or equivalent) in Economics/Development Economics/Development Studies/Public Policy/Social Science or any other relevant discipline is required.
A first-level university degree (Bachelor´s degree) in the areas mentioned above in combination with additional 2 years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration in lieu of Master´s degree.

Experience:

Minimum 2 years (with Master´s degree) or 4 years (with a bachelor’s degree) of relevant experience in policy research and analysis, and management/coordination of research-driven works.
Good understanding of Bangladesh’s socio-economic situation.
Experience in leading/managing research on private investment, economic development, macroeconomic dynamics, and socio-economic issues is an asset.
Experience in designing research methodologies and data collection tools is required.
Experience in handling and analysing large data sets is required.
Demonstrated experience in producing strategic documents, analytical reports, research papers, policy briefs, working papers, book chapters, etc. based on qualitative and quantitative data analysis is an asset.
Prior experience engaging with different government agencies, private sector, international development organisations, civil society organisations, think tanks, etc. is an asset.
Experience working in development agencies, IFIs, or other international organizations is an asset.
Proficiency in standard statistical software such as SPSS, Stata, R, Python, etc.
Good communication, coordination, and facilitation skills.
Consistently ensures timeliness and quality of work.
Strong oral and written communication skills.
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality, and age sensitivity and adaptability.
Demonstrates integrity by modelling ethical standards.
Eager to share knowledge and experience.

Required Languages:

English and Bengali

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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This vacancy is now closed.
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