Background

The UNV Regional Offices (RO) provide oversight and strategic guidance to the UNV Field Units in their respective geographical assignments and are mainly accountable for the placement of UN Volunteers mobilized for UN Agencies, Funds, and Programmes focused on peace, development and humanitarian needs. Furthermore, the Regional Offices represent and strategically position UNV and bring UNV’s services and solutions closer to its partners from governments, UN entities, civil society and private sector. The Regional Offices also lead in scoping and delivering UNV’s advisory service offer on volunteer infrastructure. 

Scope of Work  

Under the overall guidance and direct supervision of the Regional Office Manager, the Regional Portfolio Analyst will be responsible for:

1. Business development and portfolio management for volunteer mobilization and placement:

• Keep abreast of development challenges and priorities in countries under portfolio to identify relevant entry points for UNV’s mobilization of volunteers.  
• Provide technical guidance on volunteerism in specific focused areas and on UNV’s integration into appropriate programming approaches, including guiding UNV Field Units in their engagement with UN Agencies and their applicable planning tools.  
• Facilitate UNV positioning in relevant strategic forums, United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) planning processes, Country Programme Documents (CPDs), UN thematic forces and assessments to identify opportunities for volunteers and volunteer placement.  
• Leverage the value added of UNV’s impact on development through its products and services with special emphasis on priority countries, to identify niches for UNV’s positioning including countries with no field presence.
• Supervise performance of the assigned regional portfolio with special attention to compliance with volunteer mobilization targets, timely and quality delivery of outputs and accuracy and quality of reporting.  
• Coordinate and consolidate regional inputs for developing briefing documents for senior management meetings and missions.  
• Ensure quality and accuracy of comprehensive data including analysis of political and socio-economic issues and trends on the portfolio countries.  
• Supervise the assigned UNV personnel in portfolio countries, for quality volunteer management, including oversight of national volunteer recruitment, volunteer management, monitoring of the volunteer reporting system, development of outreach strategies and compliance with business workplans and delegated authority.  

       2. Partnerships building, external relations and coordination:

• Build and strengthen relationships with the UN partners on interventions relating to his/her portfolio and focus areas, as well as with VSOs, CSOs, NGOs, universities, community organizations and other partners, harnessing resource mobilization opportunities and strengthening positioning with donors;
• Participate in relevant fora and inter-agency meetings and events including in countries with no field representation to seize opportunities for volunteer mobilization;  
• Participate in crisis response coordination mechanisms with UN partners, external missions and other key stakeholders;  
• Plan, negotiate, and monitor Exchange of Letters (EOL) and budgets in line with agreements with partners;  
• In coordination with headquarters pertinent units, support the dissemination of UNV’s global agenda and mandate to stakeholders of special relevance in the region.  
• Strengthen and determine business intelligence related to partnerships, promotion of volunteerism and shaping and delivering volunteer infrastructure advisory services and conduct country scans as input for corporate planning processes.

      3. Management and quality assurance, including knowledge and innovation:

• Supervise UNV personnel in portfolio countries, establish workplans and monitor performance.
• Provide guidance and coordinate all aspects of volunteer management.  
• Ensure strategic use and implementation of all UN Volunteers modalities as per prevailing relevant provisions under each scheme.  
• Ensure quality of Descriptions of Assignments in line with corporate policies and parameters guiding the recruitment of volunteers.  
• Provide guidance to portfolio countries personnel on programme design and integration, and on results based management.  
• Oversee the recruitment process of selected candidates and the efficient volunteer management.  
• Contribute to the review of knowledge products development in close coordination with the partnership team and the Volunteer Advisory Services Section through information and data retrieved from specific projects, and lessons learned exercises.  
• Ensure knowledge is documented, systematized and fed back into volunteer opportunities through contributing to knowledge networks.  
• Provide guidance to portfolio countries personnel on Digital Transformation related processes.  
• Based on UNV requirements and priorities, organize capacity building events (e.g. regional and local meetings, conferences, workshops, etc.).    

The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization. 

Institutional Arrangement

Reporting to the Manager, Regional Office, the Regional Portfolio Analyst is responsible for effective management and monitoring a portfolio of countries in the respective region. She/he is responsible for business development and intelligence, relationship management and volunteer mobilization for portfolio countries. In doing so, she/he remotely manages personnel at the country level, supports the identification of entry points for UNV’s, support in showcasing the value added of volunteers and volunteerism based on UNV’s Strategic Framework. In countries without UNV presence, she/he will ensure to collaborate closely with UNDP Country Offices in the implementation of UNV collaboration with different partners. In addition, she/he builds and nurtures relationships with government counterparts and other key stakeholders to enhance UNV’s role in key programmatic interventions and oversees field units for quality performance and volunteer mobilization targets.

Competencies
Core

Achieve Results:

• ​​Scale up solutions and simplifies processes, balances speed and accuracy in doing work​

Think Innovatively:

• ​Offer new ideas/open to new approaches, demonstrate systemic/integrated thinking​

Learn Continuously:

• Go outside comfort zone, learn from others and support their learning​

Adapt with Agility:

• Adapt processes/approaches to new situations, involve others in change process​

Act with Determination:  

• Able to persevere and deal with multiple sources of pressure simultaneously​

Engage and Partner:

• Is facilitator/integrator, bring people together, build/maintain coalitions/partnerships​

Enable Diversity and Inclusion:

•  Facilitate conversations to bridge differences, considers in decision making ​

People Management  

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

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies

Effective Decision Making 

• Take decisions in a timely and efficient manner in line with one's authority, area of expertise and resources and take into consideration potential wider implications. 

Change Management 

• Initiate, design and ensure successful implementation of organisational change; prepare and support individuals and teams in implementing change.

Private sector engagement

• Ability to identify, conduct outreach, and manage relationships with the private sector.

Assessment and Selection

• Knowledge and ability to apply various candidate assessment and selection methodologies, tools and platforms; ability to effectively align them with specific recruitment needs. 

Organisational design and development 

• Knowledge of the organisational design and development theory (i.e. enabling organization's performance through the design of structures, frameworks, systems, policies and metrics, as well as building and developing its culture, capability, values, behaviours, and relationships); understanding of macro trends that impact the design of organizations (e.g. sustainability, geopolitical, demographic, technology); knowledge of organisational design and development diagnostic tools; ability to 'scenario plan' for longer term organization design and development; ability to manage the development of capability/competency frameworks and maps.

Budget Management 

• Ability to support budgetary aspects of work planning process, drawing and management of team budgets.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in Social Sciences, Political Science, Public or Business Administration, Economics or related fields is required, or
• A first-level university degree (bachelor’s degree) in the areas mentioned above in combination with additional two years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration in lieu of a Master’s degree.

Experience:

• Minimum 2 years (with master´s degree) or 4 years (with bachelor´s degree) of relevant professional experience in managing programmes or large portfolios, ideally including experience in partnership development and coordination. 

Required skills:

• At least 2 years of experience should be in an international organisations, preferably within the UN System.
• Experience in managing teams or projects workplans.

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

• Experience in managing volunteer programmes and/or in a development context involving volunteers.
• Experience and knowledge in Digital Transformation.
• Experience in partnership building and management.
• Experience in advocacy, public relations and/or communication.
• Knowledge of national development situations in one or several of the lusophone countries in West and Central Africa.

Required Languages:

• Fluency in English is required.  
• Working knowledge of French and Portuguese is desired. 

Equal opportunity

As an equal opportunity employer, UNDP values diversity as an expression of the multiplicity of nations and cultures where we operate and, as such, we encourage qualified applicants from all backgrounds to apply for roles in the organization. Our employment decisions are based on merit and suitability for the role, without discrimination. 

UNDP is also committed to creating an inclusive workplace where all personnel are empowered to contribute to our mission, are valued, can thrive, and benefit from career opportunities that are open to all.

Sexual harassment, exploitation, and abuse of authority

UNDP does not tolerate harassment, sexual harassment, exploitation, discrimination and abuse of authority. All selected candidates, therefore, undergo relevant checks and are expected to adhere to the respective standards and principles. 

Right to select multiple candidates

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.

Scam alert

UNDP does not charge a fee at any stage of its recruitment process. For further information, please see www.undp.org/scam-alert.