Fund Director, Livelihoods and Food Security Trust Fund

Livelihoods and Food Security Trust Fund (LIFT)

The Livelihoods and Food Security Trust Fund (LIFT) is a multi-donor fund established in Myanmar in 2009 with the purpose of increasing the livelihoods' resilience and nutrition of poor people in Myanmar by focusing on interventions that increase income, food availability, utilization and stability of access to food**.** LIFT has received funding from 14 donors to date. As the Fund Manager, UNOPS administers the funds and provides monitoring and oversight.

LIFT is performing very well. At the end of 2016, LIFT was providing assistance to over 5 million people in Myanmar, nearly 15% of the rural population. All of these people have access to LIFT-supported financial services. The Fund has helped 500,000 households (2.1 million people) measurably improve their food security (measured in terms of one month’s additional food availability), and has contributed to a reduction in the stunting rates of children under five years from 32% in 2013 to 29% in 2015.

LIFT is expected to continue operations until at least 2019. Read more about LIFT on www.lift-fund.org.

Functional Responsibilities

The Fund Director will provide leadership, strategic direction and promote best practice in performance and delivery of the LIFT Fund. The Fund Director is the head of the LIFT Fund Management Office, a team of 50 staff, including technical professionals as well as M&E, policy, knowledge management and programme support professionals.

This role represents a unique and exciting opportunity to lead a major investment in livelihoods and nutrition, at a dynamic time of political transformation in Myanmar. He/she will need to demonstrate strong management skills and be an advocate of continued external support to Myanmar’s poor. The incumbent will have exceptional ability to support work in challenging environments, such as conflict areas. He or she will also need excellent partnership skills, working with a broad range of stakeholders to achieve tangible results for people in need.

Under the overall supervision of the UNOPS Myanmar Director & Representative and working closely with the LIFT Fund Board comprising donors, the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation, the Fund Director will be responsible for:

• Working closely with the Fund Board, represent LIFT towards the government, private sector, civil society and other relevant stakeholders (including UN Agencies) to promote excellence, good practice and policy dialogue.

• Representing the Fund Manager (UNOPS) vis-à-vis all other stakeholders and in the Fund Board (as ex officio, non-voting member).

• Advising the Fund Board on architecture and processes to strengthen LIFT’s policy engagement at all levels (township, state/regional, and central).

• Advising the Fund Board in issues such as project selection and financial operations such as budgets, cash flow and expenditure.

• Managing the LIFT Fund Management Office to ensure performance of the Fund in the areas of financial (budget/cash flow/expenditure), work planning and resource mobilization, monitoring and evaluation (M&E), programmatic/administrative (including audit results) and procurement operations.

• Managing personnel and ensuring behaviour consistent with UN values.

• Implementing the Fund in accordance with the rules and regulations of UNOPS and in line with the Delegation of Authority received from the UNOPS Executive Director.

• Ensuring principles of human rights, gender equity, peace, voice and accountability, ‘doing no harm’ and aid effectiveness in all activities associated with the LIFT.

• Ensuring the smooth and effective transition or completion of LIFT supported projects and the orderly and efficient closure of the Fund in its present form.

• Supporting the LIFT Donor Consortium, other potential donors and UNOPS to explore future platforms to coordinate external investment in Myanmar’s agriculture, rural development and nutrition sectors.

• Leading LIFT’s risk management.

• Leading an effective communications strategy including ensuring effective relations with stakeholders to LIFT.

• Representing LIFT in the UNOPS Management Group (MG) to ensure coordination, effective delivery and information sharing.

To learn about this position and apply, please click here