Portfolio Specialist, Regional Office East and Southern Africa

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.

Reporting to the Manager, Regional Office, the Regional Portfolio Specialist is responsible for the effective management and monitoring of a of 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 Field Units (FU) personnel and supports the identification of entry points for UNV’s support and showcasing the value added of volunteers and volunteerism based on UNV’s Strategic Framework.  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.

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 Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) planning processes, 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 in countries with no field presenc
• 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;
• Advise the Manager, Regional Office on critical and emerging issues including progress/response to evaluations and audit interventions relevant to the region as well as 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;
• Supervise the assigned UNV Field Units, 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.

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;
• In coordination with the New York Office, assist the Manager, Regional Office in building partnerships with UN organizations including peace keeping mission offices, regional entities and field based organizations to identify opportunities and promote UNV and volunteer mobilization;
• 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.

Management and quality assurance, including knowledge and innovation

• Supervise the portfolio Field Units, 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 Field Units 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 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;
• Based on UNV requirements and priorities, o. regional and local meetings, conferences, workshops, etc.

Functional Competencies:

Sustainable Development

• Knowledge of sustainable development concepts, principles and issues and the ability to apply to strategic and/or practical situations, covering the economic, social and environmental dimensions

Peacebuilding and Reconciliation

• Ability to support peace processes to facilitate recovery and development

Development Planning and Monitoring

• Ability to develop business and planning processes at the national and local level and the ability to apply to strategic and/or practical situations

Relationship Management

• Ability to engage and foster strategic partnerships with other parties, inter-agency coordination and forge productive working relationships

Results-based Management

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

Project Management

• Ability to plan, organize, motivate, and control resources, procedures and protocols to achieve specific goals

Knowledge Management

• Ability to capture, develop, share and effectively use information and knowledge

Core Competencies:

Innovation

• Ability to make new and useful ideas work

Leadership

• Ability to persuade others to follow

People Management

• Ability to improve performance and satisfaction

Communication

• Ability to listen, adapt, persuade and transform

Delivery

• Ability to get things done while exercising good judgement

Education:

• Master’s degree in social sciences, political science, public or business administration, economics or related fields

Experience:

• 5 years of relevant professional experience in managing and implementing development programmes at headquarters and/or in the field, of which 2-3 years of experience should be in an international organization, preferably UNDP/UNV;
• Experience in managing volunteer programmes and/or in a development context involving volunteers is highly desirable.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English.
• Proficiency in another official UN language is an asset.

Note:

• Only short-listed applicants will be contacted:
• The successful candidate will hold a UNDP letter of appointment.