Head, SDG Integration

New York City

Organization: UNDP - United Nations Development Programme
Location: New York City
Grade: Senior level - P-6, International Professional - Internationally recruited position
Occupational Groups:
- Development Cooperation and Sustainable Development Goals
- Environment
- Poverty Reduction
- Sustainable Development and Poverty Reduction
- SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
- Managerial positions
Closing Date: Closed

Background

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. Within this context, UNDP invests in 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.

The SDG Integration is the core of UNDP’s Global Policy Network (GPN), the collection of expertise across all knowledge domains both within and beyond UNDP, which is leveraged and engaged in the delivery of SDG integration services, including:

•Integrated Policy Solutions: Curating customized, integrated solutions in and across the areas of poverty, governance, resilience, environment, energy access, and gender equality, including ‘whole-of-government’ and ‘whole-of-society’ responses.

•SDG data, metrics, and analytics: Addressing data gaps to fulfill UNDP’s commitment to the principle of leaving no one behind and enhancing the application of evidence-driven policy instruments to advance the implementation of the SDGs.

•Knowledge and Innovation: Responding more effectively to complex development challenges by leveraging the existing, distributed network of expertise across our organization and our collaborative partnerships, to uncover and explore what works and doesn’t work. Facilitating connections with learning and innovators associated with UNDP’s Country Accelerator Labs and external partners.

•SDG finance: Defining the path to transform from funding to financing the SDGs, including the promotion and operationalization of catalytic interventions, ‘crowding in’ additional finance and partnerships, scaling-up innovative financing mechanisms, and improving the effectiveness of existing financial resources.

Within this context, s/he is accountable for the following functions:

1.Leadership of Sustainable Development Goals Integrator Team

2.Leadership and Coordination of Integration Services

3.Overall management and resource mobilization

4.Partnerships, representation and advocacy

5.Knowledge management

Duties and Responsibilities

1. Leadership of Sustainable Development Goals Integrator Team

•Direct and manage the SDG Integrator Team, on behalf of the Global Policy Network (GPN), to curate and deliver SDG integration services, which are complex and/or composite in nature;

•Lead the provision of UNDP integration services, ranging from SDG R&D, analytics, metrics, SDG financing, and knowledge and innovation;

•Anchor UNDP’s evolving initiatives focused on reorienting the approach to collaborative sustainable development, including contributions and support to County Acceleration Labs, design and implementation of MAPS engagements at country level, and coordinated roll out of UNDP-led initiatives on SDG integration in select countries;

•Advise UN and UNDP offices in navigating and utilizing various integration services and resources within a coherent and tailored strategy for individual offices and differentiated contexts; and

•Substantively engage GPN team leaders on the integration of UNDP’s economic, social and environmental work into a coherent sustainable development advisory service offer and programming framework, in support of the implementation of the sustainable development goals in all development situations.

2. Leadership and Coordination of Integration Services

•Provide authoritative leadership, supervision and guidance to policy advisors across the GPN in their provision of sustainable development policy advisory and programme support services to requesting offices and entities;

•Ensure the timely identification and provision of world-renowned expertise to ensure global recognition of the organization as an authority, source of innovation and effective knowledge hub of the global community on issues of broadly perceived importance in public discourse related to sustainable development;

•Operationalize the platform from which internal and external knowledge and technical capacities are assembled and deployed to UN/UNDP offices requesting SDG Integration services; and

•Quality assure UNDP SDG Integration services delivered by multi-disciplinary teams and distill lessons for adaptation/evolution, scaling, and/or promoting corrective action across the GPN.

3. Overall Management and Resource Mobilization

•Lead and manage the SDG Integrator Team, including supervising staff and overseeing strategy development, service line formulation, work planning, budgeting and reporting;

•Define and calibrate the operational mechanisms through which integration services are delivered and quality assured, in line with consistent principles of engagement;

•Facilitate the environment and approve strategies to leverage and mobilize financial resources and ensure effective utilization by policy advisors actively engaged in the SDG Integrator; and

•Lead the alignment of the SDG Integrator’s services to UNDP’s Business Plan, and marshal resource management solutions necessary for the financial sustainability of offering integration services alongside all policy advisory and programme support functions of the GPN.

4. Partnerships, Representation and Advocacy

•Lead the substantive and operational investments in the SDG Integrator in order to position UNDP as the global leader in sustainable development;

•Mobilize, foster and strengthen strategic partnerships with UN and other relevant bodies and provide substantive inputs to those partnerships;

•Represent the SDG Integrator function in UNDP’s corporate discussions, in interagency coordination and in other fora to engage partners in advancing UNDP’s contributions to the Sustainable Development agenda through its Global Policy Network (GPN); and

•Advocate the importance and value of UNDP’s full spectrum of knowledge and advisory capabilities within the GPN in various international fora.

5. Knowledge Management

•Align and advance policy initiatives across UNDP’s global service offer, in collaboration with policy teams in the Regional Hubs, bringing in perspectives and knowledge from Country Offices and the regions;

•Lead UNDP’s Community of Practice on SDG integration;

•Coordinate, commission, and enrich new research on SDGs and mainstreaming of issues related to the environment and natural capital, disaster risk management and climate change, poverty, inequality, social protection, energy access, food security, development finance, trade, migration and gender, including collaboration with the Global Policy Centers;

•Oversee, influence and promote the advance of policy dialogue areas amplified through the SDG Integrator, through cross-regional exchange of knowledge and collaboration, and synthesis of knowledge emerging from the development and implementation of programmes across all knowledge domains of the Global Policy Network; and

•Oversee the knowledge extraction, analysis, documentation, codification of results/lessons learned in specific knowledge domains, ensuring that knowledge sharing, and content management is in line with guidelines and performed using corporate tools.

Competencies

Core

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

Technical

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
Natural Capital and Environment: Knowledge of environment management processes at the national and local level and the ability to apply to strategic and/or practical situations
Economic Planning: knowledge of economic planning concepts and the ability to apply to strategic or practical situations
Representation: Ability to productively share UNDP knowledge and activities (at UN and other venues)
Partnerships: Ability to engage with other agencies and forge productive working relationships
Resource Mobilization: Ability to identify and organize programmes and projects to implement solutions and generate resources
Advocacy: Ability to advocate a point of view and influence others
Knowledge Management: Ability to efficiently handle and share information and knowledge
Trends and emerging areas analytics: Ability to scan the horizon and identify approaches and initiatives to bring into policy and programme design

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Advanced university degree (Master’s or equivalent) in economics, business administration, social sciences or related disciplines.

Experience:

15 years of professional work experience leading teams, providing policy advice and pioneering approaches in the three dimensions of sustainable development in different country contexts including LDCs and SIDS, MICS and crisis and post crisis settings, at the international level. Experience in developing country settings will be desirable.

Language Requirements:

Fluency in English, both written and oral. Working knowledge of another UN language will be desirable.

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.

Workforce diversity

UNDP is committed to achieving diversity within its workforce, and encourages all qualified applicants, irrespective of gender, nationality, disabilities, sexual orientation, culture, religious and ethnic backgrounds to apply. All applications will be treated in the strictest confidence.

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