Economic Recovery Specialist

The ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine has had a direct and highly negative impact on economy, social cohesion, resilience, livelihoods, community security, and the rule of law affecting millions of internally displaced persons and other vulnerable groups. Women and girls are disproportionately affected by the conflict and its consequences – widespread human rights violations, sexual and gender-based violence, and human trafficking, including trafficking of women for sexual exploitation. Recognizing the need to urgently address reconstruction, economic recovery and peacebuilding needs in areas affected both directly and indirectly by the conflict, in late 2014 the Government of Ukraine requested technical assistance and financial support from the international community to assess priority recovery needs. In late 2014, the United Nations (UN), the World Bank (WB) and the European Union (EU) conducted a Recovery and Peacebuilding Assessment, which was endorsed by the Cabinet of Ministers in mid-2015.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has been active and present in eastern Ukraine for the past decade, prior to the conflict, with a focus on community development, civil society development, and environmental protection. Work on addressing the specific conflict-related development challenges built on this earlier engagement, established partnerships, and started in 2015 through the United Nations Recovery and Peacebuilding Programme (UN RPP). The UN RPP is a multi-donor funded framework programme formulated and led by the UNDP in collaboration with the Government of Ukraine and in cooperation with a number of partnering UN agencies (UN Women, FAO, UNFPA). The RPP was designed to respond to, and mitigate, the causes and effects of the conflict in the east of Ukraine. It is an integral component of the UNDP Country Programme and is therefore fully aligned with the United Nations Partnership Framework (UNPF).

The Economic Recovery Specialist will work under the overall guidance and supervision of the Technical Specialist (Recovery and Peacebuilding) and will ensure strategic guidance, technical oversight, planning and management in a gender-responsive manner for RPP Component 1: Economic Recovery and Restauration of Critical Infrastructure.
The incumbent contributes to the sound implementation of all related joint UN interventions, as well as the overall impact, coherence and quality of the joint UN RPP in the areas of economic development, support to MSMEs, development of technical vocational education (TVET) etc. This post requires a combination of substantive technical advisory knowledge and managerial competencies to recommend effective approaches and formulate new initiatives in the subject area. The staff member will be based in Kramatorsk, Donetsk oblast, with frequent travel to other regions of the country, including Kyiv.

The incumbent will play an essential role in linking strategic governmental reform efforts with the interventions on the ground and help to ensure that local challenges and solutions are integrated into national level policy-making processes with due consideration of a gender mainstreaming approach. S/he will also support an engagement with international development partners, building strategic partnerships, and identifying new opportunities for UNDP to maximize its impact and visibility in this area through development of new proposals and project documents. The Economic Recovery Specialist will prioritize gender equality and women’s empowerment within all implementations and promote UNDP’s mandate as a gender-responsive organization with zero tolerance to any kind of discriminatory and abusive behaviour, including sexual harassment, sexual exploitation and abuse.

The Programme’s interventions are grouped under the following key Programme components, which reflect women’s and men’s priority needs in the region:

Component 1: Economic Recovery and Restoration of Critical Infrastructure
Component 2: Local Governance and Decentralization Reform
Component 3: Community Security and Social Cohesion.

In October 2018, four UN agencies (UNDP, UN Women, FAO and the UNFPA) have countersigned a new joint project document, funded by the EU. The overall objective of the project is to restore effective governance, support economic recovery and promote reconciliation in the crisis-affected communities of Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts in Ukraine, thereby enhancing the credibility and legitimacy of local governments in the government-controlled areas of the regions. It will contribute to peacebuilding and prevent further escalation of the conflict in Ukraine through effective and accountable decentralization, gender-responsive recovery planning and equal access to services, as well as enhanced economic recovery and development.

This endeavor will be achieved through the pursuit of the following specific objectives:

1. To enhance local capacity for gender-responsive decentralization and administrative reforms to improve governance, local development and the delivery of services.
2. To stimulate employment and economic growth by providing assistance to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) development through demand-driven business development services and professional skills training.
3. To enhance social cohesion and reconciliation through promotion of civic initiatives.
4. To support sector reforms and structural adjustments in health, education and critical public infrastructure to mitigate direct impacts of the conflict.

Summary of Key functions:

• Strategic direction and oversight of the Economic Recovery/MSME Development RPP Component’s development, planning and implementation;
• Leadership on the thematic knowledge management, communication and M&E;
• Leading research and innovation with the assigned thematic field.

Substantially contribute to the strategic direction and oversight of development, planning and implementation of the Economic Recovery component of the RPP:

• Conduct thorough analysis and research of the political, social, environmental and economic situation of women and men in the country and provide technical inputs in the development of gender-responsive policies related to economic development and reform;
• Provide technical advisory services and technical guidance to the RPP team and UNDP CO in the field of economic development and MSME support with due attention to gender equality considerations;
• Under the supervision of the Technical Specialist (Recovery and Peacebuilding) , support donor outreach and coordination with national and international partners, including actively contributing to developing new funding opportunities, especially those focusing on building resilience of women, reducing structural vulnerabilities to shocks and crisis, as well as preventing and addressing the issue of sexual and gender-based violence;
• Contributes to the development of the UNDP Partnership and Resource Mobilization (PRM) strategy, including planning tools to implement the strategy;
• The oversight functions include supervision of the assigned team, coordination of multi-agency joint implementation; strategic oversight of planning, budgeting, implementing and monitoring, tracking use of financial resources in accordance with UNDP rules and regulations based on the gender-responsive approach.
• Supervise and guide the preparation or revision of key planning, monitoring and evaluation documents such as the Annual Work Plans (AWPs), the Results and Resources Framework (RRF), progress reports, monitoring and review reports based on the gender-responsive results-based management (RBM) principles;
• Ensure technical guidance and supervision for a timely and efficient delivery of the Annual Work Plans for the assigned thematic component of the RPP programme;
• Oversee project implementation process through close monitoring of results and assessment of impact; ensures effective application of RBM tools, management of scorecard targets and other benchmarks;
• Contribute to building capacity of the national stakeholders’ to effectively tackle challenges related to regional economic development and MSME support in a gender-sensitive way;

Provides expert leadership on the Programme knowledge management, communication and M&E:

• Provide technical support on producing quality communication materials, visuals and publications based on the corporate principles of gender-responsive communications and non-discriminatory language;
• Provide inputs and necessary substantive support to the Programme and CO team during audits, international missions, assessments, evaluations and similar other events;
• Identify and formulate lessons learned and document best practices to be integrated into programme reports and publications;
• Identify strategic opportunities and potential new areas of cooperation, including joint programming with UN agencies and other development partners. Actively coordinate with other UN agencies on the subject matter and contribute technical expertise to the work of the UNET (Eastern Ukraine UN Country Team);
• Contribute to knowledge networks and communities of practice.
• Contribute to the work of the Innovation Lab and Gender Focal Team.

Contributes strategically to the programme’s research and innovation:

• Provide technical oversight and review assistance to ongoing studies and reports commissioned by the Programme and partners, in the areas of economic development, economic value chains’ development, MSME support etc.
• Guide the Programme team in preparing strategy papers and implementation manuals or guidelines  that include clear indicators for gender equality;
• Contribute to the development and introduction of innovative digital technologies for MSME support and development.

Core competencies:

• Innovation: Ability to make new and useful ideas work

Level 5: Creates new and relevant ideas and leads others to implement them

• Leadership: Ability to persuade others to follow

Level 5: Plans and acts transparently, actively works to remove barriers

• People Management: Ability to improve performance and satisfaction

Level 5: Models high professional standards and motivates excellence in others

• Communication: Ability to listen, adapt, persuade and transform

Level 5: Gains trust of peers, partners, clients by presenting complex concepts in practical terms to others

• Delivery: Ability to get things done while exercising good judgement

Level 5: Critically assesses value and relevance of existing policy / practice and contributes to enhanced delivery of products, services, and innovative solutions 

Technical/Functional:

• Strategic Planning: Ability to make decisions that align with strategy, vision, and mission

Level 5: Originate: Catalyzes new ideas, methods, and applications to pave a path for innovation and continuous improvement in professional area of expertise

• Partnerships: Ability to engage with other agencies, officials and forge productive working relationships.

Level 5: Originate: Catalyzes new ideas, methods, and applications to pave a path for innovation and continuous improvement in professional area of expertise

• Project Management: Ability to plan, organize, and control resources, procedures and protocols to achieve specific goals

Level 5:Originate: Catalyzes new ideas, methods, and applications to pave a path for innovation and continuous improvement in professional area of expertise

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

Level 5: Originate: Catalyzes new ideas, methods, and applications to pave a path for innovation and continuous improvement in professional area of expertise

• Team Building: Ability to work effectively with diverse groups of professionals towards common goals

Level 5: Originate: Catalyzes new ideas, methods, and applications to pave a path for innovation and continuous improvement in professional area of expertise

• Performance Management: Ability to manage organization, department and employee goals

Level 5: Originate: Catalyzes new ideas, methods, and applications to pave a path for innovation and continuous improvement in professional area of expertise

• Gender Mainstreaming: Knowledge of gender issues and the ability to apply to strategic and/or practical situations, including analysis and implementation of projects from a gender perspective

Level 5: Originate: Catalyzes new ideas, methods, and applications to pave a path for innovation and continuous improvement in professional area of expertise 

Education:

• Master’s Degree or equivalent in Economics, Business Administration, Public Administration, Social Sciences or related field.

Experience:

• At least 7 years of relevant managerial and advisory experience in the field of Economic Development, MSME development, TVET development or related fields.
   
• Experience in working with conflict-affected populations, as well as implementing recovery and peacebuilding initiatives, is a distinctive advantage. Experience in Gender mainstreaming is an advantage.
   
• Management experience with international recovery and development programmes and projects (preferably with the United Nations) is an advantage.
   
• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) and advance knowledge of web-based management systems.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English. Knowledge of Russian is an advantage.

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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