Background

Organization :    Department of Youth Affairs, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports / 
UNDP/UNV (position is based at NYKS HQ, Parliament Street, New   Delhi)
Supervisor:Joint Secretary (Youth Affairs), Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports and Programme Officer, UN Volunteers, India
The United Nations General Assembly defines volunteerism as an activity undertaken out of free will, for the general public good, and where monetary reward is not the principal motivating factor. It is expressed through a wide range of activities, including traditional forms of mutual aid and self-help, formal service delivery, campaigning and advocacy, as well as other forms of civic participation. Volunteering represents an important form and manifestation of youth participation across the globe. It is increasingly recognized that young people’s approaches to participation are changing and becoming more diverse, especially as a result of globalization processes. 
A growing body of research and studies, including the UNV’s own lessons learned, points to the benefits volunteerism accrues to a youth’s own development and to societies at large.
•Firstly, volunteerism can support young people to become active leaders and citizens and serves as an important tool for engagement in society.
•Secondly, youth volunteerism strengthens the bond between young people and their communities. 
•And finally, volunteerism helps young people improve their employment prospects through practical experiences which enhance both hard and soft job-related skills. 
India has a strong tradition of volunteering and unique approaches to using volunteers to contribute to social and economic development. Volunteerism and philanthropy have played significant roles in the political and social movements in India. The issues concerning volunteer engagement and importance of youth in national development had received attention of the successive five-year plans from the first Plan (1951-56) to 12th Plan (2012-17). In recognition of the role of volunteerism in harnessing social capital, the Government of India has put in place various policies and programmes. The National Youth Policy (NYP) 2014 in particular aims “to empower the youth of the country to achieve their full potential, and through them enable India to find its rightful place in the community of nations”. 
The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MoYAS) has been running two of the largest youth volunteer schemes - National Service Scheme (NSS) and Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS). Established in 1969, NSS caters to the student volunteers and runs a number of programmes with schools, universities. NYKS was established in 1972 to promote volunteerism amongst non-student youths. It operates through a network of youth clubs in rural and urban areas. NYKS has been working in various fronts of youth development with a variety of youth programmes. Focus has been on developing values of good citizenship, youth leadership, thinking and behaving in secular ways, skill development and helping youth to adopt a productive and organized behaviour.
Within United Nations, the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme established by the UN General Assembly in 1970 and administered by the UNDP, partners with UN agencies, governments and civil society organisations to advocate for volunteerism, integrate volunteerism into peace and development interventions and mobilise UN Volunteers and community volunteers. The UNV supports the United Nations system through placement of volunteers in various Programmes, Funds and Entities. 
The strategic framework of UN Volunteers (2018-2021) seeks to leverage the power of volunteerism and volunteers as a means of: (a) implementation; and (b) people engagement for attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals. To this end, the UNV seeks to support the efforts of Member States to deliver on the 2030 Agenda through volunteerism as an effective means of implementation and people engagement. It also seeks to support the United Nations system to deliver on the 2030 Agenda through the engagement of UN-Volunteers and the integration of volunteerism.
The MoYAS and UNV/UNDP have been implementing a joint project titled “Strengthening NYKS and NSS” to provide catalytic support to the Youth Volunteer Schemes of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MoYAS) to facilitate youth participation and voice in peace and sustainable development programmes, towards realization of their full social, economic and human potential. It is expected that the project will help young people to gain a strong sense of civic engagement to bring about positive transformation in their communities. 
To achieve the above, the project will engage a national Project Manager who lead a team of  six national UNV Management Associates located at the Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS) HQ, Jeevan Deep Building, Parliament Street , New Delhi   (at national level) and UNV District Youth Coordinators (UNV DYCs) in 58 select districts in  various states of India to support implementation of the project “Strengthening NYKS and NSS”. 

Duties and Responsibilities

The Project Manager will work under the direct guidance and supervision of Joint Secretary (Youth Affairs), Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports and National Project Director (NPD). The incumbent will primarily be responsible for following duties and responsibilities:

• Develop and implement Annual Work Plan under the project and monitor progress against the approved work-plan; 

• Develop project proposals for youth leadership development and community engagement of youth in the country;

• Prepare technical notes, concept papers related to youth leadership development and community engagement of youth in the country;

• Coordinate with NYKS Directorate, NSS Directorate and State Directors for planning and implementing various project activities;

• Oversee UNV-DYCs and Management Associates and provide guidance to them for implementation of project activities at the national as well as state and district levels;

• Monitor progress of the project activities and submit progress report on monthly, quarterly and annual basis;

• Undertake field monitoring visits for on the spot assessment of project results and outcomes;

• Prepare terms of reference and work specifications for all contractors’ work and mobilize personnel, goods and services under the project;

• Organize training and capacity building activities under the project;

• Forge partnerships with various stakeholders for promoting volunteerism and youth development towards achieving project outputs and outcomes;

• Manage requests for the provision of financial resources by UNDP, through advance of funds, direct payments, or reimbursement using the FACE (Fund Authorization and Certificate of Expenditures);

• Be responsible for preparing and submitting financial reports to UNDP on a quarterly basis;

• Manage and monitor the project risks initially identified and submit new risks to the project board for Monitoring financial resources and accounting to ensure accuracy and reliability of financial reports;consideration and decision on possible actions if required; update the status of these risks by maintaining the project risks log;

• Capture lessons learnt during project implementation – a lessons learnt log can be used in this regard

• Perform regular progress reporting to the Project Steering Committee (PSC);

• Prepare the Quarterly and Annual Progress Report, and submit to the PSC;

• Prepare the annual work plan for the following year, as well as quarterly plans if required; update the Atlas Project Management module if external access is made available;

• Any other activities decided by the National Project Director and UNV Country Coordinator relating to the project.
 

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:
  • Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards
  • Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP
  • Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability
  • Treats all people fairly without favoritism and discrimination
Core Competencies: 
  • Ethics and Values
  • Demonstrates/safeguards ethics and integrity  
  • Working in teams
  • Acts as a team player and facilitates team work
  • Facilitates and encourages open communication in the team, communicating effectively and manages conflict
  • Approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude
  • Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complex situations 
  • Responds positively to critical feedback and differing points of view.
Functional Competencies: 
Results Based Programme Development and Management 
  • Generates new ideas and approaches, researches and documents best practices and identifies better opportunities for project implementation.
  • Identifies performance standards, monitors progress and intervenes at early stages for achievement of results.
Strategic Partnerships and Client Orientation
  • Builds and sustains effective partnerships with the Government Agencies and main constituents, advocates effectively and communicates sensitively across different constituencies. 
  • Focuses on impact and result for the client, builds strong relationships with clients and external actors
  • Keeps abreast of new developments in the area of youth development and seeks to develop new partnerships to promote youth volunteerism.
Advocacy
  • Possesses basic knowledge of organizational policies and procedures relating to the position and applies them consistently in work tasks 
  • Maintains a functioning network with a variety of stakeholders on youth volunteerism and support advocacy efforts of Department of Youth Affairs and UNV/UNDP.
  • Demonstrates comprehensive knowledge of information technology and applies it in work assignments

Required Skills and Experience

Educational Qualifications:
  • Post graduate/Master’s degree in Development Studies, Public Policy, Public Administration, Economics, Social Sciences, Project Management or related fields.  
  • Additional specialization in youth development issues would be an advantage.  
Experience:
 
• A minimum of 10 years of relevant experience with atleast 5 years at the national or international level in implementing development projects. 
 
•Experience of working on youth development, volunteerism or a relevant field. 
 
•Experience in project management and managing large teams. 
 
•Experience of working with government or international organizations will be preferred. 
 
•Hands on experience on economic and social development issues (policy and strategic) will be preferred. 
 
•Outstanding communication, interpersonal and presentation skills, management and organizational skills. 
 
•Experience in IT skills including and specifically use of MIS. 
 
•Experience in the use of computers and software (MS, Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and advanced knowledge of spread sheet and research packages.
Experience in producing high quality reports and knowledge products Ability to work independently and under pressure.
Willingness to travel. 

Knowledge and Skills
•Clear and dynamic understanding and knowledge of ongoing global  and regional development issues and challenges
 
•Clear knowledge of the workings of NSS and NYKS and other such networks of the government would be preferable 
 
•Ability to build strategic partnerships with a wide array of stakeholders on development cooperation
 
•Focuses on impact and result based management tools and quality assurance of the programme
 
•Ability to prioritize assignments and requirements, and multitask as needed.
 
•Excellent interpersonal skills and demonstrated ability to work with people and multi sectoral teams to achieve results
 
•Experience in data management and MIS is preferred. 
Language Requirements
Excellent command in spoken and written English and Hindi
Remuneration package is INR 152,593/- per month (taxable). UNDP also offers additional benefits which include medical insurance coverage and limited pension reimbursement for contract holder and encourages work life balance. 

Disclaimer

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