Background

In 2025, the Republic of Moldova continues to navigate a challenging socioeconomic and geopolitical context. The country is transitioning from crisis response to longer-term resilience building, while its reform agenda - centered on economic modernization, energy transition, and governance strengthening - is being tested amid rising regional risks, growing public expectations, and constrained fiscal space. 

Economic performance in 2024 was modest, with GDP growing by just 0.1% over the year. Weakened external demand and persistent supply-side disruptions—particularly in agriculture—contributed to this slowdown. While stabilizing food and energy prices helped bring inflation back to 5%, within the National Bank’s target range, Moldova’s fiscal deficit remained elevated at 5.1% of GDP, due to sustained social spending and public investment. 

As of January 2025, a sharp increase in electricity tariffs risks reigniting inflationary pressures and weakening household purchasing power—posing additional threats to economic stability and social cohesion. 

The political landscape remains dynamic, shaped by the formal launch of EU accession negotiations in June 2024, the rollout of the €1.9 billion EU Growth Plan, and the approaching parliamentary elections in September 2025. 

The demographic decline and sustained emigration continue to pose structural challenges. The country faces deepening labour shortages, an aging workforce, and a shrinking tax base. These trends are mirrored in the findings of Moldova’s national Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI)6, which reveals that 25.6% of the population experienced overlapping deprivations across employment, education, living standards, and health in 2024. 

Agriculture continues to be a central economic sector, employing over a fifth of the workforce and contributing around 12% of GDP. Including food processing, the agri-food sector accounts for 16% of GDP and 45% of total exports. Moldova’s fertile land - 2.48 million hectares, of which 1.82 million are arable - supports diverse production and underpins the country’s rural economy. However, the sector remains characterized by a dual structure: large, competitive enterprises coexist with numerous small, low-productivity farms. Informality is widespread - in 2024, 56.3% of salaried workers in agriculture were employed without formal contracts, the highest share across all sectors. 
Digital modernization of public services in both employment and agriculture remains uneven. While reforms are underway - including the digital transformation of these sectors - key institutions continue to operate with fragmented data systems, weak interoperability, and limited analytical capacity. These gaps hinder policy implementation, reduce the effectiveness of subsidies and services, and limit the state’s ability to engage the most vulnerable rural populations. 

In this context, this initiative aims to contribute to labour market inclusion and agricultural modernization through digitally enabled service delivery. UNDP’s engagement is focused on integrated and inclusive approaches - linking social protection, employment, and agricultural services through modern digital infrastructure and case management. 

Building on successful past experience in managing energy vulnerability compensation and digital governance, this initiative is well-positioned to deliver scalable results that can be institutionalized and sustained beyond the project’s duration. It will contribute to Moldova’s broader objectives of fostering decent work, rural development, and sustainable EU-aligned transformation. 

Overall objective: 

To strengthen institutional and digital governance systems that support increased labor market participation and the modernization of agricultural service delivery for vulnerable rural populations in Moldova, with a particular focus on hard-to-employ individuals and farmers. 

1. People, especially the most vulnerable, benefit from more accessible and integrated employment social protection services enabled by digitally re-engineered institutional frameworks 

2. Farmers across Moldova, including smallholders and underrepresented groups, gain better access to efficient, inclusive, and transparent agricultural services through strengthened institutional and digital systems.

Within this broader reform agenda, UNDP supports MLSP and the National Employment Agency (NEA) through the project “Promoting Agricultural Development and Quality Employment for the Most Vulnerable” financed by the EU, which focuses on strengthening employment services, labour market governance, and the institutional and digital capacities of NEA. This support is closely coordinated with UNDP’s Digital Transformation of Social Protection project, ensuring coherence across reforms, alignment of digital architectures, and interoperability between employment and social protection systems within a unified government-wide digital ecosystem.

A core pillar of this support is the re-engineering of NEA business processes and the development of a modern, interoperable Information System of the NEA, aligned with the national social protection digital ecosystem (eSocial) and the future Labour Market Information System (LMIS). This work encompasses the functional redesign of NEA digital portals, modernization of core service modules, strengthening of labour market observatory and reporting functions, and establishment of robust integration mechanisms with other government systems.

The Project’s strategic approach is rooted in Moldova’s national priorities, including the RESTART Reform of Social Assistance and the UNDP Country Programme Document for the Republic of Moldova (2023–2027). By leveraging technology as a key driver of change, the Project seeks to streamline processes, improve user experience, and strengthen institutional resilience. Ultimately, the Project aims to enhance the social welfare of Moldovan citizens, especially the most vulnerable, by contributing to a more efficient, accessible, and responsive social protection and employment framework through digital transformation, improved service delivery, and strengthened institutional capacities.

EU–Moldova Growth Plan and UNDP support for the Reform Agenda

The European Union’s €1.9 billion Growth Plan for Moldova (2025–2027) aims to accelerate economic growth, strengthen Moldova’s EU accession trajectory, and catalyse public and private investment, underpinned by a Government Reform Agenda structured around priority areas such as economic competitiveness, digital infrastructure, economic governance, rule of law and institutional performance. These priorities are closely aligned with UNDP’s support to national reforms in the areas of employment, social protection, digital transformation, and data-driven policymaking.

Within this framework, UNDP Moldova works with national counterparts, including the Bureau for European Integration, the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, and the National Employment Agency, to advance reforms relevant to EU accession Chapter 19 (Labour and Social Policy), with a particular focus on strengthening public employment services, labour market information systems, and evidence-based employment policy design.

The Growth Plan and the associated Reform Agenda place strong emphasis on digital transformation, interoperability of public information systems, and improved institutional capacity for planning, implementation, and monitoring. In this context, the development of a modern, interoperable Information System of NEA and strengthened labour market data and reporting capacities directly contribute to these objectives by enabling more effective service delivery, better targeting of active labour market measures, and improved monitoring of labour market trends and outcomes.

UNDP’s support under this assignment reflects its broader commitment to data-informed policy development, anticipatory analysis, and institutional preparedness. By strengthening the functional and data foundations of NEA digital systems, the assignment contributes to enhancing national capacity to design, implement, and monitor employment policies in a manner consistent with EU standards and the objectives of the EU–Moldova Growth Plan.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Data and Functional Business Analyst (hereinafter „Analyst„) will be responsible for:

Business and process analysis and functional design

• Conduct business process reviews and functional analysis of NEA services, workflows, and information systems.
• Develop process documentation, functional specifications, and future-state models aligned with digital transformation objectives.
• Translate policy and regulatory requirements into structured functional and data requirements for SIA NEA.

Planning, coordination, and monitoring of digital solution design

• Coordinate functional validation with NEA, MLSP, and technical stakeholders.
• Contribute to the preparation of ToR and its technical annexes for information systems supporting NEA digitalisation.
• Define and document integration logic between SIA NEA and relevant external systems, including the NEA accounting system and other government information systems.

Stakeholder engagement, training, and knowledge management

• Facilitate workshops, trainings, and capacity development programs for MLSP and NEA personnel;
• Support change management through knowledge documentation and dissemination of best practices;
• Design and maintain internal knowledge-sharing systems to support digital maturity.

Coordination of software development processes

• Assist Agile-based development cycles in coordination with MLSP and technical teams;
• Oversee quality assurance, track progress against milestones, and mitigate delivery risks;
• Ensure continuous communication and feedback loops between stakeholders and developers.

Support to procurement of IT development services

Provide functional and technical inputs to the preparation and refinement of procurement documentation for contracting an IT development company.

• Ensure consistency between approved functional specifications and technical requirements included in procurement documents.
• Support preparation of clarifications, explanatory notes, and technical inputs related to the procurement process.
• Participate in technical clarification meetings and support communication with prospective bidders.

Functional steering during system development and implementation

• Provide functional guidance and clarifications to the contracted development company.
• Participate in regular technical coordination meetings with UNDP, NEA, and the development company.
• Review functional design documents, prototypes, and system specifications for compliance with approved functional requirements.
• Verify implemented functionalities against business requirements and functional specifications.
• Support user acceptance testing and functional validation of developed modules.
• Contribute to functional progress reporting and identification of gaps, risks, and corrective actions.

Institutional Arrangements

The Analyst will work under the direct supervision of the EMAG Project Manager and in close collaboration with Digital Transformation of Social Protection project team.

The Analyst will closely collaborate with the NEA, including its ICT Division and relevant departments, as well as with MLSP, to ensure that all functional and data specifications reflect institutional needs and policy requirements.

The Analyst will also coordinate with the Digital Center for Social Innovation, the e-Governance Agency, and other relevant national stakeholders to ensure alignment with national digital architecture, interoperability requirements, and ongoing digital transformation initiatives.

During the system development phase, the Analyst will work in close cooperation with the contracted IT development company, providing functional guidance and participating in technical coordination meetings.

Competencies

Core Competencies

Achieve results - LEVEL 1: Plans and monitors own work, pays attention to details, delivers quality work by deadline 

Think Innovatively - LEVEL 1: Open to creative ideas/known risks, is pragmatic problem solver, makes improvements

Learn Continuously - LEVEL 1: Open minded and curious, shares knowledge, learns from mistakes, asks for feedback 

Adapt with Agility - LEVEL 1: Adapts to change, constructively handles ambiguity/uncertainty, is flexible 

Act with determination - LEVEL 1: Shows drive and motivation, able to deliver calmly in face of adversity, confident

Engage and Partner - LEVEL 1: Demonstrates compassion/understanding towards others, forms positive relationships

Enable Diversity and Inclusion - LEVEL 1: Appreciate/respect differences, aware of unconscious bias, confront discrimination  

Cross-Functional and Technical Competencies

Business Management - Digital Awareness and Literacy

• Ability to monitor new and emerging technologies, as well as understand their usage, potential, limitations, impact, and added value. 
• Ability to rapidly and readily adopt and use new technologies in professional activities, and to empower others to use them as needed. 
• Knowledge of the usage of digital technologies and emerging trends.

Business Management - Working with Evidence and Data

• Ability to inspect, cleanse, transform and model data with the goal of discovering useful information, informing conclusions and supporting decision-making.

Business Management - Monitoring & Evaluation

• Ability to systematically monitor results of strategies, programmes, and activities with a view to make sure that they are being implemented effectively; 
• Ability to provide managers and key stakeholders with regular feedback and reporting on the consistency or discrepancy between planned activities and programme management and results.
• Ability to make independent judgment of the management and results of strategies, programmes and activities based on set criteria and benchmark, keeping in mind the needs and concerns of client, current and upcoming.
• Knowledge and understanding of monitoring and evaluation frameworks, concepts, methodologies, systems, processes, and tools.
• Ability to make an independent judgement based on set criteria and benchmarks.
• Ability to anticipate client's upcoming needs and concerns.

Data - Data Analysis 

• Ability to extract, analyse and visualize data to form meaningful insights and aid effective business decision making

Digital - Agile methodologies and practices

• Ability to manage projects and processes through continuous iteration, learning and improvement. 
• Ability to manage a self-organising cross-functional teams, foster a team culture of curiosity and learning. Being nimble and being able to improvise and quickly adjust to unforeseen events or changes in conditions or context.

Digital - Digital business analysis 

• Ability to support digital business processes across a range of digital projects, programmes and activities.

Digital  - Facilitation of digital innovation 

• Ability to facilitate groups and individuals through a digital innovation process.

Required Skills and Experience

Minimum education requirements:

• Advanced university degree (Master's degree or equivalent) in Economics & Management, Public Administration, Computer Science, IT, Engineering, or related field is required or
• A first-level university degree (Bachelor’s degree) in the areas mentioned above in combination with an additional 2 (two) years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Minimum years of relevant work experience:

• Applicants with a Master’s degree (or equivalent) in a relevant field of study are not required to have professional work experience. 
• Applicants with a Bachelor’s degree are required to have a minimum of two (2) years of progressive experience (at the national and/or international level) in business analysis, project management, process optimization, software development.

Required skills:

• Experience in the use of computers, office software packages and web-based management systems.

Desired skills:

• Experience in digital product development.
• Proven experience managing diverse stakeholders and conducting business analysis.
• Experience with development or reengineering of governmental systems on state owned infrastructure (AGE, STISC).
• Experience in working, liaising, and collaborating with UN agencies, NGOs, and civil society organizations, and public international organizations is an asset.

Required language(s):

• Fluency in Romanian and English is required.
• Knowledge of one or more minority languages relevant for Moldova, including Romani, Gagauzian, Bulgarian, Ukrainian and sign language, is an asset.

Equal opportunity

As an equal opportunity employer, UNDP values diversity as an expression of the multiplicity of nations and cultures where we operate and, as such, we encourage qualified applicants from all backgrounds to apply for roles in the organization. Our employment decisions are based on merit and suitability for the role, without discrimination. 

UNDP is also committed to creating an inclusive workplace where all personnel are empowered to contribute to our mission, are valued, can thrive, and benefit from career opportunities that are open to all.

Sexual harassment, exploitation, and abuse of authority

UNDP does not tolerate harassment, sexual harassment, exploitation, discrimination and abuse of authority. All selected candidates, therefore, undergo relevant checks and are expected to adhere to the respective standards and principles. 

Right to select multiple candidates

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.

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