Team Leader on Income Generation

In the context of UN Agencies support to the Government of Uzbekistan’s on efforts to tackle the negative consequences of the Aral Sea crisis, with the financial support of the Government of Japan, UNDP and UNFPA Joint Programme “Building the Resilience of Local Communities Against Health, Environmental and Economic Insecurities in the Aral Sea region” is launched, which is being implemented in Karakalpakstan throughout 2020-2021. The Joint Programme aims to address the most urgent and immediate health and economic insecurities in the most vulnerable areas of the Aral Sea region through brining innovative solutions to healthcare and poverty reduction initiatives.

The Joint Programme has two major objectives as follows:

• Improving the quality of healthcare services, particularly in remote rural areas through strengthening the technical and institutional capacity of local healthcare system for maternal, child and reproductive health service provision with the focus on prevention of ill health (breast and cervical cancer, sexually transmitted infections, malnutrition, etc.) and promotion of healthy lifestyle and positive health seeking behavior involving also the Community Health Volunteers.
• Enhancing income generation opportunities of the affected population through inclusive business initiatives, promotion of investment for job creation, as well as through improving access to basic services. The programme will select most vulnerable rural communities and help them with participatory decentralized planning and rehabilitation of essential public services such as water supply. It will support the start-up of agricultural cooperatives and small businesses through trainings, funding innovative schemes, establishing pilot “farm field schools”. These will help people, especially women led households to use available resources, mainly land and water in the most efficient way and generate incomes toe sustain their livelihoods.

The UNDP, UNFPA and FAO Joint Programme “Unleashing young people’s and vulnerable citizens’ creativity and innovation by strengthening their adaptive capacity to address the economic and food insecurities in the exposed communities of the Aral Sea region” financed by the Multi-Partner Human Security Trust Fund for Aral Sea region (MPHSTF). The Programme will contribute to addressing multiple human insecurities of people, living in the most vulnerable districts of Karakalpakstan, which are fully aligned with the policies and strategies of the Government of Uzbekistan on addressing the Aral Sea crises.

The Joint Programme has three major objectives as follows:

• Reduce the vulnerabilities of unemployed, unskilled youth and women and returning migrants through the empowerment and promotion of essential entrepreneurial skills, and youth-led innovations in the region;
• Create an enabling environment for income generation for rural communities (with focus to youth and women) through promoting innovative agriculture practices and piloting new agriculture initiatives; 
• Enable the development of smart communities through digitalization, better access to social infrastructure and community engagement with focus on youth.

Under the direct supervision of the Joint Programme Manager and in close collaboration with relevant project partners and UN agencies, the Team Leader will be responsible for the implementation of the programme activities aimed at increasing income generation opportunities and economic security for vulnerable groups in target districts. Team Leader will work in close collaboration with the Government counterparts, project, operations, and Programme’s staff in the UNDP CO to exchange information and ensure consistent service delivery, and undertake day-to- day responsibility for operational and thematic support services for the satisfactory achievement of the project component outputs.

The Team Leader will be contributing to address the human security needs of the population affected by the Aral Sea disaster in the region with focus on livelihoods improvement. S/he will be in charge of coordination and implementation of the programme activities related to improvement of livelihoods through developing and deploying pilot innovative income generation projects, which should be done through establishment of sound cooperation with multiple stakeholders and through involving target communities.

The incumbent will perform the following duties and responsibilities: 

• Be responsible for the achievement and implementation of the Programme activities related to economic security and income generation.
• Formulate, develop, and take responsibility for the programme’s activities related to promoting sustainable livelihoods and poverty reduction.
• Provide expert support to partners to identify multi-dimensional human security risks in the area of livelihoods and their consequences for communities affected by the Aral Sea disaster.
• Work on development and implementation of the innovative projects through establishment of demonstration plots and business projects (in areas of agriculture, service delivery, food processing, etc.) by application of new innovate technologies and practices in the pilot communities with involvement of local farmers, rural women and disabled people that promote social, economic and environmental security.
• Ensure that all procurement, and tendering processes are organized and implemented in the most transparent way and line with corporate and national regulations.
• Plan and implement the work plan using both human and financial resources available in the most effective and efficient way.
• Contribute to the development of relevant M&E tools and conduct progress reviews to recommend adjustments and appropriations on planned activities as set in the project document.
• Streamline the most effective mechanisms for the programme facilitation and implementation, elaborate and propose new schemes and effective ways to achieve target indicators.
• Facilitate the process of technical and expert assistance to programme stakeholders, lead the work of consultants involved in the implementation of the relevant Programme activities.  Facilitate  dialogue   between   local government, NGOs  and  other  stakeholders  to  share  learning  and  common  issues  and  identify  potential  advocacy  strategies  to  increase the  Programme  impact.
• Participate in elaboration and execution of the Programme’s work plans, analyze emerging problems and propose adequate measures to ensure timely fulfilment of envisioned tasks. Coordinate capacity need assessment and capacity building activities in various areas as planned for different target groups including vulnerable groups of population.
• Facilitate  the  coordination,  partnership  and  joint  implementation,  and  capacity  building  between  government agencies,  NGOs  and community organizations. 
• Assist the Joint Programme Manager in preparing progress reports, lessons learned, monitoring and provide relevant recommendations.
• Assist the Joint Programme Manager in identifying partnership strategies with other stakeholders, including developing concepts/proposals to explore co-funding opportunities for joint initiatives in the area of livelihoods improvement.
• Contribute to maintaining multi-stakeholder dialogue platform with the aim to create and enable productive environment and improve basis for programme implementation.
• Ensure coordination, exchange of lessons amongst implementing UN agencies, the programme national partners and other UNDP projects.
• Work to ensure that lessons from successful pilot projects to be upstreamed so as to influence replication and policy making at the national level.
• Facilitate knowledge and best practice sharing between projects, UN agencies, national implementing partner, government, communities to deeper integrate the work and idea of the project; participate in relevant knowledge-networks and meetings of practitioners as well as contribute to the policy briefs and analytical reports on the subject.
• Serve as a resource person on economic, food and human security issues for the project and key stakeholders and beneficiaries.
• Facilitate in planning and development of analytical reports, information brochures, specific thematic leaflets, infographics and flyers with basic fact sheets and other deliverables aimed at enhancing public awareness of the programme activities and results.
• Ensure that knowledge about the human security approach as an analytical, operational and policy making tool will be enhanced through regular capacity-building activities in the relevant target groups.
• Contribute to the programmes’ advocacy campaigns and facilitate the process of increasing visibility of the programmes activities and results.
• Contribute to the promotion of gender approach in the programme activities (gender mainstreaming).
• Perform other duties and responsibilities as required.

• ​Solid understanding of business solutions to poverty and development, economic development and business environment in the region and country
• Strong analytical and organizational skills, ability to work in a team.
• Good knowledge on development situation in Karakalpakstan.
• Initiative, analytical skills, good ability in partnering and networking.
• Excellent interpersonal and cross-cultural communication skills.
• Ability to use information technologies as a tool and resource.
• Commitment to UN values.

• 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

Min. Academic Education

Bachelor degree in economics, business administration, management, finance and socio-economic development.

Min. years of relevant Work experience 

• Proven track of at least 2 years of work experience in business/private sector, government or international organizations with strong preference to development of small and medium enterprises
• Experience in innovative projects, especially in rural areas is an advantage
• Experience in International and foreign organizations is an advantage.
• Experience in projects related to Aral Sea region development is an asset.
• Knowledge of socio-economic and environmental situation/problems in Aral Sea region is an asset.

Required Language(s)

Fluency in English and Russian, good knowledge of Uzbek/Karakalpak.

Important applicant information

All posts in the National Personnel Service Agreement (NPSA) categories are subject to local recruitment.

For more information, please visit: UNDP - POPP - Policy Page

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