Accelerator Lead (IPSA-10) (Home-based, part-time 50%)

Background 

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. 

UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks. 

UNDP launched BOOST in 2020 to support organizations in the region working on alleviating short- and long-term effects of the pandemic. BOOST aims to support and develop ecosystems of innovators working on systemic challenges.

BOOST incubates and accelerates social impact innovations, and is designed to help societies manage complexity and uncertainty. BOOST brings together partners committed to addressing the long-term effects of the pandemic by directly supporting SMEs, innovators, CSOs, social entrepreneurs and research institutes. It provides funding, professional support, and mentorship to selected applicants through an intensive 16-weeks online acceleration program, and promotes partnerships with businesses and governments that will last long after program completion. The first challenges addressed development issues related to digitalization, low-touch economies, and wellbeing. BOOST is a regional joint initiative, powered by UNDP Europe and Central Asia, and has brought together partners such as Koç Holding, the Slovak Ministry of Finance and the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
This model will now also be applied within the Tadamon platform, with the support of the Islamic Development Bank, and 50 civil society organizations will benefit from it. Tadamon is a part of the “NGO Empowerment” project funded by IsDB and implemented by UNDP; and is a platform that matches CSOs with donors and partners.

The next calls for innovative solutions for BOOST & Tadamon Accelerator is planned to be launched in December 2021, and will include two sets of challenges:
a) BOOST: Innovative ideas that seek to address structural issues that women face within tech/digital, including issues of connectivity, visibility in data, and access to resources.
b) Tadamon: Enhance capacity and access to funding for CSOs working to address issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects, including through 1) emergency medical response; 2) education in emergency; and 3) building community resilience.

The role of the Acceleration Lead is to support the implementation of the Acceleration Program, which will require managing the content delivery, active identification of needs by participants in the accelerator, bringing in cutting edge expertise from around the world and connecting with similar networks and initiatives, as well as coordinating between the different streams and supporting scaling up efforts.

Duties and Responsibilities

1. Outreach of calls (challenges) and evaluation of applicants

• Identifying and engaging in relevant networks for outreach of planned and opened innovation calls.
• Supporting the participant selection process, including through coordination with relevant stakeholders in UNDP and externally.
• Supporting development of selection criteria, in line with UNDP policies and procedures, and building on international best practice.

2. Updating the methodology and managing content delivery of the Acceleration Program

• Identifying and engaging with entrepreneurs, mentors, advisors, industry thought leaders and other stakeholders related to the acceleration of CSOs and startups/ businesses, and in specific domain sectors based on the assessed needs of the participating organizations.
• Engaging with various funding sources: business angels, angel investors, individual and institutional investors, incubators and accelerators, seeking to organize additional, specialized events for pitching and fundraising.
• Working closely with colleagues, mentors and participants to ensure that trainings have been conducted according to the TORs with strategic partners, and that participants have received the support according to the Acceleration Program objectives.
• Supporting mentors and strategic partners through the process.
• Generating content, courses, tools and other relevant materials as necessary.

3. Visibility and partnerships-building

• Through networking, participation in events, connections with CSOs, academic institutions, grant providing facilitates, research centers, incubators etc. mapping and forming a pipeline of prospective partners.

4. Supporting scale up efforts and ensuring joint forces in content delivery

• Considering synergies with existing initiatives in CSOs, start-ups, social enterprise and impact venture initiatives, CSO support programs, development programs and projects in UNDP, the wider UN system and other international development organisations.

5. Capturing and incorporating learning

• Providing regular updates on advancement of assignments, findings and observations.
• Consolidating learnings and reflecting them in the design of next stages.

6. Other

• Any other activity as instructed by the "NGO Empowerment” Project Coordinator and the Coordinator for BOOST, and agreed workplan.

Competencies

Core competencies

• Achieve Results
• Think Innovatively
• Learn continuously
• Adapt with Agility
• Act with Determination

Technical competencies

• Digital ecosystems
• Connectivity and the digital divide
• Facilitation of digital innovation
• Innovation ecosystem curation
• Portfolio design & management
• Strategic engagement
• Impact Investment, incl. SDG Impact Finance
• SME Development
• Social impact investments

Required Language(s)

Fluency in English (oral and written)

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• MBA or Master’s Degrees in the entrepreneurship, business, economics, finance, engineering, applied science and technology commercialization.

Experience:

• 5 years of working experience in the area of business incubation, acceleration. Proven track of established network and strong working relationships with individuals from diverse backgrounds and perspectives. 
• Experience working with investments and investors is an advantage.
• Experience with training or accelerating civil society organizations and coordinating digital learning programs is desirable. 
• Experience and contacts with a broad range of accelerators is desirable.

Institutional Arrangement

The Accelerator Lead will perform tasks for UNDP under the overall guidance of the Innovation Team Leader, and supervision of the “NGO Empowerment” Project Coordinator and the Coordinator for BOOST.

Travel

No travels are foreseen as the function will be undertaken through a home-based arrangement.

Required Documents

• Personal CV or P11, indicating all past positions held and their main underlying functions, their durations (month/year), the qualifications, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate, and at least three (3) the most recent professional references of previous supervisors. References may also include peers.
• A cover letter (maximum length: 1 page) indicating why the candidate considers him-/herself to be suitable for the position.
• Managers may ask (ad hoc) for any other materials relevant to pre-assessing the relevance of their experience, such as reports, presentations, publications, campaigns or other materials.

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. 

Scam warning 

The United Nations does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process. Should you receive a solicitation for the payment of a fee, please disregard it. Furthermore, please note that emblems, logos, names and addresses are easily copied and reproduced. Therefore, you are advised to apply particular care when submitting personal information on the web.