Background

The project will serve the long-term objective of accelerating the development of sustainable tourism in Azerbaijan’s regional areas for the purpose of stimulating economic growth and improving community welfare, while protecting its unique social, cultural and environmental heritage. The project supports the achievement of the national goals reflected in the Tourism Strategic Roadmap, in particular Strategic Goal 3 that prioritizes developing various types of rural tourism and development of tourism infrastructure, and Strategic Goal 4, related to the establishment of the national tourism quality system. The State Programme on the Socio-Economic Development of Regions of the Republic of Azerbaijan for 2019-2023 also emphasises the promotion of rural tourism as one of the priorities for regional development in terms of the rational use of the natural potential of the regions and the improvement of employment opportunities and livelihoods of rural people.

The project is also fully aligned with the UNDP CPD priorities and directly contributes to the UNAPF/CPD Outcome 1: “By 2020, the Azerbaijan economy is more diversified and generates enhanced sustainable growth and decent work, particularly for youth, women, persons with disabilities and other vulnerable groups”. The project contributes to Sustainable Development Goals 1 No Poverty, SDG 4 Quality Education, SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities, SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities.

The project’s strategy was informed by a series of studies and reports that analyse the main challenges hindering the development of regional tourism and propose specific measures for improvement. These are:

i) 2017 Final Report of the Data Collection Survey on Tourism Development in Azerbaijan, JICA;

ii) The Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2017, World Economic Forum;

iii) Travel and Tourism Economic Impact 2018, Azerbaijan, World Travel and Tourism Council;

iv) Assessment Report of the Tourism Information Centres and Regions, 2018, ATB;

v) North-West Tourism Corridor Development Strategy, 2015, World Bank;

vi) Azerbaijan’s Economic Reforms Review, 2017, Centre for Analysis of Economic Reforms and Communication.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Project Associate will be responsible for the timely, effective and efficient mobilization of all inputs, local teams and short-term consultants. The Project Associate’s  prime responsibility is to ensure that the project produces the expected outputs and reaches the planned targets by undertaking necessary activities to the required standard of quality and within the specified constraints of time and cost. The Project Officer will also coordinate with UNDP Azerbaijan on all relevant substantive and administrative aspects under the project. The Project Officer will ensure appropriate stakeholder engagement and liaise with UNDP, State Tourism Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan, local authorities and other relevant government and non-government actors, for effective coordination of the project activities.

The Project Associate is responsible for spearheading all administrative (contractual, organizational, logistical) and all accounting (disbursements, record-keeping, cash management) matters under the project. The Project Associate will contribute to development of Interim and Final Project Progress Report and Project Financial Reports, as per the agreed schedule. The Project Associate will be responsible for arrangement of all project related events (workshops in the regions, working group meetings, stakeholder consultations, etc.).

The Project Associate will also work in close collaboration with the Programme, Operations, Communications and other units in UNDP Country Office for effective achievement of results, anticipating and contributing to resolving complex programme/project-related issues and information delivery. The incumbent is expected to exercise full compliance with UN programming, financial, procurement and administrative rules, regulations, policies and strategies, as well as implementation of the effective internal control systems.

Under guidance and supervision of UNDP Project Manager, the Project Associate will perform the following key functions:

  • Assist in ensuring effective and results-based management of the project’s activities;
  • Support to supervising and coordinating the delivery of project outputs, as per the project document;
  • Assist in mobilizing all project inputs in accordance with procedures for nationally implemented projects;
  • Supervise and coordinate the work of all project consultants and sub-contractors;
  • Facilitate the knowledge building and guidance among project stakeholders in target areas;
  • Disseminate project reports and respond to queries from concerned stakeholders;
  • Formulate the project’s best practices, lessons learned and success stories;
  • Ensure proper communications regarding events, success stories, project outreach, and overall scope and methodology (e.g. social media presence, project info on website, drafting press releases, etc.);
  • Carry out regular, announced and unannounced inspections of all sites and project-funded activities to monitor and facilitate the project activities;
  • Ensure full compliance of project activities, financial recording/reporting system with UN/UNDP rules, regulations, policies and strategies;
  • Contribute to monitoring of project expenditures;
  • Prepare all required reports and project factsheets as may be required by UNDP, donor and government oversight agencies.
  • Support the preparations of project work-plans and operational and financial planning processes;
  • Prepare proposals for budget revisions;
  • Prepare recurring reports as scheduled and special reports as required for budget preparations and audit;
  • Support the UNDP Procurement Unit in procurement and hiring of consultants, if necessary, in accordance with the Work Plan arrange for procurement of equipment, supplies and services and
  • Ensure that contractual processes follow the stipulated UN procedures.

Competencies

Core Competencies

  • Achieve Results: LEVEL 2: Scale up solutions and simplifies processes, balances speed and accuracy in doing work
  • Think Innovatively: LEVEL 2: Offer new ideas/open to new approaches, demonstrate systemic/integrated thinking
  • Learn Continuously: LEVEL 2: Go outside comfort zone, learn from others and support their learning
  • Adapt with Agility: LEVEL 2: Adapt processes/approaches to new situations, involve others in change process
  • Act with Determination:  LEVEL 2: Able to persevere and deal with multiple sources of pressure simultaneously
  • Engage and Partner: LEVEL 2: Is facilitator/integrator, bring people together, build/maintain coalitions/partnerships
  • Enable Diversity and Inclusion: LEVEL 2: Facilitate conversations to bridge differences, considers in decision making

Cross-Functional & Technical Competencies

  • Strategic Thinking: Ability to develop effective strategies and prioritized plans in line with UNDP’s objectives, based on the systemic analysis of challenges, potential risks and opportunities; linking the vision to reality on the ground, and creating tangible solutions. Ability to leverage learning from a variety of sources to anticipate and respond to future trends; to demonstrate foresight in order to model what future developments and possible ways forward look like for UNDP
  • Effective Decision Making: Ability to take decisions in a timely and efficient manner in line with one’s authority, area of expertise and resources
  • Project Management: Ability to plan, organize, prioritize and control resources, procedures and protocols to achieve specific goals
  • Effectivenes: Project Quality Assurance
  • Relationship management: Ability to engage with a wide range of public and private partners, build, sustain and/or strengthen working relations, trust and mutual understanding

Required Skills and Experience

Education

  • Secondary education
  • Bachelor's degree in Management, International Relations,Tourism Development and other social sciences would be an asset

Experience

  • 7 years of  project support experience in tourism projects
  • Alternatively, if in possession of Bachelor’s degree, 4 years of  project support experience in tourism projects is required;

Required Skills

  • Experience in monitoring and evaluation of development projects
  • Experience of working with international organizations and government institutions
  • Experience of working with regional and local authorities as well as national institutions responsible for tourism
  • Experience in coordinating of the project
  • Experience in working with  partners and working groups within the project

Desired Skills

  • Experience in coordination and work with multiple beneficiaries will be an asseet
  • Experience of working on employment of vulnerable groups, entrepreneurship and business development will be an asset
  • Experience in managing supplier relationships will be an asset Experience in UN agencies or other international organisations will be an asset

Required Languages

  • Fluency in written and oral English and Azerbaijani is required
  • Knowledge of Russian is an asset
​​​​​​​ Institutional Arrangement

The Project Officer will be perform his/her functions under the guidance and direct supervision of the UNDP Project Manager.

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 applicant information

All posts in the NPSA categories are subject to local recruitment.

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