Project Coordination and Quality Assurance Analyst (NPSA9)

The Provincial and Local Governance Support Programme (PLGSP) is the national flagship programme of the Government of Nepal (GoN) to build institutional, organizational and individual capacity at all levels of government, with special focus on the provincial and local levels. The ultimate goal of the Programme is to attain functional, sustainable, inclusive and accountable provincial and local governance. The Programme aims to contribute to delivery of quality services at provincial and local levels, promote better local infrastructure and enhance economic prosperity. The Programme will achieve 14 outputs under the following three outcomes:

• Government institutions and inter-governmental mechanisms at all levels are fully functioning in support of federal governance as per the Constitution;
• Provincial and local governments have efficient, effective, inclusive and accountable institutions;
• Elected representatives and civil servants at provincial and local governments have the capacity and serve citizens to their satisfaction.

The PLGSP is envisaged to serve as an umbrella programme of the Government in providing capacity development support to the provincial and local governments. As such, the Programme will establish a common framework for coordination and coherence of all governance-related programmes at the provincial and local levels and accommodate other donor-funded programmes. Thus, the PLGSP will provide a coherent approach to capacity development under the federal system.

The Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration is the executive agency of the Programme. The seven provincial governments, the 753 local governments, the restructured Local Development Training Academy (LDTA) and seven provincial-level training centers (Provincial Centres for Good Governance) are the implementing agencies of the Programme. The Programme is supported by international development partners, namely the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), the European Union (EU), the Government of Norway, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), and the United Nations.

The Mid-term Review of the Programme has been conducted and there are numbers of recommendations made and the PLGSP is expected to implement those in the days to come. The recommendations contain the good practice, lessons learned, gaps and areas for further improvement for effective implementation of the programme and achieve the overarching objectives and outcomes of the programme.

The Government of Nepal selected UNDP to provide technical assistance (TA) and support to the effective implementation of PLGSP. This Technical Assistance focuses  on implementing an efficient recruitment process of the project’s 108 staff positions, their capacity building and knowledge enhancement, supply of consultancy services, procurement of equipment and vehicles, and the orientation and capacity building support to the staff, as well as provision of continuous backstopping support. In order to ensure that this Technical Assistance is provided in a timely and coordinated manner as well as in full compliance with UNDP policies and procedures, UNDP is recruiting a Project Coordination and Quality Assurance Analyst (TA Engagement).

The PCQA will work under the overall supervision of the Portfolio Manager, UNDP. S/he will maintain close contact with the PLGSP National Programme Manager of the MoFAGA, with the provincial and local governments as well as specialists and experts in the PLGSP Programme Coordination Unit, the Provincial Project Implementation Units and the PCGGs.

The Project Coordination and Quality Assurance Analyst (PCQA) will be responsible within UNDP to ensure that the UNDP Technical Assistance is implemented effectively.  S/he will be the UNDP point of contact for all the national partners, PLGSP implementing units at different level as well as other UN entities. In addition, he/she will be responsible for quality assurance of the UNDP Technical Assistance for the effective implementation of the project activities and achieving milestones. 

The PCQA will work under the overall supervision of the Portfolio Manager, UNDP. S/he will maintain close contact with the PLGSP National Programme Manager of the MoFAGA, with the provincial and local governments as well as specialists and experts in the PLGSP Programme Coordination Unit, the Provincial Project Implementation Units and the PCGGs.

The overall objectives of the assignment are to:

• Ensure effective communication between UNDP and PLGSP government partners as well as other UN entities that may be party to the implementation support
• Ensure effective implementation of the UNDP Technical Assistance for timely delivery of quality outputs.
• Ensure Quality Assurance of and efficient support to the Technical Assistance, including tasks related to planning, implementation, reporting, monitoring and evaluation.
• Provide support to the  implementation of the capacity-building activities for the TA staff

Ensure effective communication between UNDP and PLGSP government partners as well as other UN entities (i.e. UN Women and UNCDF) that may be party to the implementation support

• Liaise regularly and effectively with the Implementing government agency MOFAGA, other UN entities as well as concerned units within UNDP.
• Build and maintain positive working relationships with key project stakeholders, including project and UN entity officials, government partners and bilateral development partners to promote coordination and information exchange;
• Support the planning, implementation and monitoring of Technical Assistance activities in close coordination with MOFAGA as well as provincial and local governments and line agencies.
• Convene and prepare the necessary coordination meetings and provide Secretariat support including drafting meeting minutes and circulating to the concerned agencies.
• Support Project Officers in establishing close coordination of actions at the province and local government level.

Ensure effective implementation of the UNDP Technical Assistance for timely delivery of quality outputs

• Ensure work plans and budgets for the Technical Assistance are in place and implemented within set timelines, with coherent and consistent quality, and efficient delivery of all outputs.
• Identify and report on potential issues and challenges related to the Technical Assistance activities, prepare recommendations and obtain support and advice as required.
• Ensure the Technical Assistance is implemented in compliance with the UNDP Rules and Regulations.
• Manage requests for the provision of UNDP financial resources, through advance of funds, direct payments, or reimbursement using the FACE (Fund Authorization and Certificate of Expenditures).
• Support to develop and follow up the acceleration plan for the timely and quality delivery of the project milestones
• Monitor financial resources and accounting to ensure accuracy and reliability of financial reports.
• Ensure that:
  • Project funds are made available when needed
  • Accounting records and supporting documents are kept
  • Required financial reports are prepared and submitted to UNDP
  • The financial operation of the project is transparent
  • Periodic financial audits take place, audit action plans are prepared, follow up are conducted to implement the  audit recommendations.

Ensure quality Assurance and efficient support to the Technical Assistance project, including tasks related to planning, implementation, reporting, monitoring and evaluation

• Support to draft the TA work plan along with necessary narratives in close coordination with PCU, PPIU and PCGG;
• Ensure that that the Technical Assistance Sub-Committee (TASC) meetings are held periodically ;
• Monitor events as determined in the project monitoring plan, and update the plan as required;
• Prepare M&E framework/ plan of the TA project in coordination of the National Programme Manager, and other key project staff of PLGSP i.e. federal governance specialist, coordination and monitoring specialist, governance cum legal expert, GESI specialist Monitoring & Reporting officer and ensure its timely and effective implementation
• Monitor regularly and ensure timely and adequate implementation of the TA project activities, undertake necessary preparatory actions for the planned activities, and liaise with relevant parties.
• Contribute to timely reporting on TA - both internal and external (to the Governments) - following UNDP and established procedures.
• Prepare progress reports and required documents to be shared with the Government and other partners.
• Work with project staff to establish an effective project M&E strategy and system and oversee its implementation, including working with project heads to ensure that the appropriate qualitative and quantitative data is gathered by the project staff
• Support to conduct field visits to monitor implementation and gather specific information for results collation or lesson learning on TA activities
• Support to produce periodical (e.g. monthly, quarterly, annual) narrative and financial reports, coordinating inputs from project component staff as necessary
• Provide necessary support to the project team at Programme  Coordination Unit (PCU), Provincial Project Implementation Unit (PPIU) and Project Center for Good Governance (PCGG) level to execute planned TA project activities.
• Support to coordinate to conduct the need assessment of PCGG and implementation of the outcomes of this exercise
• Support the PCU to implement the recommendation made by the mid-term review (MTR) of PLGSP and third party monitoring (TPM);.
• Ensure and provide inputs on cross-cutting issues such as gender mainstreaming, social inclusion, empowerment, etc. so that they are adequately addressed in the above in coordination with GESI focal person at PLGSP.

Support and provide capacity-building to the TA project team as required

• Provide support to the project team as identified in workplans and requests from PCU and PPIU/PCGG staff
• Support to identify the training need assessment of the TA staff and coordinate to conduct the capacity development
• Coordinate  with HR liaison officer in PCU to identify the issues and bottlenecks in regard to TA staff management and  develop necessary plan to address those;
• Support in preparing performance assessment of the TA staff
• Support and coordinate for the implementation of staff retention strategy in close coordination with National Programme Manager and PCU;
• Ensure and provide inputs on cross-cutting issues such as gender mainstreaming, social inclusion, empowerment, etc. so that they are adequately addressed in the above in coordination

• 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

• 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

• 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
• Negotiation and Influence: Ability to reach an understanding, persuade others, resolve points of difference, gain advantage in the outcome of dialogue, negotiate mutually acceptable solutions through compromise and create ‘win-win’ situations

• Master’s Degree in management or public administration, local governance, Social and Political Science, or any other related fields.

• A minimum of 2 years’ work experience in one or more relevant fields including governance in particular local governance, federalism and the empowerment of women and marginalized  groups
• At least 2 years’ experience in providing planning, monitoring/reporting, programming, coordination and implementation support to large-scale projects
• Proven experience of providing oversights and quality assurance and on designing and implementing monitoring systems and evaluation
• Proven experience of producing high quality project reports
• Strong IT skills
• Experience of working with government agencies and international organizations and knowledge of UNDP and UN systems is an advantage
• Candidates from Marginalized group and Women candidates will be given preference

Language Requirement:

• Fluency in English and Nepali at professional level are essential.
• Knowledge of local languages will be considered as an advantage.

Note: This position is open for Nepal nationals only