Portfolio Manager

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.

Over the past decades, Bhutan made remarkable human development progress, despite intense climate change impact and more recently, the ongoing Pandemic and associated socioeconomic fallouts.  As the poster child of climate action, the country is an aspirant of LDC Graduate in 2023. The country is also set to develop its 13th Five Year Plan with a bold ambition on climate action, environmental conservation, institutional reforms, and quick COVID recovery. 

In support of the country's ambition, UNDP has been a strong partner of the government in co-designing policy solutions, capacity building, and promoting innovations. The expectation from UNDP to play an SDG integrator role is growing in the context of the post-UN reform. 

At the UNDP, the Climate and Environment Portfolio is comprised of an annual delivery of roughly 9 million and works with Government Ministries and departments. The portfolio, currently at a size of roughly $11 million with a pipeline of $50m, is managed by a group of Programme Leaders with top expertise. To match with UNDP's global strategic and CPD priorities, the portfolio continues to expand its size, and breadth of partnership with donors, private sector and civil society organizations.

Position Purpose

The Portfolio Manager, as Head of the Environment and Energy Portfolio, will report to the Deputy Resident Representative (DRR). S/he will also be part of the CO senior management team.

Oversees the implementation of the portfolio, leads the program team in strategic planning, represent UNDP in external forums, and identifies new programming opportunities while ensuring consistency with United Nations Sustainable Development Framework (UNSDCF) and UNDP Country Programme Document (CPD) priorities and providing innovative responses to new and emerging challenges and opportunities.

The function requires strong political sensitivity, and diplomatic skills, as well as the aptitude to manage complex processes with strong relationship-building and problem-solving abilities. The incumbent leads the programme priorities of the Portfolio and contributes to the implementation of shared office priorities in programme and management fields.

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITES

In this section list up to five primary functions/accountabilities of the position (Typically one sentence each) and examples of duties that must be performed to successfully accomplish key responsibilities.

The summary of responsibilities are:

• Spearheading the strategic direction of resilience, environmental sustainability, and crisis management including joint UN programmes with UNDP’s participation and other collaborative UN initiatives;
• Ensure effective management of the portfolio and supervision of the Portfolio team focusing on quality control of the full cycle of programming from formulation to implementation achieving the following results;
• Establishes and maintains strategic partnerships and supports the resource mobilization in cooperation with the CO Senior Management; and
• Ensure provision of quality advisory services and facilitation of knowledge building and management.

1.)          Spearheading the strategic direction of resilience, environmental sustainability and crisis management including joint UN programmes with UNDP’s participation and other collaborative UN initiatives through:

• (As a member of the CO management team), contribution to the strategic direction of the UNDP Programme based on sound political, social, and economic analysis. Collaborate preparation/revision of joint UN country analysis/assessment, UNSDPF, CPD, Annual Workplans (AWPs), and other documents; and identification of strategic programme areas of cooperation.
• Operationalization of the UNSDPF and CPD in collaboration with key national partners, UN agencies and development partners; identification of possibilities for UN joint programming; analysis and presentation of UNDP policies and their implementation in the CO;
• Development of the country office programme portfolio in the respective areas and participation in response to national priorities, UN/DP programming frameworks, including corporate Strategic Plan;
• Determination of programmatic areas of cooperation and contribution to the definition of related policy research, advocacy, and advisory work, based on strategic goals of UN/DP, country needs and partner priorities.
• Working closely with concerned government agencies, UNDP HQs and Regional Center on the related issues; disseminating policy decisions and responding accordingly.
• Keep updated about key global and national political and socio-economic issues, assess their implications on Bhutan as well as UNDP’s programme and advise the team and Senior Management Team on planning, policy, and resource mobilization interventions.

2.)          Ensure effective management of the portfolio and supervision of the Portfolio team focusing on quality control of the full cycle of programming from formulation to implementation achieving the following results through:

• Develop the portfolio’s mandate, plan, and strategies in line with the UNDP Strategic Plan, CPD and priorities of the government.
• Serve as the primary interlocutor between the portfolio and the Government counterpart officials and institutions (public and private) partnering on the relevant thematic areas.
• Leading and providing strategic oversight of planning, budgeting, implementing and monitoring of the programme, tracking use of financial resources in accordance with UNDP rules and regulations.
• Take a leadership role in coordinating with other portfolios and Operations Team to ensure complementarity/harmonization with the activities and plans;
• In support of Senior Management, play a lead role to ensure that UNDP has system, policies and means of resources for responding to crisis and disasters;
• Oversee and ensure maintenance of risks and issues logs of each programme/project within the portfolio, manage and mitigate the risks and issues appropriately, and raise them to senior management as required
• Effective application of RBM tools: establishment of management targets and monitoring the achievement of results agreed in COBP; translating UNDP priorities into high-quality programmatic interventions; coordination of programme implementation with implementing partners;
• Coordinate with the CO Communications and Reporting unit to ensure proper visibility of the activities and timely reporting to donors.
• Performing the function of Manager Level 2 in Atlas, as well as other roles in the CO Internal Control Framework (ICF) based on delegated authority from CO management; Follow up on audit recommendations and report all exceptions in a timely manner;
• Ensuring that a system is in place to meet all external and internal reporting requirements and tasks are accordingly delegated and monitored to achive high quality.
• Follow up on all review and audit recommendations including timely reporting of all exceptions.
• Lead implementation of UNDP’s programme standards and strategies and policies i.e. Gender equality, Digital strategies, resilience guidelines and all signature solutions.

3.)          Establish and maintain strategic partnerships and supports the resource mobilization in cooperation with the CO Senior Management focusing on achievement of the following results through:

• Ensure that UNDP’s thought leadership is recognized, and the government is supported with high-quality and demand-driven policy advice.
• Lead devising and implementing the CO partnerships and resources mobilization strategy and plan to achieve programme outcomes on time.
• Generation of a predictable, multi-year pipeline of non-core resources contributing to sustaining UNDP’s portfolio; and support resource mobilization efforts under the direction of the RR, DRR with a focus on financing the CPD and UNDP’s contribution to the UNSDPF
• Strong partnership with national and international partners (government institutions, bilateral and multilateral donors, IFIs, vertical funds, private sector, civil society), contributing to raising the profile and credibility of UN/DP in the related areas;
• Ensuring the delivery overtime against key partnership commitments and demonstrating UNDP’s added value, mainstreaming also the active communication of UNDP’s results within the portfolio’s work;
• Building synergy with the UN agencies, especially in the implementation of the UNSDCF and through UN joint programming, resource mobilization, and policy advocacy mechanisms; Active representation of UN/DP and substantive participation in relevant fora and thematic groups involving government, private sector, civil society and development partners.
• Analysis and research of information on donors, preparation of substantive briefs on possible programmatic areas of cooperation and common interest, identification of opportunities for cost-sharing based on strategic goals of UNDP, country needs and partners’ priorities

4.)          Ensure provision of quality advisory services and facilitation of knowledge building and management, focusing on the achievement of the following results:

• Identification of key governance and participation issues and challenges, identification, and synthesis of best practices and lessons learned directly linked to programme country policy goals, leading to the formulation of substantive policy advice;
• Coordination of development of policies and institutions that will address the country's problems and needs in collaboration with the government and other strategic partners;
• Establishment of advocacy networks at the national level and linked to international networks focusing on executing relevant, high-impact advocacy campaigns with key partners;
• Sound contributions to knowledge networks and communities of practice regionally and globally.

5.)          Supervisory/Managerial Responsibilities:

• Providing high-quality guidance and supervision to the UNDP CO and Project Staff in the portfolio and to UNDP technical advisory staff embedded within government offices.
• Make sure the Performance Development Goals (PMD) of the staff meet organizational expectations and behavior – and their learning targets are set and supported.
• Ensure that responsibilities are assigned among the team so that all projects within the portfolio are updated on the ATLAS/ ERBM platform.
• Ensure that team has sufficient capacity to deliver the strategy and work plan including achieved through efficiency gain.

QUALIFICATIONS

Education:

• Master’s Degree or equivalent in Environmental Sciences, Political Sciences, Public Administration, Development Economics, or a related field

Experience, Knowledge, and Skills

• Minimum 7 years of technical expertise in the design, implementation, and overseeing projects in the area of resilience, environment, and energy or related SDG areas.
• Minimum 5 years of experience in leading and managing teams.
• Knowledge about global and national architecture and processes on climate change, disaster management, environmental conservation; and global practices in those areas is highly desirable.

Language Requirements:

English (Required)

Dzongkha (Required)

COMPETENCIES

Core Competencies

• Achieve Results: LEVEL 3: Set and align challenging, achievable objectives for multiple projects, have a lasting impact
• Think Innovatively: LEVEL 3: Proactively mitigate potential risks, develop new ideas to solve complex problems
• Learn Continuously LEVEL 3: Create and act on opportunities to expand horizons, diversify experiences
• Adapt with Agility LEVEL 3: Proactively initiate and champion change, manage multiple competing demands
• Act with Determination LEVEL 3: Think beyond immediate tasks/barriers and take action to achieve greater results
• Engage and Partner LEVEL 3: LEVEL 3: Political savvy, navigate the complex landscape, champion inter-agency collaboration
• Enable Diversity and Inclusion LEVEL 3: Appreciate the benefits of a diverse workforce and champion inclusivity

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies:  

Business Management-Portfolio Management 

• Ability to select, prioritize and control the organization’s programmes and projects, in line with its strategic objectives and capacity.

Business Direction & Strategy-Business Acumen          

• Ability to understand and deal with a business situation in a manner that is likely to lead to a good outcome; and knowledge and understanding of the operational frameworks in the organisation and ability to make good judgments and quick decisions within such frameworks

Business Direction & Strategy-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

Communications-Advocacy strategy and implementation

• Ability to create and implement advocacy strategies that lead to impactful change

2030 Agenda: Planet -Disaster Risk Reduction and Recovery   

• Disaster and Climate Risk Governance

2030 Agenda: Planet - Nature, Climate, and Energy

• Climate Change Adaptation: Embedding climate action, Green growth, and Resilience strategies into national development policy/planning/decision making.

Important Note:

• Candidates selected pursuant to this vacancy may be subject to UNDP’s policy on Probation upon assignment.

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 descriptions, experiences, and educational requirements.

Scam warning

The United Nations does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fees 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.