Provincial Associate

Terms of Reference (TOR)

National Personnel Service Agreement

1. Position Information

1. Office/Unit/Project Description

The Philippines is one of the fastest growing economies in Southeast Asia and plays an important role in the stability of the region. Environmental degradation and more frequent climatic events are likely to be key political, economic, and security disrupters over the longer term. Humanitarian crises can undermine growth, reverse development gains, increase poverty, and cause instability that can last for decades.

To address this challenge, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) through the support of the Government of Australia Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in the Philippines (DFAT), is implementing the Strengthening Institutions and Empowering Localities Against Disasters and Climate Change (SHIELD) Program. Australia invested AUD18 million in SHIELD which aims to make all people in target communities safer and more resilient to the impacts of natural hazard events and climate change. This will be realized by achieving three interdependent components:

Component 1: Government, private sector, and civil society stakeholders in targeted local government units (LGUs) are collaborating to unlock funding and implementing informed and inclusive resilience actions

Component 2: Relevant national government agencies (NGAs) are prioritizing action on local climate and disaster resilience

Component 3: Philippine scientific agencies are producing tailored and accessible information for local resilience action

The SHIELD Program is implemented in partnership with the Government of the Philippines through the Department of Interior and Local Government and four Consortium Partners, namely, United Nations Human Settlement Program (UN-HABITAT), Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP), National Resilience Council (NRC), and the Consortium of Bangsamoro Civil Society (CBCS). The program will assist 11 vulnerable provinces, Metro Manila, and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

UNDP has set up a SHIELD Support Unit (SSU) responsible for the day-to-day operations of the program. The SSU will undertake key functions to support the SHIELD Program Board, Executive Committee, Program Management Team, and collaborate with multi-stakeholder partners at the national and sub-national levels. The SSU is seeking to recruit a Provincial Associate who shall work directly and within partner provinces on the coordination and implementation of project interventions.

1. Scope of Work

Within the delegated authority and under the supervision of the Component 1 Lead for LGU Resilience Resource and Implementation, the Provincial Coordinator will perform a variety of technical and administrative support functions contributing to the design, planning, implementation, management, and monitoring of activities of SHIELD activities in the Provincial Government.

Summary of key functions:

1. Support the implementation and results-based monitoring of SHIELD’s provincial field activities

1. Support implementation of SHIELD activities in the field in line with the Annual Work Plan (AWP) of the provincial government and propose improvements through reviewed work plans
2. Assist target local governments to understand the SHIELD objectives and effectively support them in the management, implementation, and monitoring of activities/interventions/investments
3. Assist in tracking and documenting progress towards achievement of targets and objectives of the Program
4. Prepare and submit overall program progress reports (quarterly, semi-annual, and annual project progress reports) and contribute to the annual performance assessment; and,
5. Provide recommendations for the mitigation of identified risks, sustainability strategies, and improvements in project implementation based on findings of monitoring missions.

1. Provide programme support to subnational government counterparts and key stakeholders

1. Provide provincial project coordination, planning, and implementation of the program activities
2. Uphold and maintain a conducive and regular working relationship with the provincial government, consortium partners, local partners, and other stakeholders that allow effective and efficient delivery of program outcomes and outputs
3. Assist in the design, conduct, and documentation of meetings, consultations, missions, capacity building activities and other related activities to support program objectives
4. Meet and coordinate discussions with partners and stakeholders on issues affecting the program, and bring the same to the attention of the SHIELD team and
5. Attend any forums where project stakeholders might highlight issues that could affect the program or add to the scope of the program and bring the same to the attention of the program team.

1. Administrative support to the implementation of project activities

1. Assist in the organization of field visits, missions, conferences and other logistics arrangements
2. Support the provincial government to collect and compile expenditure reports and other related financial documents, as required and
3. Arrange meetings and draft routine correspondence, minutes including preparing background materials for discussions and briefing sessions

1. Support effective mainstreaming of gender equality and community participation

1. Support the provincial government in ensuring GEDSI principles are applied in all aspects of project implementation and the participation of communities throughout the project implementation and
2. Collect, analyze, and present information to support program planning, strategy development, and implementation

1. Support facilitating knowledge sharing and communication

1. Support and facilitate consultation and exchange of information, synergies, learning and know-how at the local level
2. Document local best practices that may be featured in the program’s learning exchange activities
3. Support the knowledge and communication efforts of SHIELD (i.e., stories, news articles, photos, videos, social media presence, as appropriate) with support and guidance from SHIELD communication officer and
4. Perform any other related duties as required by supervisor/ management

1. Institutional Arrangement

The Provincial Coordinator shall be directly supervised by the Component 1 Lead for LGU Resilience Resource and Implementation, with overall guidance from the Program Manager. He/She will be working closely with the SHIELD SSU, UNDP Country Office and Bangkok Regional Hub, Consortium Partners, national and subnational partners and stakeholders, and DFAT.

In carrying out his/her work, the Provincial Coordinator shall work in close coordination with the SHIELD Focal Point at the Provincial Government.

1. Minimum Qualifications of the Successful NPSA

1. The following documents shall be required from the applicants:

1. 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.
2. A cover letter (maximum length: 1 page) indicating why the candidate considers him-/herself to be suitable for the position.
3. 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.