The United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) was established to promote, coordinate and support South-South and triangular cooperation globally and within the United Nations system. UNOSSC, hosted by UNDP since 1974, was established by the UN General Assembly with a mandate to advocate for and coordinate South-South and triangular cooperation on a global and UN system-wide basis. The UNOSSC mainstreams South-South cooperation across the UN system and throughout the international development community by leveraging its global reach as well as its policy and institutional capacities to assist UN agencies and developing countries in strengthening their South-South cooperation capacities. For the same token, it serves as the secretariat to the High-level Committee (HLC) on South-South Cooperation, and manages the United Nations Fund for South-South Cooperation, the Pérez-Guerrero Trust Fund for South-South Cooperation, India, Brazil and South Africa Facility for Poverty and Hunger Alleviation, and the India-UN Development Partnership Fund.
In accordance with the 2021 UN Secretary General’s report of the UNOSSC there are new concrete measures undertaken by the United Nations development system to expand its support to South-South and triangular cooperation initiatives of Member States at the global, regional and national levels, including implementation of the recommendations contained in the Buenos Aires outcome document of the second High-level United Nations Conference on South-South Cooperation (BAPA+40) and contributions to global efforts to tackle the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
It is in this context that the UNOSSC will endeavor to restructure and center its work around 4 pillars: (i) Intergovernmental Support and UN System Coordination; (ii) Knowledge Management; (iii)Trust Fund and Project Management; (iv) Programme Support.
UNOSSC has also initiated a series of knowledge products engaging member states, UN agencies, and broader partners, including the South-South Cooperation in Action series, compilation of good practices of South-South and Triangular Cooperation for SDGs, and an upcoming comprehensive independent report on South-South Cooperation. Two platforms that promote this engagement are Galaxy and Expo.
These knowledge networking, services and products will facilitate substantive thinking and evidence-based analysis to inform policy dialogues at regional and global level. The Conference (BAPA+40) represented an opportunity to enhance current institutional arrangements to better leverage South-South cooperation for sustainable development.
Within this context, under the guidance and supervision of the Research Specialist and the overall guidance of the Chief, Knowledge Management, the incumbent will be responsible for developing and managing knowledge networks, and manage the KM Platforms (Galaxy and Expo), their services and products, coordinating research and analysis, as well as providing substantive inputs to programme development of the UNOSSC.
The incumbent will provide key support on the preparation, implementation, research and monitoring of knowledge products and is expected to collaborate in the implementation of relevant programmes and activities globally and support the facilitation of UNOSSC policy discussions with Trust Funds’ partners and technical exchanges at different levels, as well as organize events and prepare reports on research and knowledge management.
The KM Platform's Coordinator will liaise with the Strategic Management team (Communications Specialist and Partnerships Analyst) as well as the knowledge management team to highlight and relay emerging opportunities derived from interactions with intergovernmental TF partners and governing bodies. It will also establish synergies with her/his unit’s colleagues to capitalize on such emerging opportunities.
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Research, Advisory Support on SSC Cooperation related issues
- Undertake research on conceptual and methodological areas of SSC and TrC;
- Develop and maintain close research collaboration with academics, and researchers in various think tanks, universities, centres of excellence and research institutions as well as in the UN system;
- Develop contributions to knowledge products and publications suitable for submission to UN reports, professional conferences and academic journals;
- Facilitate the flow of existing knowledge of SSC; improve the capture, classification and accessibility to South-South development knowledge (i.e. best practices, development solutions, experts/expertise); and enhance the opportunities for leveraging Southern development knowledge;
- Under the guidance of the Research Specialist, mobilizes, fosters and strengthens strategic partnerships, including with UN entities and other relevant bodies, private sector at international and regional level and provide inputs to those partnerships in support of UNOSSC partnership.
- Identify development themes/issues/solutions and develop concept notes for SSC workshops/seminars, pipeline programmes, and/or for future topics in SSC development publications; and
- Produce clear and concise user guidelines, standards, protocols and procedures to ensure effective and efficient production of knowledge products/services.
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Contributions to the independent comprehensive SSC report and other knowledge products
- Contribute to the formulation of the theme and the structure of the independent comprehensive SSC reports;
- Contribute to the conceptual and practical organization of conferences, workshops and meetings designed to inform the development process of the report;
- Provide background research for report: draft short memos, call for research proposals, produce research notes, country and case studies;
- Support report coordinator to identify and liaise with background paper authors, draft terms of reference for background research, comment on the contributions received from them and integrate them in the chapters of the Report; and
- Monitor and keep record of the work of the research team with the comments received from the UNOSSC Advisory Panel and others
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Supports the management of the design, content production and dissemination of Knowledge Products and Services (Expo and Galaxy),
- Coordinate programme related events and initiatives such as the Global South-South Development (GSSD) Expo and thematic forums, among others, focusing on the following:
- Coordinate the GSSD Expo portfolio and provide substantive and technical guidance throughout the planning process;
- Maintain effective relationships and strengthen cooperation with other entities within and beyond the UN Common System to mobilize collaboration and support to the Expo;
- Provide support to overall planning and coordination of programme events;
- Research on innovative topics on SSC and TrC to be proposed as themes for programme events;
- Contribute to the finalization of knowledge products by interacting with the editing and the production teams, including participating in various rounds of proofreading of chapter drafts, fact-checking, ensuring consistency of data used throughout the report, checking for proper referencing of statistical data as well as performing other proofreading tasks that might be necessary;
- Assist in the promotion and global launches of knowledge products as requested and prepare advocacy messages in close coordination and collaboration with the Communications Specialist and KM team;
- Dissemination of publications to key internal and external development practitioners, institutions, governments, the media (print and electronic) and other molders of opinion on matters of SSC;
- Provide an effective service to the Publications Board members and involve them on matters of publication content; and
- Manage and coordinate thematic seminars and other events linked to the publications, including development of outreach materials (e.g. on-line broadcasts; CD-roms) and tie-ins with other SSC knowledge management products and services, where appropriate.
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Facilitating knowledge building and knowledge sharing focusing on the following:
- Contribute to the UNOSSC Knowledge Products by carrying out good practice case-studies on South-South Cooperation to allow for South-South learning.
- Contribute to the knowledge sharing and partnership brokering, effectively utilizing platforms to the benefit of intergovernmental SSC activities such as the South-South Galaxy and engaging with the South-South Global Thinkers initiative.
- Institutionalize best practices and knowledge sharing and actively participate in UNDP and other relevant networks (e.g., Yammer, communities of practice), social media and contribute to briefings for Trust Funds executive committees, regional review meetings, briefing notes, and knowledge sharing, training events and contribute to revision and enhancement of online Manuals;
- Support sharing information and knowledge on South-South Cooperation with all partners, UNOSSC teams and other offices.
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Management of the Executive Secretariat for the Global Coalition of Think Tank Networks -- South-South Global Thinkers
- Prepare and present periodic progress reports and the annual performance report on the Global Coalition’s activities reviewing progress of all outputs;
- Contribute to the performance appraisal of the project;
- Support the global coalition on the management and coordination of its activities and operations;
- Coordinate and manage the identification, development, approval, delivery and implementation of all activities of the Global Coalition;
- Support partnership building, mobilize resources and manage the membership of the Global Coalition;
- Ensure that the networks are kept informed of progress, constraints, challenges and opportunities for strategic programmatic advice;
- Manage and review research generated by think tank network members and provide policy advisory services as requested to the Coalition;
- Research and follow up on possibilities of linking regional and country level SSC initiatives with the Coalition to support the better usage of research findings;
- Supervise the management of the South-South Global Thinkers on-line platform.
- Arrange and provide administrative assistance at Global Steering Committee meetings, send notices, prepare agendas and draft minutes;
- Organize/participate advocacy events and meetings for the Global Coalition; and
- Develop and manage the visiting fellowship programme
Supervisory/Managerial Responsibilities: N/A
- Achieve Results - Level 3: Set and align challenging, achievable objectives for multiple projects, have 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 task/barriers and take action to achieve greater results
- 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
People Management Competencies
UNDP People Management Competencies can be found here.
Cross-Functional & Technical competencies
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Business Development
- 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.
- Knowledge Generation: Ability to research and turn information into useful knowledge relevant for content, or responsive to a stated need
- Knowledge Facilitation: Ability to animate individuals and communities of contributors to participate and share, particularly externally
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Partnership management
- Multi-stakeholder engagement: Multi-stakeholder engagement and funding-Knowledge and ability to forge multi-stakeholder partnerships, and remove any obstacles to resource mobilization and multi-stakeholder funding platform
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2030 Agenda: Engagement and Effectiveness
- SDG Integration: South-South and Triangular Cooperation knowledge sharing
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Business Management:
- Portfolio Management: Ability to select, prioritize and control the organization s programmes and projects, in line with its strategic objectives and capacity; ability to balance the implementation of change initiatives and the maintenance of business-as-usual, while optimizing return on investment
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Digital & Innovation
- Digital Awareness and Literacy: Ability and inclination to rapidly adopt new technologies, either through skillfully grasping their usage or through understanding their impact and empowering others to use them as needed
- A Master’s degree or higher in areas related to Knowledge Management, Strategic Communications, or Adult Learning;
- Minimum 5 years of experience with a Master’s Degree working in the development cooperation space or 7 years with Bachelor’s.
- Conversant with the south-south and triangular cooperation.
- Proven experience in the development and production of Knowledge Products is required.
- Proven experiences in managing knowledge sharing mechanisms is required.
- Extensive experience in engaging or working with think-tanks or networks is highly desirable.
- Conversant with UN systems and procedures is high desirable.
- Advanced knowledge and experience in handling of web-based management systems is an asset.
- Language requirements Excellent communication skills, both spoken and written in English required. Fluency in another UN language strongly desirable.