Programme Analyst - IPSA 8 (Home Based)

Home Based - May require travel

Organization: UNDP - United Nations Development Programme
Location: Remote | Home Based - May require travel
Grade: Junior level - IPSA-8, International Personnel Services Agreement
Occupational Groups:
- Project and Programme Management
Closing Date: 2023-05-20

Background

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion are core principles at UNDP: we value diversity as an expression of the multiplicity of nations and cultures where we operate, we foster inclusion as a way of ensuring all personnel are empowered to contribute to our mission, and we ensure equity and fairness in all our actions. Taking a ‘leave no one behind’ approach to our diversity efforts means increasing representation of underserved populations. People who identify as belonging to marginalized or excluded populations are strongly encouraged to apply. Learn more about working at UNDP including our values and inspiring stories.

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.

Office/Unit/Project Description

UNDP is the knowledge frontier organization for sustainable development in the UN Development System and serves as the integrator for collective action to realize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UNDP’s policy work is carried out through a network of advisors and specialists located at HQ, Regional and Country Office levels, to ensure that local knowledge and context specific expertise is linked to cutting-edge global perspectives and advocacy. In this context, UNDP provides its policy advisory and programme support functions through the Global Policy Network (GPN), a network of field-based and global technical expertise across a wide range of knowledge domains, in support of the signature solutions and organizational capabilities envisioned in the Strategic Plan. Within the GPN, the Bureau for Policy and Programme Support (BPPS) has the responsibility for developing all relevant policy and guidance to support the results of UNDP’s Strategic Plan and works closely with the Crisis Bureau (CB) that has the responsibility to guide and implement UNDP’s corporate crisis-related strategies and vision for crisis prevention, response and recovery.

UNDP’s Nature, Climate Energy and Waste (NCE&W) Hubs as part of the Global Policy Network, supports countries to promote and scale up integrated whole-of-governance approaches and nature-based solutions that reduce poverty and inequalities, strengthen livelihoods and inclusive growth, mitigate conflict, forced migration and displacement, and promote more resilient governance systems that advance linked peace and security agendas. The NCE&W Hubs work with governments, civil society, and private sector partners to integrate natural capital, environment and climate concerns into national and sector planning and inclusive growth policies; supports country obligations under Multilateral Environmental Agreements; and implements the UN’s largest portfolio of in-country programming on environment, climate change, and energy.

In this context, UNDP, is responding to the urgent need for action to harness the land use and agriculture sectors’ potential for climate change mitigation and adaptation, aligned to countries’ national climate pledges. UNDP launched the Support Programme on Scaling up Climate Ambition on Land Use and Agriculture through Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) (SCALA). This German Ministry of Environment (BMU)-funded Programme will be implemented between 2020 and 2025 and is designed to assist countries to translate their NDCs and/or NAPs into actionable and transformative climate solutions in land use and agriculture with multi-stakeholder engagement. This Programme is a joint effort of UNDP and FAO and a follow up of the BMU-funded Integrating agriculture into NAPs Programme (NAP-Ag). It works across 12 countries in Latin America, Asia, Africa and the Middle-East. This Programme is part of the NAP Portfolio which UNDP has been supporting since 2014 and which comprises over country-level 30 projects funded by the GCF Readiness and Preparatory Support Programme.

The Government of Sweden, through SIDA, has funded a four-year, US$40m global Strategic Collaboration Programme designed to strengthen UNDP capacities to achieve its overall Sustainable Development vision for poverty eradication through a more integrated, coherent approach to the environmental and climate dimensions of the UNDP Strategic Plan. As part of the Project Implementation Plan (PIP), Sida funds will be used (i) to hire human resources in each region and (ii) to finance country programming in ways that leverage synergies across UNDP work on biodiversity, climate change, and energy, as well as, cross-cutting themes of gender equality, safeguards, sustainable food systems, resilience, DRR, and green financing. As part of the work on climate, operational oversight support to the NAP country level contributes to the NAP portfolio.

Within this overall context, the Climate Hub is recruiting a Programme Analyst to support the management of the SCALA Programme and support the oversight of the NAP Portfolio at global level.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the overall supervision of the Senior Technical Advisor, Climate change adaptation policy and planning, and under the direct supervision of the Technical Specialist on NAP (in charge of SCALA programme coordination), the global Programme Analyst will play a dual role - support the operational implementation of the SCALA Programme and contribute to the quality assurance of the country level NAP Portfolio. The Global Programme Analyst works in close collaboration with the Technical Advisors/Specialists, Project staff in the Country Offices, the Regional Management and Programme Support Unit (Addis Ababa, Istanbul, Panama City, Bangkok), UNDP HQ, and the Operations Team of Regional Hubs to support programme delivery of the UNDP Global Environmental Finance Unit – Climate Change Adaptation portfolio.

Implementation of UNDP’s and donor’s regulations and rules to support the implementation of the SCALA Programme across 12 countries:

Support the SCALA Programme Coordinator in the operational management of the programme;
Leads the logistics, documentation, preparation/review of budgets and authorization of expenses; prepares and revises the workplans of the global SCALA project, both in Quantum and offline, and; prepares transactions for the approval of the Project Managers (PMs) ;
Liaises with SCALA Programme team members, FAO Programme Officer and participating Country Offices to provide operational guidance and support on programme implementation in accordance with UNDP’s rules and regulations;
Ensures full compliance of operational activities with UN/UNDP rules, regulations, policies and strategies (i.e. FRR, ICF, POPP);
Monitors project delivery on a quarterly basis, submission of progress reports and budget revisions
through Quantum; identifies reasons for shortfall in delivery and recommends ways to correct situation; initiates management actions and prompts corrective steps; generates and explores NAP business intelligence;
Preparation of inputs for reporting, including donor reporting ;
Guides the Programme Assistant’s role in supporting the organization of events, the recruitment of consultants, the procurement of goods/services and organisation of travel ;
Maintains transactional documents on the shared platforms;
Performs any other duties as required by the supervisor in relation to the team objectives.

Support to the quality control, planning, submission and oversight of the NAP GCF portfolio :

Keeps track of and analyzes the NAP portfolio from development/formulation through implementation
of projects through the review of the pipeline milestones and the follow-up with the appropriate RTAs
and COs;
Ensures milestones are met, tracked and updated in Quantum and in the Project Information Management System (PIMS+ - including annual workplans, inception reports, Project Board meetings minutes, LPAC documents, Project Document signature, Letters of Agreement, Audit and Final Evaluation reports, etc.);
Ensures proposals submissions are timely and complete, in collaboration with the MPSAs (Management
and Programme Support Analysts) located in Regional Centers and HQ (Addis Ababa, Istanbul, Panama
City, Bangkok and New York) for the technical and financial clearance – through the review of Project
documents, DOAs (Delegation of Authority letters), TBWPs (Total Budget and Workplan Documents),
in accordance with the rules of the specific funds targeted (GEF, GCF, BMU, etc.);
Reviews and revises budgets and procurement plans as needed, in coordination with the RTAs and the
COs, before submission;
Assist in all aspects of global portfolio management, including tracking of standard project-related management actions, monitoring and evaluation requirements and progress reports (PIR) including processing of required documentation.
Review financial interim progress reports and support country offices in applying corrective actions ahead of PIR submissions on a biannual basis.”
Submits the DOAs to the Executive Coordinator for VF Program Support Oversight & Compliance for approval, and notifies the Country Offices about the signed DOA and other milestones;
Monitors the submission of progress reports, analyses delivery and budget revisions through Quantum and suggests corrective actions where needed;
Ensures projects and COs comply with the latest UNDP, GEF and GCF policies;
Maintain close contact with COs on projects in varying stages of the project cycle, tracking project development and/or implementation progress against established timeframes for project maturation and/or the attainment of implementation milestones as indicated in project annual work plans, recommending courses of action as appropriate and bringing to the RTAs’ attention all technical issues that require attention/resolution.

Institutional Arrangement

The incumbent will work from home;
The incumbent will report to Senior Technical Advisor, Climate Change Adaptation Policy and Planning and directly supervised by Technical Specialist on National Adaptation Plans/SCALA Global Coordinator;
The incumbent will be given access to relevant information necessary for execution of the tasks under this assignment;
The incumbent will be responsible for providing her/his own workstation (i.e. laptop, internet, phone, scanner/printer, etc.) and must have access to a reliable internet connection;
Given the global consultations to be undertaken during this assignment, the incumbent is expected to be reasonably flexible with his/her availability for such consultations taking into consideration different time zones.

Competencies

Core

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

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies

Thematic Area	Name	Definition
Business Management	Communication	Ability to communicate in a clear, concise and unambiguous manner both through written and verbal communication; to tailor messages and choose communication methods depending on the audience. Ability to manage communications internally and externally, through media, social media and other appropriate channels.
Business Management	Customer Satisfaction/Client Management	Ability to respond timely and appropriately with a sense of urgency, provide consistent solutions, and deliver timely and quality results and/or solutions to fulfil and understand the real customers' needs. Provide inputs to the development of customer service strategies. Look for as to add value beyond clients' immediate requests. Ability to anticipate clients' upcoming needs and concerns.
Business Management	Project Management	Ability to plan, organize, prioritize and control resources, procedures and protocols to achieve specific goals.
Business Management	Resource Management	Ability to allocate and use resources in a strategic or tactical way in line with principles of accountability and integrity
Business Direction and Strategy	Business acumen	Ability to understand and deal with a business situation in a manner that is likely to lead to a good outcome Knowledge and understanding of the operational frameworks in the organization and ability to make good judgments and quick decisions within such frameworks
Finance	Budget management	Ability to support budgetary aspects of work planning process, drawing and management of team budgets
Finance	Financial planning and budgeting	Ability to create and manage processes to achieve UNDP's long and short-term financial goals, including through planning, budgeting, forecasting, analysing and reporting

Required Skills and Experience

Min. Education requirements	Master’s degree in administration, business, project management, international development, or a related field; A Bachelor’s degree with at least 2 years of relevant experience will be given due consideration.
Min. years of relevant Work experience	Demonstrated progressively responsible experience in financial resources, budget orproject management, or administrative support functions
Required skills	Skills Experience in monitoring and analysis of project budgets and expenditures, preferably at the global level  Previous experience coordinating donor reporting and supporting oversight or a donor-driven project; Demonstrated ability to build and analyse budgets; Demonstrated experience and proficiency in usage of office software packages, including Word, Excel, Share drive, Teams, Google Drive, etc.
Desired skills	Demonstrated experience in project/program coordination and/or administration and support service at a global or regional level; Previous exposure to Climate Change policy or finance will be highly valued;  Competency in using finance/project management, procurement and travel modules of ATLAS, Quantum, or similar ERP system will be considered an asset;  Experience working in developing countries is desirable.  Knowledge of UN regulations, policies, procedures, and practices is desirable;  Previous work in UNDP will be considered an asset;  Knowledge of GCF rules, policies and procedures is an advantage;  Certification in project management would be an added advantage.
Required Language(s) (at working level)	Excellent writing, editing, and oral communication skills in English Proficient verbal and written communication in another UN language is an asset

Disclaimer

Important information for US Permanent Residents ('Green Card' holders)

Under US immigration law, acceptance of a staff position with UNDP, an international organization, may have significant implications for US Permanent Residents. UNDP advises applicants for all professional level posts that they must relinquish their US Permanent Resident status and accept a G-4 visa, or have submitted a valid application for US citizenship prior to commencement of employment.

UNDP is not in a position to provide advice or assistance on applying for US citizenship and therefore applicants are advised to seek the advice of competent immigration lawyers regarding any applications.

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 description, experience and educational requirements.

Non-discrimination

UNDP has a zero-tolerance policy towards sexual exploitation and misconduct, sexual harassment, and abuse of authority. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles.

UNDP is an equal opportunity and inclusive employer that does not discriminate based on race, sex, gender identity, religion, nationality, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy, age, language, social origin or other status.

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