Project Associate (NPSA 6)

Tunis

Organization: UNDP - United Nations Development Programme
Location: Tunis
Grade: Administrative support - NPSA-6, National Personnel Services Agreement
Occupational Groups:
- Administrative support
- Project and Programme Management
Closing Date: 2023-06-07

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.

The Green Growth and Jobs Accelerator Project (GGJAP) is one out of three projects under the Danish-Arab Partnership Programme’s (DAPP) which is funded and managed by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The GGJAP is part of DAPP’s programme for Youth Employment and Entrepreneurship. UNDP will implement the GGJAP which sits regionally as part of the UNDP Regional Bureau for Arab States’ Regional Youth Project Portfolio.

GGJAP will be implemented in Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia building on UNDP’s work and experience with implementing the SDG Accelerator for SMEs methodology which directly supports sustainable business development and commercial green growth in SMEs. The SDG Accelerator is a part of UNDP’s service offer UNDP Impact Venture Accelerators (IVA). The IVA is a practical approach to help businesses focus on delivering products/services, business models and business plans which contribute to the SDGs.

The objective of the Green Growth and Jobs Accelerator Project is to support established entrepreneurs and SMEs, of which a proportion will be youth-led, to accelerate green growth in their businesses and through this, support the local transition to a green and sustainable economy, and enable green jobs for youth.

Each year, in each of the four countries in mention, two 5-month Accelerators will be implemented, and each Accelerator will include a cohort of up to 25 carefully recruited SMEs. Each company in the Accelerator will develop one or more business plans for green growth also integrating relevant ways for the company to create jobs for youth, either as a result of the implementation of the business plan, as means to realize the business plan, or preferably both.

Under the management and guidance of the UNDP Arab States Bureau’s Regional Youth Project Portfolio and the UNDP Nordic Representative Office, the Country Offices (CO) in the four participating countries will implement the Accelerators at the country level and leverage their longstanding local networks of relevant stakeholders across sectors (SMEs). The implementation will be done in close collaboration with local management consulting firms in each country (or regionally) who will assist the CO team in implementation and deliver strategic business development consulting on green growth and business instruments to grow business. The strategic business development consulting will consist of e.g., consulting on the development of business plans for new environmentally friendly products and services, through implementation of greener production or operational processes, and/or through the integration of selected standards that can enable some companies to get access to new markets.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of Inclusive Growth and Human Development Team Leader in the Tunisia Country office, the Project Associate is expected to perform the following duties:

Supports coordination with the Regional Youth Project Portfolio Team.
Support facilitation of stakeholder engagement and dialogue with external partners relevant to the project implementation.
Support the project oversight and management of local accelerators, including the monitoring of the implementation of activities and the expenditure of funds, as well as supporting project coordination efforts with the management consultants:
- Prepare structured progress reporting reports for SME cohorts
- Conducting monitoring visits at SME premises
- Support in collecting country-level project data at a field level.
- Collect data and material to be used in the development of communication material
- Participate in meetings and coordinate activities with local DAPP secretariats consisting of representatives of the projects in the overall Danish-Arab Partnership Programme’s Youth Employment and Entrepreneurship Program.
Support the work of UNDP Tunisia on Green Growth: thematic dialogues, events, joint initiatives, awareness raising, and youth engagement.
Support linking with UNDP Tunisia programme initiatives on SDG Impact and Financing, Social Entrepreneurship and impact driven support to MSMEs.
Map and assess the readiness of small businesses established under the different UNDP programmes to participate in the project- be included in the SMEs Cohorts.
Support the process of documentation on progress
Assist in the formulation of budgets;
Assist in the formulation of procurement and HR plans;
Identify and collect policy-related and other relevant information, documents and data, compile and analyze data for further use in project management.
Support organization and coordination of meetings, training sessions, workshops, conferences, and project events and prepare reports and meeting minutes, as required
Ensure full compliance of activities with UNDP rules, regulations, and policies.

Output 1: Accelerators.
Established entrepreneurs and SMEs, of which at least 10% will be youth-led enterprises, will be supported with green growth business instruments and advisory through an intensive 5-months business development process called the Green Growth and Jobs Accelerator. The youth-led enterprises will follow the same process in the accelerators as the non-youth-led companies. The overall goal of Output 1 is to target companies enabled to grow their business and create green jobs for youth.

Duties and responsibilities within Output 1:

Support the implementation of two 5-month Accelerators each year between 2023-2027 in tandem (close collaboration) with management consultant firms:

Support the recruitment process of SMEs to accelerators through inter-alia mapping, research and outreach activities
Support on effective on the ground facilitation of green growth consulting services to individual SMEs in accelerator cohorts
Conduct on daily project coordination with local management consultant firm
Take part in fortnightly learning sessions with UNDP (Regional and Nordic offices) on SME progress, methodology/tools application and other items relevant to the project
Support in collecting data and evidence on results from SMEs.
Support the coordination of youth that are part of youth4sustainability and their involvement in the accelerators and support to SMEs.
Support in feeding data, knowledge, information for the UNDP Arab States Regional Youth Platform (NextGenYouth Platform).

Output 2: SME Finance
Many of the target companies in the Accelerator are expected to need risk capital to realise their green growth business plans. UNDP will function as a connector between the target companies and relevant financial institutions providing capital to SMEs in and outside the region. Here, UNDP will also make use of the SDG Investor Maps, if available, to identify the supply and demand of investment appetite in the countries. Through the Accelerator, target companies that need finance will also be offered some coaching aiming to strengthen their ability to pitch green growth business plans to potential investors and capital providers. The overall goal of Output 2 is to ensure that green business solutions of target companies are accelerated by increased access to finance.

Duties and responsibilities within Output 2:

Support the GGJA project manager on mapping and related research activities on sustainable finance and risk finance providers in Jordan and the region, relevant for the SMEs in the accelerators
Support on matchmaking SMEs with relevant investors and finance providers
Ensure related financial issues are tackled in a timely manner

Output 3: Learning Modality

In the MENA region, young entrepreneurs and businesses using digital platforms and technology and taking advantage of digital payment opportunities are on the rise. Output 3 will work to strengthen the capacity of entrepreneurs and SMEs to take advantage of these new digital growth opportunities which will be delivered through a targeted learning modality. The learning modality will comprise different learning assets including:

Digital learning on 1) sustainable business development and innovation, 2) Impact Management and Measurement (IMM); and 3) ecommerce.

The overall goal of Output 3 is for youth and companies to be capacitated to accelerate and manage green, sustainable growth.

Duties and responsibilities within Output 3:

Participate in design sessions and provide input relevant for local contexts with the team responsible for development of Learning Modality
Support on outreach and facilitation of stakeholder dialogues with relevant networks and entities
Support the project manager in embedding learning materials into relevant channels, curricula, and outlets of stakeholders to ensure wide uptake and use of the e-learning materials
Support on design and setup of Green Growth Community to ensure local relevance and convergence with the Jordan context
Support on onboarding SMEs alumni to the Green Growth Community
Co-create and ideate on how best to use the Regional Youth Project Platform (NextGenYouth Platform) for creating a network, sharing knowledge, uploading assets, connecting youth job seekers to SMEs.

Mapping viable accelerators existing in the national-level ecosystems.

Institutional Arrangement

The incumbent will be working under the direct supervision of the UNDP Tunisia respective supervisor/Project Manager of Green Growth and Job accelerator project.

Organizational chart Bureau/Unit/Project

Resident Representative
UNDP Tunisia

Deputy Resident Representative
UNDP Tunisia

Team Leader
Cluster - Inclusive Growth and Human Development

Project Manager
Project - Green Growth and Jobs Accelerator

Project Associate
Project - Green Growth and Jobs Accelerator

Competencies

Core

Achieve Results:

LEVEL 1: Plans and monitors own work, pays attention to details, delivers quality work by deadline

Experience from previous UN assignments and/or multilateral and bi-lateral aid organizations would be an asset.

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
Partnership management	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
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
Digital & Innovation	Social Media	Knowledge of social media and ability to advise the use of social media.
Digital & Innovation	Design thinking	-Solving problems by putting people at the center, visualizing ideas and making them tangible in order to improve them through and iterative process of developing and testing. - Strong empathy skills, being able to put yourself ""in someone else's shoes"", understand needs, abilities, preferences, motivations, (everyday) experiences from different perspectives as well as their cultural, social, economical, and political contexts. -Ability to identify and challenge assumptions, (cognitive and social) biases, and dominant mental models by generating new perspectives and frames that help redefine the problem, solution, and opportunity space. -Being able to work with incomplete information, ambiguity, and opposing views, needs, and constraints and synthesize them into solutions that are viable, technically feasible, and useful
Administration & Operations	Procurement concepts, processes, and management	Knowledge of procurement processes and management

Required Skills and Experience

6. Minimum Qualifications of the Successful NPSA

Min. Education requirements	. Completion of Secondary Education is required . Bachelor’s/Licence (New LMD system) degree in Business, Public Administration, Management, or any related field
Min. years of relevant work experience	-Minimum 6 years with a Secondary education or 3 years with a Bachelor’s/ licence degree (New LMD system) of progressive relevant experience in providing project management support and coordination. - Prior experience In planning and budget management; - Prior experience in logistics management and event coordination - Prior experience in project implementation/ field coordination related to SME business support is an asset
Required skills	-Excellent interpersonal skills; culturally and socially sensitive; ability to work inclusively and collaboratively with a range of partners, including youth organizations, and authorities at different levels - Ability to work and adapt professionally and effectively in a challenging environment; - Ability to work effectively in a multicultural team of international and national personnel; - Solid overall computer literacy, including proficiency in various MS Office applications (Excel, Word, PowerPoint etc.) and email/internet; -Self-motivated, ability to work with minimum supervision; ability to work with tight deadlines. - Ability to work with different demographic groups and to engage communities, youth, and private sector entities.
Desired skills in addition to the competencies covered in the Competencies section	-Advanced computer skills, including word processing (Word), spreadsheet (Excel), and the ability to quickly learn new applications. -Highly motivated, a pleasant character with good teamwork spirit; -Excellent interpersonal and communication skills; -Good computer skills in French, English and Arabic -Strong writing skills -Ability to accommodate and adapt to changing working environments. -Systematic and organized, with an ability to be flexible and adaptive. -Experience with a UN organization/agency or multilateral and bi-lateral aid is desirable; - Strong coordination and liaising capabilities.
Required Language(s)	Strong command of written and oral French and Arabic communication skills. Command of written and oral English communication skills is an asset.
Professional Certificates	Not Applicable

The following documents shall be required from the applicants:

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.
A cover letter (maximum length: 1 page) indicating why the candidate considers him-/herself to be suitable for the position.
Managers may ask (ad hoc) for any other materials relevant to pre-assessing the relevance of their experiences, such as reports, presentations, publications, campaigns, or other materials.

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.

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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.

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