Country Programme Specialist (2 Positions)

Job Title: Country Programme Specialist (2 Positions)

Organization: UNDP

Job Identification: 12100

Location: Bangkok, Thailand

Apply Before: 07/31/2023, 06:59 AM

Job Schedule: Full time

Grade: P4

Vacancy Type: Fixed Term

Practice Area: Crisis management / Country Management Support

Bureau: Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific

Contract Duration: 1 Year with Possibility for extension

Education & Work Experience: Master's Degree - 7 year(s) experience

Required Languages: English

Mobility required/no mobility: mobility required

Job Description

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.
 
Background and Organizational Context

The Country Programme Specialist provides substantive coordination and technical support to and oversight of one or more Country Office (CO) programmes which could be characterized as having high complexity programmes. S/He ensures coordinated support to the CO’s activities, including but not limited to programme and management-related matters from a corporate perspective, planning, monitoring, and reporting; this includes interacting closely with the Bangkok Regional Hub’s (BRH) Global Policy Network and Policy teams, Operations, Partnerships, and the BRH leadership. S/He also works closely with relevant units in HQ units to ensure coherent, timely, and appropriately prioritized support to the COs. Under the guidance of COSQA Coordinator, s/he guides the COs in the planning and provision of policy & programme advisory services, including in crisis situations. From the oversight perspective, s/he performs a quality assurance and support function on all aspects of a CO’s activities and proactively identifies solutions to issues of concern and flag those requiring higher management attention in a timely manner. The Programme Specialist facilitates alignment and linkage with regional and corporate strategy and priorities, tracks CO performance against corporate standards and results commitments between the CO and RBAP and escalates CO performance issues to his/her supervisor and the BRH leadership as needed.

S/He reports to the COSQA Coordinator, RBAP.

Position Purpose

Guides Country Offices (COs) in the planning and provision of policy & programme advisory services, including in crisis situations. From the oversight perspective, s/he performs a quality assurance and support function on all aspects of a CO’s activities and proactively identifies solutions to issues of concern and flag those requiring senior management attention in a timely manner.

Duties and Responsibilities
 

Ensures targeted and aligned CO portfolio management support, through:

• Proactively engaging with the COs to better orient CO programmes against corporate and regional priorities, offering new approaches and programming options to enhance UNDP’s support to the countries, drawing on authoritative subject matter expertise, analysis of other country programmes, reviews of evaluations, performance analytics, and other available sources of lessons.
• Guiding the COs to develop their annual plans and performance management targets, organize quarterly reviews for updates and mobilization of support against the targets. Guide offices in the annual budgeting exercise and quality assurance their financial and staffing targets for office sustainability.
• Coordinating technical advisory support, identifying, and sharing new innovative practices from other parts of the organization with specific relevance to the CO and working with Policy teams to offer a joint portfolio of available knowledge and resources, and proactively liaising with the COs throughout their programme cycle to identify and propose any additional support needed.
• Coordinating and serving as advocate for the COs in the prioritization of requests for Policy and Programme Management support and contributing to drafting of Mission ToRs by bringing relevant country/regional knowledge and working closely with BPPS and other Central Bureaux; helping the COs to identify and address HQ or regional-level bottlenecks impinging on the CO’s performance or compliance with corporate requirements, identifying new ways of working and of improving service provision to the COs.
• Facilitating the provision of CO support, including in crisis situations, by working closely with the CO Liaison Advisor/Specialist, BPPS and CB to coordinate appropriate response, liaising closely with the COs to monitor emerging, existing, and evolving crises, and identifying required support, regularly monitoring data on the country programme and project performance to inform RBAP management decisions in preparing for or responding to crisis situations, providing inputs to Briefing Notes on country-level crises with up-to-date information for HQ meetings.
• Identifying, in consultation with other Country Programme Advisors/Specialists, areas for joint multi-country programming with the view to enhance the range of UNDP activities, to leverage opportunities for sub-regional and regional development impact and to create and pursue new sources of funding.
• Drafting Briefing Notes for RBAP HQ management and/or ExO, providing substantive contributions on country developments and proposing new strategies and UNDP actions in order to assist corporate and regional decision-making in matters concerning the COs.

Enhances and provides quality assurance of CO programme planning, through:

• Guiding the COs’ planning such as (a) contributing substantive inputs to the formulation of the UNSDCF/equivalent and to the country programme in order to ensure the relevance of UNDP’s support to national development priorities and leverage sub-regional opportunities for improved development impacts; (b)  performing quality assurance of CO programme planning in alignment with corporate and regional priorities; (c) strategic guidance and coordination of CO’s alignment exercises to redefine CO’s capacities (d) quality assuring results management frameworks, programme monitoring plans, and the Country Programme Document; and (e) advises adequate budgeting and good practice for the conduct of decentralized evaluation throughout the programme cycle, including management response, dissemination, and learning.
• Guiding the alignment/linkage between CO programmes and projects with regional and corporate strategy and priorities by overseeing compliance with corporate programme management standards, offering new approaches and strategies to achieve national development goals, and liaising with HQ and policy teams to identify the latest RBAP policies and corporate priorities relevant to the CO portfolio; and
• Guiding COs in the design of the Business Plans, Integrated Work Plans (IWP) and evaluation workplan elaboration process by disseminating guidance on corporate, operational, and programme standards, offering recommendations for improved evidence-based programming, and providing the first level of quality assurance before approval by the Bureau.

Improves CO management performance, risk management and reporting activities, through:

• Monitoring COs’ progress against the IWP and evaluation workplan and offering corrective actions, sharing RBM guidance, corresponding with CO staff, undertaking field visits, analyzing periodic progress reports, participating in reviews and evaluations, and identifying opportunities for and/or facilitating formal training on monitoring and evaluation.
• In close coordination with the COSQA Management Focal Points, monitoring all aspects of COs’ operational, financial performance and efficiency of programme implementation and timely implementation of audit recommendations; identifying corrective actions, including by providing support to CO senior management, providing training and capacity development, and escalating concerns to the COSQA Coordinator; consolidating CO performance information to facilitate effective and efficient corporate oversight functions, briefing Bureau Management regarding the COs’ performance and offering recommended actions to improve efficiencies, as needed. 
• Monitoring COs’ contextual and institutional risks and mitigation/escalation plans and escalating to the COSQA Coordinator, as needed.
• Supporting COs to improve reporting on results and measurement of impact, including the Results Oriented Annual Reports (ROAR)— including through sharing corporate guidance, reviewing drafts and offering recommendations for improved reporting in line with corporate requirements and RBM good practices, as well as providing the first-level of quality assurance of the ROAR.
• Lead the implementation of relevant regional plans, in close coordination with Management Focal Points, to facilitate the improvement of COs’ management performance, performance monitoring, and the proactive resolution of programme implementation and management bottle necks.

Enhances knowledge management support for external relationships and partnerships, through:

• Participating in relevant initiatives and supporting COs and BRH leadership, as needed, in initiating engagement with potential and existing partners, identifying possible areas of collaboration to develop new programme opportunities within the overall country programme framework, achieve resource mobilization targets and enhance partnerships; and
• Coordinating the analysis of results from the partnership survey and recommend applicable follow-up actions to his/her supervisor and/or senior management. 

Competencies
Core:

• 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 with Partner: LEVEL 3: Political savvy, navigate complex landscape, champion inter-agency collaboration. 
• Enable Diversity and Inclusion: LEVEL 3: Appreciate benefits of diverse workforce and champion inclusivity. 

Cross-Functional & Technical Competencies:

• Business Direction & Strategy   
  Business Acumen | Ability to understand and deal with a business situation in a manner that is likely to lead a good outcome | Knowledge and understanding of the operational frameworks in the organization and ability to make good judgments and quick decisions within such framework.
• Business Development   
  Knowledge Generation | Ability to research and turn information into useful knowledge, relevant for context or responsive to a stated need.
• 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 fulfill and understand the real customers’ needs | Provide inputs to the development of customer service strategy | Look for ways to add value beyond clients’ immediate requests | Ability to anticipate clients’ upcoming needs and concerns.
• Business Management  
  Monitoring | Ability to provide managers and key stakeholders with regular feedback on the consistency or discrepancy between planned and actual activities and programme performance and results.
• Programme and Policy   
  Effectiveness | Programming (PPM) policies and procedures.
• Programme and Policy   
  Effectiveness | System-wide approaches to strategic planning and results. 

Required Skills and Experience 

Education:

• Master’s Degree in Development-related studies (Economics, International Relations, Political Science, International Development, or another social science)

Experience:

• At least seven years in a development-related field, with a strong knowledge and experience of country programme/project management, preferably within UNDP or the UN system 
• Knowledge of UNDP’s Rules and Regulations 
• Programme/project management certification is an advantage
• Full proficiency in English is required and knowledge of another UN language will be an asset.

Please note that continuance of appointment beyond the initial 12 months is contingent upon the successful completion of a probationary period.

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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