Background   UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.   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.

UNDP is seeking a Digital Transformation Analyst to work with the Digital Transformation Portfolio team. The Digital Transformation Analyst will support the design and implementation of portfolio briefs and enablers to scale-up the development impact of digitalization in Kosovo, as well as expand the overall UNDP Kosovo offer to supporting a whole of society digital transformation.

Rationale / background and the objectives of the unit or project

Kosovo is well positioned for digital to be a strong driver of development. With a large young population, growing innovation and technology ecosystem, and EU prospects, Kosovo has the elements to be a digital transformation leader. The share of households with internet access in Kosovo  is the highest (99.5%) among the Western Balkan economies as well as higher than the EU average (92%).    In terms of internet usage amongst individuals, Kosovo ranks the highest in the region (98.9%), with the trend of usage steadily increasing.  These two indicators combined suggest that there is a solid base for actions in accelerating digital transformation in Kosovo. Despite the promising numbers on access and internet usage, the level of digital skills for individuals in Kosovo is low compared to other economies in the Western Balkans and the European Union. Looking at individuals with basic or above basic digital skills, Kosovo ranks the second lowest among the Western Balkan economies.  A disproportionate gap between high internet usage and low skill level presents both a challenge and opportunity in utilizing the benefits of digitalization. The importance of developing digital skills through embedding them in the areas of education and training for an improved labour market supply cannot be overstated.

In January 2021, UNDP Kosovo commenced the implementation of the 2021-2025 Kosovo Programme.  One of the key cross-cutting areas is green and digital transformation to build back better, in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. UNDP’s value proposition in Kosovo builds upon its integrator role in governance, social cohesion, and green economy. To implement its program and respond to local needs, UNDP Kosovo has over the past year taken steps to strengthen its position on digital transformation through  setting up a digital team, conducting a Digital Readiness Assessment as well as a Digital Household survey and a range of consultations in order to develop a Digital Transformation Portfolio using a systems thinking approach.

UNDP is both transforming itself digitally and supporting its partners in their digital transformation pathways. UNDP’s Digital Strategy puts forth a long-term vision to create a world in which digital is an empowering force for people and the planet. UNDP has helped to adopt 580 digital solutions in 82 countries in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including 96 data collection systems, 71 e-commerce systems, 61 e-learning platforms, and 149 e-governance systems (September 2020 - September 2021), and has undergone a process to make itself more digitally ready, through the establishment of the Chief Digital Office, development of standards, tools and trainings that enable mainstreaming of digital. When it comes to whole of society digital transformation, UNDP in Kosovo has the following value proposition: 

Ability to bring partners from diverse sectors together - long standing relationship with government, civil society, development partners and private sector; A network of experts, partners, providers at local, regional and global level working across digitalization issues. In-depth knowledge of governance, social and economic sectors, and their relevant ecosystems (where we integrate digital to enhance impact).

UNDP Kosovo is committed to supporting a successful digital transformation that is inclusive and empowers Kosovo to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) using Leave-No-One-Behind principles. Guided by the Digital Transformation Portfolio (DTP) and  a team of inhouse digital specialists , the portfolio aims to continuously be guided by changes in the local digital landscape and enable stronger learning between connected initiatives . The DTP applies learning, sensemaking, and ¬problem-solving to accelerate system-wide effects: 1) Enable affordable, accessible, and reliable digital access and use for all, 2) Support intelligent and green economy, 3) Improve people’s digital experiences and empower communities. Following these principles, UNDP Kosovo has generated extensive data and intelligence that guides its interventions. 

The latest products generated through the work of DTP are the Digital Readiness Assessment and a  Household Survey on digitalization. Both insights highlight the potential in harnessing the digital platforms to foster digital transformation in Kosovo. In other words, for everyone to benefit from the potential that digitalization offers, the transformation should be inclusive – with no one left behind. This includes building strong digital skillsets across all of society, particularly among the more marginalized groups. Thus, a key priority for UNDP Kosovo and the DTP is creating modalities for skills provision as catalysts for greater digital inclusion and UNDP has established a skills training initiative in 2022 that explores how best to bridge the skills gap within the Kosovo private sector. 

The Digital Skills Programme builds on the potential of the Digital Economy to provide job opportunities and contribute to economic growth for improved livelihoods in Kosovo . In particular, the intervention provides opportunities for skills development as a key enabler for change with a specific focus on improving touristic offers with an underlying focus across all activities. The aim is to enhance employability as a key enabler for both sustainable development and social cohesion through targeting specific population groups. As such, the project provides a menu of options, addressing the needs of a diverse group of women and men beneficiaries, with specific focus on tourism and engagement of non-majority communities. The project aims to bridge the skills gap between the targeted population group and the market needs of digital economy, as a means of creating employment and economic growth while simultaneously enhancing inter-ethnic dialogue and understanding.

The overall aim is to build stronger ability to deliver cross-portfolio results and build synergies both within and across the UNDP Kosovo Programme outputs, while simultaneously ramping up capacity around initial key interest areas: partnership management, innovation, data, and digital transformation.

Duties and Responsibilities   Lead the implementation of the Digital Skills Programme interventions, monitor the results and provide quality assurance: Support and coordinate with project team on day-to-day operations; with stakeholders and the contracted training providers / private sector / public sector; Develop a Monitoring and Evaluation Plan for tracking and evaluating progress against the agreed targets; Regularly report on the DSP project and manage back-donor reporting and relationship management; Exchange of information/experience with other projects, cross-learning and sharing results and good practices; Capture and share lessons learnt during project implementation; Facilitate and organize training for project staff to enable them to perform at the required level; Coordinate the implementation of project activities, in line with workplans, and serve as quality control mechanism with purpose to enable provision of better delivery services through training providers; Coordinate and manage contracts with short-term technical experts and training providers in delivering outputs specified in their TORs.

Support and co-lead the expansion of the UNDP Kosovo Digital Transformation Portfolio approach:

Actively contribute to and participate in the Digital Transformation Portfolio execution, including application of sensemaking approaches to institutionalize continuous learning and adjustment of the portfolio, drafting observation and learning briefs; Support the engagement of external support to implement research activities under the portfolio, including scope preparation, process management and quality assurance for the research design and implementation; Co-facilitate and enable continuous deep dives discussions within the UNDP office on digitalization to ensure knowledge creation is feeding in the programme design; Contribute to the continuous mapping of the stakeholders and potentials for partnership building on digitalization; Ensures coordination of the design for the selected portfolio briefs within the digital transformation ecosystem through the portfolio approach, Engage with local stakeholders in order to position the continuously evolving Digital Transformation Portfolio to create new insights, form new partnerships and exploring fundraising potential. Support the process data-based documentation for UNDP digital transformation and co-leads new pilot themes for portfolio design.

Support other related work and partnership building activities in relation to the inclusive growth and climate resilience agenda as well as the wider Office work:

Support and coordinate with project teams on day-to-day operations; with stakeholders and the contracted CSOs / private sector / public sector. Create proposals/frameworks as engagement models with national and local authorities and support articulation of portfolio design phase Create and produce the communication plans for visibility of the activities. Actively support the Office where needed and follow up with relevant UNDP colleagues on issues. Competencies   Core Competencies 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

This vacancy is archived.

Recommended for you