Background
UNDP roster is a pool of pre-vetted qualified professionals available for short-term, medium-term, or long-term assignments with the UNDP. These lists are maintained by UND and are used to fill vacancies in various fields. Being on a UNDP roster means that you're considered a potential and pre-vetted candidate for these assignments and can be called upon when the UNDP needs your expertise without having to advertise the post. You can be handpicked directly from the roster by hiring manager.
Duties and Responsibilities
Support the project team to ensure effective project planning and implementation.
- Compile and summarize information and data for the formulation of project work plans, draft annual/quarterly budgets, proposals on implementation arrangements, and on other specific project related topics or issues.
- Provide comprehensive support in all aspects of project implementation in accordance with the project documents, annual work plans and other agreements between UNDP and responsible partners. Ensure quality of delivery by consultants, beneficiaries, and contracted companies; and communicate findings to the supervisor.
- Ensure compliance of project business processes with UNDP Project Operational Policies and Procedures (POPP) and UNDP Standard Operating Procedures (SOP). When necessary, provide guidance to project staff on business processes, administrative and other requirements and procedures.
- Support mainstreaming gender equality in the project implementation, including in data collection and compilation. Prepare gender equality background materials for use in discussions, briefings, and correspondence.
Provide administrative and logistical support to ensure successful project delivery that includes organizing/coordinating project events and selecting appropriate venues, coordinating project procurement procedures, maintaining project records and files, recruiting project team members, and supporting contracting activities.
-Support the Project Manager to prepare and to update work plans and budgets;
- Support the Project Manager to manage international and local consultants and conduct performance reviews in accordance with UNDP rules, regulations and procedures;
- Provide support in managing financial allocations, ensuring timely payments in accordance with UNDP rules, regulations and procedures;
- Provide regular updates on the project progress to Project Manager and Programme Specialist/Head of Governance Unit;
Support partnerships and resource mobilization.
- Establish and maintain contacts and cooperation with the relevant UN Agencies, government institutions, NGOs, tertiary institutions, partners, and other relevant stakeholders. Provide support in updating the database of the relevant public and development partners, and other stakeholders who are counterparts for the project.
- Ensure regular communication and coordination with partners, project counterparts, stakeholders, and beneficiaries; and develop and maintain effective mechanisms for integrating and responding to their feedback and insight.
- Support creation of high quality information and visibility of the project activities among the stakeholders; and ensure careful selection of communication tools and tailoring the messages to take into account the overall socio-political and development context in host countries.
- Work closely with other UNDP Governance initiatives to ensure that the project is contributing effectively to overall performance of the UNDP programme in the country.
- Undertake horizon scanning and explore opportunities for resource mobilization in consultation with direct supervisor.
Provide support to the effective monitoring, evaluation, and reporting on progress of project implementation. Support implementation of the project monitoring system in alignment with its Monitoring and Evaluation framework to ensure effective information sharing, provision of feedback, and elaboration of high-quality progress reports.
- Collect, analyze and present information for monitoring and evaluation of project implementation against project targets as well as for audit purposes. Identify gaps in implementation and provide support in bridging those gaps in consultation with supervisor and partners.
- Assist in the organization of field and study visits, missions, workshops, roundtables, and conferences within the project. Assist in implementation of effective risk management for the project with a well-documented risk mitigation plan in place. Support monitoring of previously identified and emerging risks.
- Regularly monitor expenditures and commitments against the project budget and relevant plans, and provide finance-related information to support project implementation. When necessary, recommend corrective actions and draft various correspondence concerning finance, operations, and budgetary issues.
- Prepare and consolidate required project reports on a timely basis and in line with monitoring and reporting guidelines and donor requirements.
Support knowledge building, knowledge sharing and capacity building relevant to the assigned project.
- Participate in training and organize briefings on internal procedures for the project staff. Provide support to other capacity building activities, including to the design and delivery of tools, materials for workshops, or platforms that tap into the collective intelligence of communities and mobilize action.
- Provide support in the dissemination and sharing of relevant data and lessons learned within the CO and regionally. Keep pulse on emerging best practices nationally, regionally, and internationally that relate to the work of the assigned project.
- Make sound contributions to knowledge networks and communities of practice. Support compiling and systematizing project knowledge, products and tools as well as their wide distribution to partners.
The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.
Competencies
Core:
Achieve Results: Plans and monitors own work, pays attention to details, delivers quality work by deadline
Think Innovatively: Open to creative ideas/known risks, is pragmatic problem solver, makes improvements
Learn Continuously: Open minded and curious, shares knowledge, learns from mistakes, asks for feedback
Adapt with Agility: Adapts to change, constructively handles ambiguity/uncertainty, is flexible
Act with Determination: Shows drive and motivation, able to deliver calmly in face of adversity, confident
Engage and Partner: Demonstrates compassion/understanding towards others, forms positive relationships
Enable Diversity and Inclusion: Appreciate/respect differences, aware of unconscious bias, confront discrimination
Cross-Functional & Technical competencies:
Working with Evidence and Data: Ability to inspect, cleanse, transform and model data with the goal of discovering useful information, informing conclusions, and supporting decision-making
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
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 strategy. Look for ways to add value beyond clients’ immediate requests. Ability to anticipate client’s upcoming needs and concerns.
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.
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.
Budget management: Ability to support budgetary aspects of work planning process, drawing and management of team budgets
Procurement management: The ability to acquire goods, services or works from an outside external source
Required Skills and Experience
Education:
Secondary education is required, or University Degree in social sciences, economics, international development, community development, or equivalent field will be given due consideration, but it is not a requirement.
Experience:
A minimum of 6 years (with high school diploma) or 3 years (with bachelor’s degree) of progressively responsible administrative or substantive experience working in or directly related to project/programme management on national or international level is required.
Experience in the use of computers, office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) and web-based management systems, and advanced knowledge of spreadsheet and database packages.
Experience in preparation of financial reports and overviews
- Knowledge of monitoring and evaluation tools
- Knowledge of project management processes
- Knowledge of procurement procedures of national / international organizations
- Experience in UN or other international organizations is an asset.
Fluency in English and Kazakh and/or Russian is required.
Equal opportunity
As an equal opportunity employer, UNDP values diversity as an expression of the multiplicity of nations and cultures where we operate and, as such, we encourage qualified applicants from all backgrounds to apply for roles in the organization. Our employment decisions are based on merit and suitability for the role, without discrimination.
UNDP is also committed to creating an inclusive workplace where all personnel are empowered to contribute to our mission, are valued, can thrive, and benefit from career opportunities that are open to all.
Sexual harassment, exploitation, and abuse of authority
UNDP does not tolerate harassment, sexual harassment, exploitation, discrimination and abuse of authority. All selected candidates, therefore, undergo relevant checks and are expected to adhere to the respective standards and principles.
Right to select multiple candidates
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.
Scam alert
UNDP does not charge a fee at any stage of its recruitment process. For further information, please see www.undp.org/scam-alert.