Back Regional Project Associate

Background
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UNDP is the UN's global development network and assists countries to build and share solutions to the challenges of globalization and human development. UNDP’s support to countries on climate change and disaster resilience is shaped by three important global agreements: the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, the Sendai Framework on Disaster Risk Reduction, and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. UNDP works with countries to help them reduce greenhouse gases and advance a long-term goal of zero-carbon development. At the same time, we work together with partners to adapt to the impacts of climate change, enhance access to clean energy, reduce the risk of disasters and, where needed, support resilient disaster recovery. Taken all together, these efforts are the path towards sustainable development that is risk-informed, zero-carbon and resilient.

The Central Asia region has a long history of disaster impacts, which on average cost $10 billion in estimated economic losses and affect more than 3 million people annually. The region has a complex risk profile, with growing impacts of climate change, high environmental degradation, and pollution, conflicts, as well as new and emerging security risks and threats. The population of the region, especially in urban areas, is highly exposed to the impacts of these hazards, and urbanization is outpacing risk reduction and adaptation efforts of governments in the region.

The project “Enhancing Urban Resilience to Disaster Risk and Climate Change in Central Asia” (hereinafter “the project”) is funded by the Government of Japan and expected to be implemented by UNDP in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The overall objective of the project is to support all five Central Asian countries in building climate resilience, focusing on urban areas. The project will specifically focus on enhancing regional cooperation and partnership through the existing coordination platforms, while introducing innovative approaches in urban planning based on practical experiences from other countries, including Japan.

New approaches to integrated climate and disaster risk assessment will transform urban planning from resilience lenses, while considering future intensity and magnitude of natural hazards due to the changing climate. Knowledge base and capacity building efforts will be institutionalized in the region to ensure sustainability of interventions beyond the project cycle. The project will promote a people-centred, gender sensitive and climate risk-informed holistic approach to break siloes in urban planning efforts.

The Regional Project Associate will be based in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Reporting to the Regional Project Manager (also based in Almaty), the Regional Project Associate will work closely with UNDP Istanbul Regional Hub (IRH) and UNDP Kazakhstan staff, as well as with national project teams in all five UNDP programme countries responsible for the implementation of the project: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

The Regional Project Associate will be responsible for providing financial, operational, and administrative services related to the project, in coordination with national teams in all five programme countries, as well as UNDP IRH. Key responsibilities include managing project finances and budgets, supporting event management, procurement and implementation, and offering additional administrative and operational support as needed, in line with UNDP’s Programme and Operations Policies and Procedures (POPP).
 

Duties and Responsibilities

Project Management Unit (PMU) will be established and hosted by UNDP Country Office in Kazakhstan and co-located in Almaty to support project planning and implementation of activities on daily basis. PMU will be led by a full time Regional Project Manager (RPM) reporting to the IRH Regional Programme Chief, with matrix reporting to the Climate and Disaster Resilience Team Leader in Istanbul, and will be supported by a Regional Project Associate, and Chief Technical Advisor.

The Regional Project Associate will report directly to the Regional Project Manager based in Almaty, Kazakhstan, and work in close day-to-day collaboration with UNDP IRH and UNDP Kazakhstan staff, as well as with operations, programme, and project teams in all five UNDP COs to ensure the efficient implementation of the project. 

As described above, the Regional Project Associate will be responsible for providing operational and administrative support related to the project, in coordination with national teams in all five programme countries, as well as the IRH. The key responsibility of the Regional Project Associate is to provide full support for the implementation of project activities and ensure smooth and uninterrupted performance of functions, in line with the following tasks:

Support the project team to ensure effective financial services, 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. 
• In coordination with the Regional Project Manager, support mainstreaming gender equality and digital solutions in the project implementation along with other requirements of the ProDoc, including in data collection and compilation. Prepare relevant background materials for use in discussions, briefings, and correspondence.
• Conduct regular reviews and financial analyses of project implementation, coordinating financial flows and fund allocations across all five programme country offices (COs) and the IRH. Support the preparation of financial reports to donors, ensuring compliance with specific agreement requirements.
• Oversee the allocation and utilization of project resources, including equipment and materials, ensuring they are used effectively and efficiently to support project objectives.
• Monitor project expenditures, identify incorrect charges, and coordinate with country offices to make necessary corrections. Ensure timely settlement of outstanding project obligations, clean-up of negative balances, and reconciliation of advances.
• Support sound resource management through budget planning, resource allocation, and expenditure control in accordance with UNDP rules and regulations. Review and analyze budget implementation on an ongoing basis, initiating and processing budget revisions as necessary.
• Develop supporting documents for entering project-related information in Quantum, including Annual Work Plans (AWPs). Assist in developing detailed project budgets for all activities and outputs, preparing budget revisions jointly with the project manager. Monitor the project budget in terms of expenditures according to the work plan and donor requirements, and assist in preparing monthly, quarterly, and yearly expenditure reports.

  Support partnerships and event management:

  • In coordination with the Regional Project Manager, establish and maintain contacts and cooperation with the relevant UN Agencies, government institutions, NGOs, tertiary institutions, donors, partners, and other relevant stakeholders in the region. Provide support in updating the database of the relevant public and development partners, and other stakeholders who are counterparts for the project.
  • In coordination with the Regional Project Manager, ensure regular communication and coordination with all five UNDP programme countries and support partnership as required to facilitate the regional project implementation. 
  • Facilitate timely extensions and modifications of donor and partnership agreements as needed, ensuring that all changes are documented and communicated effectively.
  • Provide administrative and logistical support to ensure successful project delivery that includes organizing/coordinating project events/activities and selecting appropriate venues, coordinating project procurement procedures, maintaining project records and files, recruiting project team members, and supporting contracting activities, amongst others.

    Provide support to the effective monitoring, evaluation, and reporting on progress of project implementation:

    • In close coordination with the IRH Quality Assurance team, the Regional Project Manager and UNDP IRH, 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.
    • Ensure an effective support in the organizing 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.
    • Assist the project manager in preparing the necessary documentation required by the POPP for engaging partners in delivering services through various programmatic instruments, such as Responsible Party Agreements and low-value grants and others.
    • In collaboration with IRH and national teams in all five countries, collaborate with project personnel to assist in the development of a comprehensive procurement plan for the project, ensuring alignment with project objectives and timelines.

      Support knowledge building and knowledge sharing for the 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 all five programme countries and regionally. Keep pulse on emerging best practices nationally, regionally, and internationally that relate to the work of the 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. 
          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 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    Business Management  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  Business Management  Digital Awareness and Literacy  Ability to monitor new and emerging technologies, as well as understand their usage, potential, limitations, impact, and added value. Ability to rapidly and readily adopt and use new technologies in professional activities, and to empower others to UNDP | People for 2030 – Competency Framework – Cross-functional Competencies (2024) use them as needed. Knowledge of the usage of digital technologies and emerging trends 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 strategy. Look for ways to add value beyond clients’ immediate requests. Ability to anticipate client’s upcoming needs and concerns.  Business Management  Communication   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 Business Management  Monitoring & Evaluation  Ability to systematically monitor results of strategies, programmes, and activities with a view to make sure that they are being implemented effectively; Ability to provide managers and key stakeholders with regular feedback and reporting on the consistency or discrepancy between planned activities and programme management and results. Ability to make independent judgment of the management and results of strategies, programmes and activities based on set criteria and benchmark, keeping in mind the needs and concerns of client, current and upcoming. Knowledge and understanding of monitoring and evaluation frameworks, concepts, methodologies, systems, processes, and tools. Ability to make an independent judgement based on set criteria and benchmarks. Ability to anticipate client's upcoming needs and concerns. Finance Budget management  Ability to support budgetary aspects of work planning process, drawing and management of team budgets  Procurement 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 (bachelor’s degree or equivalent) in Finance, Economics, Management, Environmental Sciences, Business Administration, International Relations, or any related field will be given due consideration, but is not a requirement.
            Experience:
          • Minimum of  7 years (with secondary education) or 4 years (with Bachelor’s degree) of progressively responsible administrative or project experience is required within international or national foreign projects or organizations.

            Required skills:

            • 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.
            • Proven experience with donor reporting.
            • Experience with financial management and reporting.

              Desired skills:

              • Experience with the international organizations including the UN System would be an asset.
              • Experience in organizations of joint events with the Government and/or subordinate organizations, as well as with international organizations, is desired.
              • Professional experience in ECIS region (Central Asia), and particularly knowledge of environment, disaster risk reduction, resilience and urban issues is desired.

                Languages:

                • Fluency in English and Russian and/or Kazakh is required. 
                • Knowledge of any other Central Asian language will be considered as an asset.   Disclaimer
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