Programme Specialist - IPSA 10

Mid Senior

Contract

This is a IPSA-10 contract. This kind of contract is known as International Personnel Services Agreement. It is normally internationally recruited only. It usually requires 5 years of experience, depending on education. More about IPSA-10 contracts.

Background

Instructions to Applicants: Click on the "Apply now" button. Input your information in the appropriate Sections: personal information, language proficiency, education, resume and motivation. Upon completion of the first page, please hit "submit application" tab at the end of the page. Please ensure that CV or P11 and the Cover letter are combined in one file.

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 experience, such as reports, presentations, publications, campaigns or other materials.

Office/Unit/Project Description

UNDP is the knowledge frontier organization for sustainable development in the UN Development System and serves as the integrator for collective action to realize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UNDP's policy work carried out at HQ, Regional and Country Office levels, forms a contiguous spectrum of deep local knowledge to cutting-edge global perspectives and advocacy. In this context, UNDP invests in the Global Policy Network (GPN), a network of field-based and global technical expertise across a wide range of knowledge domains and in support of the signature solutions and organizational capabilities envisioned in the Strategic Plan.

Within the GPN, the Bureau for Policy and Programme Support (BPPS) has the responsibility for developing all relevant policy and guidance to support the results of UNDP's Strategic Plan. BPPS's staff provides technical advice to Country Offices, advocates for UNDP corporate messages, represents UNDP at multi-stakeholder fora including public-private dialogues, government and civil society dialogues, and engages in UN inter-agency coordination in specific thematic areas. BPPS works closely with UNDP's Crisis Bureau (CB) to support emergency and crisis response. BPPS ensures that issues of risk are fully integrated into UNDP's development programmes.

UNDP is a founding cosponsor of the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), a partner of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, and a co-sponsor of several other international health partnerships. UNDP’s work on HIV, health and development, as described in the HIV, Health and Development Strategy 2022-2025: Connecting the Dots, leverages UNDP’s core strengths and mandates in human development, governance and capacity development to complement the efforts of specialist health-focused UN agencies. UNDP delivers three types of support to countries in HIV, health and development.

First, UNDP helps countries to mainstream attention to HIV and health into action on gender, poverty and the broader effort to achieve and sustain the Sustainable Development Goals.

Second, UNDP works with partners to address the interactions between governance, human rights and health responses. Sometimes this is done through focused or specialized programmes, such as promoting attention to the role of the law and legal environments in facilitating stronger HIV responses, including the use of flexibilities in intellectual property law to lower the cost of medicines and diagnostics.

Third, as a trusted, long-term partner with extensive operational experience, UNDP supports countries in effective implementation of complex, multilateral and multi-sectoral health and development projects, while simultaneously investing in capacity development so that national and local partners can assume these responsibilities over time.

UNDP’s Partnership with the Global Fund

UNDP’s partnership with the Global Fund is an important part of this work, facilitating access to resources for action on SDG 3 by countries that face constraints in directly receiving and managing such funding. UNDP partners with countries in crisis/post-crisis situations, those with weak institutional capacity or governance challenges, and countries under sanctions. When requested, UNDP acts as interim Principal Recipient (PR) in these settings, working with national partners and the Global Fund to improve management, implementation and oversight of Global Fund grants, while simultaneously developing national capacity to be able to assume the Principal Recipient role over time. Health product procurement and supply chain management support are an integral part of UNDP’s PR role and also providing development solutions and support services that UNDP provides for the implementation of large and complex health and development programmes. UNDP’s partnership with the Global Fund and other health partners (eg GAVI) is overseen by the Global Fund Health Implementation Support Team (GF/HIST), HIV and Health Group, BPPS/GPN. . The GF/HIST provides its support to COs through a country team approach to strengthen and integrate the different functional capacities, leveraging technical assistance and policy support from the HIV and Health Group and other GPN teams and advisory services from the Office of Audit and Investigations (OAI).

The COVID-19 pandemic is a critical issue for UNDP. It is as much a health and development emergency as it is a human security crisis. In order to deliver on its mission eradicating poverty, reducing inequalities and building resilience to crisis and shocks, UNDP must help countries to urgently and effectively respond to COVID-19 in the context of the 2030 Agenda.

Under the overall supervision of the GF/HIST Deputy Manager, the Programme Specialist shall play a key role in the thematic area of Programme support in providing technical support services to UNDP Country Offices (COs) implementing health programmes through the country team approach. The Programme Specialist will work in close collaboration with COs, Regional Bureaus (including Hubs), Bureau of Management Services, Legal Office, OAI, Global Fund, and other health stakeholders (e.g., GAVI, GDF, WHO, UNICEF, WFP).

Institutional Arrangement

The Programme Specialist will work under the direct supervision of a Programme Specialist, GF/HIST.

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of Work

• Provide timely and quality technical advice, support and guidance to UNDP Country Offices in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of Global Fund-financed grants in line with UNDP’s rules, regulations, policies and procedures.
• Prepare and advise on the development of funding requests, grant agreements, work plans, budgets, monitoring and evaluation plans, technical assistance plans, risk maps, implementation plans, for the grant life cycle.
• Continuous review of UNDP’s rules, regulations, policies and procedures and impact on the compliance of UNDP’s grant agreement with the Global Fund, Gavi and financing agreements with government.
• Review programmatic and financial progress reports, and provide timely and high quality advice to ensure the reports are of a high quality before submission to the Global Fund
• Support the mainstreaming of human rights and gender interventions in Global Fund grants and other health and development programmes in coordination with the HIV, Health and Development Group, technical partners, civil society organizations, and private sector
• Develop and advice on performance-based monitoring and evaluation frameworks for Global Fund grants, including defining baseline, output, coverage and impact indicators in line with WHO guidelines, and setting performance-targets based on epidemiological and other relevant programmatic data.
• Support Country Offices in the development of risk logs and risk mitigation measures, and support to Country Offices through the audit and investigation process (Office of Audit and Investigations (OAI), Office of Inspector General) and ensure timely follow up of audit recommendations and findings and support to analyzing recurring issues and corrective actions in coordination with the Country Team.
• Provide technical advisory policy support, guidance and advocacy to Country Offices in the development of capacity support strategies aimed at assisting governments and national entities in the implementation of Global Fund grants and other health and development projects in coordination with other health and development partners;
• Develop and maintain systematic engagement with the Global Fund, Gavi and other partners to ensure UNDP’s effective engagement as a key partner including, on human rights, key populations and gender aspects of disease responses at strategic, policy and programme levels;
• Under the guidance of the Programme Specialist, mobilizes, fosters and strengthens strategic partnerships, including with UN entities and other relevant bodies, private sector at international and regional level and provide inputs to those partnerships in support of UNDP’s partnership with the Global Fund and other health and development partners.
• Institutionalize best practices and knowledge sharing among Country Offices and actively participate in UNDP and other relevant networks (e.g., Yammer, communities of practice), social media and contribute to briefings for Organizational Performance Group, regional review meetings, briefing notes, and knowledge sharing, training events and contribute to revision and enhancement of online Manuals;
• Provides inputs to UNDP’s global knowledge management initiatives on programme and reporting evidence-based development results, develops guidance materials, tools and trainings;
• Synthesis of lessons learned and sharing of best practices in programme management, through conducting survey(s), research, case studies, crowd sourcing through online portals.
• Supports the maintenance of roster of Programme experts and supports the GF/HIST Deputy Manager and COs in recruitment processes, including the development of terms of reference, screening, interview panels, etc;
• Any other duty assigned by the Programme Specialist

Competencies

Expected Demonstration of 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 and 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

Thematic Area

Name

Definition

Business Direction and Strategy

Negotiation and Influence

Ability to reach an understanding, persuade others, resolve points of difference, gain advantage in the outcome of dialogue, negotiate mutually acceptable solutions through compromise and create ‘win-win’ situations

Business Development

Knowledge Facilitation

Ability to animate individuals and communities of contributors to participate and share, particularly externally

Business Management

Project Management

Ability to plan, organise, prioritise and control resources, procedures and protocols to achieve specific goals

Business Management

Risk Management

Ability to identify and organise action around mitigating and proactively managing risks

Business Management

Results-based management

Ability to manage programmes and projects with a focus on improved performance and demonstrable results

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

Health

HIV/AIDs

Knowledge of access to treatment and quality services, policy and principles and strategic and/or practical situations for communicable and non-communicable diseases

Required Skills and Experience

Min. Academic Education

• A Master’s in the area of Public Health, Law, Development Studies or other relevant field.

OR

• A Bachelor’s degree in the area of Public Health, Law, Development Studies or other relevant discipline with 2 additional years of relevant experience may be considered in lieu of a Master’s degree.
• A Master’s in public health is an asset.

Min. years of relevant Work experience

• 5 years of relevant experience in management of health projects with a UN, governmental, or civil society organization with a Master’s degree or 7 years with a Bachelor’s degree.

Required skills and competencies

• Experience in developing proposals for health programmes, including budgets, workplans and performance-based monitoring and evaluation frameworks.

Desired additional skills and competencies

• Strong knowledge of Global Fund’s rules, policies and procedures is an asset.
• Work experience in a developing country is an asset.
• Strong knowledge of UN and/or UNDP’s rules, policies and procedures is an asset.
• Capacity building of national counterparts.
• Experience in developing and managing multi-stakeholder partnerships is an asset.
• Experience in providing technical advice to national health programmes is an asset.

Required Language(s) (at working level)

• Fluency in both English and French.

Apply now

Added 1 year ago - Updated 1 year ago - Source: jobs.undp.org