Project Officer, Urban Resilience Project (Myanmar Nationals Only)

Contract

This is a NPSA-9 contract. This kind of contract is known as National Personnel Services Agreement. It is normally only for nationals. It usually requires 2 years of experience, depending on education. More about NPSA-9 contracts.

Background

UNDP, as the United Nations lead agency on international development, works in 170 countries and territories to eradicate poverty and reduce inequality. We help countries to develop policies, leadership skills, partnering abilities, institutional capabilities, and to build resilience to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

After a decade of strong economic growth, political setbacks coupled with the impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic, threaten Myanmar’s chances of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Building resilience among the most vulnerable to future shocks—economic, health, conflict and climate induced—while addressing immediate needs is at the heart of the humanitarian-development-peace nexus approach that underpins the new UNDP strategy in Myanmar. To address the multiple forms of vulnerability that local communities in Myanmar are currently facing, UNDP has developed an integrated Community First Programme (CFP) portfolio. The Urban resilience Project (URP) is one of the area-based focus project under CFP.

The Urban Resilience Project is a UN joint programme with the participating agencies UNDP, UN-Habitat and UN Women. The project aims to address some of the most prevalent urban poverty issues in the selected townships in Yangon. These include access to reliable, safe drinking water, improved health services (WASH), climate resilient basic urban infrastructure including drainage, access roads and paths, supporting Micro and Small Enterprise development as well improving income generation and employment opportunities.

In view of the increasing urbanisation in Myanmar and in particular in and around Yangon, interventions targeting the urban poor and vulnerable people inhabiting in slums and informal settlements is expected to positively shape the Yangon city sustainable inclusive economic growth, improve access to basic urban services and resilient infrastructure, address income inequality, promote employment.

While the joint programme will have a joint implementation team, this is a UNDP specific position whereby the project officer’s role will be to support the UNDP side of implmention until the joint team is in place. Thereafter, s/he will serve as the liaison from between UNDP and the joint implementation team and working closely will undertake preliminary assurance function of the activities being conducted and the finances being contributed from UNDP side.

Duties and Responsibilities

Overall Interim Project Management

• Ensure continued implementation of UNDP activities in urban townships until the joint porgramme is launched and the joint implementation team is in place.
• Coordinate the annual work planning process with CO.
• Develop annual work plan, monitoring plan, human resources and procurement plans.
• Monitor work plan implementation, ensures it is on track, and supports resolution of bottlenecks working with CO units as required.
• Work closely with Implementing Partners(IPs).

Project monitoring, reporting and risk management

• Maintain regular contact with project and programme counterparts in order to ensure monitoring of projects progress, monitoring of unit work plans, programme effectiveness and achievement of results.
• Prepare the Project Progress Report (progress against planned activities, update on Risks and Issues, expenditures) and submit the report to the Project Management Team.
• Ensure timely submission of financial and activity progress reports to donors and other stakeholders as relevant.
• Develop annual project M&E plan for monitoring of indicator progress and M&E activities plan , including budget, timeline to ensure that the project progress is on track.
• Risk Management through monitoring the project risks initially identified, identify new risks if required and update the status of these risks by maintaining the Project Risks Log.

Liasion, partnerships and coordination with external and internal partners

• Serve as point person for UNDP led activities in joint programme.
• Work closely with Joint team, Chief Technical Advisor (CTA) and other UN Agencies.
• Coordinate with participating agencies to ensure that expected outputs are delivered in timey manner.
• Closely liaise with the teams for programme results to ensure coherence and synergy.
• Build relationships with other UN agencies and build upon common activities to ensure maximum impact of project activities.

Operational support for project implementation

• Ensure project is implemented in compliance with UNDP Human Resources Guidelines, Procurement Guideline and financial requirements.
• Ensure that project is executed according to work plans and within established budgets
• Regularly review budget and delivery and revise budget as required.
• Manage requests for the provision of financial resources by UNDP, using advance of funds, direct payments, or reimbursement using the FACE (Fund Authorization and Certificate of Expenditures) form.

Knowledge building and management

• Identify and synthesize best practices and lessons learned and ensures that lessons learned from projects are captured and recorded into the CO knowledge networks.
• Make sound contributions to knowledge networks and communities of practice including corporate communications repositories.
• Coordinate and ensure integration in project design the development of policies, institutions and advocacy that will address the country problems and needs in collaboration with the other strategic partners.

Competencies

Core

Achieve Results:

LEVEL 2: Scale up solutions and simplifies processes, balances speed and accuracy in doing work

Think Innovatively:

LEVEL 2: Offer new ideas/open to new approaches, demonstrate systemic/integrated thinking

Learn Continuously:

LEVEL 2: Go outside comfort zone, learn from others and support their learning

Adapt with Agility:

LEVEL 2: Adapt processes/approaches to new situations, involve others in change process

Act with Determination:

LEVEL 2: Able to persevere and deal with multiple sources of pressure simultaneously

Engage and Partner:

LEVEL 2: Is facilitator/integrator, bring people together, build/maintain coalitions/partnerships

Enable Diversity and Inclusion:

LEVEL 2: Facilitate conversations to bridge differences, considers in decision making

People Management (Insert below standard sentence if the position has direct reports.)

UNDP People Management Competencies can be found in the dedicated site.

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies (insert up to 7 competencies)

Thematic Area

Name

Definition

Business Direction & Strategy

Effective Decision Making

• Ability to take decisions in a timely and efficient manner in line with one’s authority, area of expertise and resources

Business Direction & Strategy

Negotiation and Influence

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

Business Management

Partnerships Management

• Ability to build and maintain partnerships with wide networks of stakeholders, Governments, civil society and private sector partners, experts, and others in line with UNDP strategy and policies

Business Management

Risk Management

• Ability to identify and organize action around mitigating and proactively managing risks

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 channel.

Business Direction & Strategy

Business Acumen

• Ability to understand and deal with a business situation in a manner that is likely to lead to a good outcome
• Knowledge and understanding of the operational frameworks in the organization and ability to make good judgments and quick decisions within such frameworks

Required Skills and Experience

Minimum Education requirements

• Master’s or Bachelor Degree in Development Studies, Political Science,Economics, Environmental Science, Social Sciences, Public Administration, or related field.

Min. years of relevant work experience

• Minimum of 2 years with Master’s degree or 4 years with Bachelor degree of progressively responsible experience in programme/project management in international development organizations, bilateral development agencies and/or international NGOs. ·
• Experience of working with UNDP or another UN agency would be an asset. ·
• Proven ability to work effectively in multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural teams.
• Proven programme management including coordination, financial management, Risk management
• Strong interpersonal and written and oral communication skills

Required Language(s)

• Proficiency in English, both written and oral.
• Working knowledge of other UN language is desirable