UNDP

New International Personnel Services Agreement (IPSA) Job opportunities at UNDP for Internationals

UN Jobs SpecialistMarch 6, 2024

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Background About International Personnel Services Agreement ! What is IPSA?

The International Personnel Services Agreement (IPSA) is a legal tool established by the United Nations Development Programme to engage individuals to provide time-limited services under a services-based contract. It aims to provide a flexible, cost-effective contractual framework and attractive employment conditions for high-quality individuals. These individuals are not UNDP staff members but are considered affiliate personnel, not subject to UNDP Staff Regulations or national legislation. The IPSA falls within the UNDP Human Resource management framework.

1) Title : Coordination and Reporting Officer IPSA 9

Deadline : 19 March 24, 05:59 AM

Duty Station / Location : Kampala, Uganda

Career 2

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of Work

As a member of the Governance and Peace Strengthening (GPS) team, and under the guidance of the Governance and Peace Team Leader, and direct working arrangements with the Project Manager – BRICK, and collaboration with the Humanitarian, Development Peace Specialist, the Coordination and Reporting Officer provides support in implementation of the UNDP/KOICA BRICK project. S/he will also support day to day implementation interventions within GPS but also aligned with the portfolio arrangement in the implementation of the UNDP Uganda the CPD work closely with the programme units and portfolio’s of work in advancing the principles of leave no one behind and in the context of the portfolio of pipelines that the unit is implementing. S/he supports the formulation, planning and management of initiatives and support the exercise of building knowledge in this area and effective communication in coordination with the communications team.

Support resource mobilization and contribute to the nurturing of strategic partnerships, including with KOICA and other partners:

Contribute to resource mobilization through the development of project proposals to development partners and multilateral funds;
Contribute to the strengthening of strategic partnerships with government, thought leaders, donors, UN entities, and responsible partners to enhance comparative advantage and influence;
Support the development and implementation of partnerships and resource mobilization strategies;
Contribute to the development of relevant documentation on donors and potential opportunities for resource mobilization;
Analyse and research information on donors, prepare substantive briefs on possible areas of cooperation, identification of opportunities for cost sharing;
Strengthen information sharing and coordination with KOICA and RoK and beyond.

Ensure management and implementation select projects:

Planning, implementation, and coordination of the Strategy and interventions for the BRICK project but also more broadly for the programme;
Application of Results Based Management tools and performance indicators;
Programmes/projects appraisal and evaluation according to results- based management requirements;
Management of the portfolio of funds/projects through technical monitoring and administrative and financial supervision;
Operationalizing a monitoring system to track progress on program results and indicators;
Identification of capacity-building needs of partners and recommending strategies of support including ensuring gender responsiveness of the strategies;
Technical assistance, mentoring, training, and capacity development initiatives to partners.

Contribute to Inter-Agency and technical working groups coordination, to achieve a coherent and aligned presence:

Attend meetings, events, and participating in groups and committees as needed;
Support coordination with other UN agencies; government ministries, departments, development partners and responsible partners;
Provide relevant input when needed on key developments and opportunities to develop and strengthen institutional partnerships for addressing displacement and providing durable solutions.

Reporting, knowledge brokering, strategic communications, and the promotion of south-south and triangular cooperation:

Establish and implement standardized project results reporting mechanism and tools;
Support effective and timely reporting to internal and external stakeholders through draft project reports, such as quarterly reports, annual report, and donor-specific reports, capturing in a comprehensive analytical manner project progress against Results Framework; including the documentation of success stories, achievements, lessons learned, risks and issues;
Produce project updates to donors and stakeholders in a timely manner by using the professional writing and formatting requirements;
Assist and participate in the development of project management-related documents and concise reports and power-point presentations for various project meetings and workshops;
Ensure smooth reporting and communication to donors and stakeholders; ensure adherence to donor visibility requirements;
Work closely with project management and the UNDP CO colleagues to ensure timely and accurate response to donor inquiries on project activities including progress update;
Contribute to the development and review of knowledge products;
Proactively contribute to knowledge networks and communities of practice.

Facilitates learning, knowledge management and self-development

Assists the programme unit in capturing, codifying, synthesizing lessons from monitoring, field visits, evaluations and assessments and helps in sharing and accumulating best practices in the governance and peace portfolio;
Facilitates peer reviewing, commenting on, and seeking to improve, the quality of projects, good practices, guidelines, and other documents, as required;
Supports organization of training and workshops for governance and peace portfolio on related subjects;
Participates in events and provides sound contributions to knowledge networks and communities of practice;
Develops and carries out a personal professional development and learning plan as agreed with the supervisor.

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

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

Technical and Cross-functional Competencies:

Business Development: Knowledge Generation: Ability to research and turn information into useful knowledge, relevant for context or responsive to a stated need

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 channels.

Business Direction & Strategy: Business Acumen: Ability to understand and deal with a business situation in a manner that is likely to lead a good outcome; Knowledge and understanding of the operational frameworks in the organization and ability to make good judgments and quick decisions within such framework.

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 fulfill 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 clients’ upcoming needs and concerns.

Programme and Policy: Effectiveness: Programming (PPM) policies and procedures.

Business Management: 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.

Business Direction & Strategy: System Thinking : Ability to use objective problem analysis and judgement to understand how interrelated elements coexist within an overall process or system, and to consider how altering one element can impact on other parts of the system

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Advanced University Degree (master’s degree or equivalent) in Peace and Security Studies, Political Science, Sociology, Public Policy, or related disciplines, OR
A first-level university degree (bachelor’s degree) in the above-mentioned field in combination with an additional two years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

Minimum of 2 years (with master’s degree) or 4 years (with bachelor’s degree) of relevant experience at the national or international level in monitoring evaluation project coordination and/or project management;
Experience in the use of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint etc) and advanced knowledge of web-based management systems such as ERP;
Experience in development-related field, with a strong knowledge and experience of country programme/project management is required.

Desired Skills:

Experience in developing and managing multi-stakeholder partnerships is an asset;
Prior experience working in the UN or other international development organization is an asset;
Experience of monitoring and reporting on human mobility, migration and displacement;
Experience in identifying relevant technical cooperation needs in a development context is desired;
Knowledge of the UNDP or the UN system is desired;
Strong research skills/experience and reporting is desired;
Knowledge/experience of the East Africa region is desired;
Experience/Knowledge of UNDP’s Policies, Rules and Regulations is desired;
Programme/project management certification will be an advantage;
Experience in programme/project management, M&E and reporting;
Experience working in an interdisciplinary team;
Experience/Ability to work inclusively and collaboratively with a range of partners, including grassroots community members, government partners, Civil Society Organizations, faith-based entities, youth organizations;
Experience/Ability to work effectively in a multicultural team of international and national personnel.

Required Language(s):

Fluency in spoken and written English is required;
Working knowledge of any other UN language is an advantage.

APPLY

2) Title : Animation and Video Editor (Retainer contract up to three positions) IPSA 9

Deadline : 11-Mar-24 (Midnight New York, USA)

Duty Station / Location : Home Based

Duties and Responsibilities

Project Description

The Animation + Video Editor is part of the Brand and Marketing Team and will be supervised by the Graphic Design Project Manager of the MSH. He/she will build UNDP’s capacity for animation and video communication products through professional and creative use of photography, videography and animation.

Scope of Work

Responsible for the creation of high-quality videos and photos for UNDP’s communications, marketing and advocacy campaigns;
Collaborate with UNDP teams to create compelling visual and mixed-format multimedia stories and products to achieve communication goals.
Produce high-quality video content (videos, photos, infographics etc) to showcase UNDP’s programmatic work and as content for flagship campaigns and events.
Support the Brand and Marketing team in production of high quality animation video to promote the Annual Report
Support with voiceover production and subtitle generation as needed.

Institutional Arrangement

The Animation + Video Editor will report to Graphic Design Project Manager of the MSH and under the overall supervision of the Brand and Marketing Team Leader. The selected candidate will also be required to liaise with internal requesting teams as needed.

Required Skills and Experience

Master’s Degree or equivalent in animation, photography, film, video production, broadcast journalism or another related field with 2 years work experience or First degree (Bachelor’s degree) in above areas is acceptable with 4 years relevant work experience field.
A minimum of two (2) years with Master’s Degree, and four (4) years with First Degree, of relevant work experience in all aspects of video/animation production including scripting, storytelling, editing, and dissemination;
Proven ability to conceptualize and create animation and video products which follow editorial direction;
Ability to produce, optimize and edit photographs and videos at professional level;

APPLY

3) Title : Digital and Agri-Finance Specialist

Deadline : 11-Mar-24 02:59 PM

Duty Station / Location : Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

Duties and Responsibilities:

The Digital and Agri finance specialist will be responsible for:

Provide technical leadership and guidance in the development and implementation of digital finance and Agri finance strategies, aligned with the objectives of the UNCDF country digital portfolio and the STREIT Program.

The UNCDF team in PNG is engaged in implementing multiple donor-funded projects in digital financial services under its Inclusive Digital Economy (IDE) programme. The Digital and Agri finance specialist will work closely with the country lead and other UNCDF team members to manage a portfolio of these projects including the EU-STREIT programme. This role will include the following responsibilities:

Lead efforts in the identification, development, & implementation of a diverse mix of strong projects within select agricultural value chains & digital finance in alignment with the objectives of the country programme
Lead the technical inputs, coordination, implementation and reporting on progress of UNCDF’s Digital and Agri finance projects and their linkage to UNCDF’s work at national and global level.
Support the design and rollout of digital financial products and services that cater to the specific needs of smallholder farmers, agribusinesses, and other actors in agricultural value chains.
Provide inputs for capacity building, for range of stakeholder in private and public sector through dialogue, workshops/ events at provincial and national level on digital inclusion.
Engage with other relevant state and non-state actors including regulators and government ministries on policy matters to add value to the work within the scope of the UNCDF Country strategy.
Provide technical assistance and capacity building to UNCDF country teams, government counterparts, and other stakeholders to enhance their understanding and utilization of digital finance and Agri finance tool.
Stay updated on emerging trends, innovations, and regulatory frameworks in the digital finance and Agri finance sectors and provide guidance on their potential application within the UNCDF country digital portfolio.
Work closely with the implementation partners to monitor their progress and provide technical support wherever needed.
Assess and recommend appropriate digital platforms, technologies, and interoperable systems to enhance the efficiency, security, and scalability of digital finance and Agri finance interventions.

Policy advocacy: Work with UNCDF Country Lead in facilitating and disseminating research and information to key stakeholders for advocacy on policy and regulatory matters. (10%)

Provide technical support to UNCDF PNG team in tracking the development of an inclusive digital economy in PNG and advising the government in creating a more enabling policy environment for the digitization of the economy.
Assist UNCDF partners (service providers, regulators, funders) through sharing of information and updates on innovation.
Collaborate with national government agencies and other relevant partners to foster partnerships and create an enabling environment for digital financial services and Agri finance.
Support UNCDF country lead in building effective and efficient partnerships at the operational level with major donor agencies to work together in the field of financial inclusion, innovation, and consumer protection.

Monitoring, Evaluation, Knowledge management and Learning: Develop knowledge management and learning products based on insights gained from project implementation and research. (10%)

Contribute to knowledge management and the dissemination of best practices and lessons learned in digital finance and Agri finance across the UNCDF network and relevant platforms.
Effectively utilize the insights obtained from project implementation, research, and stakeholder interactions to develop knowledge products, including research papers and blogs. Press releases and presentations.
Monitor and evaluate the impact and effectiveness of digital finance and Agri finance initiatives, utilizing data-driven insights to inform decision-making and improve program performance.
Conduct knowledge-sharing and learning events like workshops or webinars on innovation in the supply of digital financial products.

Competencies:

Core Competencies:

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

Digital and innovation

Digital inclusion: Knowledge of how digital inclusion works, opportunities and challenges for governments and society.

Digital & Innovation

Alternative finance: Ability to identify potential alternative forms of finance and mobilise them for the purpose of addressing development challenges; Ability to review the skills, capacities, procedures and protocols that are needed to enable new financial mechanisms; Ability to assess the risks, limitations and implications of using new financial mechanisms; Set up the processes and structures to design, testing and implement new financial mechanisms. Managing outreach and stakeholder engagement.

Business Direction & Strategy

Strategic Thinking: Ability to develop effective strategies and prioritized plans in line with UNDP’s objectives, based on the systemic analysis of challenges, potential risks, and opportunities; linking the vision to reality on the ground, and creating tangible solutions; Ability to leverage learning from a variety of sources to anticipate and respond to future trends; to demonstrate foresight to model what future developments and possible ways forward look like for UNDP.
System Thinking: Ability to use objective problem analysis and judgement to understand how interrelated elements coexist within an overall process or system, and to consider how altering one element can impact on other parts of the system.

Business Development

Knowledge Generation: Ability to research and turn information into useful knowledge, relevant for context, or responsive to a stated need.

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 UNCDF strategy and policies.
Project Management: Ability to plan, organize, prioritize and control resources, procedures and protocols to achieve specific goals.

Required Skills and Experience:

Education:

Advanced university degree (master’s degree or equivalent) in economics, social or development studies, business administration, or a related field is required, or
A first-level university degree (Bachelor´s degree) in the areas mentioned above in combination with additional 2 years of qualifying experience, will be given due consideration in lieu of Master´s degree.

Experience:

Minimum 5 years (with Master´s degree) or 7 years (with Bachelor´s degree) of experience working in the digital financial inclusion sector in operations or consulting role, preferably at a senior level.
At least 3 years of professional experience working in the field of agriculture value chains, value chain digitization, or agriculture finance in low-fidelity, low-resource environments is an asset.
Demonstrated project management experience, including multi-tasking to lead and execute multiple time-sensitive projects in parallel is an asset.
Experience in multi-lateral organizations like the UN, WBG, ADB, etc. would be an advantage.
Experience engaging a diverse set of public and private sector stakeholders, regulators, government departments, and industry associations would be preferable.
Experience in the Pacific particularly PNG would be an advantage.
Experience in implementing DFS initiatives in UNCDF focus countries/emerging economies would be an asset.
Open to working with challenging projects in a challenging environment.
Ability to plan, organize, implement, and report on work.
Strong networking, interpersonal, communication, and facilitation skills.
Strong analytical, reporting, and writing abilities skills.
Experience in managing clients and partners—from early-stage companies to mature organizations.
Solution-focused and medium-agnostic, willing to step out of your core skill set or discipline to find the correct solution to a challenge.
Results-driven, problem-solver with structuring and analytic capabilities.
Strong ability to plan and act strategically, even in situations of ambiguity, to develop tangible solutions.
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality, and age sensitivity and adaptability.