Project Officer - CSO Engagement

Information

Common information

Background

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion are core principles at UNDP:  we value diversity as an expression of the multiplicity of nations and cultures where we operate, we foster inclusion as a way of ensuring all personnel are empowered to contribute to our mission, and we ensure equity and fairness in all our actions. Taking a ‘leave no one behind’ approach to our diversity efforts means increasing representation of underserved populations. People who identify as belonging to marginalized or excluded populations are strongly encouraged to apply. Learn more about working at UNDP including our values and inspiring stories.

UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Civil society is one of the strongest democratic institutions in Kyrgyzstan. The National Statistic Committee at the end of 2020 recorded 27,197 CSOs, of which 270 constitute political parties, and 1,821 mass media. In Kyrgyzstan, there is a need for CSO development and their meaningful engagement across development sectors, where civil society, being a pillar of the democratic system, serves a number of important functions that span different peacebuilding themes and institutions such as the inclusive governance, democracy, the rule of law, justice and human rights, freedom of expressions and civic engagement, voice and participation. CSOs also serve as intermediaries (insider mediators) among different parties during conflict and/or crisis situations and advocacy agents by monitoring and pushing the local authorities to fulfill obligations to its citizens and therefore bridge together various stakeholders in conflict prevention as well as fills in and create some checks-and-balances in response to gaps in policy implementation at the local level.

In order to strengthen national capacities for conflict prevention and peacebuilding, UNDP implements a number of initiatives aimed at civil society development and meaningful engagement for trust-building and social cohesion by bridging together public and municipal institutions, civil organizations and media, enabling inclusive and accountable decision-making as well as inter-group dialogue.

The current assignment will play a pivotal role in supporting implementation UNDP initiatives aiming at enhancing civil society institutional development and fostering its meaningful engagement. 

Qualification requirements

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Master’s degree (or equivalent) in social science, preferably in a field related to governance and development, peacebuilding, conflict prevention and other relevant fields (e.g. economics, law, sociology, international relations or political science) is required.
• Bachelor's degree in combination with an additional 2 years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration in lieu of the Master’s degree.

Experience:

• Minimum 2 years (with Master´s degree) or 4 years (with Bachelor´s degree) of progressive working experience in the design, management and/or implementation of complex development projects in governance/conflict prevention/peacebuilding/civil society engagement or other related fields is required.

Languages:

• Fluency in English and Russian is required. 
• Knowledge of Kyrgyz is an asset.

Required skills:

• Experience in the use of computers, office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc), and in handling web-based management systems such as ERP.

Desired skills:

• Solid experience in project management (design, implementation, coordination, monitoring and evaluation of development projects), in coordination with multi-stakeholders and in establishing relationships among partners.
• Proven experience in partnering with and engaging civil society organizations.
• Experience in joint UN programme/project management, implementation and/or oversight and reporting is highly desirable;
• Experience in overseeing and evaluating small value grants calls for proposals and projects is an asset

Core competencies:

• 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:

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

Cross Functional and Technical competencies:

• 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 and 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
• Business Management - Results-based Management
  • Ability to manage programmes and projects with a focus at improved performance and demonstrable results
• Business Management - Project Management
  • Ability to plan, organize, prioritize and control resources, procedures and protocols to achieve specific goals
• 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 - 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
• External Relations & Advocacy - 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

Duties

Duties and Responsibilities

Project Management and Coordination:

• Coordinating and overseeing the “Strengthening national capacities for conflict prevention and peacebuilding: Meaningful civil society engagement for trust-building and social cohesion” Project funded by the PBF and other initiatives aiming at civil society development and meaningful engagement.
• Develop annual work plan and budget and ensure that the proposed activities are aligned with overall project objectives, country programme and strategic plan.
• Coordinate execution of the workplan to achieve the targets, including guiding the teams to achieve the targets.
• Monitor the implementation of the activities by partners and provide guidance to them as required.
• Coordinate preparation of progress reports for the donor and other partners if required. 
• Develop terms of reference of required consultants, participate in the recruitment/tender process.
• Coordinate with different teams to develop Letters of Agreement, Memorandums of Understanding, Low Value Grants etc..
• Overseeing relevant team members and consultants to ensure quality control their outputs and performance, 
• Contribute to the preparation of Board meetings and ensure that recommendations made by the Project Board are addressed.
• Coordinate the project evaluation, audit, and spot-check as needed.

Managing relationships, partnerships, policy, and advocacy efforts: 

• Provide policy and strategic advice relating to civil society development and engagement to senior management and teams to strengthen and scale up the partnership with the key counterparts, and foster/enhance collaboration with other relevant partners by building synergies and complementarities.
• Contribute to seek and identify additional partnership and funding opportunities, and support development of concept notes, funding proposals, donor briefings and presentations in support of resource mobilization. 
• Mobilize, foster and strengthen strategic partnerships with civil society and other relevant multilateral and bilateral organizations to advance and support relevant objectives. 
• Establish strong ties with national programmes, and relevant sectoral strategies, priorities and plans.
• Lead the analytical and policy development work of the team. 

Coordinating monitoring and evaluation activities of the projects/initiatives under his/her portfolio: 

• Ensure close financial and procurement oversight and monitoring of all activities of the projects/initiatives.
• Set direction for monitoring and evaluation priorities in accordance with UNDP rules and regulations.
• Guide development of overall monitoring and evaluation systems for the projects/initiatives and put mechanisms in place for proper and timely reporting.
• Lead regular project reviews by monitoring the progress of project implementation, assessing results and identifying areas of weaknesses to ensure the projects achieve the planned results in accordance with relevant plans.
• Monitor and manage any strategic risks/issues facing the project; submit new risks/issues to the Board for consideration and decision on possible actions if required; update the status of these risks/issues by maintaining the Project Risks/Issues Log.
• Evaluate all key project deliverables, as well as final product to ensure traceability of requirements, high quality and client acceptance.

Facilitating knowledge management and sharing: 

• Ensure regular assessment of strategic, implementation, action plans identifying areas of emphasis to guide project improvements and future plans.
• Use sound judgment in all project communication and ensure that project communication meets needs of different audiences. 
• Participate in communication activities to inform stakeholders of progress and issues.
• Establish and maintain a friendly internal communication system to ensure smooth communication among and between the project partners. 
• Lead the process of knowledge creation and dissemination related to national, regional and global know-how in the areas of project focus.
• Help build the knowledge base, data, and support analytics.
• Contribute to the development and maintenance of the programme knowledge networks and practices and development of knowledge products.

Institutional Arrangement

The Project Analyst will work under the direct supervision of the Team Leader of UNDP Governance/Social Cohesion Cluster and in close collaboration with Senior Adviser on Social Cohesion. 

Conditions

Disclaimer

Applicant information about UNDP rosters

Note: 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.

Non-discrimination

UNDP has a zero-tolerance policy towards sexual exploitation and misconduct, sexual harassment, and abuse of authority. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles.  

UNDP is an equal opportunity and inclusive employer that does not discriminate based on race, sex, gender identity, religion, nationality, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy, age, language, social origin or other status. 

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