UNDP Vacancy for Provincial Programme Coordination Analyst

No. of Vacancy.: 7
Locations: Biratnagar, Janakpur, Hetauda, Pokhara, Surkhet, Dhangadhi, Deukhuri
Job Identification: 20130
Job Schedule: Full time
Agency: UNDP
Grade: NPSA-9
Vacancy Type: National Personnel Service Agreement
Practice Area: Governance
Bureau: Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific
Contract Duration: 1 Year
Required Languages: English and Nepali
Vacancy Timeline: 1 Week
Mobility required/no mobility: no mobility required

Job Description

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.

Nepal adopted a new Constitution in September 2015, with the intent of transforming the then unitary and centralised system of governance into a federal and decentralised one as a vehicle to ensure equality, equity, and social justice. Nepal’s federal system is characterised by three levels of government (federal, provincial, and local) with non-hierarchical relationships within the levels of government. The Constitution stipulates that the three levels shall be the main structures of the Federal, Democratic and Republican Nepal and all levels shall exercise the power of state of Nepal pursuant to the Constitution and law. The powers of the three levels of government are enshrined in five Schedules of the constitution in the form of exclusive and concurrent powers. The federal system of governance became fully functional in February 2018 after all seven province governments were formed following the general election in November 2017.
With an objective to support on the implementation of federalism in Nepal, the Government of Nepal introduced a flagship programme of Provincial and Local Governance Support Programme (2019-2024). Following an initial period of delivery and agreement by GoN, Provinces, stakeholders, and Development Partners that Provincial and Local Governance Support Programme remained necessary and relevant, a decision was taken to extend Provincial and Local Governance Support Programme, with changes necessary to make the programme more effective, efficient, and responsive to the needs of Provincial Local Governments (PLG).

The Provincial and Local Governance Strengthening Programme (PLGSP) 2024-2029 is the national framework programme of the Government of Nepal (GoN) to build institutional, organizational, and individual capacity at all levels of government, with special focus on the provincial and local levels. It aims to attain functional, sustainable, inclusive, and accountable provincial and local governance. Following an initial period of delivery (2019-2023), and agreed by the GoN, Provinces, Development Partners, and other stakeholders, PLGSP will continue for the next five years, with necessary changes to make the programme more effective, efficient, and responsive to the emerging needs of PLGs in advancing federalism in Nepal.

An extensive stakeholder engagement, consultations and re-programming process was undertaken between July 2023 and June 2024 that resulting in a substantial revision in the PLGSP Programme Document (ProDoc). This reprogrammed ProDoc outlines how re-programmed PLGSP emphasizes building the capacity and capability of PLGs’ to deliver on the institutional and individual capacities for advancing federalism in Nepal over the next 5 years. The ProDoc has focused on three outcomes for Federal, Provincial and LG level impacts, each with three related outputs. Three outcomes include:  Outcome 1: Federal level government institutions and inter-governmental mechanisms are fully functional in support of federal governance as per the Constitution; Outcome 2: Provincial governments have efficient, effective, inclusive, and accountable institutions and organizations; Outcome 3: Local governments have capacity for Good Governance and for delivering inclusive basic services to all people. Furthermore, there are 9 outputs against the outcome mentioned. Four cross-cutting thematic streams: (i) Inclusive federalism acts, regulations, policies, and strategies; (ii) Collaboration within and across federal institutions and governments, and civic engagement; (iii) Supportive systems and tools for PLG inclusive federalism capacity; (iv) capacity development and transformation (applied to all 3 levels) have also been defined and articulated well.   The programme considers the broad principles and approaches including focus on federal devolution, transparency, and accountability, embedding transformative gender and diversity/inclusion agenda, human rights based and participatory approach, devolved, contextual and flexible programme design and implementation and adaptive programming. Further, unpacking structural barriers in political institutions, promoting ownership and trust in provincial and local government system and changing power dynamics in government institutions addressing intersectionality are the expected pathways for Gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) transformation in the programme. Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration (MoFAGA) is the executing agency of the GoN for PLGSP in collaboration with the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers Provincial and Local Governments.

UNDP as the partner of PLGSP and Technical Assistance (TA) provider, has been working with the MoFAGA on the implementation of PLGSP since its inception. The TA component of the programme has also been revised accordingly to facilitate the transformation in the behaviours of the authorities towards federalism for inclusive service delivery, it is fully aligned with revised PLGSP incorporating learnings from the earlier TA engagement. The intent of the revised TA is to leverage UNDP’s technical expertise and facilitation role to support positive transformations that enable implementation of federalism in Nepal, ultimately contributing to more inclusive and effective delivery of inclusive services by PLGs to their people especially for the most marginalized and women.

To this effect, TA will support PLGs for their institutional and organizational capacities. The TA support to federal government will help develop and implement necessary laws and policies to strengthen inter-governmental relationships thereby supporting cooperative federalism. To attain the sustainable achievement described above, TA has been categorized into Implementation Support TA (ISTA) and Transformational TA. ISTA focuses more on supporting the governments in the implementation of PLGs thereby building their institutional and individual capacities. Whereas Transformational TA focuses more on supporting behavioural transformation through research and analysis as well as providing high level expertise as needed. Overall, the TA staff (ISTA and Transformational TA) works together in close coordination with each other in overall guidance of respective government and UNDP Country Office

Position Summary:

The position holder has a significant role in PLGSP programme implementation at provincial level through Provincial Programme Support Unit. S/he will be an interface for coordination among the provincial teams, transformational team, MoFAGA, Provincial Research and Training Academy (PRTA) and LGs. The incumbent will be first contact point for PLGSP annual work plans, reporting requirement, supporting PLGSP governance meetings and any other technical support required to deliver on PLGSP at provincial level. S/he will support the provincial programme directors/manager on the overall implementation of the programme.

Duties and Responsibilities

The position contributes primarily to outputs 4,5,6,7,8,9 of the programme.

Provide guidance on the overall management and implementation of outcome two and three of the programme reflected on the programme which are on capacity development of province and local governments:

• Contribute to the Provincial Programme Director (PPD) and Provincial Programme Manager (PPM) to lead in preparing Provincial Annual Strategic Implementation Plan & Budget (PASIPB) and their timely implementation.
• Provide support, develop, and transfer capacities to counterparts in provincial government to develop PASIPB and Provincial Programme Support Unit (PPSU) work plan.
• Ensure timely and effective functioning of provincial programme governing bodies i.e., Provincial Steering Committee (PSC) and Provincial Technical Assistance Committee (PTAC).
• Contribute to develop TA work plan based on the P-ASIPB, plan from the LGs, result tracking & delivery plan and ensure periodic review.
• Develop, review and update provincial level work plans, budgets, and financial plans and ensure their quality.
• Inspire and engage the team to function effectively and efficiently in design and implementation of their assignments and engagement with partners.
• Supervise ISTA staff based in the PPSU except PRTA based staff.

Ensure the effective delivery and quality of the planned results of province and local governments:

• Consolidate financial progress reports submitted by the responsible parties for implementation of programme activities.
• Review and ensure technical soundness and cost effectiveness of project activities.
• Guide and support PPSU to achieve their assigned result areas and it’s coherence to the broader programme work plan.
• Enhance PLG internal and external performance accountability through transparency, learning and people’s voice in line with related result areas.
• Conduct continued review meeting to analyze bottlenecks in the implementation.
• Develop issues/risks with mitigation plan and present it in the technical assistance committee for necessary actions.
• Ensure contracting and quality assurance of local and international experts and service providers, including for baseline, third party monitoring, mid-term and final evaluation.Ensure coordination and partnership with concerned stakeholders and implementing partners at provincial and local level:
• Strengthen coordination between the PPSU and PRTA.
• Ensure programme activities carried out by the provincial governments and local governments are coordinated and aligned with PLGSP outcomes and outputs.
• Support to strengthen coordination and synergy between PLGSP and national and international agencies working at local level on federalism in Nepal including support province to organize wider annual review of PLGSP and other agencies working in governance sector.
• Strengthen network with all the like-minded agencies and organizations to share good practices and learning in governance and federalism.
• Support in establishing partnerships between PLGSP, Parliamentary Support Programme (PSP), Sub-National Governance Programme (SNGP), Provincial
• Support Programme and other projects and Development Partners (DP) at provincial and local level for cross-learning and capture/scaling of good practice.

Strengthening monitoring and reporting against the planned results at of provincial and local level:

• Provide support on monitoring and reporting of P-ASIPB implementation and develop capacities of counterparts accordingly.
• Support to prepare regular progress reports in line with reporting schedules, as well as any other reports requested by Government, development partners other stakeholders, as appropriate.
• Monitor implementation of plans including the gender, social inclusion action plan, stakeholder engagement plan, and any environmental and social management plans.

Strengthen GESI work through Provincial Programme Interventions:

• Ensure that GESI is mainstreamed in all result areas of the project and targeted interventions planned and implemented to promote inclusive governance and federalism in provincial and local level.
• Provide support to the team members to establish a system to collect gender disaggregated data, impact stories and results benefiting male, female, people with disabilities, gender and sexual minorities, and other marginalized groups.
• Ensure GESI is adequately captured in programme progress reports, baseline survey and final evaluation.
• Support to create a safe and enabling working environment by developing respectful and safe organizational culture.
• Ensure zero tolerance for sexual harassment, sexual exploitation, and abuse of authority.
• Collaborate with team members, programme partners, and sub-grantees to ensure timely implementation of programmes at the community level applying Do No Harm approach.

Other:

• The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organisation.
• Strictly comply with the policies, strategies, code of conduct, guidelines on Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA).
• Strict compliance with the rules, regulations and policies of Governance and UNDP related to ethics and integrity.

Competencies

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 competencies:

• UNDP People Management Competencies can be found in the dedicated site.
• Cross-Functional & Technical competencies:

Business Management

• Project Management: Ability to plan, organize, prioritize, and control resources, procedures, and protocols to achieve specific goals
• 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 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
• Effective Decision Making: Ability to take decisions in a timely and efficient manner in line with one’s authority, area of expertise and resources

Finance

• Budget management: Ability to support budgetary aspects of work planning process, drawing and management of team budgets

2030 Agenda : People

• 2030 Agenda : People: Gender Mainstreaming

2030 Agenda : Peace

• Governance: Inclusion and Participation

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Advanced university degree (master’s degree or equivalent) in Public Administration/ Management, Rural Development, International Relations, Political Science, Social Science or other relevant area. Or
• A first-level university degree (bachelor’s degree) in the areas mentioned above combination with an additional two years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree

Experience:

• Minimum 2 years of experience (with master’s degree) or 4 years (with bachelor’s degree) in programme/project management, local governance and federalism,
• Government-led programmes in development context is required.
• Additional experience in the above area will be an added advantage
• Experience in Result based planning and reporting is required.
• Proven experience in Team management is required.
• Excellent knowledge of MS Office (Word, Excel, Power Point etc.) and web-based management and analytical tools is required.
• Experience in coordination with government agencies and facilitating dialogue among different stakeholders such as citizens, CSOs, etc. to promote inclusive federalism is required.
• Experience in planning, monitoring and knowledge management is required.
• Experience in the preparation of donors´ or other technical and financial reports is required
• Knowledge of and familiarity with UNDP/Development sector policies and procedures and operating knowledge of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is an asset.
• Experience in monitoring and results tracking skills is desired.
• Knowledge and experience in policy advocacy with government and other partners with national and international stakeholders to promote inclusive federalism and/or local governance is desired.
• Experience of strategic engagement, partnership with government and development partners is desirable.
• Experience working with the federal agencies of the government is desirable.
• Knowledge and experience in promoting GESI for evidence-based policy formulation, advocacy and inclusive local governance is desired

Required languages:

• Fluency in English and Nepali language is required.
• Knowledge of any national language of the above duty station will be an added advantageDisclaimer

Important information for US Permanent Residents (‘Green Card’ holders)

Under US immigration law, acceptance of a staff position with UNDP, an international organization, may have significant implications for US Permanent Residents. UNDP advises applicants for all professional level posts that they must relinquish their US Permanent Resident status and accept a G-4 visa, or have submitted a valid application for US citizenship prior to commencement of employment.

UNDP is not in a position to provide advice or assistance on applying for US citizenship and therefore applicants are advised to seek the advice of competent immigration lawyers regarding any applications.

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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