The Directorate of Technical Cooperation and Sustainable Industrial Development (TCS), headed by a Managing Director, oversees the Organization’s development of capacities for industrial development as well as industrial policy advice, statistics and research activities and the Organization’s normative contribution to Member States and global development community in achieving the SDGs. The Directorate also ensures the application of strategies and interventions for sustainable industrial development related to Environment, Energy, SMEs, Competitiveness, and Job creation, as well as Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence. Through coordination in-house and with Member States and industry stakeholders, it ensures that the services provided in these areas contribute toward effective and appropriate technical, business, and policy solutions and are focused on results and on realizing any potential for scaling up and positioning UNIDO as a leading platform for industrial development in developing countries and global fora.

The Directorate houses the technical Divisions of Capacity Development and Industrial Policy Advice (TCS/CAP); Circular Economy and Environmental Protection (TCS/CEP); Decarbonization and Sustainable Energy (TCS/DSE); SMEs, Competitiveness and Job Creation (TCS/SME); and Digital Transformation and AI Strategies (TCS/DAS). The Directorate also ensures close coordination and collaboration among the Divisions as well as with relevant entities in the Directorate of Global Partnerships and External Relations (GLO) and the Directorate of SDG Innovation and Economic Transformation (IET).

This position is located under the Competitiveness, Quality, and Compliance Unit (TCS/SME/CQC) which builds national and regional production and quality infrastructure systems, with an emphasis on providing internationally recognized services, facilitating SME participation in regional and global value chains; strengthening institutional quality infrastructure capacities (i.e. standardization, metrology, and accreditation); building conformity assessment capacities (testing, inspection, certification, calibration, etc.); and supporting trade facilitation and quality awareness with the public sector, economic operators and consumers, placing a special emphasis on capacitating SMEs.

PROJECT CONTEXT Overview/UNIDO Project Summary/Project Purpose>

SAP ID 230127 (STFA Joint Programme for the South-Eastern Region of Afghanistan: Addressing Basic Human Needs (‘JP-South-Eastern’).

The current situation in Afghanistan continues to call for life-saving assistance and for the provision of essential services to help meet basic human needs among vulnerable communities in the country: against this backdrop, the United Nations remains committed to ‘stay and deliver’ for the people of Afghanistan. The new UN Transitional Engagement Framework (TEF), launched in January 2024, represents the common basis for the United Nations and partners to deliver a coordinated and effective crisis response after the power shift in August 2021.

The program contributes directly to two main outcomes of the TEF: to sustain essential services (Outcome 2), and to preserve social investments and community-level systems essential to meeting basic human needs (Outcome 3). It is part of the unprecedented efforts of the United Nations and partners to ‘deliver as one’ in the new socio-economic and political landscape in Afghanistan. As of April 2022, seventeen Agencies, Funds, and Programmes (AFPs) have signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) as Participating UN Organisations (PUNOs) of the Special Trust Fund for Afghanistan (STFA); seven of these PUNOs are implementing partners under this initiative. For the first time, these PUNOs are engaging in a comprehensive joint program to deliver assistance with speed and scale on the ground in Afghanistan.

UNIDO’s contribution to the STFA Joint Programme in the Southeastern region focuses on economic recovery through enterprise development, which is captured in outcome 2 of the programme, namely:

Outcome 2: By the end of 2025, more people in Afghanistan, notably women and vulnerable groups, will benefit from an increasingly inclusive economy, with greater equality of economic opportunities, jobs, more resilient livelihoods, strengthened food value chains, and improved natural resources management.

To this end, UNIDO will focus on three outputs.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

The Chief Technical Advisor will work under the overall supervision of the UNIDO Project Manager (PM) and will have the duties and responsibilities listed below. The UNIDO Country Office in Afghanistan will provide guidance and supervision as necessary.

Main Duties

Project Coordination:

– Coordinate with STFA;

– Collaborate with sister agencies operating in the Southeastern region and contributing to DAO 4, 6, and 7’;

– Establish coordination with both national and local government;

– Coordination with public and private institutions that are sub-contracted to ensure implementation of project activities aligns with the established work plan;

– Create synergies with ongoing initiatives of other development agencies.

Project Implementation:

– Identify needs for the recruitment of national experts, draft job descriptions (JD), and identify needs for subcontracting services;

– Identify suitable service providers and draft Terms of Reference (ToR) for subcontracted services;

– Undertake missions to the project areas, especially southeastern provinces;

– Execute specific activities such as assessment, training, procurement of equipment, etc., based on the work-plan;

– Follow UNIDO guidelines for the execution of activities;

– Follow up with project experts and service providers to ensure the timely implementation of their activities and achievement of expected results.

Project Monitoring and Reporting:

– Monitor the implementation of project activities in accordance with the work plan;

– Monitor the activities of project staff, project experts, and service providers, and follow up to ensure timely submission of reports. Provide advice on corrective measures when necessary to ensure the timely completion of activities based on the Terms of Reference (ToR);

– Monitor the disbursement of grants by intermediary organizations. Conduct spot checks and assess the implementation of the grant scheme based on UNIDO grant policy and the achievement of results as per ToR with the intermediary organization;

– Monitor the overall implementation of the STFA joint program in the Southeastern region. Ensure alignment of project activities with the goals of the program;

– Monitor the overall political, social, and economic context at the national and Southeast regional levels, as well as provide input to project management for necessary adaptive measures;

– Draft and submit regular progress reports based on the given template;

– Report on key performance indicators of the project;

– Create and regularly update the database for project Key Performance Indicators (KPIs);

– Coordinate baselines and impact assessment studies;

– Ensure reports from project experts and service providers are complete and based on the agreed template.

Project Communication and Advocacy:

– Stakeholder mapping and understanding of different public and private sector stakeholders;

– Maintenance of transparent and trustful relationships with project counterparts and stakeholders;

– Organization of awareness-raising and promotional activities, playing an active role in mobilizing public and private institutions, the business sector, entrepreneurs, IDPs, and refugees to join the project;

– Provide input for the preparation of promotional and communication materials (e.g., brochure, factsheet, etc.).

Technical Advice:

– Provide technical advice and input to the government and participate in technical meetings with government institutions;

– Provide technical advice to the project management team for designing and implementing impactful activities, ensuring the overall technical soundness of the project;

– Provide technical advice and supervision to project experts and service providers, supporting them in the implementation of their activities;

– Participate in technical meetings and workshops of the STFA, and provide technical input when requested.

Provide any other support as requested by the project management team.

MINIMUM ORGANIZATIONAL REQUIREMENTS

Education: An advanced university degree in a field related to Science and Engineering, Economics, Business Administration, Sustainable Industrial Development, or other relevant discipline is required.

Technical and Functional Experience:

• At least seven (7) years of international professional experience in sustainable development, with a focus on economic development within private or public sector organizations is required.
• Expertise in grants management, securing funding aligned with project goals, enterprise development, market strategies, and optimizing value chains is desirable.
• Proficiency in designing and executing skills development and training programs, with an understanding of training needs in developing countries, is required.
• Expertise in gender-inclusive project design, focusing on low-income countries is strongly desirable.
• Expertise in livelihood development, with a focus on MSMEs and the empowerment of women, is desirable.
• Experience in working in developing countries, including in complex contexts and/or remote areas, and as part of multicultural teams is desirable.
• Robust skills in monitoring and evaluation for data-driven decision-making are required.
• Proficiency in providing advisory services, offering technical guidance, and consultative support is desirable.
• Experience in working with the UN system, international organizations non-governmental organizations, and/or with the donors’ community is desirable.
• Willingness to travel to the provinces and within Afghanistan is required.

Languages: Fluency in written and spoken English, Dari, and Pashto language is required.

REQUIRED COMPETENCIES

Core Values

WE LIVE AND ACT WITH INTEGRITY: work honestly, openly, and impartially.

WE SHOW PROFESSIONALISM: work hard and competently in a committed and responsible manner.

WE RESPECT DIVERSITY: work together effectively, respectfully, and inclusively, regardless of our differences in culture and perspective.

Key Competencies

WE FOCUS ON PEOPLE: cooperate to reach our potential fully –and this is true for our colleagues as well as our clients. Emotional intelligence and receptiveness are vital parts of our UNIDO identity.

WE FOCUS ON RESULTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES: focus on planning, organizing, and managing our work effectively and efficiently. We are responsible and accountable for achieving our results and meeting our performance standards. This accountability does not end with our colleagues and supervisors, we also owe it to those we serve and who have trusted us to contribute to a better, safer, and healthier world.

WE COMMUNICATE AND EARN TRUST: communicate effectively with one another and build an environment of trust where we can all excel in our work.

WE THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX AND INNOVATE: To stay relevant, we continuously improve, support innovation, share our knowledge and skills, and learn from one another.

Managerial and Leadership Competencies

WE ARE STRATEGIC, DECISIVE, PRINCIPLED, AND INSPIRATIONAL: As managers, we are strategic and fair in driving our team’s performance. As leaders, we are a source of inspiration, stand for norms and standards established in the UN Charter, and are duty-bound to defend these ideals with a principled approach.

WE ARE INCLUSIVE AND ACCOUNTABLE: As managers, we are inclusive in our approach and maintain constructive engagement with all our stakeholders. As leaders, we embrace all personnel and stakeholders and are accountable mutually within UNIDO, within the system, to beneficiaries and the public, and beyond.

WE ARE MULTI-DIMENSIONAL AND TRANSFORMATIONAL: As managers, we go beyond conventional methods to help our organizational units strengthen their own agility and adaptability to change. As leaders in the UN system, we have a vision that is integrated and engaged across the pillars of Peace and Security, Human Rights, and Development.

WE ARE COLLABORATIVE AND CO-CREATIVE: As managers, we foster a team spirit and create meaningful opportunities to hear the voices of those around us, while realizing that only by working together can we accomplish our mission. As leaders, we see the inter-dependency of imperatives of the UN Charter and personally champion a collaborative inter-agency, multi-stakeholders, and cross-thinking approach.