BACKGROUND

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.

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.

UNDP is the leading United Nations organization fighting to end the injustice of poverty, inequality, and climate change. Working with a broad network of experts and partners in 170 countries, we help nations build integrated, lasting solutions for people and the planet. UNDP has been working in Afghanistan for more than 50 years on climate change and resilience, gender, governance, health, livelihoods, and the rule of law. Under the broader framework of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and in close coordination with other UN agencies, UNDP supports the Afghan people’s aspiration for peace, prosperity, and sustainability. UNDP is currently implementing its flagship response Programme, ABADEI (Area Based Approach to Development Emergency Initiatives), as part of the ongoing UN-led response to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe and the breakdown of Afghanistan’s economy following the August 2021 shift in power.

The ABADEI Strategy is a tailored area-based integrated programming approach to support basic human needs, complementing short-term humanitarian life-saving assistance with safeguarding livelihoods and strengthening community resilience. It is centred around addressing worsening poverty and vulnerability, supporting community resilience and social cohesion, addressing climatic vulnerability, and enabling the rehabilitation of small-scale infrastructure vital for basic human needs. It supports the creation of immediate sources of income through vocational skills training, cash-for-work, cash-for-market, small businesses, and livelihood opportunities with a particular focus on agri-business and regenerative agriculture infrastructure and services that are under threat. It is sensitive to the chronic and newly emerging vulnerabilities of Afghan women and girls and aims at providing them assistance in a manner that does not exacerbate their susceptibility to violence and deprivation of opportunities and rights.

UNDP aspires to be a world-class knowledge leader and seamless knowledge-sourcing and sharing entity. To align the systems for improved coherence between policy and programme, incentives, culture, and resources needed to move the needle on sustainable development, UNDP Afghanistan is establishing the Policy and Knowledge Team within the programmatic units of the Country Office. The Policy and Knowledge Team will have a renewed focus on macroeconomic and SDG-related research and how it can be applied to UNDP Afghanistan programming, by collecting, analysing, and using evidence from a country perspective, and from external and internal experience. It will also work in close collaboration with the M&E Unit at the CO level.

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

The Coordinator of the Policy and Knowledge Team will work under the guidance and direct supervision of the Deputy Resident Representative of the Programme for the UNDP Afghanistan. S/he will work in collaboration with the Programmatic Team, and the M&E Unit and will ensure closer integration with the ground-level work of programmes and projects. The Policy and Knowledge Team will work in strategic synergy with the Programme Teams to maximize intersectoral development approaches thus fostering innovation and creativity exchange within the Country Office (CO) and the organization at large.

Key duties and accountabilities include:

Overall, the Coordinator of the Policy and Knowledge Team is responsible for the following:

• Direct provision of technical advice on comprehensive SDG themes and/or processes to UNDP Teams, and national partners
• Lead and coordinate research, data collection, and analysis on SDGs, inclusive growth, and sustainable development in support of UNDP’s policy and programme work
• Lead the representation, advocacy, and partner engagement for effective institutional and policy positioning of UNDP Afghanistan
• Manage the Policy and Knowledge Team to align the systems for improved coherence between policy and programme at the Country Office
• Promote innovation and actively lead knowledge management, including contributions to the relevant community of practices

Direct provision of technical advice on comprehensive sustainable development and SDG themes and/or processes to UNDP Teams, and national and sub-national partners:

• Provide substantive policy advisory services to CO staff and the project team that respond to the needs of the programmatic portfolio of the CO in the areas of SDG implementation, sustainable development, jobs and livelihoods, inclusive and economic growth, gender equality and women’s economic empowerment, and others as relevant.
• Oversees the identification and use of data and rigorous evidence for national/sub-national policy formulation and monitoring, consistent with global standards and norms, and appropriate for the country context.
• Ensure that gender considerations are effectively mainstreamed throughout project activities, work plans, budgets, reports and when relevant, analyzed in detail.
• Scan the horizon for new areas of work where UNDP could position itself as a relevant actor according to emerging country demands and develop capacities around those areas.
• Produce high-quality and timely analysis that will inform briefs, policy notes and other substantive inputs that may be required by senior management, including the UNDP Resident Representative’s Executive Office and the DRR on Programme.

Lead and coordinate research, data collection, and analysis on SDGs, inclusive growth, and sustainable development in support of UNDP’s policy and programme work: 

• Lead on the development of knowledge products on issues related to sustainable development in Afghanistan, including multidimensional poverty, inequality, Leave No One Behind (LNOB) and social protection, structural economic transformation, urbanization, extractives, jobs and livelihoods, among others, through working with the BPPS Global Policy Centers (in particular the Istanbul International Centre for Private Sector Development).
• Build a network of partner organizations among academic and research institutions, especially with bilateral donor agencies, UN Agencies, and IFIs to enrich UNDP policies and programmes.
• Develop tools and methods that strengthen UNDP’s offer on poverty and inequality reduction for the achievement of the SDGs and relevant areas for Afghanistan’s sustainable development.
• Lead and coordinate the production of flagship reports for the country office, such as the National Human Development Report, the Socio-Economic Outlook, and other relevant reports as required.
• Guides the quality assurance of policy services and foster policy innovation in inclusive sustainable growth, poverty eradication and inequality areas to enhance programme delivery.

Lead the representation, advocacy, and partnerships for effective policy positioning of UNDP Afghanistan:

• Lead on substantive networking and partnerships for the CO, including technical engagement and fostering networks with academia, research institutions, think tanks, international organizations, UN agencies, and civil society organizations, that can elevate the policy work of the UNDP CO.
• Represent UNDP in relevant technical events and meetings to influence the development of relevant policy direction for Afghanistan.
• Represent UNDP as required within engagements in interagency coordination on policy areas related to sustainable development and the overall achievement of the SDGs.
• Under the guidance of the DRR on Programme, engage with the CO programmatic units, and partners around resource mobilization.
• Participate and contribute to policy-related communication and media activities, with relevance to partnership building and resource mobilization, led by the CO Partnership and Communications Unit.

Manage the Policy and Knowledge Team to align the systems for improved coherence between policy and programme at the Country Office:

• Manage and supervise the staff within the Policy and Knowledge Team, including guidance on annual work plans and setting strategic priorities, assigning roles and responsibilities, leading their performance assessments, and facilitating the Team’s engagement with other units in the CO, within the UNCT, and external partners.
• Supervise the administrative and financial aspects of the unit project and as per the Project document, in close collaboration with the Programme Associate.
• Support synergies between the policy work and the programme portfolio and initiatives implemented by UNDP Afghanistan CO and its sub-regional offices.
• Under the guidance of the DRR on Programme, lead the preparation of policy contributions to the Country Programme Document preparation and revisions, and other relevant strategic processes in the CO.
• Comply with security and safety requirements and regulations and ensure the same are respected by all Team personnel.

Promote innovation and actively lead knowledge management, including contributions to the relevant community of practices: 

• Present or support showcasing UNDP’s knowledge on integrated SDG solutions and engagement processes at national or regional events, and ensure that UNDP’s SDG integration capability is contextualized in relevant and impactful ways in multi-disciplinary and multi-sectoral arenas.
• Oversees the knowledge extraction, analysis, documentation, and codification of results/lessons learned on sustainable development, and SDGs-related areas, ensuring that knowledge sharing and content management are in line with guidelines and performed using corporate tools.
• Develop and strengthen linkages with the global and regional Community of Practice and across regions, with a focus on poverty reduction and inclusive growth, gender equality, SDGs, financing, and livelihoods and jobs.
• Lead the development of training and capacity-building workshops on the application of tools and the policy work streams, in collaboration with partners and relevant UN agencies, targeting UN/UNDP staff, and national stakeholders.
• Compile and prepare policy brief materials and maintain proper knowledge management for broader dissemination outside of UNDP CO.

Supervisory/Managerial Responsibilities: 

• Specialist, Policy and Knowledge Team will supervise a team of Economist, Data Analyst and Programme Associate.

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, and 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 tasks/barriers and take action to achieve greater results
• Engage and Partner: LEVEL 3: Political savvy, navigate the complex landscape, champion inter-agency collaboration
• Enable Diversity and Inclusion:  LEVEL 3: Appreciate the benefits of a diverse workforce and champion inclusivity

People Management Competencies:

• UNDP People Management Competencies can be found on the dedicated site.

Cross-Functional & Technical Competencies: 

Business Direction & Strategy: Systems Thinking

• Ability to develop effective strategies and periodized plans in line with UNDPs 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

2030 Agenda – Engagement & Effectiveness: SDG Integration

• SDG Monitoring and Reporting

Business Management: Partnership 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 Development: Knowledge Generation

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

Programme and Policy: Effectiveness

• Programming principles & standards and development effectiveness principles

Business Management: Risk Management

• Ability to identify risk mitigation measures and monitor implementation.

Crisis Response and Stabilization: Programming Approaches 

• Has a sound understanding of the components of an integrated crisis response and/or stabilization programming offer.
• Understand how to mainstream approaches to Project design (i.e., gender, LNOB, conflict sensitivity, etc.)

QUALIFICATIONS:

Education:

Master’s degree or equivalent in international development, law, international relations, political science, business administration, development economics, sustainable development, or any other relevant field.

OR A first-level university degree (Bachelor’s degree) with 2 additional years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration instead of a Master’s degree.

Experience: 

• A minimum of 7 years (with a Master’s degree) or 9 years (with a Bachelor’s degree) of experience in either the public (national or multilateral, including UN) or private sectors (academia, non-governmental sector, corporate), providing policy advice and advancing the development and implementation of inclusive growth/poverty alleviation approaches in different development contexts.
• Prior UNDP experience and familiarity with its policies and procedures, particularly in the applicable job area or proven experience in the UN System related to inclusive growth, poverty eradication, and SDG implementation is desirable.
• Demonstrated in-depth experience in providing policy advice and developing programmatic solutions, tools, and methodology to support countries in their implementation of the SDGs.
• Demonstrated experience in leading socio-economic, and vulnerability assessments, and the preparation of high-quality knowledge products.
• Demonstrated experience in building partnerships with public and private institutions, and mobilization of resources.
• Knowledge of data and statistics analysis and the ability to apply to strategic and/or practical situations.
• Excellent negotiating and communication skills and ability to mobilize support from a wide range of partners (public, private, academic, civil society, and business community leaders).
• Experience working in developing countries and/or fragile settings is highly desirable.

Languages:

• Fluency in oral and written English is required.

Note: Please upload copies of your academic qualifications and 3 latest performance evaluations (if applicable). 

Please note that continuance of appointment beyond the initial 12 months is contingent upon the successful completion of a probationary period.

UNDP Disclaimer for FTA/TA International Posts

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 before 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 descriptions, experience and educational requirements.

Scam warning

The United Nations does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process. Should you receive a solicitation for the payment of a fee, please disregard it. Furthermore, please note that emblems, logos, names and addresses are easily copied and reproduced. Therefore, you are advised to apply particular care when submitting personal information on the web.