Portfolio Officer

UNDP is a global knowledge network advocating for human development and connecting countries to knowledge, experiences and resources to help people build a better life. UNDP works with countries to develop and implement their own solutions to development challenges. Aligned with the Lesotho National Strategic Development Plan (NSDP II 2019-2023), the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF 2019-2023) and UNDP Strategic Plan as well the Country Programme Document (CPD 2019-2023), we are committed to supporting the government and people of Lesotho.

Supporting the implementation of the IFAD Country Programme, the United Nations Volunteer (UNV) will get exposure to and support a range of rural development initiatives. This includes close collaboration with the borrowing governments and their line ministries, the project management teams in country implementing IFAD-supported projects and programmes, rural producers and their organizations, national and international partners and donor organizations, senior technical specialists and IFAD colleagues from several departments and their technical wings. The UNV will have the opportunity to closely work on a few projects and/or country strategic work, and in addition get wide exposure to the work of IFAD. The UNV will also be engaged in analytical work to support evidence-based decision-making in the IFAD portfolio, as well as contribute to knowledge generation and dissemination. She/he will be able to participate in selected IFAD-internal events, such as the ESA regional workshop and potential workshops in other in-country offices or elsewhere. She/he will also be engaged in the work of the United National Country Team, closely working with the other UN Rome-based Agencies (i.e. FAO, WFP) and other development partners.
The UNV will mainly work on three areas: 1. Management of Country Programme; 2. Supervision and implementation support of IFAD funded projects; 3. Country Level Policy engagement and partnership development.

Under the direct supervision of the IFAD Country Director, the UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks:
1. Management of Country Programme:
• Contribute to project implementation and supervision, through the preparation of, participation in and reporting on IFAD-led implementation support and supervision missions of active loan-finance projects;
• Contribute to the development of mission terms of references (ToRs), co-leading assessment of selected project com-ponents, drafting of report sections, and discussing mission reports with IFAD internal reviewers;
• Review country programmes AWPB & PP and provide inputs to the Country Director (CD);
• Contribute to monitor execution of Country Programme implementation and compliance to key performance indicators/parameters;
• Support compliance of projects and country programme's with IFAD corporate level policies, such as the ORMS, Annual reviews, COSOP Review, MTRs, etc.;
• Provide tailored implementation support to projects between mission, and follow up on agreed actions from supervision missions and discuss with the project management teams how to address issues and shortcomings in a timely manner;
• Work closely with the Country Director on country strategic aspects, such as reporting towards the IFAD contributions to the national UN framework and its objectives, engagement in donor /sector working groups (especially in line with your specialization), support portfolio level reflection in line with the valid IFAD country strategies;
• In line with the UNV skill set and the portfolio, contribute to strengthen thematic partnerships with relevant donor agencies, private sector and academia, to introduce re-quired skills/knowledge/assistance and co-investment into the portfolio;
• Contribute to the daily operational work of project management, by reviewing project requests as appropriate and in line with the UNV background and experience;
• Contribute to the country knowledge agenda by generating technical inputs (papers/posters/blog posts) to showcase lessons from the portfolio;
• Contribute to cross-country learning within the other countries in the subregion and be-yond, through technical presentations and appropriate communication of findings from missions / project analysis;
• Support project design, as required and appropriate: this entails the contribution to the process of project design documentation, participation in design missions and follow-up with government and other stakeholders on relevant communications and documentation;
• Support and co-lead project completion, and ensure appropriate reporting on project’s achievements toward set development objectives in line with IFAD and government requirements;
• As required, work on replies to IFAD’s internal evaluation office on completion reports;
• Contribute to preparation of senior management visits to the Country and its countries and potential participate;
• Contribute to thematic events and workshops at the hub and participate and potentially co-lead sessions;
• Support the reporting on events in appropriate channels within IFAD.

2. Supervision and implementation support with a particular focus on food security, provide support to:
• Review country programmes Annual Work Plan and Budgets (AWPBs) & Procurement Plans (PPs) and provide inputs to the Country Director and the Country Programme Officer;
• Monitor execution of Country Programme implementation and compliance to key performance indicators/parameters;
• Monitor the Country Programme Performance on their Log-frames and update the IFAD monitoring systems – Operational Results Management System (ORMS) accordingly;
• Periodically review and monitor the performance of Country Programme Monitoring & Evaluation System in line with national and IFAD monitoring and evaluation requirements;
• Contribute to country project/programme's design, and reviews including annual and midterm review;
• Contribute to Country Strategic Opportunities Programme (COSOP) preparation and review and monitor performance;
• Support compliance of projects and country programme's with IFAD corporate level policies in food security in ORMS, Annual reviews, COSOP Review, Mid Term Re-views (MTRs), etc.;
• Monitor implementation status of project/programme's supervision recommendations;
• Monitor programmes’ compliance to key deadlines, which may include meeting deadlines to recommendations of supervision missions, submission of key reports (annual and audit reports);
• Support the documentation, packaging and dissemination of lessons learnt;
• Periodically draft portfolio score cards and country performance sheet based on COSOP indicators.

4. Country Level Policy engagement and partnership development:
• Support IFAD's relationships and collaborations with in-country counterparts by engaging in the United Nations Country Teams working groups, identifying synergies and proposing coordinated strategies with multilateral/bilateral donors and civil society organizations involved in agricultural development and rural poverty reduction;
• She/He will establish and maintain counterpart contacts to promote programme and project collaboration and harmonization as well as identifies financing opportunities with other donors;
• Participate in relevant policy meetings and events of interest to IFAD's target groups and which involve the government, donors, and civil society, including NGOs, to develop an enabling environment for sustainable, pro-poor development;
• Participate in partnership building at country level, and relationship management with government, partners and PMUs.