Project Associate

Guided by the global UNDP Strategic Plan (2022 – 2025) and UNDP Country Programme for Lao PDR (2022 – 2026), UNDP in Lao PDR works closely with the line Ministries, mass organizations, civil society, development partners, and the private sector at both national and sub-national levels in pursuit of the national socio-economic development priorities defined in Lao PDR’s five-year National Socio-Economic Development Plan (NSEDP) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The UNDP’s work is strongly focused on the provision of policy advice and technical support to the Government of Lao PDR in the design and implementation of national legislation and strategies across four broad Priority Pillars – (1) inclusive growth and reduced inequalities, (2) UXO clearance and risk education, (3) natural resources, climate change and disaster risk reduction, as well as (4) effective, responsive, and accountable governance.  
 
UNDP has a long history working in Lao PDR. UNDP’s comparative advantage has been its ability to work closely with a very broad range of government and local-level institutions at all levels. The new UNDP country programme is aligned with the 9th NSEDP and is anchored in UNDP’s long-term partnership with the Government of more than three decades. The new programme builds on the achievements of the previous CPD that saw the incorporation of the SDGs into the national planning architecture. It will aim to support Lao PDR recover from the economic and social impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and continue its transition from LDC status, with a particular emphasis on supporting inclusive growth and reducing inequality. 
 
UNDP Lao PDR, Governance Unit:

The UNDP’s programming on effective, responsive and accountable governance, inter alia, focuses on the provision of policy advice and technical support to the Government of Lao PDR to (1) enhance the rule of law, access to justice, and protection of human rights, (2) strengthen people’s participation in decision-making through increased access to information and political representation, (3) enhance public administration reform through institutional capacity-development and implementation of the Government’s decentralization policy (Sam Sang Directive).  

Being the largest global development knowledge network with particular institutional expertise on governance, UNDP in Lao PDR co-chairs the Governance Sector Working Group (along with co-chairing the Public Sector Improvement Sub-Sector Working Group and Legal and Institutional Oversight Sub-Sector Working Group) of the Round Table Process, a national mechanism to coordinate the implementation of the NSEDPs and SDGs across the governmental institutions, development partners, CSOs and the private sector.  

Rule of Law and Access to Justice Portfolio:

The Project Associate will provide project management assistance across the Governance Unit’s Rule of Law and Access to Justice Portfolio, including on the development of new projects. The portfolio currently comprises three planned projects: 

Court Project: 

The Strengthening Case Management and Court Procedures in the Lao PDR Project, or Court Project, is a 2.5-year initiative, supported by the US State Department Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement (INL). Its objective is to strengthen the court system in Lao PDR to have an effective and accountable case management system that adopts best practices with a focus on the criminal and civil chambers of selected courts. This will be accomplished in close coordination with government partners, the People’s Supreme Court (PSC). The project will aim to formalize, streamline, and align case management procedures across all court levels with international best practices. Interventions will include mapping of the case management chain and international best practice, developing an action plan to target existing gaps, and the establishment of resources covering pre-trial, in-trial, and post-trial. Alongside this, it will also create sustainable training mechanisms for judges, court officers, prosecutors, and lawyers by developing a training of trainers (ToT) program to master trainers, leveraging the resources produced by the project. These interventions will support the courts to ensure overall improvements in case management of target courts, which will contribute to the effectiveness and accountability of the rule of law in Lao PDR.   

Women Leadership in the Judiciary Project: 

Promoting and Supporting Women Leadership in the Judicial System in Southeast Asia, or the Gender Justice Project is a 10-month regional project which will be implemented across three countries, Thailand, Indonesia, and Lao PDR. In Lao PDR, UNDP’s partners will be the PSC, with the project targeting women judges within the court. Its goals are increasing the representation of women in leadership positions, improving institutional support for women judges, and enhancing gender sensitivity in judicial processes. Empowered women judges can advocate for policies that address cultural, social, and institutional barriers facing women, leading to broader empowerment. Accordingly, improved access to justice for women enhances their ability to protect their rights. Multiple targeted activities will be used to achieve this end goal, such as the creation of a women’s judges’ network, regional training workshops for women judges, facilitating a gender improvement plan, and reviewing appointment guidelines from a gendered perspective.    
 

• Provide project management assistance by supporting administrative and logistical processes;
• Support financial, procurement and human resources processes;
• Facilitate knowledge building and management.

Provide project management support by supporting administrative, operational and logistical processes, focusing on the achievement of the following results:

• Pro-actively contribute to day-to-day project implementation and ensure conformity to expected results and project work-plans;
• Contribute to the effective management of data in programme implementation, across the data lifecycle.  Follow up on programme and project performance indicators/ success criteria, targets and milestones, and preparation of reports. Implement corporate results-based management mechanisms and tools. 
• Ensure compliance with procedures frameworks, including by learning and applying UNDP’s Programme and Operations Policies and Procedures (POPP), and donor financial and administrative requirements; 
• Prepare relevant background materials for use in discussions, correspondence, and briefing sessions; 
• Draft meeting minutes, translate and interpret from Lao into English and vice-versa;
• Ensure efficient travel arrangements are made for the team as required, ensuring proper use of UNDP resources; 
• Assist in arranging appointments, organizing meetings, events, taking minutes of meetings and drafting correspondence for Project Team;
• Keeps lists of names, addresses and telephone numbers of applicable government and non-government partners;
• Maintain policy, confidentiality and general management files.

Ensure support in financial, procurement and human resources processes, focusing on the achievement of the following results:

• Learn processes and operations of the UNDP Quantum Platform;
• Provide administrative support in the planning, execution, and review of Project Financial Reports on Quantum Platform;
• In accordance with the Annual Work Plan, arrange for the procurement of equipment, supplies and services and ensure timely follow-up with procurement requests;
• Assist in recruitment processes by reviewing job descriptions, job classifications, forming vacancy announcements, screening candidates, and facilitating interview panels;
•  Maintain leave records and travel plans of the Project staff.

Facilitate knowledge building and management, focusing on the achievement of the following results:

• In accordance with the Project Document and in close coordination with the Responsible Parties, adhere to the Quarterly and Annual Targets according to UNDP timelines; 
• Organize events for the Project Staff; Compile lessons learned and best practices.
• Provide sound contributions and support to knowledge networks, communities of practice, and digital knowledge platforms Provide high-quality interpretation and translation in support of the project as needed.

The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization. 

Core competencies: 

• Achieve Results: Level 1: Plans and monitors own work, pays attention to details, delivers quality work by deadline
• Think Innovatively: Level 1: Open to creative ideas/known risks, is pragmatic problem solver, makes improvements 
• Learn Continuously: Level 1: Open minded and curious, shares knowledge, learns from mistakes, asks for feedback
• Adapt with Agility: Level 1: Adapts to change, constructively handles ambiguity/uncertainty, is flexible 
• Act with Determination: Level 1: Shows drive and motivation, able to deliver calmly in face of adversity, confident
• Engage and Partner: Level 1: Demonstrates compassion/understanding towards others, forms positive relationships
• Enable Diversity and Inclusion: Level 1: Appreciate/respect differences, aware of unconscious bias, confront discrimination

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies:

Business Management    

• Customer Satisfaction/Client Management. Ability to respond timely and appropriately with a sense of urgency, provide consistent solutions, and deliver timely and quality results and/or solutions to fulfil and understand the real customers' needs. Provide inputs to the development of customer service strategy. Look for ways to add value beyond clients' immediate requests. Ability to anticipate client's upcoming needs and concerns. 
• Project Management. Ability to plan, organize, prioritize and control resources, procedures and protocols to achieve specific goals
• Risk Management. Ability to identify and organize action around mitigating and proactively managing risks
• Results-based Management. Ability to manage programmes and projects with a focus on improved performance and demonstrable results.

Business Development    

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

Procurement    

• Contract Management. Knowledge of contract management concepts, principles and methods, and ability to apply this to strategic and/or practical situations.