Programme Assistant (Climate Change/Governance) (2 position)

UNDP is a long-term development partner of the Maldives for over 45 years. In the Upper Middle-Income Country context, UNDP country office in Maldives provides technical assistance, policy and technical advisory services to the Government of Maldives in their efforts towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG); in partnership with development partners, financial institutions, private sector and civil society. In Maldives, UNDP’s programme priorities and partnerships are defined and operationalized through the Country Programme between Government of Maldives and UNDP to support and contribute to the development priorities and results envisioned in the 5-year Strategic Action Plan. Maldives is currently in the process of formulating its Strategic Action Plan with UNDP support following the change of government in 2023.

In the current Country Programme cycle 2022 – 2026 (https://www.undp.org/sites/g/files/zskgke326/files/2022-07/CPD%20Maldives.pdf), UNDP has significantly shifted its programme offer to Maldives around 3 pillars supported by a diverse funding base from government finance, bilateral and multilateral donors, blended and innovative finance, etc.: (i) Integrated Governance Programme focusing on justice sector reform, decentralization and local governance with youth, gender and people with disabilities’ participation; (ii) resilience and climate actions, (iii) SDG finance and fiscal spacing, to enable Maldives to achieve sustainable development by eradicating inequality and poverty in all its forms and dimensions, accelerating structural transformations for sustainable development and building resilience to crises and shock.

Within the Country Office, the Programme team has a responsibility of developing, providing oversight and ensuring adherence to the quality standards of UNDP’s projects and programmes in full alignment with the priorities set out in the Strategic Action Plan. Programme Staff provide high level advice, advocate for UNDP Corporate messages and engage partners including government, private sector, development partners, civil society organizations, UNDP corporate bodies including regional and Headquarters to coordinate and catalyze knowledge, lessons learning and partnerships to design effective and innovative programmes. Programme team further oversees effective implementation of the country programme and its outcomes and strategic direction of UNDP, contribution to UN cooperation framework. It also plays an important role in strategic planning in close consultation with the Management and Oversight unit, target-setting, and results monitoring/reporting. The team further ensures that quality principles as per the UNDP policies and guidelines are adhered to during the entire cycle of programming and across management of portfolios. Strategic partnerships support resource mobilization and identify strategic programme areas of cooperation for new initiatives, including joint programming opportunities. Programme team is responsible to maintain effective partnerships with relevant development partners and government, UN Agencies, IFIs, government institutions

Position Purpose:

As a member of the Programme team, and under the supervision of the Programme Specialist, the Programme Assistant provides support primarily to the leadership in execution of services in his or her Programme Team, and supports the formulation, planning and management of the country programme by managing data and facilitating programme implementation. The Programme Assistant promotes a client-oriented approach consistent with UNDP rules and regulations and backstops as necessary the Programme Assistant in his or her Programme Team.

The Programme Assistant works in close collaboration with the operations, programme and projects’ personnel in the CO and UNDP HQs as required for resolving complex programme and finance-related issues and exchange of information.

UNDP adopts a portfolio approach to accommodate changing business needs and leverage linkages acrossinterventions to achieve its strategic goals. Therefore, UNDP personnel are expected to work across units, functions,teams, and projects in multidisciplinary teams in order to enhance and enable horizontal collaboration

Duties and Responsibilities:

Ensures effective support to planning, implementation, monitoring and timely reporting:

• Ensures support in collection, analysis and presentation of background information for preparation and formulation of CCA, UNSDCF, MCPD and other strategic documents and policy papers. 
• Compiles information, development and presentation of background information for the formulation of project documents, work plans, budgets, and proposals within the assigned portfolio. 
• Provides inputs to the CO planning, monitoring and reporting documents (corporate, regional and CO systems and platforms).
• Contributes to the analysis of information on donors, partners, including provision of information on projects funded through government cost-sharing. 
• Ensures support in project planning, monitoring and evaluation, and day-to-day project management, including project communication and reporting, as required.
• Contributes with research data to concept notes, project ideas, funding proposals, policy briefs etc.
• Supports the development of new pipeline projects and provides inputs and updates on the pipeline information.
• Supports monitoring and timely preparation of information and reports according to approved project documents, corporate timelines, and CO requirements.
• Supports integration of gender considerations in all programmes/projects from the design to implementation, including planning and budgeting, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, as well as supporting Country Office in its Gender Equality Seal Certification and reporting in line with and using the corporate gender equality commitments, tools and strategies. 
• Participates and contributes to the programme team meetings, preparation and implementation of the workplans and implements assigned activities under the respective plans. 
• Supports the achievement of performance targets in line with CO plans and priorities.
• Monitors and ensures timely operational and final closure of projects within the portfolio.
• Undertakes quality assurance for projects information in corporate systems and open data platforms in accordance with UNDP’s policies and procedures, as needed.

Provides operational and financial management support to the Programme team and the country office:

• Supports planning, monitoring and reporting of programmes and projects pertaining to budget and resource management, and ensures support in quality control of financial resource management, flagging any deviations or bottlenecks.
• Reviews financial/expenditure reports; prepares and submits payment and other programme/project-related requests; implements corrective actions in line with UNDP rules and regulations.
• Reviews project budgets and budget revisions to ensure matching with available resources in projects. 
• Raises e-requsitions and ensures that vouchers processed are matched and completed, and transactions are correctly recorded and posted in ERP.
• Supports in data entries, including relevant cost-recovery rates and their distribution, as required.
• Enters budget and revisions into the ERP and ensures appropriate documentation management.
• Checks CDR Bridge and provides support in verification of Combined Delivery Reports and follow-up on their signing by UNDP and Implementing Partners, as required. 
• Supports tracking of programme delivery and in implementation of acceleration or corrective measures.
• Provides support in follow-up to recommendations from audits and assessments (e.g., CO/DIM/NIM Audits, evaluations).
• Ensures uploading of required documentation in the corporate systems.
• Ensures regular monitoring of contribution agreements and contracts’ milestones and flags potential delays in attainment of milestones for timely corrective measures.

Provides support to implementation of business processes, quality assurance and oversight of programmes:

• Supports development and implementation of standard operating procedures for the CO and projects.
• ensuries that business processes are followed by CO and project teams in line with the UNDP regulations and rules and the UNDP internal control framework.
• Supports quality assurance processes, including regular updates of project information and risk registers are made by project and programme teams.
• Assists in quality assurance processes of the Country Office in accordance with UNDP’s policies and procedures, as needed.
• Supports oversight and monitoring processes of the Country Office in implementation of the Harmonized Approach to Cash Transfer (HACT) framework, including assurance plans and assurance activities. 
• Supports the oversight measures of NIM projects (incl. monitoring support of cash advances and liquidation, required capacity assessments, etc.)
• Ensures efficient update and follow-up to the DIM/NIM project audits in the UNDP CARDS system.
• Implements effective internal controls, and proper functioning of a client-oriented financial resources management system.
• Supports in the establishment of the effective mechanisms within the team and Country Office focusing on efficient delivery of development results.

Facilitates Learning, Knowledge Management and Self Development:

• Assists the programme unit in capturing, codifying, synthesizing lessons from evaluations and assessments and helps in sharing and accumulating best practices and experience across teams and the region.
• Facilitates peer reviewing, commenting on, and seeking to improve, the quality of projects, good practices, guidelines, and other documents, as required.
• Supports organization of training and workshops for CO and project personnel on project management, financial management, and ERP use.
• Supports in provision of guidance to implementing partners on project management and implementation, administrative procedures, monitoring and reporting in compliance with POPP.
• Participates in events and provides sound contributions to knowledge networks and communities of practice.
• Develops and carries out a personal professional development and learning plan as agreed with the supervisor.

The incumbent performs other duties within the functional profile as assigned and deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the office.

Competencies:

Core CoreBehaviouralCompetencies.pdf (undp.org)

Achieve Results:

• Plans and monitors own work, pays attention to details, delivers quality work by deadline    

Think Innovatively:   

• Open to creative ideas/known risks, is pragmatic problem solver, makes improvements 

Learn Continuously   

• Open minded and curious, shares knowledge, learns from mistakes, asks for feedback

Adapt with Agility    

• Adapts to change, constructively handles ambiguity/uncertainty, is flexible

Act with Determination       

• Shows drive and motivation, able to deliver calmly in face of adversity, confident   

Engage and Partner  

• Demonstrates compassion/understanding towards others, forms positive relationships 

Enable Diversity and Inclusion        

• Appreciate/respect differences, aware of unconscious bias, confront discrimination

Cross-Functional & Technical Competencies

Business Direction & Strategy: Strategic Thinking

• Ability to develop effective strategies and prioritized plans in line with UNDP’s 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 in order to model what future developments and possible ways forward look like for UNDP

Business Direction & 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

Business Management: Results-based Management

• Ability to manage programmes and projects with a focus on improved performance and demonstrable results

Business Management: Resources Management

• Ability to allocate and use resources in a strategic or tactical way in line with principles of accountability and integrity

Finance: Financial Planning and Budgeting

• Ability to create and manage processes to achieve UNDP's long and short-term financial goals, including through planning, budgeting, forecasting, analysing and reporting

Ethics: UN policy knowledge - ethics

• Knowledge and understanding of the UN Staff Regulations and Rules and other policies relating to ethics and integrity

Required Skills and Experience:

Education:

• Secondary Education is required;
• University Degree (Bachelor’s degree) in Business Administration, Management, Public Administration, Economics, Social Studies or related fields will be given due consideration, but is not a requirement.
• Specialized certification in Programme or Project Management (e.g., MSP or PRINCE-2) or Accounting and/or Finance is a distinct advantage.

Experience:

• Minimum 5 years (with secondary education) or 2 years (with Bachelor´s degree) of progressively responsible administrative, finance or programme experience is required at the national or international level.
• Proficient user of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) is required. 
• Knowledge of ERP platforms (Oracle etc.) and experience in handling web-based management systems is highly desirable.
• Experience and knowledge of UNDP’s policies and procedures on programme or project finance is desirable.

Language:

• Fluency in English and Dhivehi is required.