Social Innovation Analyst (2 openings)

In 2019, UNDP built the world’s largest and fastest learning network on sustainable development challenges by setting up 90 Accelerator Labs covering 114 countries. These labs aim to ignite progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through exploration, solutions mapping of grassroots innovations, and human-centered experimentation. The Accelerator Lab in the Philippines (ALab PH) has been exploring, mapping solutions, and testing these in various frontier development challenges, including local convergence, circular economy, sustainable cities, and inclusive, grassroots-based, and data-driven innovation.

UNDP ALab PH retains Social Innovation Analysts to help manage its portfolios of innovations by, among others, following through on the progress of components experiments or initiatives, collaborating with UNDP programme and operations teams, engaging a broad range of external stakeholders, overseeing outputs of service providers, and documenting and disseminating knowledge and learnings. The current set of portfolios are:

• Inclusive Innovation – Empower the grassroots and various sectors to pursue and scale innovations that address socioeconomic development challenges and the inclusion of marginalized communities. This includes supporting the government in strengthening its innovation policies and programmes.
• Green and Circular Economy – implement an innovation portfolio that promotes a circular economy, where waste leakage is reduced through improved waste management and, more importantly, a radical rethinking of production and consumption systems so that waste is avoided in the first place.
• Inclusive Value Chains for Local Development – Unbundle local economic development issues—including informal livelihoods, food systems sustainability, and inequality—and facilitate multi-stakeholder design and experimentation on solutions aimed at ensuring that marginalized sectors are not left behind in prosperity.

In pursuing the portfolios above, ALab PH closely collaborates with relevant programme teams in the UNDP country office. ALAB PH also explores various themes that cut across the above portfolios. These include: (i) harnessing frontier technologies for development; (ii) entrepreneurship and private investment; and (ii) strengthening local governance capacity.

UNDP ALab PH will recruit two (2) Social Innovation Analysts primarily assigned to the Circular Economy and SDG portfolio but is also expected to collaborate and cross-pollinate learnings with other innovation portfolios. The below Scope of Work shall be performed by each Social Innovation Analyst mainly for his or her assigned portfolio (i.e. Inclusive Innovation, Circular Economy, and Inclusive Value Chains) but may be assigned to support and lend his/her expertise the other portfolios as may be necessary.
 

The Social Innovation Analysts will directly report to the Head of Experimentation of the Accelerator Lab Philippines and, in his stead or absence, the Head of Exploration and the Head of Solutions Mapping. The Team Leader of the Impact and Advisory Team (IAT) performs oversight on the outputs of ALab PH.

The Social Innovation Analysts shall work closely with the Pintig Lab, SDG Partnerships and Finance Team (both under IAT) and with the Programme Team (including the communications unit) relevant to the portfolio being managed. The Social Innovation Analysts are expected to coordinate with government partners (national and local), CSOs, and other key partners.

Ensure strategic management of the project and provide day-to-day financial and administrative management for the delivery of the project’s activities focusing on achievement of the following results:

• Support the overall social innovation activities of the Accelerator Lab that includes, among others, exploration, solutions mapping, and experimentation including background research, organizing and facilitating meetings and activities to co-design experiments, project planning, etc.
• Manage the implementation of experiments, including tracking of tasks and deliverables, coordination within UNDP and with external stakeholders for required inputs and resources, contracting of and coordination with third-party service providers, etc.
• Monitor, evaluate, and document the results of experiments, including the conduct of exploratory data analysis, field observation, interviews, and focus group discussions, etc.
• Provide support in drafting terms of reference and support recruitment and management of a team of national and international consultants and subject matter experts.
• Support the project for creating specifications/ evaluation criteria etc. related to procurement, subcontracting, and outsourcing of services etc.
• Assist partners in preparing their progress and financial reports for the project activities.

Develop and maintain effective working relationships and coordination with key counterparts to ensure the strategic positioning of UNDP, focusing on achievement of the following results:

• Ensure full alignment with UNDP PH Programme Teams by, among others, mapping existing programmes, projects, and activities that may be relevant to the experiments and ensure the relevant programme and project teams’ participation.
• Identify relevant external stakeholders (national and local government, development partners, civil society, private sector, academic partners, etc.) and map their various initiatives which may help inform the design, implementation, and evaluation of experiments.
• Identify potential opportunities, entry points, points of convergence with stakeholders, and other openings for scaling up of experiments in the future.
• Provide inputs and insights on strategy for consolidated offer to cities

Efficient support to tasks related to advocacy, programming, monitoring and evaluation (M&E) focusing on achievement of the following results:

• Ensure the implementation of the communications and advocacy plan for the project.
• Establish suitable monitoring mechanisms and undertake regular monitoring and reporting on project progress, risks and constraints; updates the implementation plan as required.
• Promote accountability through effective programme results reporting (monthly, quarter, and annual progress and financial reports), to the UNDP, government counterparts and the Project Board; and
• Monitoring, reporting and evaluation of outputs and accomplishments towards the achievement of project intended outputs.

Ensures provision of technical advisory services and facilitation of knowledge building and management focusing on achievement of the following results:

• Maintain effective network with development partners and Government at regional level co-develop with ALab and other UNDP personnel knowledg4e products on an agreed upon frontier challenge which consolidates lessons learned from the various parallel experiments. The consultant may be asked to present findings in a national or regional platform as necessary
• Contribute to the drafting of plans and reports to be submitted within the country office as well as to regional and global office, including but not limited to the SDG Innovation Commons (https://www.sdg-innovation-commons.org/) managed by the Global Accelerator Lab team.
• Review, analyze, and index related literature, including policies, academic research, data and other materials, and as needed translate or condense these into digestible formats.
• Help understand the evolving policy terrain on localization and urbanization by mapping issuances and pronouncements from UNDP and other relevant UN bodies, national and local government, and other stakeholders.
• Collaborate with ALab PH and other UNDP CO colleagues in drafting policy notes or briefs, blog posts, presentations, communication materials, and other materials.
• Maintain strategy notes, partner directories, partnership agreements, contracts, and other such important documents in ALab PH’s file system under the corporate SharePoint of UNDP.
• Contribute to the ongoing development of the country office’s Local Government Engagement Strategy, including provision of inputs and other ad-hoc related tasks.
• Upon agreement, perform other tasks that may be assigned.

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 Direction and 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 Development 

• Human-centered Design. Ability to develop solutions to problems by involving the human perspective in all steps of the problem-solving process Knowledge and understanding of human centered design principles and practices    
• Knowledge Generation. Ability to research information and to turn it into useful knowledge, relevant for context, or
  responsive to a stated need. Ability to apply existing concepts to new situations, and to develop new concepts to generate workable solutions and new approaches. Knowledge of relevant concepts, conceptual models, and theories that can be useful in addressing new situations.    
• Collective Intelligence Design. Ability to bring together diverse groups of people, data, information, ideas, and technology to solve problems and design solutions or services. Knowledge and understanding of Collective Intelligence Design principles, methodology and practices 

Business Management 

• Partnerships Management. 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    
• Project Management. Ability to plan, organize, prioritize and control resources, procedures and protocols to achieve specific goals         

Digital     

• Innovation management. Being able to create the strategies, conditions, structures and systems to enable innovation at an organisational level. Ability to navigate uncertainty and ambiguity, is able manage projects-based principles of adaptation and emergence. Ability to shape demand for innovation services, navigate political constraints and make the case for allocation of resources to innovation, connect the appropriate innovation approaches based on business needs and make the case for innovation to be integrated at the planning level within their context. Having in-depth theoretical and experiential knowledge of innovation processes, methods, capabilities.