RSCA Coordination Specialist

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 knowledge frontier organization for sustainable development within the UN System and serves as the integrator for collective action to realize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The UNDP Renewed Strategic Offer in Africa aims to ‘strengthen UNDP’s position as Africa’s premier enabler and integrator for Agenda 2030 and the African Union Agenda 2063. The Renewed Strategic Offer commits UNDP to support Africa’s people, its governments and institutions to consolidate recent gains and effectively address the challenges that remain. In doing so, the UNDP Regional Service Centre for Africa (RSCA) is guided by the UNDP Strategic Plan and Renewed Strategic Offer.

The RSCA (Regional Service Center in Africa) is one of five UNDP Regional Service Centers globally, developing high-quality knowledge and policy for UNDP in Africa. The RSCA is situated in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, as the organization’s main interface with continental and regional bodies such as the African Union, and Regional Economic Communities and serves 46 UNDP Country Offices. Under the overall authority and guidance of the RSCA Director, the RSCA is sub-regionally and thematically divided into the UNDP Sub-Regional Hub for West and Central Africa, based in Dakar Senegal, UNDP Resilience Hub for Africa, based in Nairobi Kenya, and UNDP Africa Sustainable Finance Hub based in Pretoria South Africa. In addition to the four Hubs, the RSCA currently has 10 policy and programmes teams operating across the Hubs including the HIV and Health team operating out of Istanbul. They include; Country Support Team (CST); RBM, M&E and Accelerator Labs; The Regional Programme for Africa; Inclusive Growth; Gender and Women’s Empowerment; HIV, Health and Development; Nature, Climate and Energy; Governance and Peacebuilding; Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience Team; and Finance and Private Sector.

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

Under the direct supervision of the RSCA Director, the Coordination Specialist’s main function is to foster strong substantive engagement within and across the RSCA teams as well as support for coordination and planning processes and priorities within the framework of the UNDP Strategic Plan and Renewed Strategic Offer for Africa and regional processes. The Coordination Specialist works in close collaboration with technical advisors and experts of programme units and across Hubs ensuring successful and transparent coordination of RSCA activities. The Coordination Specialist is a member of the Joint Secretariat of the Africa Regional Collaboration Platform (RCP), which is supported by the regional offices of DCO, UNECA, and UNDP, and operates under the overall direction of the RCP Chair and the two Vice-Chairs.

Key Duties and Accountabilities include:

UNDP adopts a portfolio approach to accommodate changing business needs and leverage linkages across interventions 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.

Provide advisory support to the RSCA Director for UNDP coherent internal coordination and integration mechanisms:

• Advise and support the RSCA Director in implementing a vision for the RSCA, ensuring delivery of commitments, and following up on pending issues with senior managers for response/decision.
• Advise and support inter-Hub and whole-of-RSCA coordination and integration to strengthen the coherence of RSCA and its support to regional organizations and Country Offices;
• Facilitate, at the request of the RSCA Director, the convening of mechanisms, namely, the Senior Management Group, the Inter-practice Coordination Group (IPCG) and RSCA Working Groups and ensuring minutes are taken and shared with relevant stakeholders.
• Facilitate, at the request of the RSCA Director, briefings and consultations with RSCA Teams.

Provide technical support to the RSCA Director for programming and monitoring processes:

• Provide technical support to the RSCA Director in strengthening the capacity of the RSCA Teams to develop, coordinate, and implement priorities in alignment with UNDP and UNDP RBA strategic frameworks.
• Ensure that appropriate linkages are made to other ongoing programmatic initiatives, including Country Programme Documents as well as donor strategies.
• In accordance with System for Tracking Advisory Requests and Services (STARS), ensure the record of requests and follow-up actions for the RSCA Director.

Contribute to the implementation of RSCA Director’s strategic efforts on effective communication, partnership and resource mobilization:

• Advise and support the RSCA Director with consultations with the Government, donors and organizations of the UN system, building partnerships and mobilizing resources.
• Collate and consolidate information from different RSCA Teams in the preparation of reports, briefings, presentations, and responses on institutional, development, strategic and operational issues, as appropriate.
• Facilitate communications between the RSCA Director and the RSCA Teams. Provide liaison and specific inputs for issues that should be brought to the attention of the RSCA Director. Identify and address communication gaps, if any, ensuring information flow within the RSCA.

Provides administrative support and contributes as a member of the Secretariat of the Africa Regional Collaborative Platform (RCP) to optimize UNDP’s efforts:

The annual and related meetings: 

• Contribute to the organization of the annual meeting of the RCP Africa – back to back with the Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development, and other relevant meetings to advance the objectives of the RCP in strengthening UN Development System’s engagement at the regional level
• Consult with RCP Vice-Chairs and RCP members on other strategic and programmatic RCP meetings relevant to strengthening the work of UNCTs in Africa in support of implementation of the 2030 Agenda and SDGs, and Agenda 2063, at country level;
• Consult and backstop OIBCs and Task Forces co-conveners and other relevant stakeholders on proposals for agenda items for the consideration of the RCP Vice-Chairs;

Annual reporting and related analytical products

• Liaise with Opportunity and Issue-Based Coalition (OIBCs) and Task Force co-conveners on the preparation of the mid-term and annual report and other appropriate reports for the consideration of the RCP at its meetings;
• Contribute to the analysis on trends, dynamics and lessons learned on the development landscape, flowing from the work of the OIBCs & Task Forces.
• Facilitate implementation and compliance of decisions taken by the RCP chair and Vice-Chairs.
• Disseminate the annual RCP report to relevant partners and stakeholders; 

Meetings facilitation

• Prepare and circulate the draft minutes of RCP meeting for comments by OIBCs and TF Co-conveners before final approval by the Vice-Chairs of the RCP.
• Maintain a record of such meetings, their decisions and implementation;
• Institute an online repository of records of meetings, progress reports and any other reports as requested by the RCP and as is necessary to maintain the smooth functioning of the RCP.
• Ensure access to such records to all members of the RCP;

The annual  UN Africa RCP work programme

• Consult and contribute to the draft annual/multi-year work plan in line with the global template for final approval by the RCP Vice-Chairs;
• Support the Vice-Chairs of the RCP in following up on the implementation of decisions made by the RCP and the work plan.

Monitor progress

• Track and prepare regular updates on progress on RCP implementation.
• Support the Vice-Chairs in reviewing and evaluating performance of the RCP on a yearly basis;

Member State engagement

• Support the RCP Vice-Chairs in engagement with  Member States , providing information on the RCP Africa in supporting the UNDS at regional and country levels

Partnership and collaborations:

• With the African Union: Facilitate support on partnerships with the African Union towards the realization of Agenda 2030 as may be agreed to by the leadership of the UN; 
• With other partners: Facilitate partnerships with other partners in advancing the work of the Africa RCP.

Other Duties: 

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

QUALIFICATIONS

Education:

• Advanced university degree (master’s degree or equivalent) in Economics, Social Sciences, International Relations, Political Sciences, Development, Management, or related field is required. Or 
• A First-level university degree, in the areas mentioned above, with an additional two (2) years of relevant work experience will be considered in lieu of advanced university degree.

Experience, Knowledge, and Skills

• Minimum of five (5) years (with master’s degree) or seven (7) years (with bachelor’s degree) of relevant work experience at the national or international level in the area of development, management and cooperation; coordination, communications, assisting senior management with policy analysis, programme support or related field is required.
• Experience with working with UN/DP and/or government in developing country settings is desired.
• Experience working in Africa and in/on specific regions would be an asset.
• Experience with working with the AUC, RECs and other regional institutions and bodies would be considered an asset.
• Experience in building strategic partnerships with multiple stakeholders is desired. 
• Experience in resource mobilization is an asset. 
• Experience in donor and analytical reporting is an asset. 

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in written and oral English is required.
• Knowledge of another UN official working language is desirable.

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

Cross-Functional & Technical Competencies:

Communication: Writing and Editing

• Ability to create and/or edit written content in different UN languages

Partnership Management: Relationship Management

• Ability to engage with a wide range of public and private partners, build, sustain and/or strengthen working relations, trust and mutual understanding

Business Direction and Strategy: Effective Decision Making

• Take decisions in a timely and efficient manner in line with one's authority, area of expertise and resources and take into consideration potential wider implications. 

Business Management: Portfolio Management

• Ability to select, prioritise and control the organization's programmes and projects in line with its strategic objectives and capacity Ability to balance the implementation of change initiatives with regular activities for optimal return on investment. Knowledge and understanding of key principles of project, programme, and portfolio management.

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 policy.

Business Management: Communication

• Ability to communicate in a clear, concise and unambiguous manner both through written and verbal communication; to tailor messages and choose communication methods depending on the audience
• Ability to manage communications internally and externally, through media social media and other appropriate channels

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.

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

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