Programme Management Specialist, IPSA 10

Background and Organizational Context

General Assembly Resolution 2186 (XXI) decided to “bring into operations the United Nations Capital Development Fund as an organ of the General Assembly which shall function as an autonomous organization of the United Nations. The UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) assists developing countries, especially least developing countries, in the development of their economies by supplementing existing sources of capital assistance by means of grants, loans, and guarantees. UNCDF’s vision is to help mobilize and catalyze an increase of capital flows for SDG impactful investments to Member States to address the most pressing development challenges facing vulnerable communities in these countries and thereby contribute to sustainable economic growth and equitable prosperity. 

UNCDF utilizes its unique capability in the UN system to deploy grants, loans and guarantees to crowd-in finance for the scaling of development impact. UNCDF focuses on where the needs are greatest, a deliberate focus and capability rooted in UNCDF’s unique investment mandate to support the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the realization of the Doha Programme of Action for the least developed countries, 2022–2031. 

As per its Strategic Framework, UNCDF works to deploy its functions as a hybrid development organization and development finance institution. UNCDF responds to Member States requests for assistance by providing targeted technical and financial advisory services on investments for development outcomes, designing bespoke financial structuring solutions, undertaking financial derisking of investments, and enhancing investment readiness of SDG aligned projects in partnership with private sector, UNOs, International and Local Finance Institutions, Development Finance Institutions as well as Foundations and Philanthropy, among others. UNCDF works to develop local financial systems, new markets and mobilize and crowd in capital from public and private sources. UNCDF is driven by a partnership mindset which enables it to deploy its different capital capabilities in highly tailored and responsive ways in order to mobilize investments flows from other sources, in particular from the private sector. By structuring transactions which are highly impactful, but also recognize the need for multiplying the impact of its own capital, UNCDF seeks to position itself as a preferred partner for different stakeholders. UNCDF’s work is focused on six priority areas, including: 

• Sub-national and local infrastructure financing 
•  Women-owned enterprise financing 
•  Nature and climate financing 
• Energy and decarbonization finance 
• Sustainable food systems financing 
• Inclusive digital finance 

Following a recent restructuring, UNCDF’s organizational set up includes an Investment and Implementation Division (IID), Investment and Finance Oversight Division (IFOD), Operations and Oversight Division (OOD) and a Directorate of the Executive Office. UNCDF staff and personnel are located in regional hubs based in Dakar (Senegal), Nairobi (Kenya) and Bangkok (Thailand) with sub-regional presence in a number of locations in the Caribbean and Pacific Regions. UNCDF is led by an Executive Secretary based out of New York, USA. Pursuant to General Assembly resolution 2321(XXII, para 1.a), the Administrator of the UNDP performs the function of the Managing Director of UNCDF. UNCDF is overseen by the Executive Board of United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) and performs the function of the Executive Board of UNCDF. 

In 2021 UNCDF launched the “Leveraging digital finance to increase resilience of ACP countries (DFS4Res)” programme in various countries in Africa, the Pacific and the Caribbean that contributes to the deployment of digital finance solutions at the scale and speed necessary to deepen financial inclusion, accelerate economic recovery from COVID-19, and to make economies and societies more resilient to external shocks. And in 2024 UNCDF started the “SME Trade Finance Facility (STFF)”, a project funded by the EU, which aims to address the significant SME trade finance gap in African, Caribbean and Pacific countries. 

And more recently, in East and Southern Africa, UNCDF has embarked on multiple strategic projects to bridge the financing, capacity and technology gaps for MSMEs called FinWise. The programme has raised USD34M over the past three years and expects to continue to grow robustly. 

This position will lead and support the programme management, operations, planning and coordination and guidance for the programme teams of these above mentioned initiatives: DFS4Res, STFF and FinWise. 

Duties and Responsibilities

UNCDF is looking for a Programme Management Specialist to support the DFS4Resilience and STFF programmes in Africa, the Pacific and the Caribbean. The Specialist will be in charge of:

Programme Development and Implementation:

• Support the design and execution of programmes, ensuring alignment with UNDP and UNCDF rules, regulations and priorities. 
• Support drafting and/or updating of the Project Document and the associated donor agreements, and ensure compliance and obtain the necessary approvals. 
• Draft and review annual work plans, making sure HR and procurement needs are correctly assessed, risks are updated and indicators are aligned with Prodoc. 
• Develop and implement coordination tools to support programme implementation in all countries. 
• Support weekly team meetings with country teams, ensuring items of strategic importance are added to the meeting agenda, preparing documents as needed and ensuring accountability on followup actions.
• Plan, elaborate and follow-up of a reporting strategy, based on donors’ agreements, UNCDF’s corporate requirements for reporting schedules for both programmes.
• Support drafting and provide quality assurance of donors’ narrative reports.
• Support procurement processes including the quality assurance of TORs and provide guidance on processes.
• Provide guidance on Responsible Party selection; i.e. provide quality assurance on due diligence on pre selected candidates, selection packages and agreements (Responsible Party, Performance Based Payment Agreement, Letter Of Agreement…). 
• Provide quality assurance support and maintain relationship with Project Management Support Unit (PMSU) and Operations Effectiveness and Assurance Unit

Monitoring and Evaluation: 

• Track progress, assess impact, and make data-driven recommendations to the Programme Manager and the country teams.
• Ensure country teams report on time and take care of consolidation of data at programme level to inform the Programme Manager and provide input to programme level reporting, such as to donors.
• Report on project achievements for input into regular performance monitoring andIntegrated Results and Resources Matrix (IRRM).
• Establish clear performance targets and indicators with partners, consistent with UNCDF strategic framework and programmes’ objectives. 
• Develop and implement systems for regular internal tracking/monitoring and evaluation procedures as needed to ensure programmes are on track for delivery as planned (including responsible parties’ agreements).
• With the evaluation unit, prepare ToR and support evaluation and program reviews, ensure a coherent and consistant evaluation process and archiving processes to document results
• Support the design and implementation of impact assessments of interventions.
• Lead annual corporate reporting, support data collection and ensure quality assurance before entering data in  Quantum and in the donor’s reporting systems as and when required (e.g. EU OPSYS).

Financial and Resource Management:

• Manage budgets and ensure efficient allocation of resources.
• Lead financial reporting and compliance with donor reporting arrangements.
• Support audits and decentralized evaluations.
• Ensure effective and efficient use of Quantum and Quantum+ in line with project cycle.
• Ensure appropriate staffing and consultants support is in place, in liaison with regional and HQ support.
• Organize targets and monitor financial delivery for the programmes.
• Lead and support the management of HR recruitement processes including the preparation of TORs, review and selection of candidate CVs, development of selection criteria.

Facilitate knowledge and capacity building, knowledge sharing, and advocacy 

 Identify capacity building needs and opportunities. Ensure appropriate training, project workshops and other relevant activities are organized and implemented in a consultative manner, involving technical experts and stakeholders that may include the government, private sector, NGOs, donors, and/or academia.

• Ensure project reports capture results, lessons learned and good practices for possible wider application.
• Participate in and ensure sound contributions to knowledge networks and communities of practice on development and project related issues. Support establishment of knowledge platforms for the project, facilitate innovative mechanisms for dissemination of knowledge from the project, and develop knowledge resources and products to share with project partners and to support UNDP’s engagement in this area. 

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

Institutional Arrangement

The Specialist will work under the supervision of the Programme Manager for DFS4Res / STFF, and the ESA Regional Digital Manager. 

Competencies

Core

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.

Coss-Functional & Technical competencies 

Thematic Area Name   Definition

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 Development - Knowledge Facilitation 

• Ability to animate individuals and communities of contributors to participate and share, particularly externally.

Business Management -Project Management

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

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.

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.

Required Skills and Experience

Minimum Education requirements

• Advanced university degree (master's degree or equivalent) in Business Administration, Public Administration, Economics, Political Sciences, Social Sciences, or related field is required, or 
• A first-level university degree (bachelor’s degree) in combination with an additional two years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Minimum years of relevant work experience 

• A minimum of 5 years (with Master's degree) or 7 years (with Bachelor's degree) of progressively responsible experience at the national and/or international level  in the field of programme management, project management, project coordination or related fields

Required  skills 

• Experience working in Africa is mandatory
• Past experience of working with UNCDF or other UN agency

Desired skills in addition to the competencies covered in the Competencies section

• Experience in project cycle, budget/financial management and coordination
• Previous experience /familiarity with results monitoring and reporting is preferred
• Functional understanding of Oracle and Salesforce-based systems such as Quantum and Quantum+. 

Required Language(s)  

• Fluency in both French and English is required

 The following documents shall be required from the applicants:

a) Personal CV or P11, indicating all past positions held and their main underlying functions, their durations (month/year), the qualifications, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate, and at least three (3) the most recent professional references of previous supervisors. References may also include peers. 

b) A cover letter (maximum length: 1 page) indicating why the candidate considers him-/herself to be suitable for the position.

Equal opportunity

As an equal opportunity employer, UNDP values diversity as an expression of the multiplicity of nations and cultures where we operate and, as such, we encourage qualified applicants from all backgrounds to apply for roles in the organization. Our employment decisions are based on merit and suitability for the role, without discrimination. 

UNDP is also committed to creating an inclusive workplace where all personnel are empowered to contribute to our mission, are valued, can thrive, and benefit from career opportunities that are open to all.

Sexual harassment, exploitation, and abuse of authority

UNDP does not tolerate harassment, sexual harassment, exploitation, discrimination and abuse of authority. All selected candidates, therefore, undergo relevant checks and are expected to adhere to the respective standards and principles. 

Right to select multiple candidates

UNDP reserves the right to select one or more candidates from this vacancy announcement.  We may also retain applications and consider candidates applying to this post for other similar positions with UNDP at the same grade level and with similar job description, experience and educational requirements.

Scam alert

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