Development Cooperation Analyst

The Development Services Agreement between Government of Serbia and UNDP is envisaged to provide a framework for services requested by the Government, for ongoing initiatives of the Government, for which it bears full accountability. Most development services envisaged under the Agreement relate to support to policy making through research, advocacy or policy alternatives, aimed at fulfilling priorities as articulated in the Government plans, presented before Parliament, and in line with progress in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. The Project includes, among the rest, support in promoting the acceleration of progress on sustainable development and launching a national programme of action on SDGs in the Decade of Delivery. The overall objective of the portfolio of activities is to meet specific needs of central authorities for SDG integration in all initiatives at the policy and institutional levels and in detailed planning and implementation including varied outreach activities related to promoting and monitoring SDG implementation to become fully aligned with the EU acquis.

Furthermore, the project provides support for establishment, organization and coordination of the Official Development Assistance (ODA) of the Republic of Serbia when prompted by inter-sectorial cooperation and coordination of the actual provision of developmental and humanitarian assistance. UNDP will provide this support through advisory services for managing official development assistance, gearing it towards greater contribution and impact on SDGs, including through dedicated Serbia-UNDP cooperation for granting projects through the UNDP system of country offices, thus contributing to the financing of Agenda 2030. The presented ToR shall contribute to implementation of this activity.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Development Cooperation Activities:

• Actively participate in the realization of initiatives set by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in conceptualizing and implementing the system for provision of ODA.
• Conduct research, collect, analyze and report on other countries’ ODA systems.
• Track progress and identify key bottlenecks and take action to fast-track implementation of the initiatives related to ODA.
• Provide support in conceptualization and establishment of ODA financial data reporting systems.
• Act as a key liaison on specific topics related to ODA between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other relevant institutions such as the General Secretariat of the Government, line Ministries, implementation agencies and other involved stakeholders. This includes maintaining good cooperation, communication and coordination between the national counterparts, project partners and other stakeholders, aimed to ensure relevance and quality of projects’ outputs.
• Preparation of regular updates and reports on progress, implementing issues, emerging risks/problems and proposals for necessary remedial action.
• As required, prepare official correspondence for national and international partners.

Project Implementation:

• Identify and collect relevant information, documents and data, compile and analyze data for further use in project management.
• Ensure effective coordination and implementation of selected activities/components in the areas relevant to the project. 
• Prepare various documents, updates, talking points, presentations, reports and relevant communication materials, agendas for the meetings, background information relevant for discussions with stakeholders, keeping minutes of each meeting detailing participation, main points discussed, and conclusions reached.
• Maintain good cooperation and coordination between national counterparts, project partners, and other relevant stakeholders responsible for tasks pertaining to the project’s scope of work.

Provide support in the networking and partnership building, such as:

• Maintain regular contact with beneficiaries and service providers to ensure the relevance and quality of projects’ outputs.
• Support activities related to assessing the capacities and needs of government organizations and partners in close collaboration with national counterparts at both central and local levels.
• Maintain cooperation and communication with project’s partners and beneficiaries on the implementation of the agreed activities, especially for the events, trainings, workshops.
• Establish record with contacts, pursue networking and information sharing and to follow up on partnership related issues.
• Advise national partners on opportunities for enhancement of cooperation with relevant national and international partners.

Facilitate knowledge and capacity building, knowledge sharing and advocacy: 

• Organize training, workshops, and capacity building activities in a consultative manner, involving technical experts and stakeholders that may include the government, private sector, NGOs, donors, and/or academia.
• Identify, synthesize and document best practices and lessons learned that are generated from the project and implementing partners.
• Promote advocacy on development trends and opportunities to collaborate in coordination with the project partners, stakeholders, and UNDP communications staff.

Required Skills and Experience:

Education:

• Advanced University degree (master’s degree or equivalent) in Management, Economics, Law, Public Administration, International Development, Project Management or similar is required
• A first-level university degree (Bachelor’s degree) in the above fields in combination of additional 2 years of relevant experience will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university  degree.

Experience:

• Applicants with Master’s degree (or equivalent) in a relevant field of study are not required to have professional work experience. Applicants with a Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) are required to have a minimum of two (2) years of relevant professional experience at the national or international level in project management and operations management

Required skills:

• Experience in working with the wide range of stakeholders (private, government).
• Experience in building strong relationships with clients and external actors.
• Experience in the use of MS Office package, especially Excel and Power Point
• Desired skills in addition to the competencies covered in the Competencies section
• Experience in development cooperation activities
• Experience in strategic planning.
• Experience in business analysis and processes.

Required Languages: 

• Fluency in Serbian and English is required.

Source: https://estm.fa.em2.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/CandidateExperience/en/sites/CX_1/job/23696