UNDP multi-country office in Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei Darussalam provides technical assistance, policy and technical advisory services to the Governments of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei Darussalam in their efforts towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG); in partnership with development partners, financial institutions, private sector and civil society.

In Malaysia, UNDP’s programme priorities and partnerships are defined and operationalized through the Country Programme between Government of Malaysia and UNDP to support and contribute to the development priorities and results envisioned in the 5-year Malaysia Plan. Malaysia is currently implementing the Twelfth Malaysia Plan 2021-2025 (12MP), which is anchored around three key themes namely resetting economy, strengthening security, wellbeing and inclusivity; and advancing sustainability to achieve economic growth and transform Malaysia into a prosperous, inclusive and sustainable country.

Nature, Climate and Energy (NCE) is the biggest programme portfolio for UNDP Malaysia Country Office (CO), where it has a wide range of initiatives and projects from biodiversity and ecosystems, climate change, energy, environmental management, ozone protection, green commodities, natural resource management and waste management. Currently, NCE programme implementation is mainly funded by government finance, Global Environment Facility and other resources. The portfolio remains one of the important programme areas in the Country Programme Document period of 2022 – 2025 with a shift towards diversification of funding and efforts to operationalize new and innovative financial instruments and partnerships.

The Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and UNDP’s Green Commodity Programme (GCP) have worked in partnership since 2015. Phases I and II of the partnership were successful in strengthening the Indonesia Sustainable Palm Oil Platform and facilitating the development and initial implementation of the National Action Plan on Sustainable Palm Oil, as well as supporting the formulation and launch of the Coffee National Action Plan in Peru, guided by the multi-stakeholder Peruvian National Coffee Platform. During these phases the UNDP GCP also engaged with regional and global sustainable production initiatives, advocating for improved synergies between global level buyers/traders and producer companies, further refined methodologies and tools for effective multi-stakeholder collaborative action and facilitated portfolio wide learning and knowledge-sharing.

In 2023, SECO and UNDP GCP started the Phase III of the “Effective Collaborative Action for Sustainable Commodity Production and Trade” project. The goal of Phase III is to advance multi-stakeholder collaboration for systemic change. Through it, UNDP will foster the adoption of sustainable production through facilitating effective multi-stakeholder collaborative initiatives in globally important agricultural commodity systems in five countries in order to catalyze a shared vision and multi-stakeholder collaborative action for transforming those systems. Achievement of this objective will be facilitated by UNDP through effective multi-stakeholder collaborative action, addressing the challenges presented by siloed stakeholders, mistrust and diverging agendas. This new phase will build on the work and successes of the prior two phases, and it will continue work in Indonesia (palm oil) and Peru (coffee and cocoa), while also starting new interventions in Ghana (cocoa), Brazil (soy and beef), and Malaysia (palm oil).

In 2015, the state of Sabah in Malaysia launched the Jurisdictional Approach (JA) Initiative to sustainable palm oil production. Under the JA Initiative, the state has committed to sustainable palm oil by ensuring all palm oil production under its jurisdiction meets the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) or Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) Jurisdiction Approach to Certification standards by 2025.

Through the SECO project, UNDP will work directly with the JA Secretariat, delivering capacity building and possibly expanding the JA Secretariat team and operation, and facilitating improved collaboration among the existing multi-stakeholder structures of the JA Initiative. The intervention will also involve facilitating wider and deeper engagement with the oil palm production sector to promote uptake in the JA Initiative including uptake by smallholder farmers.

Under the guidance and direct supervision of the National Project Coordinator, UNDP is hiring a National Project Associate to assist in the effective and efficient management of the project.

a.   Support the project team to ensure effective project planning and implementation. 
•    Support the formulation of work plans, provide daily support on timely execution of the project approved work plans (including administrative management activities in accordance with corporate compliance rules and practices);
•    Assume overall responsibility for administrative matters of a more general nature, such as registry and maintenance of project files and records.
•    Steer the coordination, preparation and follow-up of communication and meetings with the oversight group.
•    Assists in monitoring the progress throughout the project cycle using signals of change methodology as a way to regularly assess progress in line with the annual work plan.
•    Arrange duty travels as required, ensuring proper use of UNDP resources and client satisfaction.
•    Drafts meeting minutes and comprehensive reports.
•    Organise and coordinate the procurement of services and goods under the projects.
•    Supports other project-related activities as required by the National Project Coordinator.
b.   Provide support to the effective project financial management.
•    Prepare request for payments and ensure the supporting documents are available and in accordance with UNDP rules.
•    Prepare budgets, budget revisions and financial reports and monitor the expenditures related to the project.
•    Function as the point of contact on operational questions.

c.   Support implementation of the national commodity platform / multi-stakeholder process.
•    Provide support and assistance to the National Project Coordinator and facilitate organizing multi-stakeholder workshops and events.
•    Support the development of relationships and liaise with key project stakeholders and partners;
•    Coordinate with the key counterparts of the project and assist in information dissemination.

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

Institutional Arrangement

Under the supervision of the National Project Coordinator, the Project Associate works in close collaboration with the project team, UNDP CO and where relevant UNDP Global FACS team for effective achievement of results, anticipating and contributing to resolving complex project-related issues and information delivery. The incumbent is expected to exercise full compliance with UNDP programming, financial, procurement and administrative rules, regulations, policies and strategies, as well as implementation of the effective internal control systems.
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 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 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 Management – Project Management   

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

• Business Management – Partnership management 

-Ability to 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. Sets overall direction for the formation and management of strategic relationships contributing to the overall positioning of UNDP.

• Administrative & Operations – Events Management (including retreats, trainings and meetings)   

-Support offices with event management including venue identification, accommodation, logistics, catering, transportation, and cash disbursements, etc.

• Finance – Budget Management   

Ability to support budgetary aspects of work planning process, drawing and management of team budgets.

• Procurement – Contract Management   

-Knowledge of contract management concepts, principles and methods, and ability to apply this to strategic and/or practical situations

• Secondary education is required OR
• Bachelor’s degree in Project Management, Business Administration, International Development, Finance, Public Administration or related fields, will be given due consideration, but it is not a requirement.

Required skills  :

•    Demonstrated experience in project cycle management involving multiple partners and stakeholders in the national and/or sub-national setting.
•    Demonstrated understanding of the national context.
•    Experience in engaging with high-level stakeholders from both the public and private sector.
•    Experience in using office software packages (MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.)
Desired additional skills and competencies  :

•    Familiarity with the value chains of the palm oil industry.
•    Experience in multi-stakeholder collaboration processes.
•    Prior experience working with the United Nations Development Programme or other United Nations agencies.
Required Language(s) (at working level)  :

• Fluency in English and Malay (reading, writing, speaking) is required.

This role is set to be based in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.