Office/Unit/Project Description 

South Sudan is endowed with vast natural resources and economic potential that has not translated into improved standards of living for the citizens. This is due to ongoing conflicts which have roots in political contestation for power and are both fueling and causing poverty, high unemployment, and the absence of economic opportunities for the predominantly youthful population. For young countries like South Sudan, the youth bulge poses a threat to the volatile peace and security situation especially if young people are not engaged and assisted to be economically productive members of society. By enabling them to meet their needs and that of their families and dependents, youths will not need to resort to criminality or violence.

With the influx of returnees due to the Sudan Crisis, ensuring the sustainable return and reintegration of the 2.3 million displaced population is a major challenge. It requires immediate interventions through the development of employable skills linked to the labor market, and the creation of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) that will serve as avenues for youth to have jobs and income. Thus, improving the enabling environment to encourage the establishment and sustainability of youth entrepreneurship and start-ups and having the requisite skilled labor force is necessary.

One of the strategic priority interventions in the UNDP Country Programme Document {2022-2024) is the Youth Enterprise Development and Capacity Building (YEDCB) project and the Skills, Employment, and Empowerment for the Development of Youth (SEED4Youth) Project. The YEDCB project aims to enhance employability and job creation for young women and men aged 18-35 years in South Sudan through the strengthening of the private sector, the building of entrepreneurship skills, and improvement in the enabling environment. The objectives of the project are to: (i) increase the employability of youth by facilitating access to skills development, business development support, and financing; and (ii) enhance public service delivery through institutional and human capacity development.

The project seeks to ensure that youth with the potential to grow as entrepreneurs are self-employed and/or create employment for others through their sustainable businesses.

The SEED4Youth Project aims to facilitate the transformation of local economies and upliftment in the well-being of vulnerable youth and women in eight target states through the improvement in the food security and income of 51,000 direct beneficiaries, as well as the recovery of state economies.  It intends to empower youth and women socially and economically through the matching of industry needs and available skills, job creation, and enhancement of trade and business opportunities. The nurturing of entrepreneurial culture and market-linked skills and enhancement of employability and productive engagement in economic activities will raise the productivity and labour-absorptive capacities of agriculture and natural resource-linked value chains and private sector enterprises with a focus on young men and women.

The Stabilization, Recovery, and Resilience (StaRR) Unit is the unit in the UNDP CO responsible for the provision of technical assistance, programmatic guidance, development management support, and thought leadership to facilitate the transition from humanitarian and crises to recovery, resilience and development. The StaRR Unit adopts a portfolio approach in programming, establishing the complementarity and development of programmes and projects to enhance the achievement of relevant Country Programme Document (CPD) targets and focusing it on three major areas/portfolios, namely, Youth and Women Employment and Empowerment; Environment, Climate Change, and Disaster Risk Management; and Trade Promotion.

The SEED4Youth Project and the YEDCB Project are initiatives under the Youth and Women Employment and Empowerment Portfolio of the StaRR Unit. It complements other initiatives under the youth and women employment and empowerment portfolio being implemented on the ground/states like the Improvement of Community Centres for Responding to Gender-based Violence (CC4GBV) Project, Rural Enterprise Agricultural Development (READ) Project, etc.

The UNDP in collaboration with the Relief and Rehabilitation Commission (RRC) plays a central role in disaster risk preparedness, response, and recovery, including supporting capacity for disaster/crisis management and durable solutions. The RRC coordinates with relevant government institutions and national and international partners in supporting durable solution and humanitarian-related work and mobilizes resources from internal and external sources for the reconstruction of affected areas and resettlement of displaced persons. The UNDP is extending technical support to the RRC in providing durable solutions to be implemented through series of activities. This is intended to ensure crisis-affected communities can withstand shocks during the disasters and recover from the disaster’s aftermath of the strike.

In this regard, UNDP is seeking to engage a Programme Management Analyst to coordinate and support the implementation the YEDCB, SEED4Youth, and other StaRR programs and project in Western Equatoria State and Upper Nile State.  The Programme Management Analyst will also provide technical advice and leadership on the implementation of durable solution activities in the said states.

Institutional Arrangement

As part of the StaRR Unit, the Programme Management Analyst will be reporting to the Chief Programme Advisor with matrix reporting to and benefiting from oversight of the STARR Unit Team Leader. S/he will work, collaborate, and coordinate on a day-to-day basis with the Programme Coordinator (SEED4Youth, YEDCB) and relevant lead staff of relevant projects (READ, CC4GBV, etc.), in close collaboration with the Project Team, STARR unit, country office program colleagues and partners.

• Ensure delivery and rollout of market-led vocational, agro-value-chain and livelihood, and entrepreneurial skill training for target beneficiaries including maintenance of database.
• Provide technical and strategic guidance on youth and women employment through sustainable livelihoods and/or employment services including career guidance and counselling, internship, job placements, etc.
• Guide and coordinate project staff, partners and implementors in areas relating to strategies, planning, management, implementation, and evaluation to ensure smooth progress and quality in implementation.
• Contribute to the development and improvement of vocational training, private sector development, rural finance and durable solution initiatives.
• Provide technical support to implementing partner(s) and monitor the project activities to ensure that progress is made towards achieving the objectives set in the project documents in line with the budget.
• Follow project budgets to ensure appropriate spending in accordance with donor requirements and agency policies. Keep track of spending and ensure all financial supporting documents are in place for the milestones.
• Ensure a fully functioning Integrated Hub that delivers career advice and placement, business development services, and incubates innovative ideas and approaches to business.
• Establishment of sustainable businesses (cooperatives, MSMEs, VSLAs) and job placements/employment, including the maintenance of the employment database system.
• Establishment and operationalization of community infrastructure initiatives (using inter-locking bricks machines) through cash-for-work and other schemes.

Programme Coordination 

• Coordinate the implementation of project activities and partners ensuring the achievement of milestones as per the work plan and in the quality expected.
• Foster and strengthen cooperation and coordination between the project’s diverse stakeholders and beneficiaries to ensure successful project implementation.
• Support the RRC at state level in the coordination of durable solutions and DRM initiatives.

Monitoring and knowledge management

• Ensure accurate records of project outputs and impacts as well as regularly report on progress, best practices, lessons learned, success stories and field observations.
• Undertake regular monitoring activities, keep track of achievements and lessons learned.
• Provide regular updates/reports of project achievements and produce human interest stories.

The following are the minimum (but not exhaustive) deliverables of the Programme Management Analyst:

• Delivery of market-led vocational, agro-value-chain and livelihood, and entrepreneurial skill training for target beneficiaries
• Establishment of mutually beneficial and sustainable partnerships with the private sector to address skills mismatch and enhance skills training and delivery through internship programs and curriculum improvement.
• Development of micro and small enterprises and VSLAs through capacity building and enhancing access to capital and markets
• Coordinate and provide technical advice/guidance to project partners and implementors in areas concerning strategies, planning, management, implementation, and evaluation to ensure smooth progress and quality in implementation.
• Contribute and advise on the development of vocational skills training frameworks and courses/training and business ideas with key stakeholders.
• Ensure the operationalization and sustainability of the iHubs and the continued provision of   career advise and placement services.
• Construction of homes and community centers through skills development on inter-locking bricks and CFW and other schemes.
• Support the conduct of studies and research.
• Provide administrative, logistic, and liaison support for activity implementation.

Perform other duties and tasks as may be assigned by line manager(s).

• 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.
• Effective Decision Making: Ability to take decisions in a timely and efficient manner in line with one’s authority, area of expertise and resources.
• Negotiation and Influence: Ability to reach an understanding, persuade others, resolve points of difference, gain an advantage in the outcome of dialogue, negotiates mutually acceptable solutions through compromise and creates ‘win- win’.
• 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

• Results-based Management: Ability to manage programmes and projects with a focus on improved performance and demonstrable results.
• Partnerships 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.

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.