Programme Manager – SHIELD (Nationals Only)

The Philippines is one of the fastest growing economies in Southeast Asia and plays an important role in the stability of the region. Environmental degradation and more frequent climatic events are likely to be key political, economic, and security disrupters over the longer term. Humanitarian crises can undermine growth, reverse development gains, increase poverty, and cause instability that can last for decades.

The nexus between gender equity, disability, and social inclusion (GEDSI), disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM), and climate change adaptation (CCA) is a well-established human development issue. Climate change and inequality interlink to create a vicious vulnerability-poverty cycle. Socio-economic inequalities are a key determinant in the disproportionate adverse effects of climate hazards on marginalized people and these impacts in turn create greater inequality and marginalization. At the same time, disasters and conflict are integrally linked to the broader national development context in which they occur and can contribute to each other by making a situation better or worse.

The Government of Australia (GOA) has invested AUD18 million in the Strengthening Institutions and Empowering Localities Against Disasters and Climate Change (SHIELD) Programme 2022-2027 to support the Government of the Philippines (GPH) in building institutional and community resilience to climate change and natural hazards. The goal of the SHIELD Programme is to make all people in target communities safer and more resilient to the impacts of natural hazard events and climate change. This will be realized by achieving three inter-dependent outcomes/components:

• Component 1: Government, private sector, and civil society stakeholders in targeted local government units (LGUs) are collaborating to unlock funding and implementing informed and inclusive resilience actions
• Component 2: Relevant national government agencies (NGAs) are prioritizing action on local climate and disaster resilience
• Component 3: Philippine scientific agencies are producing tailored and accessible information for local resilience action

In partnership with the Government of the Philippines, the SHIELD Programme will be implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), together with consortium partners, UN-Habitat, Philippine Business for Social Progress, National Resilience Council, and the Consortium of Bangsamoro Civil Society. All five Consortium partners will serve as Implementing Partners responsible for managing respective project outputs and activities, in harmony with other workstreams, and manage risk in accordance with the agreed project document.

UNDP, as Consortium Lead, has entered into a cost-sharing agreement with the Australian Embassy in Manila – Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) for the implementation of the SHIELD Programme and takes overall responsibility and accountability for the effective use of resources and the delivery of outputs, as set forth in the SHIELD Portfolio Document.

UNDP will set up a SHIELD Support Unit (SSU) responsible and accountable for day-to-day management of SHIELD Programme interventions across the 3 components, achieving programme outputs, and for the effective use of resources through collaborative engagement with the Consortium, GPH, multi-stakeholder partnerships (MSPs), and GOA. While administratively reporting to UNDP, the SSU will serve as the implementation arm of the whole SHIELD Consortium.

The SSU will undertake key functions to support the SHIELD Programme Board, Executive Committee, and Programme Management Team, including secretariat duties, GEDSI support to programmes, whole-of-programme monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL), and professional partnership brokering through MSPs at the sub-nat/ional and national levels.

Position Purpose:

Under the overall supervision and guidance of the Deputy Resident Representative, working closely with the UNDP Climate Action Programme Team, and in close collaboration with the SHIELD Consortium partners, UNDP teams in the Philippines Country Office and Bangkok Regional Hub, and DFAT, the SHIELD Programme Manager is responsible for the overall management of the SHIELD Programme and supervision of the SHIELD Support Unit.

The Programme Manager will be primarily responsible in ensuring that the main objectives of the SHIELD Programme are implemented in the most efficient and effective manner through adaptive management. S/he will play a lead role in partnership brokering with multi-stakeholder partners/stakeholders (including national and subnational government, civil society, academe, private sector, and communities) along with managing, implementing, coordinating the delivery of the programme. Taking a holistic view of the SHIELD Programme, s/he will guide the SSU to engage and facilitate harmonization of activities with the Consortium, government and other stakeholders to maximize results.

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.

Management of the SHIELD program and supervision of the SHIELD Support Unit:

• Lead the partnership brokering for all stakeholders (consortium, GPH/LGUs, MSPs, etc.) and ensure their engagement and participation in all activities
• Ensure that the main objectives of the programme are achieved in the most efficient and effective manner
• Provide strategic oversight of planning, budgeting, implementing and monitoring of the programme, tracking use of financial resources in accordance with UNDP rules and regulations
• Undertake day-to-day management of the programme, including effective programme implementation and documents progress towards the achievement of outputs;
• In coordination with the SHIELD Consortium, ensure the identification of clear and achievable physical and financial targets, a realistic work plan to reach them and an agreed upon monitoring and reporting system for the Implementing Partners
• Lead the SHIELD Support Unit, whether staff and consultants, in both substantive and operational issues ensuring optimization of human and financial resources and nurturing a culture of results with highest performance standards
• Conduct an iterative review and re-design of the programme including the framing, implementation, revision and documentation of an agreed monitoring, evaluation and learning framework
• Ensure compliance with donor agreements
• Facilitate transparent financial management of the programme that is able to stand to regular audits and evaluation
• Lead the preparation of monitoring and progress reports, work plans, budget and expenditure statements for approval by the SHIELD Programme Board
• Ensure that the SHIELD Programme promotes Philippine Government ownership and institutionalization of resilience initiatives and sustainability
• Manage the risks of the SHIELD Programme by identifying and adopting strategies to address unforeseen challenges impacting the success of the project

Policy and Programme Services:

• Lead the analytical and policy development work of the team and ensure high quality products
• Work with a number of counterparts including national and subnational Philippine Government and other multistakeholder partners towards resilient development
• Ensure that the best technical assistance is provided for programme implementation
• Encourage cross-practice work while implementing the programme including considerations of the GEDSI and social and environmental safeguards
• Ensure the highest UNDP standards in the provision of technical and advisory inputs, organization of workshops, seminars, training and delivery of outputs

Strategic partnerships and resource mobilization:

• Engage and work with the Consortium, government partners, and multistakeholder partners, including national and subnational government, civil society, academe, private sector, donor towards achieving the resilience agenda
• Establish and maintain partnerships with all stakeholders at the national and subnational levels to ensure effective and efficient implementation of the programme
• Create new partnerships/collaborations and coordinate existing partnerships/collaborations amongst the Government, various beneficiary entities, implementing partners, donors, and other actors in the resilience space to initiate and adopt innovations in local resilience building for the timely, resource-bound, and effective implementation of the programme activities
• Implement co-financing/resource mobilization strategies to achieve programme outcomes

Knowledge Management:

• Support knowledge management related to resilient development across SHIELD workstreams at both national and subnational levels
• Ensure that programme results are captured and recorded in knowledge products to communicate programme results and to promote replication
• Promote a learning environment and systematic information sharing within the programme team, partners, and stakeholders
• Ensure the quality of all knowledge products, reports and services, and effective integration and compatibility with other practice areas
• Provide sound contributions to knowledge networks and communities of practice at regional and global levels

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

Supervisory/Managerial Responsibilities: SHIELD team.

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

People Management: UNDP People Management Competencies can be found in the dedicated site.

Cross-Functional & Technical:

Business Management – 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

Digital & Innovation – Systems Thinking & Transformation:

• Understand that complex problems need a non-reductionistic, holistic approach.
• Ability to explore challenges from multiple perspectives by zooming in and out, with a focus on relationships and flows rather than individual elements; understand how certain dynamics and conditions are driving and influencing an issue.
• Ability to develop a collective understanding by a mapping systems and their dynamics (e.g. flows or resources, information; power relations); is able to handle ambiguity and can help others navigate it.
• Being able to identify intervention points to leverage change and system transformation by setting out a coherent collection of multiple interventions to probe the system for desirable effects.
• Understand that change is non-linear and unpredictable; being comfortable and able to work with emergence.

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 – 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 and the maintenance of business-as-usual, while optimising return on investment

2030 Agenda: Prosperity – Inclusive Growth:

• Social Inclusion