Programme Officer

Org. Setting and Reporting

This position is located in the Programme Office in LAO PDR (POLAO) with duty station in Vientiane, and operates under the Regional Office for Southeast Asia and the Pacific (ROSEAP), Division for Operations (DO), United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). The incumbent will report to the ROSEAP Programme Officer (Drugs Team Lead) as First Reporting Officer and to the Programme Coordinator as Second Reporting Officer, both based in Bangkok, Thailand.

Responsibilities

Within assigned authority, the incumbent will perform the following duties:

• Contribute to the coordination of the implementation of the Alternative Development Programme in Lao PDR and all its activities to promote socio-economic development and the rule of law in opium cultivating areas of the country.
• Guide the project team in the various field locations on planning and implementation of activities under the programme.
• Establish working partnerships with the private sector to facilitate the marketing of products in support of the cooperatives working in the alternative development areas.
• Plan, implement, manage, and monitor project activities, in line with applicable UN rules and regulations, policies and administrative mechanisms.
• Coordinate with the authorities and beneficiaries at the municipal level with regard to their participation in and support to the programme.
• Liaise and coordinate with the Lao National Commission for Drug Control and Supervision and other relevant authorities at national, provincial, district, and village levels with a view to ensuring ownership is firmly embedded throughout implementation.
• Promote complementary drug use prevention and treatment models and other relevant development interventions and UNODC programmes in areas covered by the programme.
• Develop and disseminate replicable models and best practices that are appropriate to communities and other parts of Lao PDR.
• Monitor and manage the programme’s budget and all related administrative issues and report periodically and on an ongoing basis within UNODC on the implementation status and delivery. Plan, supervise and coordinate the evaluation of project activities and facilitate implementation of evaluation findings.
• Contribute to coordinated efforts by the Regional Office for Southeast Asia and the Pacific on programme implementation and expansion in the Golden Triangle region.
• Contribute to resource mobilization efforts in Lao PDR and other alternative development activities in the region, including by liaising and coordinating with national counterparts and donors to advance substantive activities.
• Participate in the UN Country Team as an alternate UNODC focal point as well as in the Security Management Team.
• Maintain regular communication national/local counterparts, donors and other partners, and ensure that reporting obligations and other obligations are fulfilled in a timely manner.
• Contribute to the visibility of the Alternative Development Programme.
• Provide substantive support to the design and implementation of a target-oriented fund-raising strategy for the Alternative Development Programme in Lao PDR.
• Improve coordination between development partners and donors together with harmonising practice and procedure considered critical to improving aid effectiveness.
• Collect and analyze data to identify trends or patterns and provide insights through graphs, charts, tables and reports using data visualization methods to enable data-driven planning, decision-making, presentation and reporting.
• Perform other work-related duties as required.

Education

• An advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in social sciences, business administration, economics, international relations, law, public administration, or related field is required. A first-level university degree in similar fields in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Work Experience

• A minimum of five years of progressively responsible professional experience in project or programme management on Alternative Development (AD), including monitoring and evaluation, is required. Work experience in providing support to rural cooperatives or similar producers’ organizations is required.
• Work experience in rural development contexts in least developed countries is desirable. Work experience in technical cooperation and project implementation with drug control and crime prevention objectives and gender mainstreaming is desirable. Work experience in leading a team implementing programme activities in a rural development context is desirable. Experience in data analytics or related area is desirable.

Languages

• English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this position, fluency in English is required. Knowledge of Lao or Thai is an advantage. Knowledge of another United Nations official language is an advantage

Source: https://careers.un.org/jobSearchDescription/248014?language=en