Project Analyst (Home-based)

Office/Unit/Project Description 

UNDP is the knowledge frontier organization for sustainable development in the UN Development System and serves as the integrator for collective action to realize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UNDP’s policy work carried out at HQ, Regional and Country Office levels offers a spectrum of deep local knowledge to cutting-edge global perspectives and advocacy. In this context, UNDP invests in its Global Policy Network (GPN), a network of field-based and global technical expertise across a wide range of knowledge domains and in support of the signature solutions and organizational capabilities envisioned in UNDP’s Strategic Plan. 

Within the GPN, the Bureau for Policy and Programme Support (BPPS) has the responsibility for developing all relevant policy and guidance to support the results of UNDP’s Strategic Plan. BPPS staff provides technical advice to Country Offices; advocates for UNDP corporate messages; represents UNDP at multi-stakeholder fora, including public-private, government and civil society dialogues; and engages in UN inter-agency coordination in specific thematic areas. 

UNDP’s 2022-2025 Strategic Plan highlighting our continued commitment to eradicating poverty, accompanying countries in their pathways towards the SDGs and working towards the Paris Agreement. As part of the Global Policy Network in the Bureau for Policy and Programme Support, UNDP’s Nature, Climate Change, Energy, and Waste (NCE&W) Hubs promote and scale up integrated whole-of-governance approaches and nature-based solutions that reduce poverty and inequalities, strengthen livelihoods and inclusive growth, mitigate conflict, forced migration and displacement, and promote more resilient governance systems that advance linked peace and security agendas.

BPPS’ Hubs on Nature, Climate, Energy and Waste works with governments, civil society, and private sector partners to integrate natural capital, environment and climate concerns into national and sector planning and inclusive growth policies; support country obligations under Multilateral Environmental Agreements; and implement the UN’s largest portfolio of in-country programming on environment, climate change, and energy. This multi-billion-dollar portfolio encompasses: 

• Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services including forests; 
• Sustainable Land Management and Desertification including Food and Agricultural Commodity Systems (FACS); 
• Water and Ocean Governance including SIDS; 
• Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation; 
• Sustainable Energy; 
• Extractive Industries;
• Chemicals and Waste Management; 
• Environmental Governance and Green/Circular Economy and SCP approaches. 

This work advances crosscutting themes on innovative finance, digital transformation, capacity development, human rights, gender equality, health, technology, and South-South learning.

UNDP has developed its new Strategy for Food and Agricultural Commodity Systems (FACS) to focus its vision and enhance its support to transform FACS. 

FACS are fundamental to the sustainable development of the 170 countries UNDP supports. FACS are often the largest contributor to their economies; food and nutrition is fundamental for citizen health; and FACS have a key role to play in achieving the SDGs. Yet, FACS are in crisis and need to be radically transformed to become sustainable. UNDP, building on its experience, has for the first time consolidated its FACS support and vision into this Strategy. The challenges and need for change related to FACS have been highlighted by a suite of reports by many research and international organizations and think tanks. The production practices and consumption patterns of food and agricultural commodities are taking these systems on an unsustainable trajectory with multiple impacts on human development, the environment, and economies; from ecosystem degradation, conflicts over land and natural resources, reduced capacity and resilience to climate and other shocks, persistent poverty, food insecurity and related people displacement and migration, to malnutrition including overweight and obesity. There is a clear need to work in a systemic and integrated manner to transform the FACS towards sustainability. 

UNDP´s Vision for FACS 2030 is, through partnerships, to transform food and agricultural commodity systems into resilient; equitable; healthy, inclusive; environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable systems. Working on FACS will contribute to not only recovery from the COVID19 crisis, by creating sustainable and resilient livelihoods for many along the FAC supply chains, but also to preventing further zoonoses from emerging in the future. This will require a change in the current paradigm of agricultural production focusing on maximizing productivity to a new paradigm based on diversified agroecological systems which work simultaneously on achieving economic, environmental, social, and health outcomes, with smallholders as a key part of the solution in their role as the engine of economic development. A FACS practice has been established within UNDP’s Nature Hub, which is tasked to support UNDP Country Offices with FACS related challenges in a way that is aligned with UNDP’s FACS strategy. 

FACS through the Good Growth Partnership is supporting the World Bank with the implementation of the Food Systems, Land Use and Restoration (FOLUR) Impact Programme (IP), financed under GEF-7. The Programme is designed to promote sustainable integrated landscapes and efficient food value chains at scale. The FOLUR IP aims to encourage transformation to more environmentally sustainable production practices and more resilient landscapes. The FOLUR IP has two main elements – a Global Knowledge to Action Platform and 27 Country Projects (CPs) – designed to tackle the dual challenges of achieving a global food system built on sustainable land use practices and productive, resilient landscapes, using both top-down and bottom up strategies. FACS support is focused on the global platform with the objective of contribute to transformational shifts in the use of environmentally sustainable practices and policies for priority global value chains.   

The Global Platform, working with the Country Projects, offers capacity building, technical assistance, policy engagement, resource mobilization, and knowledge exchange that help to address the defined needs for: more concerted collective action, more coordinated and integrated interventions; scaled up investment with a faster pace and greater impact; the need for policy harmonization and subsidy repurposing, financial innovation and leverage, and knowledge exchange, communication and outreach to existing and new stakeholders.   

Scope of Work

1. Programme Management and Coordination:

• Lead  the development and monitoring of integrated workplans between Good Growth Partnership (GGP) partners, lead the organization of quarterly GGP Secretariat calls, oversee and quality assure  minutes taking  with key actions needed and follow up on necessary actions as applicable;
• Lead the organization of bi-annual GGP Steering Committee calls, support with the preparation of facilitation material, oversee and quality assure  minutes taking of these calls with key actions needed and follow up on necessary actions as applicable;
• Advise and support FOLUR technical leads in project management, specific activity implementation, coordination and technical tasks as needed;
• Support in coordination mechanisms and integration processes between  GGP, the World Bank and other FOLUR Core Partners, such as supporting the development and monitoring of workplans, organizing regular calls, taking minutes of these calls with key actions needed and following up on necessary actions as applicable;
• Lead the coordination with UNDP FOLUR county projects to obtain status information and collect data for reporting;
• Act as Country Coordinator for Indonesia, which includes 1) leading coordination with the relevant country project teams and the Country Office in order to identify and deploy FACS Team support, 2) supporting the project manager with project management processes (planning, budgeting, monitoring, reporting and evaluation);
• Liaise with the Communications team and partners when needed and provide inputs for communications products;
• Review the knowledge products;
• Draft and provide inputs to annual or other periodic reports;
• Draft needed presentations and briefing notes and maintain all project management documents in a shared repository;
• Lead  the organization and coordination of events and workshops as relevant and requested by project managers;
• Manage and update the events and requests calendars;
• Ensure translation, proof-reading and editing of the documents; 
• Contribute to the other project management and administrative tasks, as needs be.

2. Contribute to Resource Mobilization

• Facilitate the creation of strategic partnerships and implementation of the resource mobilization strategy; 
• Analyze and research information on donors, prepare substantive briefs on possible areas of cooperation, identify opportunities for initiation of new joint activities, develop proposals and substantively contribute to FACS Team resource mobilization efforts.

3. Facilitate knowledge and capacity building, knowledge sharing and advocacy

• Identify, synthesize and document best practices and lessons learned that are generated from the project and implementing partner
• Promote advocacy on development trends and opportunities to collaborate in coordination with the project partners, stakeholders, and UNDP communications staff. 
• The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.

Institutional Arrangement

• The incumbent will work remotely from his/her home-base;
• The incumbent will be supervised by the FACS Global Project Manager.
• The incumbent will be given access to relevant information necessary for execution of the tasks under this assignment.
• The incumbent will be responsible for providing her/his own workstation (i.e. laptop, internet, phone, scanner/printer, etc.) and must have access to a reliable internet connection.
• Given the global consultations to be undertaken during this assignment, the incumbent is expected to be reasonably flexible with his/her availability for such consultations taking into consideration different time zones.

Competencies

Core

People Management

UNDP People Management Competencies can be found in the dedicated site

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies 

Minimum Qualifications of the Successful IPSA

Min. Academic Education          

• Advanced university degree (master’s degree or equivalent) in International Development, Political Science, Management or Business Administration, Food and Agriculture, or other related discipline is required, or
• A first-level university degree (bachelor’s degree) in the same fields in combination with additional 2 years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Min. years of relevant Work experience             

• Minimum 2 years (with Master’s degree) or 4 years (with Bachelor’s degree) of relevant experience in the field of international development, project management and/or business administration. 

Required skills  

• Experience coordinating projects/initiatives with different partners/ agencies involved.
• Expertise in food and agriculture and/or systems change.
• Experience in conducting research, data collection, analysis and interpretation required. 

Desired skills in addition to the competencies covered in the Competencies section

• Experience in organizing events and/ or workshops is an advantage. 
• Experience in organizing the complex and/ or high-profile events is a further advantage.
• Experience supporting resource mobilization is an asset.
• Experience at the UNDP or UN agencies is an asset.

Required Language(s) (at working level)             

• Fluency in the English language is required.
• Fluency in Spanish and/or French is an advantage.

Travel:  

a) UNDP will cover the cost of travel of the individual to the duty station, as well as their return to their home upon completion of their services. Travel costs are covered only in the event that the function will be undertaken physically in the duty station and excludes working from home arrangements.

b) The post is home-based.