Funded by the European Union, the United Nations Development Programme Georgia, in partnership with Estonian Centre for International Development and in collaboration with the of Economy and Sustainable Development and Enterprise Georgia, implements a project “Inclusive Access to Markets” (IA2M), aiming at improving inclusive access to EU (primarily) markets of Georgian SMEs with strengthened value chains.

The project provides financial and technical assistance of Georgian SMEs to increase inclusive access to EU and European countries’ markets. IA2M project will also support to Georgian SMEs to take full advantage of international trade fairs and B2B events to boost their sales to EU and European countries’ markets. In addition, the project intends to boost export trade deals with EU and European countries through improved lead generation and empower Georgian SMEs to become exporters to the EU and European countries’ markets.

Furthermore, IA2M project will identify needs and constraints for international market positioning of Georgian SMEs in the target sectors and co-design (with private sector and Enterprise Georgia) specific services and support for targeted support to value chains to increase trade linkages with EU market systems. The Project addresses following objectives are interlinked and delivered as an integrated package of services:

1. Increased export of Georgian SMEs to the EU (primarily) but also to the European countries’ markets.
2. Strengthened value chains with strong growth and export potential.

The Project Analyst will work within the UNDP Georgia Economic Development Portfolio, under the direct supervision of the Project Manager for delivery of this assignment. The Project Analyst is fully responsible for operational management of the project according to the project document, UNDP corporate rules and procedures by performing the following main functions and responsibilities:

General project management:

• Overseeing planning process for the project and ensure its implementation in accordance with the signed project document;
• Be responsible for ensuring that the project produces the results specified in the project document, to the required standard of quality and within the specified constraints of time and cost;
• Managing realization of project components and outputs through activities;
• Designation and receipt of assistance and recommendations for effective management, planning and control of the project;
• Providing directions to project personnel and project stakeholders and beneficiaries;
• Be responsible for the administrative issues of the project implementation;
• Preparing timely reports of project progress in line with UNDP and donor requirements
• Ensuring that project contributes to the promotion of gender equality by reaching, involving and benefiting both women and men in its activities (gender mainstreaming);
• Interacting with the Project Board or its representatives to ensure the implementation and quality of the project to ensure the focus and integrity of the project;
• Interacting with suppliers.

Project implementation:

• Planning project activities and monitoring the progress of achieving project goal and targets in accordance with the established quality criteria;
• Provide technical support and manage project intervention areas related to promoting increased export by Georgian SMEs to the EU and to the European countries’ markets to ensure successful implementation of the project and delivery of objectives;
• Coordinating and manage the day-to-day activities of the project and the overall implementation process, including planning and monitoring in order to optimize the use of resources and to ensure the successful achievement of project objectives;
• Monitoring the implementation of project work plans, analyzing emerging problems and take adequate measures to ensure the timely implementation of the planned tasks and activities;
• Mobilizing goods and services for the implementation of activities, including the preparation of Terms of Reference and work specifications;
• Monitoring the progress in implementation of the project activities and achieving the targets set;
• Monitoring the use of financial resources to ensure the correctness and reliability of financial statements;
• Managing and monitoring of potential project risks identified in the approved Project Document, introducing new risks to the Project Board for consideration and, if necessary, taking responsive action; updating the status of these risks by constantly filling and managing the table of possible project risks;
• Seek opportunities to develop close linkages and partnerships with government entities, SMEs, business associations, and others nationally and internationally in support to the project objectives.
• Preparing the required project progress thematic and financial reporting based on the donor (EU) and UNDP requirements and its submission to the Project Board consideration.

Closure of the Project:

• Ensuring proper operational, financial and programmatic closure of the project;
• Organization of transfer of project assets to the project beneficiaries, project documentation and files;
• Preparing final project thematic and financial reports for subsequent submission to the Project Board, donor EUand UNDP approvals.

Institutional Arrangement

Under the direct supervision of the Project Manager and in close collaboration with relevant project partners. S/he will be expected to consult and facilitate collaborative engagement for specific project outputs. The Project Analyst will be responsible for the implementation of the project activities and achievement of the planned project outputs.

Project Analyst will provide operational and thematic services ensuring high quality, accuracy and consistency of work. Project Analyst works in close collaboration with the Government counterparts, other relevant projects, operations, and Programme’s staff in the UNDP CO to exchange information and ensure consistent service delivery, and undertake day-to- day responsibility for operational and thematic support services for the satisfactory achievement of the project component outputs.

• Business direction & 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 Management  –  Project Management
  • Ability to manage programmes and projects with a focus at improved performance and demonstrable results
• Business Management –  Monitoring
  • Ability to provide managers and key stakeholders with regular feedback on the consistency or discrepancy between planned and actual activities and programme performance and results
• Business Management –  Evaluation
  • Ability to make an independent judgement based on set criteria and benchmarks –
    • Ability to anticipate client’s upcoming needs and concerns.
• 2030 Agenda: Engagement & Effectiveness –  Strategic Policy Engagement
  • Economic forecasting
• 2030 Agenda: Prosperity –  Inclusive Growth
  • Economic Planning

• Full proficiency in English and Georgian.

• Progressing Experience in demonstrable project/programme management/development organization;
• Strong leadership, managerial and coordination skills, with a demonstrated ability to effectively coordinate the implementation of development donor projects, including financial and technical aspects;
• Proven understanding of SDGs and other international/regional development agenda;
• Sound knowledge of Georgia’s SMEs needs and export development landscape.

• Experience in providing support to planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development projects and related assignments;
• Experience working with government, or international organizations or non-government organizations on economic development and/or SMEs development issues;
• Experience in working on research and data analysis for development policy;
• Experience in working on different communications strategies and platforms including web-based platforms for development;
• Knowledge of /and experience in gender mainstreaming in the area of project/programme management;
• Experience in managing a technical and/or administrative teams, work with a wide range of stakeholders (government agencies, civil society associations and communities) to develop durable partnerships;
• Strong analytical, presentation and reporting skills;
• Strong computer skills, in particular mastery of all applications of the MS Office package and internet search;
• Ability to travel to regions and project sites.