Re-advertising Project Specialist – SDG Hotspots Accelerator Initiative (Those who already applied need not re-apply) latest vacancies in Lilongwe Malawi UNDP Careers in Lilongwe Malawi Re-advertising Project Specialist – SDG Hotspots Accelerator Initiative (Those who already applied need not re-apply) Jobs in Lilongwe at UNDP Malawi
Closes*> December 6, 2020
UNDP
Background
The Decentralization policy was developed following the 1998 Local Government
Act, however the implementation of decentralization has been challenging. Up
to now, the devolution is not fully implemented, planning, implementation,
monitoring and evaluation at national and district levels has not been
harmonized and the capacity of the district councils to involve communities in
planning or to deliver services is challenged. Local councils have governance
structures established by the Decentralization policy as hierarchical decision
making (policy making) structures. The stakeholders interviewed for the
government’s Integrated Rural Development Strategy strongly agreed that
institutionalization and implementation of decentralization is key to making
rural development interventions sustainable, promoting self-reliance and
social justice through quality participation. The effectiveness of the
district commissioner as the head of all the sectors in his/her district is
hampered by a dual reporting system that allows sectors to report to their
sectoral ministries, leaving the DC with limited opportunity to effectively
coordinate.
Due to the lack of harmonization of development planning, implementation,
monitoring and evaluation at national and district level, national development
plans have been formulated every five years with an M&E Plan, whereas the
district development plans have been formulated at different times, with
different M&E Plans. This has negatively affected the mobilization and
accountability of resources and results. The 2017-2022 Malawi Growth and
Development Strategy III has fully integrated the Sustainable Development
Goals, but so far, the process of aligning district development plans to SDGs
has only been completed in few districts. Without external funding, most
districts are struggling to have district development plans based on Village
Action Plans, as this makes the process costly and time-consuming. The
alignment of available resources to priority areas also seems to be
problematic in the face of patrimonial politics that results in politically
induced projects in some cases.
Local councils are mandated by the local government act to effectively deliver
services in their areas of jurisdiction. However, the local councils face
challenges to function to the satisfaction of citizens mainly due to the
limited availability of qualified staff and financial resources. They are
unable to provide the required infrastructure, education, communication,
transport, health, markets, roads and electricity that their populations are
demanding, and there is little data available to help the councils priorities
the interventions that have the most impact or to conduct effective, targeted
resource mobilisation to attract partners to support the delivery of local
development.
Weak coordination remains a challenge both nationally and locally. Line
ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) struggle to coordinate sectoral
programmes. Even with sector working groups (SWGs) coordination has remained a
major challenge in development programmes in Malawi. Sectors implement
projects, instead of letting District Councils implement, on the basis that
District Councils have limited capacity. While there are Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) between Councils and NGOs in some districts, there is no
national guidance to facilitate effective implementation of such MoUs by
MoLGRD, resulting in duplication and fragmentation of rural development
programmes.
As can be seen from the above, a key development challenge for decentralized
multi-sector and multi-level service delivery in rural Malawi are weak
implementation capabilities on the ground. Multiple, diverse actors including
the private sector, NGOs, faith-based organizations, traditional structures
and community-based organizations play an important role in the delivery of
services at district and community levels in Malawi. However, often the
providers and the services they offer are unknown to the relevant ministries,
local authorities and stakeholders. The services do not always conform to
government standards and systems, and they are rarely well integrated within
government structures. The provision of services depends on available projects
and funding, resulting in services on offer to beneficiaries being
unpredictable and unsustainable. Further, the provision of quality services is
often hampered by limited mobility, poor infrastructure, lack of equipment,
lack of qualified human resources, weak management and weak coordination.
Past experiences with top-down planning, integrated development projects,
inconsistent data availability, weak execution and/or weak financial
sustainability suggest that effective service delivery depends on closing the
implementation gap at the village, area and district level. In recent years,
tailored approaches to multi-sectoral and multi-level service delivery have
tackled the implementation gap in a number of LDC and middle-income countries.
Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Colombia and Ecuador — and more recently, Honduras and
the Dominican Republic — provide examples of management systems that make use
of real-time data, administrative registries and digital platform to
accelerate progress on the SDGs. To address some of the key challenges faced
by the districts in Malawi, with the aim of strengthening the district
councils to be able to lead, plan, coordinate, implement and monitor service
delivery, the project has identified some potential drivers of change. The
Hotspot approach will focus on strengthening the leadership and coordination
role of district council, equipping and capacitating them to take charge of
the local development process and make the most out of the resources
available.
The hotspots approach addresses the implementation gap by merging an
integrated management tool designed to help decentralized implementation of
services across social, economic and environmental sectors, into Malawi’s
District Development Planning and Budgeting processes. At its core, the
hotspots approach involves (a) a real-time data dashboard collected from
household and service providers — that digitalizes and geo-references both
well-being indicators and service indicators — allowing policymakers and
citizens to measure progress and identify health, nutrition, education,
employment, resilience, capacity and other bottlenecks as services are
delivered, and (b) a multi-stakeholder platform led by local planning
authorities, using evidence to target services to those in most need, build
resilience to shocks, and accelerate coordinated critical mass interventions
across villages, areas and districts – including line/sector ministries and
all other partners on the ground.
UNDP and Ministry of Local Government is currently designing a hotspot
dashboard to roll out the hotspot approach for a few districts. It is against
this background that UNDP requires the services of a Project Specialist for
the Hotspots Approach. This position is located in the UNDP Malawi Country
Office. Under the general supervision of the Portfolio Manager, the incumbent
will be responsible for leading the daily implementation of the Hotspots
project components.
Duties and Responsibilities
Implementation and Project Management
Provision of management and technical advice for the implementation of
Hotspots focusing on achievement of the following results
Manage the day to day work of the Hotspots team to successfully deliver
activities
In consultation with the Hotspots team, prepare project implementation
activities and implementing partners such as government institutions, service
providers, and NGOs.
Provide technical inputs for the effective implementation of Hotspots through
developing work plans, objectives, and plans for monitoring and evaluation of
the process, and resolving all challenges that arise in the process.
Work with the Country Office in the implementation and monitoring of Hotspots,
ensuring participation and coordination with relevant CO units and making use
of available information on government and donor priorities for
decentralization.
Work with other UN agencies and central/local counterparts to support the
implementation of Hotspots. Support the use of existing information management
systems and databases to implement, monitor and evaluate the roll out of
Hotspots at the field level.
Ensure the Hotspots approach incorporates international best practices and
principles, with an eye towards ensuring adherence to international principles
of integrity.
Identify risks and challenges to the ongoing operations of Hotspots and
provide advise the portfolio manager on mitigation strategies.
Undertake analytics to assess bids and proposals for the selection of
implementing partners within the UNDP contractual framework for project
activity implementation when required.
Design scope of works and TORs for bids and call for proposals.
Advise UNDP portfolio managers on progress and, where relevant, additional
needs in relation to the project implementation and follow up activities.
Provision of programme support for the implementation of Hotspots, focusing on
the following actions and achievement of the following results
Provide support for monitoring the overall progress and performance of
Hotspots by ensuring proper planning, benchmarking and target setting
(substantively and financially).
Continuously assess the implementation of Hotspots though field visits and
monitoring missions.
Support the preparation of work plans, monitoring, and reporting on project
achievements.
Ensure accurate and timely reporting on the progress of Hotspots with a
specific focus on the activities and funds utilized. Ensure that reports are
provided to donors according to UNDP’s contractual obligations
Building strategic partnerships and implementation of the resource
mobilization strategy of the Hotspots portfolio and the CO focusing on
achievement of the following results
Identify areas of cooperation and coordination with other UN Agencies for the
implementation of Hotspots.
Participate and contribute to UNDP global practice, incl. by providing inputs
to networks and participating to thematically relevant meetings.
Identify opportunities to expand Hotspots
Undertake resource mobilization and partnership building
Prepare donor briefings
Knowledge Management and Communications
In consultation with the Hotspots team and UNDP Communications, distil lessons
learned and best practices and share them with the UNDP Country Office, the
UNCT, the UNDP global network.
Facilitate participation of stakeholders in regional and global best practice
meetings on decentralized governance and service delivery
Map and analyze current and emerging support and lessons learned on
decentralized mapping and service delivery.
Support the formulation of a communications strategy to raise awareness of
Hotspots performance and to showcase project results and awareness to key
stakeholders at district, national, and international levels.
Support knowledge exchange, through south-south cooperation and other means,
as part of the knowledge management strategy for the project.
Stay abreast of emerging issues and innovations in e-governance, alternative
finance mechanisms and contribute to the development and maintenance of the
project knowledge networks and in the development of knowledge products.
Competencies
Core Competencies
Innovation
Ability to make new and useful ideas work
Creates new and relevant ideas and leads others to implement them
Leadership
Ability to persuade others to follow
Plans and acts transparently, actively works to remove barriers
People Management
Ability to improve performance and satisfaction
Models high professional standards and motivates excellence in others
Communication
Ability to listen, adapt, persuade and transform
Gains trust of peers, partners, clients by presenting complex concepts in
practical terms to others
Delivery
Ability to get things done while exercising good judgement
Critically assesses value and relevance of existing policy / practice and
contributes to enhanced delivery of products, services, and innovative
solutions
Functional Competencies
Innovation
Ability to try out / test new ways of engagement and communications. Openness
to different and new ways of doing things; willingness to modify one’s
preferred way of doing things
Originate Catalyzes new ideas, methods, and applications to pave a path for
innovation and continuous improvement in professional area of expertise
Strategic thinking/Visioning
Ability to analyse the organization’s value proposition and shape
visionary/long term plans. Use insight to identify target audiences and
partners and to inform communication objectives, messages and solutions.
Originate Catalyzes new ideas, methods, and applications to pave a path for
innovation and continuous improvement in professional area of expertise
Collaboration and Partnership
Ability to develop, maintain, and strengthen partnerships with others inside
(Programmes/projects) or outside the organization who can provide information,
assistance, and support. Sets overall direction for the formation and
management of strategic relationships contributing to the overall positioning
of UNDP
Originate Catalyzes new ideas, methods, and applications to pave a path for
innovation and continuous improvement in professional area of expertise
Required Skills and Experience
Master’s-level degree or equivalent
At least 5 years of relevant experience in civil society and/or democratic
governance-based work
Demonstrated ability to prepare project proposals and administer
budgets/resources/people.
5 or more years of experience within an International organization, preferably
UN, working on governance and project management issues.
Demonstrated ability to work on development projects.
Knowledgeable of democratic and participatory governance issues and approaches
in development countries.
Experience working in a developing country (other than one’s own) in a
developmental capacity.
Experience and knowledge of UN financial, human resources, procurement,
management and general operations policies, an asset.
Experience working in a multi-cultural and/or international work environment
Fluency in English essential
Knowledge of other UN official languages an asset.
Disclaimer
Important information for US Permanent Residents (‘Green Card’ holders)
Under US immigration law, acceptance of a staff position with UNDP, an
international organization, may have significant implications for US Permanent
Residents. UNDP advises applicants for all professional level posts that they
must relinquish their US Permanent Resident status and accept a G-4 visa, or
have submitted a valid application for US citizenship prior to commencement of
employment.
UNDP is not in a position to provide advice or assistance on applying for US
citizenship and therefore applicants are advised to seek the advice of
competent immigration lawyers regarding any applications.
Applicant information about UNDP rosters
Note UNDP reserves the right to select one or more candidates from this
vacancy announcement. We may also retain applications and consider candidates
applying to this post for other similar positions with UNDP at the same grade
level and with similar job description, experience and educational
requirements.
Workforce diversity
UNDP is committed to achieving diversity within its workforce, and encourages
all qualified applicants, irrespective of gender, nationality, disabilities,
sexual orientation, culture, religious and ethnic backgrounds to apply. All
applications will be treated in the strictest confidence.
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Re-advertising Project Specialist – SDG Hotspots Accelerator Initiative (Those who already applied need not re-apply) latest vacancies in Lilongwe Malawi UNDP Careers in Lilongwe Malawi Re-advertising Project Specialist – SDG Hotspots Accelerator Initiative (Those who already applied need not re-apply) Jobs in Lilongwe at UNDP Malawi
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