United Nations Development Programme Latest Job Recruitment

Job Title: Head Nigeria International Partners Group (NIPG) Secretariat

Job Identification: 8284
Location: Abuja, Nigeria
Job Schedule: Full time
Grade: P5
Vacancy Type: Fixed Term
Practice Area: Crisis management / Country Management Support
Bureau: Regional Bureau for Africa
Contract Duration: 1 Year

Background

• The Nigeria International Partners Group (NIPG) was restructured in January 2020 and is composed of the United Nations and its agencies; bi-lateral donors; multilateral donors; the international financial institutions, and representatives from international non-governmental organizations (I-NGOs).
• In line with the five pillars of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness and the commitment for greater partnership between different parties working on aid and development in the Accra Agenda for Action, the proposed objective of the NIPG is to strengthen international partner coordination at national level and foster alignment with the Government of Nigeria on planning and delivery of all development and related activities.
• The NIPG aims at supporting a harmonized collective approach in alignment with the priorities of the Government of Nigeria.
• This will include the development and delivery of an international mutual accountability framework to better coordinate international community efforts to support the Nigerian government’s responsibilities to reduce poverty in Nigeria.

Governance of the NIPG:

• The Nigerian International Partners Group in plenary brings together all international partners who provide support to Nigeria.
• The Forum meets minimum quarterly and aims at harmonizing the overall strategic direction of the international partners in support of an agreed mutual accountability framework co-owned with the Government of Nigeria.
• The Executive Committee of the Nigeria International Partners Group is drawn from the membership of the Plenary. The Executive Committee is composed of representatives from UN Agencies (representing the UN Resident Coordinator); bi-lateral partners/donors; and IFIs, selected by the NIPG Plenary for a one-year term.
• The Executive Committee meets bi-monthly. The Executive Committee has responsibility for supporting the international community in achieving its collective objectives agreed by the NIPG Plenary and specified in the International Mutual Accountability Framework (IMAF) agreed with the Government of Nigeria.
• The Executive Committee works across the international community with other bodies and structures (including technical working committees) that have responsibility for delivery of common objectives agreed in the International Mutual Accountability Framework.
• The Executive Committee can provide guidance and support, marshal resources from across the international community, identify synergies between different workstreams, and ensure coherence across the various IMAF objectives.
• The NIPG Secretariat will support the implementation of the decisions of the NIPG Plenary and will work with the Executive Committee to advance the agenda of the NIPG. The Secretariat will be hosted by the United Nations Resident Representative and Humanitarian Coordinator, with UNDP providing administrative services.
• The Secretariat will be funded by members of the NIPG through contributions into a UN managed Trust Fund. The Executive Committee will be responsible for determining how the Trust Fund resources are utilized – including the recruitment of staff for the Professional Secretariat.
• The Secretariat will be responsible for organizing the NIPG Annual Strategic Retreat and Plenary sessions of the NIPG; convening Executive Committee meetings, including agreeing and circulating the agenda, keeping minutes; identifying actions arising; designing forward workplans for NIPG workstreams; coordinate all activities around the IMAF with the international community and the Government of Nigeria; establish monitoring and evaluation mechanisms to monitor progress against objectives and ensure mutual accountability; and work in support of the various structures operating beneath the NIPG (such as technical committees) to deliver against NIPG objectives.
• Under the overall guidance of the Nigeria International Partners Group Executive Committee, and administrative supervision of the Resident Representative of UNDP, the incumbent will head the NIPG Secretariat, and execute its mandate accordingly.  He/she will be compliant with UNDP employment rules and regulations covering professionalism, conflicts of interest, safeguarding, bribery and corruption, etc.

Duties & Responsibilities

• Manage the NIPG Secretariat and oversee the functioning of the NIPG (NIPG Plenary, NIPG Executive Committee), including results planning, monitoring and reporting
• Multi-stakeholder coordination
• Ensure multi-stakeholder partnership and advocacy
• Provide political, policy and strategic advice in support of the work of the NIPG and its Executive Committee.
• Knowledge management, analysis and information sharing

Manage the NIPG Secretariat and oversee the functioning of the NIPG (NIPG Plenary, NIPG Executive Committee), including results planning, monitoring and reporting focusing on achievement of the following results:

• Convene and plan NIPG plenary meetings, including the NIPG Annual Strategic Retreat, (venue, agenda, organizing presentations keeping minutes, recording actions, setting workplans, etc.);
• Organize NIPG Executive Committee meetings and manage issues arising;
• Prepare and follow-up on work plans and actions arising;
• Maintain the agenda of the NIPG, for focused engagement with the political/policy issues under the NIPG’s mandate;
• Manage the staff and other resources assigned to the Secretariat by the NIPG members to deliver the objectives of the NIPG;
• Report to the Executive Committee and the NIPG Plenary on progress against agreed objectives;
• Follow up on the implementation of the decisions made by the NIPG and its Executive Committee.
• Support resource mobilization efforts when requested.
• Manage the development and implementation of the International Mutual Accountability Framework, coordinating across the NIPG and coordinating between the NIPG and the Government of Nigeria;
• Organize regular meetings between the NIPG Plenary and the NIPG Executive Committee with appropriate counterparts from the Government of Nigeria to effectively manage the IMAF.

Multi-stakeholder coordination, focusing on the achievement of the following results:

• Promote a coordinated approach to achieve the development objectives of the NIPG through working closely with NIPG partners’ advisers and respective staff;
• Strengthen alignment and support coordination between all NIPG members to achieve shared NIPG objectives,
• Coordinate the activities of the NIPG Secretariat with other workstreams and advisers from NIPG members, including technical working groups;
• Liaise with NIPG members working on shared NIPG objectives at sub national level;
• Collaborate with the sub-national coordination mechanisms and ensure feedback to the NIPG;
• Contribute to the formation of a harmonized approach within the international community.

Ensure multi-stakeholder partnership and advocacy focusing on achievement of the following results:

• Lead the efforts of the NIPG Executive Committee for designing, agreeing, and implementing agreed objectives through an International Mutual Accountability Framework agreed and aligned with the government of Nigeria;
• Work with the NIPG Executive Committee and other structures of the NIPG to achieve NIPG objectives;
• Enhance advocacy and communication to inform and strengthen dialogue between the NIPG and the government of Nigeria;

Provide political, policy and strategic advice in support of the work of the NIPG and its Executive Committee focusing on achievement of the following results:

• Develop action plans to guide the implementation of objectives agreed by the NIPG;
• Monitor accountability frameworks and joint work plans of the NIPG, it subordinate structures and the I-MAF;

Knowledge management, analysis and information sharing , focusing on achievement of the following results:

• Build on existing and / or develop processes and platforms for information-sharing, including mapping of NIPG partners’ programmes and their alignment with NIPG agreed objectives and the I-MAF;
• Consolidate reporting to support the development of the I-MAF, and other international community initiatives;
• Lead the analysis of gaps  between approaches of different NIPG partners, identify and propose options to overcome these, and identify issues of concern for the NIPG and its structures.

Qualifications
Education:

• Master’s Degree in Social Sciences, Economics, Political Science, International Relations, Conflict Studies, Development Studies, or any other relevant field.

Experience, Knowledge, and Skills:

• 10 years’ work experience in development, political and/or transitional or humanitarian related field.
• Work experience/or familiarity with the aid effectiveness agenda with either bi-lateral, multi-lateral, UN or I-NGO organization with reference to SDGs and the Grand Bargain Commitments.
• Proven work experience in fragile/ conflict context(s) to deliver international assistance.
• Excellent strategic, managerial, administrative leadership and presentation skills.
• Proven coordination, partnership, donor relations, financial management and resource mobilization skills.
• Experience in inter-agency and multi-stakeholder coordination and mechanisms.
• Experience in complex emergencies and/or natural disasters – humanitarian/recovery/development operations.
• Experience in the field of displacement and durable solutions.
• Demonstrable ability to build an effective team, work across numerous organizations to deliver a common objective, and build effective working consensus amongst different organizations.
• Demonstrated cultural sensitivity and understanding of power relations in resource dependent countries.

Language Requirements:

• Proficiency in oral and written English is required.
• Working knowledge of another UN language is desirable.

Competencies
Core Competencies:

• 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 Competencies:

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

Cross-Functional & Technical Competencies:
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 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 Direction & Strategy: Negotiation and Influence:

• Ability to reach an understanding, persuade others, resolve points of difference, gain advantage in the outcome of dialogue, negotiates mutually acceptable solutions through compromise and creates ‘win-win’ situations.

Business Direction & Strategy: Effective Decision Making:

• Ability to take decisions in a timely and efficient manner in line with one’s  authority, area of expertise and resources.

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.

Business Development: Integration within the UN:

• Ability to identity, and integrate capacity and assets of the UN system, and engage in joint work; knowledge of the UN System and ability to apply this knowledge to strategic and/or practical situations.

Business Development: Knowledge Generation:

• Ability to research and turn information into useful knowledge, relevant for context, or responsive to a stated need.

Application Closing Date
22nd February, 2023.

Method of Application
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online

Job Title: Project Associate (NPSA7)

Job Identification: 8304
Location: Abuja, Nigeria
Job Schedule: Full time
Grade: NB3
Vacancy Type: National Personnel Service Agreement
Practice Area: Effectiveness
Contract Duration: 1 Year with Possibility for extension
Vacancy Timeline: 2 Weeks

Office / Project Description

• Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country with an estimated population of 206 million and an annual population growth rate of 2.6%. By 2050, the country’s population is expected to have doubled, reaching more than 400 million and thereby becoming the third largest country in the world. More than half of its population will be under the age of 30 years.
• At the same time, unemployment and under-employment are one of the key development challenges facing young people in Nigeria and undermining the prospects of the country to achieve its development aspirations and fulfil its potential as the continent’s largest economy. According to the National Bureau for Statistics’ report of 2018, over 13.9 million youth are unemployed. The highest unemployment rate was recorded for youths between 15 – 24 years standing at 40.8%, followed by those aged between 25 – 34 years at 30.7%. Investing in Nigeria’s youth is therefore becoming more urgent than ever.
• The Jubilee Fellows Programme will expand opportunities for learning to work transitions for fresh graduates in Nigeria through placement opportunities, job market information, skills transfer and facilitated learning. It is designed as a partnership platform that brings together private and public sector actors – including learning institutions to co-create and deploy to scale a viable solution that enhances youth employability, entrepreneurship and retention of national talent.
• To this end, UNDP Nigeria is seeking a Project Associate, to ensure effective administrative oversight and transparent utilization of project resources ensuring the integrity of financial services.
• The Project Associate contributes to the effective implementation of financial monitoring and evaluation policies, works with the operations finance team and ensures the financial integrity of the Jubilee Fellowship.
• With proper and accurate project financing, the incumbent, supports the design, planning and management of the Jubilee Fellowship.  In doing so, s/he works in close collaboration with project staff, other staff of the Unit, operations team, Programme and projects staff in the CO and UNDP HQs staff for resolving complex programme and operations-related issues, ensuring successful CO performance in Finance.

Institutional Arrangement
Reporting:

• The Project Associate will report to the Team Lead for the Jubilees Fellowship Programme and may be required to also follow up with the Operations unit of UNDP on issues that may arise regarding the smooth running of the programme.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Under the direct supervision of Crisis Prevention and Recovery Advisor, the Project Associate will be responsible for the following functions and tasks:

Summary of Key Functions

• Ensure effective and accurate financial resources management and oversight
• Manage the project budget and ensure proper cash management functioning
• Ensure effective information management and reporting
• Ensure proper financial aid controls and risks management mechanisms

Specific Functions/Results expected
Ensure effective and accurate financial resources management and oversight, including through the following tasks:

• Manage and provide financial analyses and oversight for all resources managed by UNDP programme(s), ensuring full compliance with UNDP rules, regulations, policies, and strategies;
• Advise the Programme Manager, Operations Manager and other UNDP staff on financial matters;
• Prepare cost estimates for different activities according to the needs of programme management;
• Monitor the financial performance of programme activities;
• Coordinate annual audits of the Principle Recipient (PR) and Sub-recipients (SRs) as required by UNDP, and ensure that external auditors have all relevant information.

Manage the programme budget and ensure proper cash management functioning, including through the following tasks:

• Prepare and monitor the project’s budgets in UNDP’s enterprise resource planning system (Atlas) and prepare budget revision in Atlas if necessary;
• Organize and oversee project cash management processes, SR relationships, and accounting and reconciliation of all transactions and security for cash assets on site;
• Ensure that Japanese fund contributions are properly transferred to UNDP;
• Follow up on the disbursement of funds to facilitate timely review of cash position to ensure sufficient funds on hand for disbursements;
• Ensure that advance payments and direct payments are properly reviewed and recorded in a timely manner into Atlas;
• Take corrective actions on unposted vouchers or other financial transaction issues.

Ensure effective information management and reporting, including through the following tasks:

• Prepare regular analysis and reporting on the project funds and Country Office budget approvals, including on the delivery of programme activities;
• Support the preparation of annual project workplans, agreements, and budgets;
• Prepare forecasts necessary to support disbursements requests;
• Conduct verification and posting of disbursement requests, expenditure reports, and supporting documentation;
• Submit timely and accurate required financial reports to the donor, as relevant;
• Maintain information flows between non-finance actors to effectively link programmatic results to work plan expenditure and budgets agreed with the donor;
• Respond to HQ requests to resolve financial data issues or to provide information required.

Ensure proper financial controls and risk management mechanisms, including through the following tasks:

• Develop and support the PMU to maintain risk management and mitigation approaches relating to finance;
• Design and implement effective internal controls and financial resources management system;
• Map, establish and maintain standard operating procedures in the project finance unit, implementing improvements where possible;
• Conduct training and other capacity development activities on financial management for personnel in the UNDP PMU and the project team, as required.

Competencies
Core

• Achieve Results:  LEVEL 1: Plans and monitors own work, pays attention to details, delivers quality work by deadline.
• Think Innovatively:  LEVEL 1: Open to creative ideas/known risks, is pragmatic problem solver, makes improvements.
• Learn Continuously:  LEVEL 1: Open minded and curious, shares knowledge, learns from mistakes, asks for feedback.
• Adapt with Agility:  LEVEL 1: Adapts to change, constructively handles ambiguity/uncertainty, is flexible.
• Act with Determination:  LEVEL 1: Shows drive and motivation, able to deliver calmly in face of adversity, confident.
• Engage and Partner:  LEVEL 1: Demonstrates compassion/understanding towards others, forms positive relationships.
• Enable Diversity and Inclusion:  LEVEL 1: Appreciate/respect differences, aware of unconscious bias, confront discrimination.

Cross-Functional & Technical Competencies
Business Management:

• Results-based Management: Ability to manage programmes and projects with a focus at improved performance and demonstrable results.
• Project Management: Ability to plan, organize, prioritize and control resources, procedures and protocols to achieve specific goals.
• Portfolio Management: Ability to select, prioritize 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 optimizing return on investment.

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.
• Effective Decision Making: Ability to take decisions in a timely and efficient manner in line with one’s authority, area of expertise and resources.
• Negotiation and Influence: Ability to reach an understanding, persuade others, resolve points of difference, gain advantage in the outcome of dialogue, negotiates mutually acceptable solutions through compromise and creates ‘win-win’ situations.

Business Development:

• Integration within the UN:
• Ability to identity, and integrate capacity and assets of the UN system, and engage in joint work.
• Knowledge of the UN System and ability to apply this knowledge to strategic and/or practical situations.

Required Skills and Experience
Education:

• Secondary Education with specialized qualifications or Bachelor’s Degree in a relevant field.

Experience:

• Minimum of 7 years (Secondary Education) or 4 years (Bachelor’s degree) of professional experience in providing programme support and financial resource management services;
• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) and advance knowledge of spreadsheet and database packages, experience in handling of web-based management systems and ERP financials, preferably PeopleSoft;
• Knowledge of UN/UNDP Financial Resource Management is desirable.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
• Working knowledge of UN principles, SDGs and international development in Africa is an asset.

Required skills and competencies:

• Innovation
• Communication
• People Management
• Accounting (General)
• Financial Analysis

Required Language:

• Fluency in spoken and written English.

Application Closing Date
19th February, 2023.

Method of Application
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online