Jobs and Careers

JOB DESCRIPTION : 

To support its commitment in strengthening the social protection system in Armenia, UNDP Innovation, Acceleration and SDG Finance Portfolio is looking for a qualified Project Analyst (Coordinator) for “Building a resilient social protection system in Armenia” project. The role combines thematic expertise and strategic engagement, paired with project coordination, innovation, and knowledge management. Under the direct supervision of the SDG Innovation Lab Lead and overall guidance of the Innovation, Acceleration and SDG Finance Portfolio Analyst, in close cooperation with the UNDP Programme and Operations Units, regional/local authorities, and the respective institutions, the Project Analyst (Coordinator) will be responsible for the project implementation, including planning, financial delivery, recruitment of the experts/consultants, procurement of goods and services, and reporting. The work will be carried out in line with the Project Document and in full compliance with UNDP Rules and Regulations.

RESPONSIBILITIES : 

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Thematic Expertise and Strategic Engagement:
- Provide thematic and analytical support related to the social protection system reform in Armenia to UNDP and national partners;
- Analyze local context and international trends on social protection and support SDG Innovation Lab/ UNDP to identify potential synergies with UNDP’s policy and development work in-country and national/regional/international levels, map out emerging trends and opportunities globally and locally;
- Generate knowledge and evidence on social protection through situation analysis and other research throughout the course of the project to inform its implementation;
- Support UNDP, Innovation, Acceleration and SDG Finance Programme Analyst, portfolio Lead and SDG Lab lead in high-level policy dialogue building partnerships with governments, think tanks, academic institutions, development partners, regional and international organizations and others to reinforce UNDP’s role in the social protection sector;
- Contribute to UNDP Armenia’s engagement in the comprehensive agenda of strengthening the social protection system and enhancing resource mobilization according to the UNDP’s corporate offer on social protection.

Implementation of Project Activities:
- Responsible for day-to-day management of project activities, monitoring financial performance of the Project according to the project budget;
- Coordinate with relevant implementing partners and responsible parties to ensure that the expected outputs are delivered in a timely manner, according to the project document;
- Ensure that the project is implemented in compliance with UNDP Procurement, Operations, Financial, IT, Monitoring and Evaluation and Human Resources, as well as rules and regulations and report any risks and deviations to direct supervisor;
- Set quarterly milestones and targets, develop detailed project workplan, role and task distributions, ensure that the project is implemented according to work plans and within the established budgets;
- Organize engagement of local and international experts, develop ToRs, arrange their onboarding, supervise their overall effectiveness and efficiency, ensure the quality and acceptance of their deliverables, assign, and monitor resources effectively to boost project efficiency and maximize delivery;
- Initiate horizontal collaboration across SDG Innovation Lab’s service lines and ensure streamlined application of innovative approaches throughout the project;
- Ensure the implementation of the project communication plan and visibility requirements;
- Ensure the results-based implementation of project activities;
- Support in the implementation of the Gender Equality Strategy and Action Plan, promote and advocate for gender equality in all aspects of work;
- Act as project assets custodian and ensure the project assets are properly inventoried and reported.

Implementation of Reporting, Monitoring and Evaluation Policies and Strategies:
- Lead, supervise and monitor the project implementation process, including effective monitoring of project work plan and relevant activities as per outputs;
- Assess the programmatic impact and oversee the appropriateness and the accuracy of methods used to verify progress and the results, undertakes the project’s mid-term and final evaluations;
- Ensure timely submission of quarterly financial and activity progress reports on the financial and operational status of the project, as well as on adequate financial management of allocated resources;
- Ensure the timely preparation of reports to donors and the Project Board;
- Provide periodic analytical updates on the situation in respective sectors of the project;
- Collect, analyze and consolidate general and issue-specific materials, documentation, and contribute to the preparation of policy papers, corporate planning and reporting tools, resource mobilization and advocacy materials.

Liaison, Partnerships and Coordination with External and Internal Partners:
- Develop strategic partnerships with government institutions, bi-lateral and multi-lateral donors, private sector, civil society in the relevant thematic areas based on strategic goals of UNDP, country needs and donors’ priorities;
- Analyze and research of information on donors, preparation of substantive briefs on possible areas of cooperation, identification of opportunities for initiation of new projects, active contribution to the overall office efforts in resource mobilization, maintain close relationships with donor partners;
- Closely liaise with other teams to ensure coherence and synergy among all projects of UNDP Armenia;
- Advise team members and management on new developments regarding key partners and stakeholders;
- Participate in inter-agency meetings/ events on programming to collaborate with inter-agency partners/ colleagues;
- Conduct research on potential donors and prepare resource mobilization materials/ concept notes and briefs for fundraising and partnership development purposes.

Knowledge Building and Management:
- Apply innovative approaches and promote good practices to support the implementation and delivery of impactful and sustainable project results;
- Serve as a resource person in capacity building initiatives in the social protection sector to enhance the competencies of the project and portfolio teams;
- Facilitate knowledge building and management in the areas of the project interventions;
- Identify, capture, synthesize, and share lessons learned, promote peer learning;
- Make sound contributions to knowledge networks and communities of practice including corporate communications repositories;
- Contribute to the design and implementation of appropriate learning strategies for stakeholders and target groups.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS : 

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Education:
- Master’s degree in Development Studies, Economics, Business/ Public Administration, Social Sciences or related fields;
- Bachelor's degree with 2 additional years of relevant experience may be accepted in lieu of the Master's degree.

Experience:
- At least 2 years (with Master’s degree) or 4 years (with Bachelor's degree) of relevant work experience at national or international level in project management in the sectors of social protection, employment, community development, institutional capacity development and policy analysis.

Required Skills:
- Thorough understanding of the social protection system in Armenia, including policies and regulations;
- Strong record of working with international institutions and/or governments on social protection matters;
- Excellent knowledge about the most advanced social protection systems and resources worldwide;
- Excellent written, oral communication and analytical skills, including the ability to write concept notes, outcome reporting, and other written communication;
- Proven knowledge and experience of application of innovative approaches in institutional transformation, project management, policy-making, service delivery and any other change in professional environment;
- Experience in managing projects, including supervising staff;
- Experience in working, liaising and collaborating with civil society organizations, Government counterparts, international organizations;
- Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) and knowledge of spreadsheet and database packages, experience in handling of web-based management systems.

Desired Skills:
- Experience in project coordination, design and implementation;
- Experience in development of analytical documents, briefs and project proposals;
- Experience in building strategic partnership;
- Prior experience with the UN/UNDP;
- Strong leadership, managerial and coordination skills;
- Strong analytical, presentation and reporting skills.

Languages:
- Fluency in English and Armenian languages, both written and spoken.

Competencies:
Core Competencies
- Achieve Results: Level 2: Scale up solutions and simplifies processes, balances speed and accuracy in doing work;
- Think Innovatively: Level 2: Offer new ideas/ open to new approaches, demonstrate systemic/ integrated thinking;
- Learn Continuously: Level 2: Go outside comfort zone, learn from others and support their learning;
- Adapt with Agility: Level 2: Adapt processes/ approaches to new situations, involve others in change process;
- Act with Determination: Level 2: Able to persevere and deal with multiple sources of pressure simultaneously;
- Engage and Partner: LEevel 2: Is facilitator/ integrator, bring people together, build/ maintain coalitions/ partnerships;
- Enable Diversity and Inclusion: Level 2: Facilitate conversations to bridge differences, considers in decision making.

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

Cross-Functional and Technical Competencies
- Project Management: Ability to plan, organize, prioritize and control resources, procedures and protocols to achieve specific goals;
- Effective Decision Making: Ability to take decisions in a timely and efficient manner in line with one’s authority, area of expertise and resources;
- Financial Planning and Budgeting: Ability to create and manage processes to achieve UNDP’s long and short-term financial goals, including through planning, budgeting, forecasting, analyzing and reporting;
- Relationship Management: Ability to engage with a wide range of public and private partners, build, sustain and/ or strengthen working relations, trust and mutual understanding.

SDG Finance
Social Impact Investments
- Integration within the UN: Ability to identify 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;
- Knowledge Generation: Ability to research and turn information into useful knowledge, relevant for context, or responsive to a stated need.

APPLICATION PROCEDURES : 

Interested and qualified candidates may view the vacancy notice and apply by clicking on the following link: https://tinyurl.com/tp66cdnv.

Please clearly mention in your application letter that you learned of this job opportunity through Career Center and mention the URL of its website - www.careercenter.am, Thanks.

ADDITIONAL NOTES : 

- Contract Type: Regular NPSA (National Personnel Service Agreement)
- Level: NB4/NPSA9

ABOUT : 

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the knowledge frontier organization for collective action to realize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Over the recent years, Armenia made good socio-economic progress and set forward ambitious reforms. However, recent crisis events, including COVID-19 and military escalations in the region and beyond threaten to reverse hard fought development gains, poverty reduction efforts, exacerbating vulnerabilities and disproportionally affecting various vulnerable groups and regions, at the same time making room for new types of vulnerabilities and inequalities. These crises have underscored - more than ever - the need for a robust and shock-responsive social protection system in the country. In alignment with these objectives, the joint Action pursued by UNICEF, UNDP and WFP under the strong leadership of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs aims to contribute to inclusive, resilient and sustainable socio-economic recovery and growth in the post-crisis period, in line with the EU-Armenia CEPA provisions. This will be achieved through the specific objective of the Action of putting in place an agile, integrated, human-centered and shock-responsive social protection system that builds a person’s resilience to vulnerability, deprivation, and crises across the lifecycle through four interlinked components, showing a sequenced logic of interventions across policy and legal framework development, administrative data system strengthening and integration, capacity building and prototyping.