Job Description
| Agency | United Nations Development Programme |
| Title | Chief Technical Specialist |
| Job ID | 34042 |
| Practice Area – Job Family | Environment and Energy |
| Posted Date | 01/12/2020 |
| Vacancy End Date | 15/12/2020 (Midnight New York, USA) |
| Duty Station | Khartoum, Sudan |
| Education & Work Experience | I-Master’s Level Degree – 7 year(s) experience |
| Languages | Required: English Desired: Arabic |
| Grade | P4 |
| Vacancy Type | TA International |
| Posting Type | External |
| Bureau | 364 days |
Background
UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.
UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.
As part of the UN country team in Sudan, UNDP aims to contribute to the significant reduction of poverty throughout the country and to support the establishment of a critical mass among Sudan’s people that is ready and able to engage in the development process of the country. In line with the overarching SDG goal “Leave No One Behind”, UNDP Country Programme (2018-21) interventions target localities characterized by high levels of poverty and exclusion and those affected by conflict. UNDP Sudan activities are fully aligned with UNDP’s corporate Strategic Plan as well as with the UNDAF developed and embedded in the global SDG framework. To that end, UNDP supports stabilization and Governance for Peace as well as Environmentally Sustainable Development. UNDP pays particular attention to the inclusion of all groups, including women and youth representing the most promising potential for change in Sudan.
As part of the Environmentally Sustainable Development, UNDP plays key role in Sustainable Livelihood and the activities focus on strengthening capacities at local, regional and national level to manage and utilize natural resources in a sustainable way, to enhance resilience and adaptive capacity to long-term climate change including variability impacts and to reduce the associated risk of natural disasters.
Recently, the Green Climate Fund (GCF) approved a Climate Change Adaptation project entitled “Building resilience in the face of climate change within traditional rain fed agricultural and pastoral systems in Sudan”. The project aims to enhance climate resilient sustainable development focusing on agriculture and water sector. The main outputs of the project are: i) improved resilience of food production systems and food insecure communities in the face of climate change; ii) Improved access of water for human, livestock and irrigation to sustain livelihoods in the face of climatic risks; and iii) Strengthened capacities and knowledge of institutions and communities on climate change resilience and adaptation.
Under the overall supervision of the Deputy Resident Representative (P), the Chief Technical Advisor (CTA) will be responsible for the technical oversight and delivery of outcomes of the GCF project activities, support day to day management of the project activities, work with Projects’ Team/Project Board on all project management related responsibilities and reporting. S/he will supervise the National and international consultants, provide guidance, support and capacity development to team members and project partners’ staff, to ensure achievement of the outputs of the project.
Under the guidance of the DRR(P) and the Deputy Resident Representative and Sustainable Livelihood Unit Team Leader, in consultation with the both project team/Project Board (PB), the CTA will provide technical support and guidance to the Project Management Unit. S/he will ensure that the project implementation is consistent with the project document and implementation agreements and that resources are geared towards the intended results. The CTA will be accountable to UNDP and will be hosted in the Project Management Unit. The CTA will ensure that the project produces the results specified in the project document, to the required standard of quality.
Duties and Responsibilities
Summary of Key Functions:
- Ensure strategic advice to the leadership of the Higher Council for Environment and Natural Resources
- Ensure overall management of the project activities
- Policy advisory and strategic support to UNDP and national counterparts on climate change adaptation.
- Knowledge product formulation and distribution to development partners
1. Ensure strategic advice to the leadership of the Higher Council for Environment and Natural Resources
- Provide policies, regulations and tools for effective implementation of adaption measures mainstreaming in programming and budgeting cycles of then Higher Council for Environment and Natural Resources and the states ministries of agriculture where the project will operate
- Provide the necessary support to state level capacity development approaches and measures to scale up adaptation to climate change activities within and outside the 9 targeted states.
- Engage with the Govt. development partners, civil societies and the private sectors to mobilize resources in support of scaling up climate change adaptation activities
- Provide strategic and technical advice to project team(s)/ responsible party (ies).
2. Ensure overall management of the project activities
- Ensure that the project is implemented as per the project document, letter of agreements and associated national implementation manuals, as well as all relevant UNDP and GCF policies and requirements
- Monitor financial resources and accounting to ensure the accuracy and reliability of financial reports
- Ensure that the project activities and resources are all geared towards achievement of the whole set of results hierarchies, as reflected in the log frame/results framework
- Ensure that the rules, regulations and national implementation guidance of UNDP are fully respected and adhered to throughout the implementation of the project
- Be responsible for reviewing and ensuring the correctness of the financial reports before submission to UNDP on a quarterly basis
- Initiate and manage the process of annual project reports (APRs) to the GCF,
- Initiate and manage the process of the mid-term evaluation, including preparing TOR and managing the whole process as per the UNDP guidance, identify follow-on actions for consideration to the Project Board
- Ensure that the final report and any other reports are prepared to the highest standard and quality and submitted to UNDP and donor on time and
- Ensure that resources of the terminal evaluation are allocated, and TOR is prepared as per the UNDP guidance.
3. Policy advisory on and strategic support to UNDP and national counterparts on climate change adaptation.
- Provide high quality policy advisory support to the state miniseries of agriculture and other relevant institutions on sustaining the projects interventions in the water and agricultural sectors.
- Provide substantive support and advice required for the management, planning, monitoring and financial management.
- Provide Advise on policy for promotion of climate change adaption in the water and agricultural sectors
- Provide strategic support on substantive reporting on sustainable livelihoods related to the project’s interventions.
4. Knowledge product formulation and distribution to development partners
In coordination with the project team, national and international consultants, prepare and/or support knowledge product preparation on agriculture and water activities, including:
- Prepare a communication strategy including visibility of the success stories and implement the strategy accordingly
- Summarize and synthesize the results of the project and lessons learnt
- Prepare best practices documents on agriculture and water activities
- Conduct an impact study (before and after project) with human stories including financial rate of return calculation
- Prepare brief information about the project and present to the donors, Community of Practices, and relevant donor, especially GCF, seminars/workshops
- Contribute and lead in reporting of strategic results, including documentation of best practices and lesson learnt.
Competencies
Core:
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.
Technical/Functional:
Renewable Energy:
Knowledge of Renewable Energy Including climate change international regime and ability to apply to strategic and/or practical situations: Originate: Catalyzes new ideas, methods, and applications to pave a path for innovation and continuous improvement in professional area of expertise.
Climate Change:
Climate Finance: Knowledge of climate finance concepts and instruments and the ability to apply to strategic and/or practical situations: Originate: Catalyzes new ideas, methods, and applications to pave a path for innovation and continuous improvement in professional area of expertise.
Implement & Manage:
Originate: Catalyzes new ideas, methods, and applications to pave a path for innovation and continuous improvement in professional area of expertise: 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
Education:
- Master’s degree in agriculture, natural resources management, Climate Change, water management or any other related field.
Experience:
- 7 years of relevant working experience in project management and institutional capacity development, including at least 3 years of experience on agriculture, natural resources management and climate change adaptation issues
- Experience in providing policy advice for national or sub-national Government institutions and issues in national policies and planning in developing countries.
- Experience developing and managing capacity development programmes/projects for Government institutions
- Experiences in mobilizing resources from various sources and forming multi-stakeholder partnerships
- Excellent command of MS office applications (Word, Excel, Access, and Power Point)
- Experience in networking and strengthening capacity of CBOs/CSOs, and proven ability to lead a team, plan and organize work productively.
Language Requirements:
Excellent command of English both written and oral, Knowledge of Arabic is an asset .
Disclaimer
- UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.
- Qualified female candidates are encouraged to apply.
- UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.
