Title: Team Leader, Governance and Peacebuilding
Practice Area - Job FamilyDemocratic Governance Peace Building
Duty Station Istanbul, Turkey

Education & Work Experience
I-Master's Level Degree - 10 year(s) experience

Languages
Required: English
Desired: Russian

Grade P5
Vacancy Type FTA International
Posting Type External
Bureau Development Policy
Contract Duration 1 Year with possibility for extension

Background

UNDP is the knowledge frontier organization for sustainable development in the UN Development System and serves as the integrator for collective action to realize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UNDP’s policy work carried out at HQ, regional and Country Office levels, forms a contiguous spectrum of deep local knowledge to cutting-edge global perspectives and advocacy. In this context, UNDP invests in the Global Policy Network (GPN), a network of field-based and global technical expertise across a wide range of knowledge domains and in support of the signature solutions and organizational capabilities envisioned in its  Strategic Plan.
Within the GPN, the Bureau for Policy and Programme Support (BPPS) has the responsibility for developing all relevant policy and guidance to support the results of UNDP’s Strategic Plan.  BPPS’s staff provides technical advice to Country Offices; advocates for UNDP corporate messages, represents UNDP at multi-stakeholder fora including public-private dialogues, government and civil society dialogues, and engages in UN inter-agency coordination in specific thematic areas.  BPPS works closely with UNDP’s Crisis Bureau (CB) to support emergency and crisis response.  BPPS ensures that issues of risk are fully integrated into UNDP’s development programmes. BPPS assists UNDP and partners to achieve higher quality development results through an integrated approach that links results based management and performance monitoring with more effective and new ways of working.  BPPS supports UNDP and partners to be more innovative, knowledge and data driven including in its programme support efforts
The Team Leader, Governance and Peacebuilding, for Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (ECIS) is the regional lead expert in the governance and peacebuilding knowledge domain. S/he leads UNDP’s regional support to government transformations; with a specialism in the areas of e-governance and digitalization; anticipatory regulation and future-oriented public administration; innovative public service delivery and effective and transparent public finance management. Within the specific context of the region and UNDP’s emerging role in advising Governments on integrated, whole-of-government approaches towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Team Leader will have a dedicated focus on the governance-related aspects of SDG integration, innovative approaches to public service delivery and on supporting accountable, responsive and effective public institutions in the digital era.
The Team Leader reports to the Regional Hub Manager, with a secondary reporting line to the Head of the Governance team in New York as part of the Global Policy Network. S/he provides intellectual, strategic and technical leadership to the Advisors and Specialists in the GPN’s regional governance and peacebuilding team based in UNDP’s Istanbul Regional Hub,  coordinating closely with the global Governance team in BPPS, as well as the Rule of Law, Security and Human Rights, and the Conflict Prevention, Peacebuilding and Responsive Institutions  global teams in UNDP’s Crisis Bureau. S/he will support representation of UNDP in the wider governance, resilience, rule of law, peacebuilding and conflict prevention communities at regional level including with UN system partners, bilateral partners, external experts, etc.
The Team Leader will work in close collaboration with other Advisors and Specialists in the Regional Hub, UNDP headquarters, Country Offices, Global Policy Centers, and rosters of external advisors.  S/he is responsible for leading the provision of technical expertise and policy and programme advisory services to Country Offices; overseeing and supporting the implementation of relevant outcomes of global and regional programmes and of regional projects, where appropriate, with key UN and external partners. Working to ensure quality and coherent policy and programme advisory services within the region and across other regions, as well as alignment with the Strategic Plan, the Team Leader advances the credibility and recognition of UNDP’s capabilities in this knowledge domain and associated community of practice. 


Duties and Responsibilities

Summary of Key functions: Substantive leadership and quality assurance of policy and programme advisory services as well as regional programmes and projects; Coordination and delivery of technical assistance, policy development and programme support; Substantive leadership of content development and curation of tools and resources, from across UNDP’s network of expertise; Knowledge management and community of practice networking; Representation, advocacy, and partner engagement for effective policy positioning in the region. Team management
1. Substantive leadership and quality assurance of policy advisory services

• Advise on articulating entry points and/or pivotal considerations for integrating governance,and peacebuilding, including rule of law, human rights and conflict prevention,including PVE, within regional and country-specific strategies for achieving the SDGs;
• Provide technical oversight to the team providing specialized and/or high-profile policy and programming support to COs within the region, ,
• Work with the Regional Bureau’s Country Advisors to ensure relevant, timely and multi-disciplinary response to Country needs for policy services;
• Collaborate substantively with COs and Regional Programmes to achieve regional/CO strategic goals and plans by supporting relevant regional initiatives and promoting synergies with the regional programmes;
• Provide specialized and/or high-profile support to high priority COs in project design, planning, implementation, monitoring, evaluation and results reporting in line with RBM guidelines, and support quality assurance, risk management and due diligence processes;
• Ensure risks are monitored and managed across the portfolio of advisory engagements and regional projects;
• Create and facilitate opportunities for developing the capacity of national counterparts in support of achieving the Strategic Plan and other internationally agreed development goals as it relates to the governance and peacebuilding knowledge domain.
• Provide policy advisory and programming services to COs in other regions received through the GPN;
• Provide substantive inputs in the development of UNDP’s policies for the thematic area and contribute to the formulation of global policy products.

2. Coordination and delivery of technical assistance, policy development and programme support

• Receive and coordinate requests for CO programme and policy support in the domain of governance and peacebuilding, assess the nature of the request and conduct a technical review, determining if the request necessitates a multi-disciplinary response and accordingly coordinate with relevant teams in both, Regional Hubs and HQ, and define packages of support in collaboration with corporate stakeholders and the GPN network;
• Coordinate the engagement of relevant regional policy advisors / technical experts;
• Establish, manage and nurture a network of governance expertise and capacities as part of the GPN;
• Act as quality assurance and standard setter in the:
  • Delivery of services with Policy and Programme Support Advisors in the Istanbul Regional Hub and HQ advisors;
  • Prioritization, planning and fielding of missions, in collaboration with other GPN teams, for assessment and programmatic design and follow-up at country level;
  • Development of substantive, high quality, coherent and results-focused programmes and regular reporting of results achieved
• Manage annual work plans (including mission plans and budgets) in line with the Regional Bureau, BPPS and Crisis Bureau priorities, as well as UNDP standards and procedures;
• Determine if financial assistance is required and accordingly facilitate a plan of action and coordinate approvals as required.

3. Substantive leadership for content development and curation of tools and resources, from across UNDP’s network of expertise

• Provide intellectual and strategic direction in identifying tools, developing methodologies and producing knowledge management products linked to governance and peacebuilding, with a particular focus on responsive,accountable and effective public institutions in the digital era and on and innovative approaches to public service delivery ;
• Provide direction on the content development for regional/CO knowledge products through the analysis of data, case evidence, and research findings in accordance with corporate standards;
• Lead the identification and prioritization of technical issues warranting collaboration with HQ and regional teams to research, develop and share knowledge-based tools, such as policy positions/practice notes/concept papers and other research-based products to influence/advance policy dialogue in the knowledge domain and present UNDP’s knowledge assets and capabilities at global and regional forums;
• Work closely with the Governance team and other substantive teams in HQ to curate and sharpen the research, testing and roll-out of newly commissioned policy/business development initiatives, by providing  regional perspective/specificities as well as experience-based insights on what is of most practical value for national counterparts and regional leaders;
• Design and deliver specialized training on programming tools including by developing training packs for COs to facilitate innovation learning, foster and encourage policy innovation and continuous improvement to enhance programme delivery.

4. Knowledge management and community of practice networking

• Contribute to and coordinate knowledge generation and management, including through the UNDP Communities of Practice to position UNDP as a knowledge provider on governance, prevention, peacebuilding  and resilience;
• Critically review and curate regional data, case evidence and research findings to distill pivotal lessons for UNDP globally and to translate substantive learning into organizational agility;
• Advocate and enable South-South facilitation of exchanges and experiences sharing where valuable;
• Oversight of capacity development of UNDP staff in application of tools and practices;
• Development and strengthening of linkages with governance-related networks and communities of practice, both inside and outside of the UN system.

5. Representation, advocacy, and partner engagement for effective policy positioning in the region

• Represent UNDP to advocate core organizational messages and positions in high-profile arenas to position UNDP to influence the policy direction in the region, including within relevant sub-regional organizations;
• Advocate the application of ground-breaking and innovative governance approaches, especially as an enabler for achieving the SDGs, in various regional and country fora with a view to deepen related political commitment and related reforms;
• Represent UNDP within engagements in interagency coordination in governance- and peacebuilding-related policy areas;
• Act as a resource in relationship management withregional partners and resource mobilization in line with  Regional Bureau and Global Policy Network priorities, as well as with corporate guidelines;
• Articulate and enable pathways for mobilizing and fostering external partnerships behind regional initiatives;
• Manage the building of strategic alliances and partnerships, especially with key think tanks and non-governmental organizations;
• Ensure UNDP representation at inter-agency meetings, academic conferences, donor consultations and other events;
• On behalf of UNDP in the region, oversee joint initiatives with UN system partners as relevant.

6. Team Management

• Lead and manage staff in the formulation and implementation of the substantive work plan and oversee staff accountability;
• Ensure that the technical capacity of staff managed is optimally aligned with business needs and that team members are encouraged to seek new client opportunities and amplify the value and reputation of UNDP;
• Encourage staff to critically assess themselves against emerging trends and thinking in the profession;
• Ensure that Performance Assessments are carried out according to UNDP procedures;
• Establish and maintain an enabling environment for harmonious working relationships and team-building, by promoting consistent and constructive communication, open information sharing, and coordination among all staff;
• Ensure that the work is conducted in accordance with relevant business processes and that high-quality outputs are delivered on time.

Competencies

Core
Innovation

• Ability to make new and useful ideas work.

Leadership

• Ability to persuade others to follow

People Management

• Ability to improve performance and satisfaction.

Communication

• Ability to listen, adapt, persuade and transform.

Delivery

• Ability to get things done while exercising good judgement

Technical/Functional
Governance

• Ability to support governance reforms to facilitate development

Governance and Peacebuilding

• Translates broad substantive expertise in governance and peacebuilding concepts and principles into corporate strategy and programmes

Responsive, effective and accountable institutions

• Substantive expertise in support to responsive, effective and accountable institutions and ability to apply to strategic, innovative and/or practical solutions in different development situations

Political Economy Analysis

• Knowledge of the interaction of political and economic processes in a society; including distribution of power and wealth between groups and individuals, and the processes that create, sustain and transform these relationships over time, and how these dyanmics both affect, and are affected by, UNDP's development support

Representation

• Ability to productively share UNDP knowledge and activities (at UN and other venues)

Resource Mobilization

• Ability to identify and organize programmes and projects to implement solutions and generate resources

Sustainable Development Goals

• Knowledge of the Sustainable Development Goals and the ability to support their achievement  strategically and/or practically.

Substantive Networking

• Ability to substantively engage and foster networks with academia, research institutions, and think tanks.

Knowledge Management

• Ability to capture, develop, share and effectively use information and knowledge.

Collaboration & Partnerships

• Ability to develop, maintain, and strengthen partnerships with others inside (programmes/projects) or outside the organization who can provide information, assistance, and support.  

Management & Coordination

• Ability to manage and coordinate campaigns and people with inspiration. Believe in and promote diversity in the workplace and reshaping the workforce to meet need.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• A Master's degree, preferably in international development, law, international affairs, public policy, political science, development economics, business administration, or other relevant field, or extensive compensating experience in Governance 

Experience:

• A minimum of 10 years of relevant experience in either public sectors (national or multilateral, including UN), private (academia, non-governmental sector, corporate), with increasing level of responsibility;
• Proven track record in policy and advisory support in the areas of governance, with a focus on support to accountable, responsive and effective institutions and/or public administration reform and/or public sector management, or a related field. 
• Proven track record in applying innovation to governance issues.
• Proven track record in management and leadership roles;
• Extensive experience of programming; partnership development and resource mobilization;
• Excellent coordination, negotiating and communication skills and ability to mobilize support from a wide range of partners (public, private, academic, civil society, business community leaders).

Language Requirements:

• English proficiency., Knowledge of Russian is  is considered an asset 

Disclaimer

Important information for US Permanent Residents ('Green Card' holders)
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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.
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