Background
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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.
Office/Unit/Project Description
The UNDP Country Office in Mauritius is implementing the Country Programme (CP) 2024-2028 and is extending support to different partners in the area of inclusive development, digital transformation, environment protection, climate change adaptation and disaster risk management. The SEDU and the Environment Unit have been working with various donors including the UN agencies.
The Socio-Economic Development Unit (SEDU) is currently implementing digitalization projects and support to address the fast-evolving development challenges. The Mauritius Ministry of Health and Wellness (MOHW) is a key partner. The UNDP CO is assisting the Government of Mauritius in implementing several digital health-related projects aligned with international best practice and the eHealth vision of the Government. The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the urgency for the implementation of a resilient health system to address the pandemic and other related health services issues. Under several UNDP programmes and with the support of the Japanese Government, UNDP has been implementing projects to strengthen the health systems to respond not only to the Covid-19 pandemic but also to ensure the strengthening of the health sector.
Through a consolidated portfolio of 3 related and current projects and integration of a new eHealth project the Mauritius Digital Health Systems Strengthening Portfolio project, UNDP seeks to complement the recovery and transformation journey of the Ministry of Health by strengthening capacities to respond efficiently and effectively to the immediate crises and mitigate the medium to long term impact of the COVID crisis including through digitally enabled health system strengthening solutions.
Institutional Arrangement:
The Project Associate works under the general supervision of the Project Manager of E-health project and collaborates closely with the Head of the SEDU.
Scope of Work
Support the project team to ensure effective project planning and implementation.
- Compile and summarize information and data for the formulation of project work plans, draft annual/quarterly budgets, proposals on implementation arrangements, and on other specific project related topics or issues.
- Provide comprehensive support in all aspects of project implementation in accordance with the project documents, annual work plans and other agreements between UNDP and responsible partners. Ensure quality of delivery by consultants, beneficiaries, and contracted companies; and communicate findings to the supervisor.
- Ensure compliance of project business processes with UNDP Project Operational Policies and Procedures (POPP) and UNDP Standard Operating Procedures (SOP). When necessary, provide guidance to project staff on business processes, administrative and other requirements, and procedures.
- Support mainstreaming gender equality in the project implementation, including in data collection and compilation. Prepare gender equality background materials for use in discussions, briefings, and correspondence.
- Provide administrative and logistical support to ensure successful project delivery that includes organizing/coordinating project events and selecting appropriate venues, coordinating project procurement procedures, maintaining project records and files, recruiting project team members, and supporting contracting activities.
Support partnerships and resource mobilization.
- Establish and maintain contacts and cooperation with the relevant UN Agencies, government institutions, NGOs, tertiary institutions, partners, and other relevant stakeholders. Provide support in updating the database of the relevant public and development partners, and other stakeholders who are counterparts for the project.
- Ensure regular communication and coordination with partners, project counterparts, stakeholders, and beneficiaries; and develop and maintain effective mechanisms for integrating and responding to their feedback and insight.
- Support creation of high-quality information and visibility of the project activities among the stakeholders; and ensure careful selection of communication tools and tailoring the messages to consider the overall socio-political and development context in host countries.
- Undertake horizon scanning and explore opportunities for resource mobilization in consultation with direct supervisor.
Provide support to the effective monitoring, evaluation, and reporting on progress of project implementation.
- Support implementation of the project monitoring system in alignment with its Monitoring and Evaluation framework to ensure effective information sharing, provision of feedback, and elaboration of high-quality progress reports.
- Collect, analyze, and present information for monitoring and evaluation of project implementation against project targets as well as for audit purposes. Identify gaps in implementation and provide support in bridging those gaps in consultation with supervisor and partners.
- Assist in the organization of field and study visits, missions, workshops, roundtables, and conferences within the project.
- Assist in implementation of effective risk management for the project with a well-documented risk mitigation plan in place. Support monitoring of previously identified and emerging risks.
- Regularly monitor expenditures and commitments against the project budget and relevant plans and provide finance-related information to support project implementation. When necessary, recommend corrective actions and draft various correspondence concerning finance, operations, and budgetary issues.
- Prepare and consolidate required project reports on a timely basis and in line with monitoring and reporting guidelines and donor requirements.
Support knowledge building, knowledge sharing and capacity building relevant to the assigned project.
- Participate in training and organize briefings on internal procedures for the project staff. Provide support to other capacity building activities, including to the design and delivery of tools, materials for workshops, or platforms that tap into the collective intelligence of communities and mobilize action.
- Provide support in the dissemination and sharing of relevant data and lessons learned within the CO and regionally. Keep pulse on emerging best practices nationally, regionally, and internationally that relate to the work of the assigned project.
- Make sound contributions to knowledge network sand communities of practice. Support compiling and systematizing project knowledge, products, and tools as well as their wide distribution to partners.
The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.
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
- Working with Evidence and Data: Ability to inspect, cleanse,transform and modeldata with the goal of discovering useful information, informing conclusions, and supporting decision-making.
- Digital Awareness and Literacy: Ability and inclination to rapidly adopt new technologies, either through skillfully grasping their usage or through understanding their impact and empowering others to use them as needed.
- Customer Satisfaction/Client Management: Ability to respond timelyand appropriately with a sense of urgency, provide consistent solutions, and deliver timely and quality results and/or solutions to fulfil and understand the real customers’ needs. Provide inputs to the development of customer service strategy. Look for ways to add value beyondclients’ immediate requests. Ability to anticipate client’s upcoming needs and concerns.
- Communication: Ability to communicate in a clear, concise, and unambiguous manner both through written and verbal communication; to tailor messages and choose communication methods depending on the audience.Ability to managecommunications internally and externally, through media, social media and other appropriate channels.
- 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.
Technical – Finance
- Budget management: Ability to support budgetary aspects of work planning process, drawing and management of team budgets.
Technical –Procurement
- Procurement management: The abilityto acquire goods, services or works from an outsideexternal source.
Required Skills and Experience
Education:
- Secondary Education is required.
- University Degree (Bachelor´s degree) in Business Administration, Public Administration, Accounting, Economics, Engineering, or equivalent field will be given due consideration, but is not a requirement.
Experience:
- A minimum of 7 years (with Secondary education) or 4 years (with Bachelor´s degree) of progressively responsible administrative or project experience is required.
Desired skills in addition to the competencies covered in the Competencies section
- Experience in the preparation of financial reports and overviews;
- Experience in monitoring and using evaluation tools;
- Knowledge of project management processes;
- Knowledge of procurement procedures of national/international organizations;
- Excellent oral and written communication skills.
Required Language
- Fluency in English, French and Mauritian Creole is required.
Disclaimer
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.
Non-discrimination
UNDP has a zero-tolerance policy towards sexual exploitation and misconduct, sexual harassment, and abuse of authority. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles.
UNDP is an equal opportunity and inclusive employer that does not discriminate based on race, sex, gender identity, religion, nationality, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy, age, language, social origin or other status.
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