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Project Associate of the Green Growth and Jobs Accelerator Project

  • Contract
  • Rabat
  • Posted 5 months ago

UNDP - United Nations Development Programme

Background

 
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion are core principles at UNDP:  we value diversity as an expression of the multiplicity of nations and cultures where we operate, we foster inclusion as a way of ensuring all personnel are empowered to contribute to our mission, and we ensure equity and fairness in all our actions. Taking a ‘leave no one behind’ approach to our diversity efforts means increasing representation of underserved populations. People who identify as belonging to marginalized or excluded populations are strongly encouraged to apply. Learn more about working at UNDP including our values and inspiring stories.
 
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.
 

2.            Office/Unit/Project Description 

Morocco has been actively promoting green growth and green jobs through various initiatives and partnerships, with a specific emphasis on engaging youth and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). The government has set ambitious targets for renewable energy and implemented policies to support sustainable development, such as the Morocco Green Plan which aims to increase the share of renewable energy, improve energy efficiency, and promote sustainable transportation.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Morocco is playing a crucial role in supporting the country’s green transition. The UNDP is working closely with SMEs and youth-led solutions to provide young project holders with the necessary financial and technical support to participate in the green economy. These efforts are aimed at accelerating Morocco’s progress in promoting sustainable development, creating green jobs, and supporting the growth of SMEs, while also addressing the challenges of climate change and empowering young people to take an active role in the green growth process.

The Green Growth and Jobs Accelerator Project (GGJAP) is one out of three projects under the Danish-Arab Partnership Programme’s (DAPP) which is funded and managed by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The GGJAP is part of DAPP’s programme for Youth Employment and Entrepreneurship. UNDP will implement the GGJAP which sits regionally as part of the UNDP Regional Bureau for Arab States’ Regional Youth Project Portfolio.

GGJAP will be implemented in Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, and Tunisia building on UNDP’s work and experience with implementing the SDG Accelerator for SMEs methodology which directly supports sustainable business development and commercial green growth in SMEs. The SDG Accelerator is a part of UNDP’s service offer UNDP Impact Venture Accelerators (IVA). The IVA is a practical approach to help businesses focus on delivering products/services, business models and business plans which contribute to the SDGs. 

The objective of the Green Growth and Jobs Accelerator Project is to support established entrepreneurs and SMEs, of which a proportion will be youth-led, to accelerate green growth in their businesses and through this, support the local transition to a green and sustainable economy, and enable green jobs for youth. 

Each year, in each of the four countries, two 5-months Accelerators will be implemented, and each Accelerator will include a cohort of up to 25 carefully recruited SMEs. Each company in the Accelerator will develop one or more business plans for green growth also integrating relevant ways for the company to create jobs for youth, either as a result of the implementation of the business plan, as a means to realize the business plan, or preferably both. 

Under the management and the guidance of the UNDP Arab States Bureau’s Regional Youth Project Portfolio and the UNDP Nordic Representative Office, the Country Offices (CO) in the four participating countries will implement the Accelerators at the country level and leverage their longstanding local networks of relevant stakeholders across sectors (SMEs). The implementation will be done in close collaboration with local management consulting firms in each country (or regionally) who will assist the CO team in implementation and deliver strategic business development consulting on green growth and business instruments to grow business. The strategic business development consulting will consist of e.g., consulting on the development of business plans for new environmentally friendly products and services, through implementation of greener production or operational processes, and/or through the integration of selected standards that can enable some companies to get access to new markets.

Duties and Responsibilities

3.            Scope of Work

Under the direct supervision of Democratic Governance Analyst and Green Growth Project Coordinator, the Project Associate is expected to perform the following duties:

  • Support coordination of the Green Growth and Jobs Accelerator Project with the country office and laise with the Regional Youth Project Portfolio Team.
  • Support facilitation of stakeholder engagement and dialogue with external partners relevant to the project implementation.
  • Support the project oversight and management of local accelerators, including the monitoring of the implementation of activities and the expenditure of funds, as well as supporting project coordination efforts with the management consultants:
    • Prepare structured progress reporting reports for SME cohorts
    • Conducting monitoring visits at SME premises
    • Support in collecting country-level project data at a field level.
    • Collect data and material to be used in the development of communication material
    • Participate in meetings and coordinate activites with local DAPP secretariats consisting of representatives of the projects in the overall Danish-Arab Partnership Programme’s Youth Employement and Entrepreneurship Program. 
  • Support the activation, facilitation, and management of the UNDP Morocco Green Growth 
  • Support linking with UNDP Morocco programme initiatives on SDG Impact and Financing, Social Entrepreneurship, and impact driven support to MSMEs.
  • Map and assess the readiness of small businesses established under the different UNDP programmes to participate in the project- be included in the SMEs Cohorts.
  • Support the process of documentation on progress
  • Assist in the formulation of budgets;
  • Assist in the formulation of procurement and HR plans;
  • Identify and collect policy-related and other relevant information, documents and data, compile and analyze data for further use in project management. 
  • Support organization and coordination of meetings, training sessions, workshops, conferences, and project events and prepare reports and meeting minutes, as required.
  • Ensure full compliance of activities with UNDP rules, regulations, and policies.

Output 1: Accelerators. 

Established entrepreneurs and SMEs, of which at least 10% will be youth-led enterprises, will be supported with green growth business instruments and advisory through an intensive 5-months business development process called the Green Growth and Jobs Accelerator. The youth-led enterprises will follow the same process in the accelerators as the non-youth-led companies. The overall goal of Output 1 is to target companies enabled to grow their business and create green jobs for youth. 

Duties and responsibilities within Output 1:

Support the implementation of two 5-month Accelerators each year between 2023-2027 in tandem (close collaboration) with management consultant firms:

  • Support the recruitment process of SMEs to accelerators through inter-alia mapping, research, and outreach activities
  • Support on effective on the ground facilitation of green growth consulting services to individual SMEs in accelerator cohorts 
  • Conduct  on daily project coordination with local management consultant firm 
  • Take part in fortnightly learning sessions with UNDP (Regional and Nordic offices) on SME progress, methodology/tools application and other items relevant to the project
  • Support in collecting data and evidence on results from SMEs.
  • Support the coordination of youth that are part of youth4sustainability and their involvement in the accelerators and support to SMEs. 
  • Support in feeding data, knowledge, information for the UNDP Arab States Regional Youth Platform (NextGenYouth Platform). 

Output 2: SME Finance

Many of the target companies in the Accelerator are expected to need risk capital to realise their green growth business plans. UNDP will function as a connector between the target companies and relevant financial institutions providing capital to SMEs in and outside the region. Here, UNDP will also make use of the SDG Investor Maps, if available, to identify the supply and demand of investment appetite in the countries. Through the Accelerator, target companies that need finance will also be offered some coaching aiming to strengthen their ability to pitch green growth business plans to potential investors and capital providers. The overall goal of Output 2 is to ensure that green business solutions of target companies are accelerated by increased access to finance.

Duties and responsibilities within Output 2:

  • Support the GGJA project manager on mapping and related research activities on sustainable finance and risk finance providers in Morocco  and the region, relevant for the SMEs in the accelerators. 
  • Support on matchmaking SMEs with relevant investors and finance providers.
  • Ensure related financial issues are tackled in a timely manner.

Output 3: Learning Modality

In the MENA region, young entrepreneurs and businesses using digital platforms and technology and taking advantage of digital payment opportunities are on the rise. Output 3 will work to strengthen the capacity of entrepreneurs and SMEs to take advantage of these new digital growth opportunities which will be delivered through a targeted learning modality. The learning modality will comprise different learning assets including:

  1. Digital learning on 1) sustainable business development and innovation, 2) Impact Management and Measurement (IMM); and 3) ecommerce. 

The overall goal of Output 3 is for youth and companies to be capacitated to accelerate and manage green, sustainable growth.

Duties and responsibilities within Output 3:

  • Participate in design sessions and provide input relevant for local contexts with the team responsible for development of Learning Modality
  • Support on outreach and facilitation of stakeholder dialogues with relevant networks and entities 
  • Support the project manager in embedding learning materials into relevant channels, curricula, and outlets of stakeholders to ensure wide uptake and use of the e-learning materials
  • Support  on design and setup of Green Growth Community to ensure local relevance and convergence with the Moroccan context 
  • Support on onboarding SMEs alumni to the Green Growth Community 
  • Co-create and ideate on how best to use the Regional Youth Project Platform (NextGenYouth Platform) for creating a network, sharing knowledge, uploading assets, connecting youth job seekers to SMEs.

Mapping viable accelerators existing in the national-level ecosystems.

4.     Institutional Arrangement

The incumbent will be working under the direct supervision of the UNDP Morocco supervisor/Project Manager of Green Growth and Job accelerator project.
 

Competencies
 
Core  
Achieve Results: LEVEL 1: Plans and monitors own work, pays attention to details, delivers quality work by deadline
Experience from previous UN assignments and/or multilateral and bi-lateral aid organizations would be an asset. 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 

Thematic Area Name Definition
Partnership management  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     
Business Management 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 manage communications internally and externally, through media, social media and other appropriate channels
Digital & Innovation Social Media Knowledge of social media and ability to advise the use of social media for development outcomes.

Digital & Innovation

 

 Design thinking

-Solving problems by putting people at the center, visualizing ideas, and making them tangible in order to improve them through and iterative process of developing and testing.

– Strong empathy skills, being able to put yourself “”in someone else’s shoes””, understand needs, abilities, preferences, motivations, (everyday) experiences from different perspectives as well as their cultural, social, economical, and political contexts. 

-Ability to identify and challenge assumptions, (cognitive and social) biases, and dominant mental models by generating new perspectives and frames that help redefine the problem, solution, and opportunity space. 

-Ability to work with incomplete information, ambiguity, and opposing views, needs and constraints and synthesize them into solutions that are viable, technically feasible, and useful.
Audit & Investigation – Investigation Procurement concepts, processes, and management Knowledge of procurement processes and management.

 

  

 

Required Skills and Experience
 
Education:
  • Completion of Secondary Education is required or
  • Bachelor’s degree in Business, Public Administration, Management, or any related field. 
Experience:
  • Minimum 6 years with a Secondary education or 3 years with a bachelor’s degree of progressive relevant experience in providing project management support and coordination.
  • Prior experience in project implementation/ field coordination related to SME business support and or in the thematic areas of Green Economy, SDG Impact and Financing or Social Entrepreneurship are and asset.

Required skills 

  • Excellent interpersonal skills; culturally and socially sensitive; ability to work inclusively and collaboratively with a range of partners, including youth organizations, and authorities at different levels
  • Ability to work and adapt professionally and effectively in a challenging environment.
  • Ability to work effectively in a multicultural team of international and national personnel. 
  • Solid overall computer literacy, including proficiency in various MS Office applications (Excel, Word, PowerPoint etc.) and email/internet. 
  • Self-motivated, ability to work with minimum supervision; ability to work with tight deadlines.
  • Ability to work with different demographic groups and to engage communities, youth, and private sector entities.

Desired skills in addition to the competencies covered in the Competencies section

  • Advanced computer skills, including word processing (Word), spreadsheet (Excel), and the ability to quickly learn new applications.
  • Highly motivated, a pleasant character with good teamwork spirit. 
  • Excellent interpersonal and communication skills. 
  • Available for long working hours during times of peak work. 
  • Good computer skills in English, French and Arabic. 
  • Strong writing skills.
  • Ability to accommodate and adapt to changing working environment. 
  • Systematic and organized, with an ability to be flexible and adaptive.
  • Experience with a UN organization/agency is desirable. 
  • Strong coordination and liaising capabilities.

Required Language(s) 

  • Strong command of written and oral English, French and Arabic communication skills.
Disclaimer

 

 
Under US immigration law, acceptance of a staff position with UNDP, an international organization, may have significant implications for US Permanent Residents. UNDP advises applicants for all professional level posts that they must relinquish their US Permanent Resident status and accept a G-4 visa, or have submitted a valid application for US citizenship prior to commencement of employment. 

 
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.

 
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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