Programme Analyst United Nations Development Programme Experience: 3 to 5 Years Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Apply By: 23-08-2024

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Job Description

UNDP is the leading United Nations organization fighting to end the injustice of poverty, inequality, and climate change. Working with our broad network of experts and partners in 170 countries, we help nations to build integrated, lasting solutions for people and planet.

UNDP multi-country office in Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei Darussalam provides technical assistance, policy, and technical advisory services to the Governments of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei Darussalam in their efforts towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), in partnership with development partners, financial institutions, the private sector, and civil society.

In Malaysia, UNDP’s programme priorities and partnerships are defined and operationalized through the Country Programme between the Government of Malaysia and UNDP to support and contribute to the development priorities and results envisioned in the 5-year Malaysia Plan. Malaysia is currently implementing several projects (with public sector partners) that support the 12th Malaysia Plan, which is anchored around three key themes, namely resetting the economy, strengthening security, well-being, and inclusivity as well as advancing sustainability.

The Governance Programme team of UNDP in Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei Darussalam comprises a set of projects relating to the promotion of good governance in the institutional, economic, and communal spheres. While UNDP’s work in the institutional and economic spheres pertains to standards-setting (in a wide sense) at the national level, working on the ground with local communities is essential when building resilience and social cohesion.

In the current set-up for the Governance unit under the current UNDP Country Programme Document (2022-2025) for Malaysia, UNDP will focus on developing a pipeline of existing projects and managing projects relating to strengthening the rule of law, which includes institutions such as parliament, and government bodies overseeing human rights. This may also include identifying potential and developing future projects under this thematic area. New projects will be continuously sought to expand the rule of law pillar in the Governance unit.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the guidance and direct supervision of the Governance Team Lead, the Programme Analyst, Rule of Law, will be primarily responsible for the management of a thematic set of projects relating to strengthening the rule of law, as mentioned in the preceding paragraph. The Programme Analyst will also analyse related political and social trends, lead the formulation, and evaluation of programme activities within the portfolio, as well as provide policy advice. The incumbent will also undertake efforts to mobilise resources to expand the thematic area of the rule of law. In this regard, the incumbent will work closely with other colleagues/teams in the CO and adopt a portfolio approach to accommodate changing business needs and leverage linkages across interventions to achieve its strategic goals. Therefore, UNDP personnel are expected to work across units, functions, teams, and projects in multidisciplinary teams to enhance and enable horizontal collaboration. The Programme Analyst may also manage and supervise project teams to ensure that project personnel, experts, and service providers operate effectively and efficiently for the successful implementation and timely delivery of programme/project results under her/his supervision.

Project Development and Management

Ensure effective leadership and result-based management and implementation of the Country Programme and its initiatives/projects, focusing on the achievement of the following results in the area of strengthening the rule of law.
Lead in ensuring the programmatic outcomes, outputs and activities are implemented and achieved as planned.
Manage and implement initiatives/projects that are directly implemented by UNDP as assigned by the supervisor and/or Management Team.
Ensure that bottlenecks related to programme/project implementation are resolved with appropriate adaptive and/or corrective measures, including seeking support from the UNDP Country Office’s Management Team as well as engaging relevant stakeholders and partners to resolve the local challenges.
Contribute to the design and formulation of the Country Programme Document and Country Programme Action Plan within the thematic area of expertise including subsequent review and update where applicable.
Design, develop and formulate initiatives/projects that are aligned with Country Programme priorities.
Ensure effective application of results-based management tools, establishment of management targets and monitoring achievement of results, as part of quality assurance, CO performance, Results-Oriented Annual Reporting, and other forms of results-based reporting and/or dashboard, etc.
Monitor and manage programme/project risks, and apply adaptive management including corrective and adaptive measures in programme/project implementation.
Conduct periodic project monitoring visits and prepare project monitoring visit reports as required.
Prepare terms of reference and specification for procurement of goods and/or services.
Support audit and evaluation exercises, and follow up on the implementation of management responses/actions to the audit and evaluation recommendations.
Coordinate and work closely with UNDP Country Office’s Management and Oversight Unit to ensure programme and project monitoring, evaluation and reporting requirements are met.
Participate in the meetings, events, and other engagements with stakeholders on behalf of the UNDP Country Office, at the request of supervisor(s) and/or Management Team.
Ensure planning and oversight of the assigned portfolio of programmes/projects and their compliance with UNDP programme and operations policies and procedures (POPP) and quality assurance standards.

Ensure accountability, quality control and effective oversight of the projects:

Ensures annual work planning, monitoring, evaluation and reporting of the assigned portfolio in line with requirements (e.g., budget revisions, approval of CDRs, etc.).
Provide quality assurance of the entire cycle of the portfolio of projects in the area of rule of law.
Provide quality assurance of the documentation required for requests for project extension, project revisions, or related.
Provide quality assurance on project documentation before final approval by the Senior Management and ensure proper document management and update in the corporate systems and regional platforms (Quantum, etc.)
Exercise transaction approval for development projects as delegated in line with the established internal control framework, and ensures appropriate separation of duties is in place and maintained throughout the project cycle.
Implement a Harmonized Approach to Cash Transfer (HACT) framework covering micro assessments, assurance plans and assurance activities, carry out programme/monitoring visits, ensuring appropriate remedial actions are implemented; and ensure the establishment of the tracking mechanism for cash transfers to Implementing Partners/Responsible Parties following UNDP Financial Rules and Regulations and HACT policies.
Perform clearance measures (incl. tracking of NIM advances/reimbursements, liquidation of NIM advances, clearance of FACE forms, escalating and advising the CO Management on timely remedial actions required).
Support assessment of barriers and opportunities to enable private sector engagement and participation and quality assures all required capacity and risk assessments, including private sector due diligence.
Ensure oversight of planning, budgeting, implementing and monitoring of the programme, tracking the use of financial resources following UNDP rules and regulations.
Ensure compliance with a cost-recovery system for the services provided in close collaboration with the operations colleagues.
Coordinate and provide quality assurance for the completion of the project development stage and ensure appropriate separation of duties is in place and maintained throughout the project cycle.
Ensure compliance with the UNDP Programme and Operations Policies and Procedures (POPP) as well as established Country Office business processes and internal controls, contribute to the design of the Standard Operating Procedures on programme and project management.

Ensure high-quality delivery of policy and technical support services focusing on the achievement of Country Programme results in the area of rule of law:

Conduct research and rule of law-related policies, legislation, institutions, human rights, strategies/action plans, practices and procedures to keep abreast of the environmental, social and economic trends, priorities and impacts in Malaysia.
Contribute to the analysis of the political, social, and economic situation in the country and ensure collaborative and coordinated preparation/revision of CCA, UNSCDF, annual business planning, Integrated Work Plan and results reporting, project documents, policy briefs, briefing notes and other programmatic documents.
Provide technical support to the development and preparation of knowledge products on the rule of law.
Prepare thematic fact sheets/papers/reports/policy briefs, etc. to inform target groups such as government, civil society, private sector, etc.
Prepare substantive inputs including situation analysis on the rule of law in the country into the proposals and project documents for rule of law- related and/or integrated programmes/projects.
Ensures UNDP’s policy and technical support to development institutions working towards addressing national development priorities in collaboration with the Government and other strategic partners
Act as the point of contact for key stakeholders and partners involved in the area of rule of law.

Actively explores, identifies opportunities, establishes and maintains strategic engagement and partnerships, especially with relevant state and non-state stakeholders/partners in Malaysia.

Contribute to the Country Office’s partnership engagement and resource mobilization strategy.
Explore and establish programming, partnership and resource mobilization opportunities through active engagement with relevant stakeholders and partners under the Country Programme.
Develop and maintain working relationships, coordinate and facilitate communication and collaboration between the Country Office and main government partners.
Coordinate and report regularly on the process and progress of the UNDP Country Office’s engagement and partnership in relevant UNDP internal systems.

Provide leadership and coordination in knowledge building and management in the area of rule of law focusing on the achievement of the Country Programme and Country Office’s performance.

Document lessons learned and best practices in Country Programme/project development, management, implementation and/or oversight.
Raise awareness of and train project teams and personnel on UNDP corporate strategic issues, plans and initiatives to maximize the highest impact and performance effectiveness.
Conduct regular exchange of information/experience with other programme teams and initiatives/projects to ensure synergies and integration; promote cross-portfolio and cross-programme learning and sharing.
Access UNDP’s worldwide and regional knowledge, distil best practices and facilitate their dissemination within CO and to counterparts and partners.
Access global best practices and share such practices with local and international stakeholders, and ensure their incorporation into the thematic area of rule of law and project design process.
Participate and contribute to communities of practice, codifying and sharing knowledge.
Contribute to the development of knowledge products based on lessons learned, experiences and data generated through programme and project implementation, and provide sound contributions to UNDP knowledge networks and communities of practice.
Identify, write and communicate success stories, best practices and lessons learnt from the programme and projects, and ensure proper documentation and dissemination.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Advanced university degree (master’s degree or equivalent) in law, Political Science, Public Policy, International Relations/Politics, Social Science, or related subject areas is required, or
A first-level university degree (bachelor’s degree) in the areas mentioned above in combination with an additional two years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration in lieu of advanced university degree.

Experience

Minimum 2 years (with Master’s degree) or 4 years (with Bachelor’s degree) at the national or international level in providing advisory/technical support services in the area of strengthening the rule of law (whether in the executive, judiciary, or the legislature) from a development/public policy perspective, including working on human rights or parliamentary affairs.
Demonstrated ability to lead and manage outputs and activities in all phases of project management involving multiple partners and stakeholders (i.e. demonstrated experience in programme or project management)
Demonstrated ability in writing either good quality project reports, policy briefs, or communication & advocacy articles/blogs/stories
Proven experience in the area of strengthening the rule of law (whether in the executive, judiciary, or legislature) and/or human rights issues
Demonstrated experience in collaborating with government agencies, the private sector, communities, or international organisations.

Required Languages: