ABOUT THE COMPANY:

UNDP works in about 170 countries and territories, helping to achieve the eradication of poverty, and the reduction of inequalities and exclusion. We help countries to develop policies, leadership skills, partnering abilities, institutional capabilities and build resilience in order to sustain development results.

Office/Unit/Project Description

UNDP works to support governments achieve the Sustainable Development Goals with a focus on six signature solutions: eradication of poverty, accountable and inclusive governance, resilience, nature-based development solutions, clean and affordable energy and gender equality.

The ACP-EU Development Minerals Programme is a capacity building programme that aims to build the profile, and improve the management, of Development Minerals.

The programme is an initiative of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS), financed by the European Union and UNDP, and implemented by UNDP. Phase I of the ACP-EU Development Minerals Programme was implemented in partnership with UNDP in 2015-2019; Phase II has been implemented since 2019; and Phase III since December 2023.

Development minerals refer to minerals and materials that are mined, processed, manufactured and used mainly domestically in industries such as construction (e.g.

sand and gravel), manufacturing (e.g. gypsum), infrastructure and agriculture.

Development minerals provide crucial inputs for domestic economic development, are economically important for national and local economies, and critical for urbanization and job creation. The scope of the Programme in Phase III also covers artisanal and small-scale mining in critical minerals – minerals needed for energy transition.

The Programme aims to increase employment and incomes of artisanal and small-scale mining enterprises (ASMEs). Particular emphasis is given to increasing economic opportunities for women participating in ASMEs, throughout the minerals value chains.

The Programme is currently implemented in 10 countries, namely: Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Fiji, Guinea (Conakry), Jamaica, Suriname, Republic of Congo (Brazzaville), Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia, as well as indirectly benefits other African, Caribbean and Pacific countries. Training and support is provided to artisanal and small-scale miners, mineral processing enterprises and communities, as well as government authorities and business development service providers with the goals of: 1) supporting institutions for improving the business environment for ASM and artisanal and small-scale mineral processing enterprises (collectively referred to as ASMEs); 2) formalizing ASM, improving social and environmental safeguards; 3) enhancing skills and access to markets and finance for ASMEs in low-carbon, circular and greener Development Minerals value chains; 4) supporting women-owned and -run artisanal and small-scale enterprises; 5) facilitating knowledge exchanges between African, Caribbean and Pacific countries; 6) strengthening the institutional capacity of the African Minerals Development Centre (AMDC).

Thus, the Programme is implemented at country level, Africa continental level and global level.

• Provide substantive and technical support to programme implementation through conceptualization, formulation and design of capacity building interventions (e.g.

project documents concept notes, guidelines, toolkits, manuals, background documents, policy papers, training manuals etc.);

• Lead the delivery of the structured business development package for ASMEs for selected countries;
• Facilitate integration and mainstreaming of gender-equitable interventions throughout the programme’s outputs;
• Coordinate the preparation of work plans,
• Monitor the progress on the programme’s results framework and performance indicators and take action/decision and/or provide timely support to project staff;
• Produce timely reports as required by UNDP and donor reporting systems;
• Ensure maintenance and continuous improvement of the programme’s management information system, which allows the efficient and effective collection, storage and analysis of data throughout the project, including gender and sex-disaggregated data where relevant;
• Ensure the timeliness and quality of the outputs as well as the timely preparation of reports on achievements and challenges faced within the project;
• Support establishment and monitoring of contractual arrangements with partners at the regional/ sub-regional level;
• Conduct assessments of partners’ capacity;
• Prepare guidelines for small grants under the project and ensure adherence to them;
• Promote identification and synthesis of best practices and lessons learned for organizational sharing and learning; and
• Prepare terms of references for international and national consultants as required.

Partnerships and policy advocacy

• Under the guidance of the Project Manager, mobilize, foster and strengthen strategic partnerships with intergovernmental organisations, regional institutions of the OACPS, private sector, industry associations, multi-lateral and bilateral organizations, UN agencies, civil society actors, academia and research institutions to advance and support the programme;
• Seek and identify additional partnership opportunities, and oversee the preparation of briefings and presentations to advance the programme’s goals; and
• Provide strategic inputs into policy dialogues at regional, sub-regional and country levels that improve the profile and management of the Development Minerals sector.

Communications and knowledge management

• Manage the programme’s communications and visibility through media, social media, knowledge-sharing platform, and the website;
• Contribute to strategic communication and visibility of the Programme with partner countries, in particular non-focus countries of OACPS;
• Support knowledge generation, management and knowledge sharing across countries and regions as part of the programme;
• Ensure collation of project’s training materials, communications materials, reports and other key documents;
• Coordinate the preparation of the regional workshops;
• Lead and coordinate the implementation of the project’s communication and visibility guidelines;
• Provide active stakeholder engagement with the relevant documentation and communication products required to effectively deliver on messaging to key stakeholders; and
• Ensure implementation of communications activities related to the project.

Other duties and expected results

• The Programme is successfully implemented in accordance with its Programme document and the contribution agreement with the EU;
• The capacities of key stakeholders in the Development Minerals sector is enhanced;
• Steps are taken in selected countries to improve the management and operations of the Development Minerals sectorThe incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.

Institutional Arrangements

The Programme Specialist will work under the direct supervision of the Programme Manager for the ACP-EU Development Minerals Programme.