BACKGROUND

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.

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.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the UN’s global development network, advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience, and resources to help people build a better life. We are on the ground in 170 countries and territories, working with Governments and people on their own solutions to global and national development challenges to help empower lives and build resilient nations.

The 2030 Agenda for SDGs and the pledge to leave no one behind reflect the interconnectedness of health and sustainable development, including widening economic and social inequalities, the climate crisis, rapid urbanization, the continuing burden of HIV and other infectious diseases (e.g., malaria, tuberculosis), the growing burden of non-communicable diseases and the emergence of health threats. The scope and scale of delivering health and well-being for all demands innovative partnerships and financing. As affirmed in the Political Declaration of the 2019 High-Level Meeting on Universal Health Coverage (UHC), the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Global Fund), Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance (Gavi) and others are critical partners for delivering on the health-related goals of the 2030 Agenda. Stronger Collaboration, Better Health: Global Action Plan for Healthy Lives and Well-being for All outlines how a dozen multilateral health, development and humanitarian agencies, including UNDP, the Global Fund, Gavi and others will collaborate to be more efficient and effective in supporting countries to deliver UHC and achieve the health-related SDG targets.

UNDP’s partnership with the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Global Fund), in line with UNDP’s HIV, Health and Development Strategy 2022-2025: Connecting the Dots, makes a vital contribution to UNDP’s Strategic Plan 2022-2025, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the SDGs and the pledge to leave no one behind.

As a long-standing partner of the Global Fund, UNDP’s value proposition lies in providing an integrated package of development solutions to strengthen institutions to deliver health services. Through its contributions as interim Principal Recipient (PR) and provider of technical assistance to Global Fund grants in 53 countries since 2003, UNDP’s provision of the integrated policy, implementation and capacity development support to countries has yielded significant health and development results in challenging operating environments. Proactive risk management and investing in sustainability are the cornerstones of UNDP’s portfolio management approach in supporting countries with significant national capacity constraints to manage large-scale health programmes. By providing technical assistance to national counterparts during all phases of implementation, strengthening legislation, policies and regulatory frameworks, and building capacities across key functional areas, including financial management, health information systems, procurement and supply chain management, UNDP is able to deliver results whilst sustainably transitioning to national entities. UNDP’s track record as interim PR over the last 20 years and capacity to deliver in challenging operating environments has been critical for strengthening its positioning as a health implementation support partner.

As a trusted, long-term partner of the GF, UNDP’s value proposition lies in providing an integrated package of development solutions to strengthen institutions to deliver health services. Proactive risk management and investing in sustainability are the cornerstones of UNDP’s portfolio management approach and providing technical assistance to national counterparts during all phases of implementation, strengthening legislation, policies and regulatory frameworks, and building capacities across key functional areas, including financial management, health information systems, procurement and supply chain management. Within the HIV and Health Group, the Global Fund Partnership and Health Systems Team (GFPHST) is a dedicated team providing support to UNDP Country Offices implementing health and development programmes.

UNDP has been appointed as the non-governmental Principal Recipient (PR) by the CCM (Instance de Coordination Nationale) to implement the GF GC7 HIV-TB grant, with the main objective of contributing to the strengthening of the national response to HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis, while strengthening the health system in DRC.

In order to provide strategic planning, programmatic and operational management, and oversight to the GF grants to achieve the defined programme goals, targets and effective delivery, a dedicated Project Management Unit (PMU) has been established.

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

Under the overall supervision of the Programme Manager, the Programme and Monitoring & Evaluation for Accountability and Learning (MEAL) Specialist will be responsible for leading technical planning, supervision and quality control in order to achieve a high level of performance and attain the objectives of the GF grant, coordinating with key national programmes, Civil Society Organizations  (CSOs) and other implementing partners, while engaging with technical and institutional partners to strengthen national systems and health institutions for the transition of the programmes in the coming years.

The Programme and MEAL Specialist will also provide expertise in the development and implementation of the MEAL Plan and lead on the monitoring and evaluation of the Global Fund-supported HIV and TB, and the implementation of other health related grants. S/he will provide leadership in establishing systems to effectively monitor grant performance, share systematic and timely performance feedback with implementing partners, and catalyze performance improvement actions. S/he will build capacities of staff and local partners and ensure that the M&E systems are in place, data quality is monitored, and standards are adhered to.  S/he will lead in identifying M&E technical needs of Sub-Recipients (SRs) and identify appropriate actions to be taken to improve the systems. S/he will incorporate accountability and learning into the monitoring and evaluation process to support programme improvement.

This will be done in accordance with UNDP rules, policies and procedures, the grant agreements, and corporate agreements and technical guidance notes, as applicable, with the GF, and working in partnership with national stakeholders, and in close coordination with the GF (including Local Fund Agent), CCM technical partners and UN entities, the GFPHST and other UNDP business units and programmes.

Under the overall supervision of the Programme Manager, the Programme & MEAL Specialist will promote a collaborative, client-oriented approach, ensuring integration across functional areas within the PMU and support the integration of capacity building activities.

UNDP adopts 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 in order to enhance and enable horizontal collaboration.

Key Duties and Accountabilities include:

Ensures effective programmatic monitoring of the grants for the achievement of the following results:

• Leads on the programmatic and M&E activities for UNDP and Sub-recipient (SR)s to define programme proposals, reprogramming requests, annual and quarterly workplans and budgets to ensure timely achievement of agreed results, budget compliance in accordance with UNDP rules, policies and procedures and Grant Agreement with the Fund (e.g., Performance Framework).
• Ensures that current national M&E systems (DHIS2 and other) include data to measure key performance indicators of the grant agreement that the PR must report.
• Leads on the review and improvement of the specific M&E system to report indicators not included in the DHIS2 platform (programmatic and PSM).
• Leads on assessing the programmatic performance, effectively monitoring of programme delivery proactively leading reviews with national and implementing partners, SRs for underperformance, bottlenecks and   puts in place mechanisms for the timely implementation of corrective action(s).
• In coordination with the Programme Manager and other PMU unit heads, the Programme & MEAL Specialist leads and directs routine meetings on risk assessments, develops, and implements risk management matrix/plan in the areas of programme and monitoring and evaluation (M&E), and ensures adequate oversight and support is provided, with timely incident reporting.
• Establishes a framework and agreed procedures with the Sub-recipient (SRs) for regular, quality reporting to UNDP on programmatic progress (e.g., implementation of activities, and reporting of indicators in accordance with the grant M&E frameworks);
• Advise and support SRs in the development and monitoring of effective training, supervision, and technical assistance plans.
• Advise and support the Programme Manager in the management of Sub-recipients (SRs) in the definition of annual and quarterly workplans and budgets and leads on following up on implementation of SRs work plans and budgets addressing under performance through the development of actions plans.
• Ensures that programme monitoring arrangements comply with GF grant agreements/guidelines and that the provisions of the grant agreements are fully observed.
• Oversees the timely implementation of studies to be carried out by the SRs (national programmes, and NGOs), including the finalization of study protocols and their detailed budgets for consideration by the GF.
• In coordination with the Programme Manager, assists in the identification of potential implementation problems and bottlenecks and recommends appropriate strategies to address them.
• Leads the PMU, in preparing timely and quality 6-monthly financial and programmatic progress updates on the project, in alignment with GF reporting tools and procedures.
• Supervises the programme and monitoring and evaluation staff on a day-to-day basis and reports on the team performance to the Programme Coordinator monthly, if required.
• Proactively informs the Global Fund Country Team (GF CT) of any situation likely to delay or hinder the achievement of grants goals, including a clear proposal to get back on track.
• Oversees the timely implementation of the various recommendations issued by the Global Fund.

Leads monitoring and coordination of the implementation of programmatic and monitoring and evaluation activities for the achievement of the following results:

• Oversees assessment of the Sub-Recipients (SR) capacity in the field of M&E and liaise with the capacity building specialist to develop and lead the implementation of a capacity development plan.
• Follows up on implementation of SRs audit and evaluation recommendations; ensures the optimal use of evaluation findings by providing guidance in preparation of timely management responses to all mandatory evaluations and by developing a communication/dissemination plan.
• Provides technical support to the SRs to strengthen their management and implementation of activities, as well as their M&E systems and develops risk mitigation and management plans and establishes a tracking system to monitor the implementation of the risk matrix and management plans.
• Liaises with PSM and Finance units for consolidated programme analysis and overall advisory for decision making.
• Ensures that Programme monitoring arrangements comply with GF grant confirmations /guidelines and UNDP’s rules, policies and procedures provisions are fully observed.
• Participates and provides technical support to develop TORs, conduct national surveys, surveillances, and other studies.
• Reviews the management information systems of the SRs and agrees on required changes or resources to ensure that programme and data quality standards are monitored and met and reviews the quality of existing data sources, including their completeness and timeliness, and identify areas for strengthening in collaboration with the government, partners, and programmes.
• Under the direction of the Programme Manager, participates in external supervision and evaluation missions of the GF and other agencies by facilitating access to programmatic and M&E data, as required and ensures the optimal use of evaluation findings by providing guidance in preparation of timely management response to all mandatory evaluations and by developing a communication/dissemination plan.
• Liaises with national and international health partners to ensure that all the available support and technical assistance is made available to the SRs.
• Facilitates the review of the quality of existing data sources, the methods of collecting them and the degree to which they will provide a good baseline data for mid-term and end of project evaluations; based on this review consult partners to develop approaches to address identified gaps.
• Establishes a framework and agreed procedures with the SRs for regular reporting to UNDP on programmatic progress (implementation of activities, and reporting of indicators in accordance with the grant M&E frameworks); and
• Facilitates a quarterly review of progress, identify bottlenecks, and develop remedial actions, ensuring disparities between planned and actual outputs are addressed.

Provides capacity building in programme management and the functional area of monitoring and evaluation for the achievement of the following results:

• Provide capacity transfer to M&E Unit of the SRs to improve technical skills and to strengthen their M&E systems.
• Provide technical support and facilitates capacity-building to the MoH to establish a robust health management information system, especially in the roll out of DHIS.2 system.
• Monitor the roll-out of DHIS2 and agree on required changes or resources to ensure that the system is fully functional and data quality standards are monitored and met.
• Strengthens the management and monitoring and evaluation and reporting skills of the SRs to support the transition from UNDP to a national principal recipient in the coming years.
• Collaborate with Ministry of Health Programmes to design and disseminate M&E reporting tools and templates that supports UNDP to effectively perform in the PR role and enables key partners to effectively plan, implement, monitor, and evaluate the assigned grant activities;
• Design and disseminate experience capitalization tools that support information to identify good practices and lessons learned to generate knowledge and innovation.
• Assess the M&E needs of national counterparts and provide capacity development support, resulting in effective participation in Global Fund M&E activities, such as workshops, On Site Data Verification, and LFA PUDR verification.

Facilitation of accountability knowledge building and sharing focusing on achievement of the following results:

• Identifies and assesses the implications of UNDP’s rules, policies, and procedures in the functional area of monitoring and evaluation on the implementation of GF programmes in coordination with GFPHST and other UNDP units (e.g., BMS) and reports to the Country Offices on changes to GF rules that impact on the programmes.
• Provide technical support for accountability to ensure that managers and implementers are responsible for the outcomes of the GF grant including transparency in decision making, communication with all stakeholders and responding to beneficiaries’ complaints.
• Leads learning process by systematically collecting and analyzing data and generating strategic information highlighting key programme achievements, areas for improvement, opportunities for innovation best practices, and lessons learnt.
• Contributes to information sharing with the Ministry of Health, implementing partners, CSOs, UN entities, financial and technical partners, the GF and the CCM;
• Actively participates in UNDP and other relevant external networks to promote the programmes and UNDP’s health and development work (e.g., conferences, community of practice, Yammer) and represents UNDP in relevant technical meetings, working groups at country, regional and global level and gathers lessons learnt to apply to the programmes; and
• Provides training and builds the capacity of the grant’s Programme and M&E staff within the PMU.

Maintain strategic partnerships with key stakeholders in government other related agencies, like the United Nations Joint Programme on HIV (UNAIDS) country team and US PEPFAR country team, and civil society, in collaboration with the UNDP Governance and Global Fund HIV and Health Group (HHG) portfolios:

• Engage with the UNAIDS and the UN Country Joint Team on HIV/AIDS and build network/relationship with country PEPFAR programme to push the rights of key populations and LGBTI persons in DRC.
• Assure that the key population, human rights, and gender activities within the GC7 Global Fund component are managed effectively in the CO’s project planning and reporting systems.
• Coordinate with UNDP Regional Hub for LGBTIQ+ to support in-country advocacy and policy work on human rights, gender and Key population aspects.
• Ensure synergies with UNDP regional and national programmes and initiatives on human rights, gender and key populations.

Other Duties:

• The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization

Supervisory/Managerial Responsibilities:  

• Supervise and manage the performances of  M&E officer (innovation, Data, Monitoring & Reporting)/      Analyst S&E National TB/ Analyst S&E National VIH Specialist Programme & MEAL TB-VIH  / Analyst Programme & MEAL TB-VIH / Specialist Human Rights Officer/Gender.

QUALIFICATIONS

Education:

• Advanced university degree (master’s degree or equivalent) in, Public Health, Monitoring and Evaluation, Health Information Systems, Epidemiology or related field is required; Or.
• A first-level university degree (bachelor’s degree) in the above-mentioned fields of study in combination with an additional two years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience, Knowledge, and Skills: 

• A minimum of 7 years (with master’s degree) or 9 years (with bachelor’s degree) of professional experience working in programme management and M&E of health programmes, or related fields including at least 3 years’ experience in MEAL is required.
• Being a Medical Doctor is an asset.
• Prior experience and solid understanding of Global Fund’s performance-based funding model and data management, policies and procedures are an asset.
• At least 5 years of experience in implementing of HIV/AIDS or tuberculosis, malaria programmes or other Health programmes is desired.
• Demonstrated experience in working with electronic health information systems (e.g. DHIS2) is desired.
• Work experience in a challenging operating environment is an asset.
• Demonstrated experience in building MEAL capacity of national stakeholders in health and development as M&E is desired.
• Experience in the effective management of people is an asset.

Language Requirements: 

• Fluency in oral and written French is required.
• Good working knowledge of English is desired.

COMPETENCIES

Core Competencies:

• Achieve Results:  LEVEL 3: Set and align challenging, achievable objectives for multiple projects, have lasting impact.
• Think Innovatively:  LEVEL 3: Proactively mitigate potential risks, develop new ideas to solve complex problems.
• Learn Continuously  LEVEL 3: Create and act on opportunities to expand horizons, diversify experiences.
• Adapt with Agility:  LEVEL 3: Proactively initiate and champion change, manage multiple competing demands.
• Act with Determination:  LEVEL 3: Think beyond immediate task/barriers and take action to achieve greater results.
• Engage and Partner:  LEVEL 3: Political savvy, navigate complex landscape, champion inter-agency collaboration.
• Enable Diversity and Inclusion:  LEVEL 3: Appreciate benefits of diverse workforce and champion inclusivity.

People Management Competencies: 

• UNDP People Management Competencies can be found in the dedicated site.

Cross-Functional & Technical Competencies:

Business Direction and Strategy: Negotiation and Influence

• Ability to reach an understanding, persuade others, resolve points of difference, gain advantage in the outcome of dialogue, negotiate mutually acceptable solutions through compromise and create ‘win-win’ situations.

Business Management: Results-based Management

• Ability to manage programmes and projects with a focus on improved performance and demonstrable results.

Business Direction & Strategy: System Thinking

• Ability to use objective problem analysis and judgement to understand how interrelated elements coexist within an overall process or system, and to consider how altering one element can impact on other parts of the system.

Digital & Innovation: Data analysis

• Ability to extract, analyse and visualize data (including Real-Time Data) to form meaningful insights and aid effective decision making.

Business Management: Portfolio Management

• Ability to select, prioritize and control the organization’s programmes and projects, in line with its strategic objectives and capacity; ability to balance the implementation of change initiatives and the maintenance of business-as-usual, while optimizing return on investment.

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.

2030 Agenda: People: Health

• Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria (GFATM).

Please note that continuance of appointment beyond the initial 12 months is contingent upon the successful completion of a probationary period.

UNDP Disclaimer for FTA/TA International Posts

Important information for US Permanent Residents (‘Green Card’ holders)

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.

Scam warning

The United Nations does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process. Should you receive a solicitation for the payment of a fee, please disregard it. Furthermore, please note that emblems, logos, names and addresses are easily copied and reproduced. Therefore, you are advised to apply particular care when submitting personal information on the web.