Background and Organizational Context

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.

In support of the new Country Programme Document (CPD, 2020-2025) launched in mid-2020 which entailed a reconfiguration of the CO’s policy and programme management architecture and the new Regional Programme (RP, 2022-2025) currently under development, taking into consideration the findings and recommendations of the OAI management audits in late 2020, and learning from experience and feedback from clients on operations services, UNDP-Ethiopia is in the process of reconfiguring its operations structure and transform its business processes through automation, with a first set of actions completed in July 2022 for reconfigured staffing and business process automation in place by December 2022. Operations re-configuration is part of the CO overall reform following the new CPD and the Programme re-configuration.

The purposes of the reconfiguration are: (1) to remain ‘fit-for-purpose’ as a key and trusted service provider of the growing Country Office program, the Regional Service Centre for Africa (RSCA) as well as UN agency clients in an increasingly complex operating context; (2) to substantially raise performance in terms of the service quality, client satisfaction and business growth, gearing at achievement of ISO9001 certification for service quality. This will be achieved through aligned unit structure, innovative solutions for operations, bringing digital transformation into business processes, and a collaborative and client-oriented approach to the operations services.

Position Purpose

The position will take the “private sector” approach to tackle the persisting issue that requires much more client-oriented services that will help to assure the retainment of existing clients and yield growth in business and income. Client satisfaction is a key measure of service quality aside from compliance, and unfortunately it has been shown to fall low due to lack of attention to this business criteria. The dedicated CRM will introduce an “out-of-the-box” way in serving clients and managing client relationships.

Key Duties and Responsibilities

The position will work under the direct supervision and guidance of the Deputy Resident Representative Operations and the Operations Manager, in close collaboration with Operations Unit Heads and Operations staff, Programme Teams to deliver the following key duties and responsibilities:

Key Results: UNDP Country Office Operations Support Services are improved, ISO9001 certification is achieved and sustainably maintained

1. Ensures to follow strategic direction of Client Relationship management focusing on achievement of the following results:

• Establishment of collaborate arrangements with potential partners, a Client Relationship Management system and appropriate operational partnership arrangements;
• Constant monitoring and analysis of the operating environment and identify improvement opportunities (both system and procedural);
• Lead in the development and monitoring of Service Level Agreements (SLA) with clients and develop monitoring tools with suitable indicators to ensure the service provision is consistent with the SLA.

2. Ensures effective Client Relationship Management focusing on achievement of the following results:

• Identify and tackle critical cross-unit issues that are essential to achieving high client satisfaction;
• Design client satisfaction surveys, analyze survey results, and coordinate on action plan to address the issues.
• Monitor client service Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and collaborate with Operations Units to achieve positive customer experience;
• Regularly check-in with clients to get feedback on services: quality, responsiveness, speed, cost efficiency, etc. and timely raises issues with the OM and DRR/O;
• Identify needs from existing and potential clients and explore possibilities to scale up our services;
• Arrange meetings/workshops with clients to serve as a relationship-building activity;
• Provide presentations to clients on services;
• Acting as a point of contact for complaints and escalating issues as appropriate.

3. Ensures proper monitoring and reporting focusing on achievement of the following results:

• Measure performance of the operations units using tools (Client-Centre Service Portal, surveys, etc.) and based on criteria such as level of client satisfaction, level of cost recovery earned, and level of compliance achieved;
• Identify the best-performing unit for consideration of upgraded performance ratings in staff PMDs;
• Provide regular reports and recommendations to DRR/O for management purposes.

Core competencies

• Achieve Results:  LEVEL 2: Scale up solutions and simplifies processes, balances speed and accuracy in doing work
• Think Innovatively: LEVEL 2: Offer new ideas/open to new approaches, demonstrate systemic/integrated thinking
• Learn Continuously:   LEVEL 2: Go outside comfort zone, learn from others and support their learning
• Adapt with Agility: LEVEL 2: Adapt processes/approaches to new situations, involve others in change process
• Act with Determination: LEVEL 2: Able to persevere and deal with multiple sources of pressure simultaneously
• Engage and Partner: LEVEL 2: Is facilitator/integrator, bring people together, build/maintain coalitions/partnerships
• Enable Diversity and Inclusion: LEVEL 2: Facilitate conversations to bridge differences, considers in decision making

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies

Entrepreneurial Thinking: Ability to create clarity around UNDP value proposition to beneficiaries and partners and to develop service offers responding to client needs based on UNDP’s organizational priorities and mandate

Evaluation: Ability to make an independent judgement based on set criteria and benchmarks – Ability to anticipate client’s upcoming needs and concerns.

Customer Satisfaction/Client Management: Ability to respond timely and 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 beyond clients’ immediate requests. – Ability to anticipate client’s upcoming needs and concerns.

Managing Client Relations: The ability to interact with different levels of management and across different agencies and offices to obtain information, develop legal approaches and resolve issues, this skill includes liaison with counterparts and determining the best sequence in which to pursue an issue, where information, particularly for UNDP, may be across different independent UN agencies.

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

Systems thinking & transformation: Understand that complex problems need a non-reductionistic, holistic approach.

Ability to explore challenges from multiple perspectives by zooming in and out, with a focus on relationships and flows rather than individual elements; understand how certain dynamics and conditions are driving and influencing an issue.

Ability to develop a collective understanding by a mapping systems and their dynamics (e.g. flows or resources, information; power relations); is able to handle ambiguity and can help others navigate it.

Being able to identify intervention points to leverage change and system transformation by setting out a coherent collection of multiple interventions to probe the system for desirable effects.

Understand that change is non-linear and unpredictable; being comfortable and able to work with emergence.

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

Required Skills and Experience

Education

Advanced (Master’s) degree in business management, administration, economics, or any related areas. Bachelor degree with additional two years of relevant experience can be considered in lieu of an advanced degree.

Experience

• Minimum two years (Master’s degree) or four years (Bachelor’s degree) work experience in client service management or closely related areas including marketing, business development.

Required skills

• Very good sense and demonstration of client-orientation and result-orientation;
• Excellent teamwork;
• Good understanding of core business processes in human resources, procurement, finance, protocols and general administration;
• Proficient in Microsoft applications;
• Proven experience as a client relationships manager or relationship manager is desirable;
• Client Oriented;
• Excellent communication skills;
• Ability to work with a team.

Language

• Fluency in written and spoken English 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.

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