• Ensure effective oversight of programmers’ and projects’ management for optimization of development initiatives:

1. Lead efficient, client-oriented advice and quality assurance work for CO programme and operations activities and advise senior management in a timely manner of issues, trends, challenges, and risk to enable timely remedial actions.
2. Review internal control mechanisms/templates and ensure compliance of project and programme management actions, at the design, implementation, and closure stages, to ensure that they are implemented consistently and in accordance with UNDP Programme and Operations policies and procedures (POPP).
3. Set standard operating procedures and business processes for programme management, quality of the project formulation and implementation, including high-risk, high complexity and vertical fund projects to enable adequate monitoring and oversight.
4. Ensure inputs to project design, pre-appraisal and quality assurance reviews of the draft project documents to improve the quality of programming, including capacity assessments, risk management, strong governance mechanisms and arrangements etc.
5. Contribute to the achievement of project outputs and country programme outcomes by carrying out regular oversight review of projects; assess reliability and integrity of information provided in project plans and reports, and the completeness of supporting documents.
6. Prepare data analysis and reports, with recommendations on control issues requiring CO management’s actions and interventions.
7. Advise and support programme teams on effective use of tools and methodologies for planning, monitoring and reporting to better orient projects against UNDP corporate and specific donor policies related to project design and management, offering substantive advice and concrete programming options to enhance project compliance, portfolio analysis, review of evaluations, performance analytics, and other available sources of lessons and best practices.
8. Strengthen transparency and accountability in project implementation and overall programme management and carry out targeted performance reviews to ensure targets are met; and make appropriate recommendations for improvement.
9. Contribute to the integration of women empowerment and gender equality aspects in programming, including quality assurance of assigned gender markers, as required.
10. Coordinate with lead Ministry and Departments on issues around programme and project management.
11. Advisory support to programme oversight mechanisms such as Country Programme Management Board, Outcome Boards

• Oversee risk management and assessments, for risk-informed programmes and operations:

1. Lead on the implementation of the enterprise risk management (ERM) policy and procedures, including risk identification, risk assessments, risk analysis for decision making, design and implementation of risk mitigation strategies, actions, risk escalation, etc.
2. Oversight and advice on HACT implementation, including Vertical Fund programming and needs assessment tools.
3. Lead the targeted spot-checks and QA reviews for selected projects—capacity building on the programme and project management, risk management, and project oversight tools.
4. Lead quality assurance of legal documents, including LOA, MoU, RPAs, LVG Agreements, PCA and cost sharing agreements according to UNDP rules and regulations/Advise and prepare funding agreements with donors and ensure compliance with the organization’s corporate template/ Effective and efficient clearance and implementation of the cost-sharing trust fund agreements.
5. Advise program units and projects on the process of identifying and selecting implementing partners and responsible parties and the process of selecting low-value grant recipients.
6. Support the effective implementation of the internal control framework in collaboration with operations units.
7. Perform the function of Country Office Audit focal point and coordinates action across various audit mandated and compliance tasks, including data collection and analysis, follow-up to the audit recommendations and evidence-based reporting.
8. Ensure effective mechanisms for follow-up to the HACT/DIM and CO audits, analyze audit findings across projects and prepare audit follow up plan, facilitate regular monitoring of audit follow up and preparation of capacity development activities for all projects.
9. Ensure quality reviews of the Country Office risk registers and advise programme teams to ensure that quality of risks are of good quality and adequately assessed and escalated if need be.
10. Ensure effective application of the Social and Environmental Standards and facilitates oversight of adequate establishment of safeguards at country level.
11. Oversee partner risk management mechanisms within the office (Due diligence, vetting, and risk assessments) and determination of residual risks for management.
12. Responsible for office business processes mapping and development of risk-informed SOPs; identifies opportunities for converting business processes into web-based systems to enhance efficiency, accountability, and risk management.
13. Oversight of the anti-fraud, AML/CFT policies implementation

• Lead the Programme oversight & Compliance, Quality assurance of Program/Project Management and Ensure Monitoring, Evaluation & Reporting
  1. Sustained rigorous programme oversight and compliance and conduct Programme quality assurance

1. Establishment of a Results Based M&E system, which ensures quality control of programme operations and results/Effective implementation of RBM and Monitoring and Evaluation of the CO programme
2. Guidance on Project Quality Assurance (QA), focusing on results and target setting, monitoring, multi-year work planning, development effectiveness, and efficiency.
3. Contribute and support the implementation of the country office action plans with specific analysis and activities assigned (lessons from QA reviews, audits, evaluations, and other datasets).
4. Quality Assurance of the certifications, verifications, and validations
5. Coordination of the implementation of the evaluation plan, regular updates of the Evaluation Resource Center/ Coordinate decentralized evaluations, thematic evaluations, and Independent Country Programme Evaluations and integrate lessons learned from audits and evaluations in all aspects of programming and operations/ Support the utilization of evaluation findings and recommendations in improving programme quality.
6. Establish a quality and accountable reporting system and support and ensure timely and quality reporting to donors.
7. Support the implementation of RBM, including oversight of CO Monitoring and Evaluation policies and procedures, provision of quality assurance to the evaluation processes, and representation of UNDP in the UNCT Monitoring and Evaluation Group.
8. Lead on corporate reporting International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI), Results Oriented Annual Report (ROAR), Integrated Work Plans (IWP), Quality Assurance (QAs) , CO Master Brief, CPD indicators, and quarterly portfolio reviews and any other related monitoring corporate requirements.
9. Ensuring timely and quality donor reporting
10. In close collaboration with Programme Teams, conduct periodic and targeted quality assurance reviews of programme and project documentation and risk management, and making recommendations on improvement to Country Office Senior Management

• Facilitates the results-based management performance of the Country Office

1. Perform regular oversight and monitoring actions pertaining to overall management performance of the Country Office and provide advice to the Senior Management on improvement strategies and action plans.
2. Ensure guidance to programme and operations teams to proactively identify and address management performance trends against set annual targets and corporate KPIs, recognize root causes and address gaps identified by corporate dashboards, audits, quality assurance reviews and oversight, online performance monitoring tools, Vital signs etc.
3. Conduct periodic quality assurance and oversight of programme and operations management, addressing bottlenecks and deficiencies in issues related to programme and operations and make recommendations for improvement to CO management teams.
4. Provide advice to the Senior Management and perform quality assurance of the design and implementation of internal control frameworks and oversight processes in the office.
5. Contribute to stronger coordination between Programme and Operations teams to promote and support synergies for implementation of the programme and assessment of results.
6. Support DRR in designing and monitoring Country Office performance pulse, integrating programmatic and operational performance metrics, including regional priorities and regional Integrated Work Plan (IWP) / CO Business Plan and Annual Compacts etc.
7. Ensure necessary follow-up measures to respond to the recommendations from global audits, regional assessments and corporate action plans, etc.

• Ensure Capacity development and knowledge facilitation

1. Keep updated knowledge as to changes in UNDP programme and operations policies and procedures. Provides support to programme, operations and project staff on application of corporate rules and procedures.
2. Ensure needs and capacity assessments are conducted on regular basis and capacity development actions are designed in an efficient manner.
3. Provide training and facilitates effective knowledge dissemination across the office and projects to ensure colleagues have easy access to resources and tools.
4. Conducts analysis of COs’ data and case evidence to distil relevant lessons on programme and project management and implementation.
5. In close collaboration with the Regional Bureau staff, contributes to development and delivery of modular training packages to strengthen COs’ and partners’ capacities in the programmatic and operational oversight and implementation of the CO portfolios.
6. Contribute to CO capacity building efforts and the planning and delivery of workshops and learning events.
7. Participate in, and brings CO perspectives into, the implementation of policy and strategic initiatives at the regional and HQ level in her/his areas of responsibility to support the key results, outcomes, and outputs of the UNDP Strategic Plan.

Ability to leverage learning from a variety of sources to anticipate and respond to future trends; to demonstrate foresight to model what future developments and possible ways forward look like for UNDP