As of the Country Programme Document for the 2022 – 2026, within the UNSDCF Framework, UNDP’s mission is to support Viet Nam to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, in which UNDP will lead the activities, interventions under the Outcome 2 to help people in Viet Nam, especially those at risk of being left behind, to benefit from, and contribute to safer and cleaner environment resulting from effective mitigation and adaptation to climate change, disaster risk reduction and resilience building, promotion of circular economy, clean and renewable energy, and the sustainable management of natural resources.

Based on UNDP’s comparative advantage in addressing integrated sustainability and the poverty-environment and climate-health linkages, UNDP will contribute to enhancing climate and environment governance; reducing poverty and vulnerability; and responding to climate and disaster related risks, persistent organic pollutants, degradation of biodiversity and ecosystems, desertification, land degradation, plastics and ocean pollution and adverse health impacts. UNDP will empower poor and vulnerable people, especially women and ethnic minorities, to improve their resilience and access livelihood opportunities. UNDP support will increase institutional capacities for planning that reflects climate and disaster risk and for application of nature-based solutions, climate-resilient agricultural practices, tools to manage climate and disaster risks, and adaptive measures in the health sector; and to ensure resilience in housing and infrastructure development.

Viet Nam is identified as a country at high-risk for emergence and re-emergence of zoonotic diseases due to human population density, biodiversity, livestock and wildlife farming and trade practices, climate change and other factors. Overexploitation of natural resources, habitat loss and degradation create the potential for increased contact between humans, livestock, and wildlife species, increasing disease spillover risk. Intensification of livestock farming also raises the risk of pathogens being present in water supplies and the surrounding environment, posing a further risk of disease spillover. Viet Nam has been significantly impacted by zoonotic disease spillovers between animals and humans, including SARS in 2003, Avian Influenza (H5N1) from 2003 onwards, and most recently from COVID-19.

Climate change, including changes in rainfall patterns, saltwater intrusion, and increased frequency and/or intensity of extreme weather events and natural disasters, can have significant impacts on farming, land and forest use practices and livelihoods that can result in new or intensified forms of contact between wildlife, livestock, and humans, leading to additional risks of zoonotic and vector-borne disease spillovers. Climate change is also impacting the health workforce and infrastructure.

Viet Nam has made important progress on the development of the national health system in recent decades. However, implementation of SDG 3 on ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all people at all ages still faces difficulties and challenges in terms of maternal and child health care in ethnic minority and mountainous areas; diseases and deaths from non-communicable diseases, which have now replaced communicable diseases as the main cause of mortality and morbidity; and limitations to medical facilities and human resources.

The presence of EO can have a substantial negative impact on human development. Landmines, cluster munitions and other EO are a significant hindrance to countries’ achievements in the simultaneous eradication of extreme poverty and reduction of inequalities and exclusion.

Against this background, UNDP Viet Nam has been working closely with relevant Government Ministries, institutions, provinces and other stakeholder to design and implement projects and initiatives on Climate – Health nexus.

The project “Strengthening Viet Nam’s One Health Implementation at the Nexus of Climate Change and Environment” (VOHICCE) funded by USAID aims to support the Government of Viet Nam (GVN) to improve national and provincial capacities to detect, prevent, and respond to climate change related emerging infectious diseases in Viet Nam, and to strengthen One Health Coordination and One Health Workforce strategies implementation. The project will focus its technical, policy and coordination support efforts at both the national level, working with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), the Ministry of Health (MOH), and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE), and the provincial level, specifically in selected Mekong Delta locations including An Giang province, Can Tho city and Soc Trang province. The project beneficiaries include central, provincial, district and commune government personnel in the agriculture and rural development, health, and natural resources and environment sectors, and with and private sector enterprises, social organizations, and local communities within these provinces.

The project “Telehealth to improve access to health services for disadvantaged groups” funded by the Korea Foundation for International Healthcare (KOFIH) built on the results of the previous grassroots telehealth programme supported by UNDP in collaboration with MOH, the Viet Nam Administration of Medical Services (VAMS) – will cooperate with UNDP and KOFIH to continue implementing activities for capacity building and support for grassroots health facilities in line with Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) were signed on 9 January 2023 between VAMS-MOH and KOFIH and between UNDP and KOFIH. The project goals are to promote the health of disadvantaged groups with logistical limits by offering good quality healthcare services to ethnic minorities, people with disabilities and others living in mountainous and remote areas of Viet Nam and will strengthen digital transformation in health services contributing to improving the quality of grassroots medical services.

Support will be provided to strengthen the standard operating procedures (SOPs) and technical documents for telehealth/telemedicine through the development and dissemination of SOPs and other technical documents and guidelines. The capacities of the grassroots telehealth system will be strengthened through upgrading the “Doctor for Everyone” software, improving the IT infrastructure of the health sector; setting up the telehealth function rooms at the grassroots health facilities in selected provinces; and providing training to healthcare personnel in selected provinces on the grassroots telehealth system using the ‘Doctor for Everyone’ software. Grassroots telehealth services at the grassroots health facilities will be provided and promoted to community members, including disadvantaged groups and patients with selected non-communicable and communicable diseases (high blood pressure, diabetes and TB). The project will directly contribute to Viet Nam’s National Digital Transformation Programme and the Health Digitalization Programme until 2025 and Vision to 2030, and to implementation of Viet Nam’s Vtele health system towards the national goals of providing telemedicine services at health facilities nationwide. In this way, it will also contribute to Viet Nam’s achievement of national targets according to the Sustainable Development Goals, and in particular to SDG 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages, including Target 3.8 of SDG 3 which focuses on achieving universal health coverage, including financial risk protection, access to quality essential health-care services and access to safe, effective, quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all.

Building on the lessons from the Korea – Vietnam Mine Action Project (KVMAP), the Korea – Vietnam Peace Village Project (KVPVP) was developed and founded on the close collaboration between the Government of the Republic of Korea and the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. The main purpose of the project is to strengthen the capacities of the Viet Nam National Mine Action Center (VNMAC) and other responsible parties to further improve the contribution of mine action activities for human development in contaminated areas, especially in Thua Thien Hue, Quang Ngai and Binh Dinh provinces. The Republic of Korea provides its support via the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).

This project, which aims to enable inclusive, safe and resilient local development by reducing the impact of EO on local communities and supporting them to stably improve livelihoods, housing and health, is structured around two main outcomes and four related outputs. Whereas the first outcome on ‘human security’, and its two associated outputs, relate to mine action and its pillars, the second outcome on sustainable rural development with a focus on livelihoods, resilient housing and health care and its two outputs provide solutions for EO victims and their local communities affected by EO. It offers various options how cleared land can be effectively utilized for sustainable livelihoods and resilient economic and social infrastructure in the context of increasing impacts of climate change and extreme weather events. The suggested intervention will provide best practices which can help improve the mine action sector in Vietnam overall, as well as provide a couple of models how mine action activities can be linked closely with other development solutions.

Given above context and as the expansion of climate – health nexus sub-portfolio, UNDP is seeking to recruit a Project Analyst to provide coordination, implementation and management support to the activities of the climate – health related projects.

The Project Analyst works under the general supervision of the Programme Analyst on Climate – Health nexus and with the overall guidance of the CCE Unit Head.

Expected tasks are detailed as follows:

Function 1: Support implementation of projects including the VOHICCE and KVPVP projects

For the VOHICCE project:

Task 1: Actively participate to the project approval procedures of the VOHICCE project at national level with the project owner as Ministry of Health (MOH), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) and Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE)

• Closely work with Project Manager, Technical Advisor, Programme Associate, focal people at MOH, MARD, MONRE and relevant stakeholders to develop and finalize the Project Documents at national level which are ready for project approval pursuance the Decree 114/ND-CP;
• Provide technical contribution and support, and actively take necessary actions throughout the process to get the project approval at the soonest.

Task 2: Support coordination and implementation of project activities upon approval

• Keep contact with Provincial Coordinators and all relevant stakeholders in 03 provinces/city of An Giang, Can Tho and Soc Trang to implement, monitor and provide technical assistance to project activities, identify challenges, and ensure the alignment of activities with project objectives and inform the Project Manager the issues may occur and affect the timely completion of the project activities as planned.
• Keep contact with focal persons at Ministry of Health, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and all relevant agencies/stakeholders, consultants at national level to implement, monitor and provide technical assistance to project activities and inform the Project Manager the issues may occur and affect the timely completion of the project activities as planned.
• Effective communications and engagement with project counterparts and consultants to ensure timely implementation of project packages and activities.
• Actively attend required meetings with USAID, relevant partners to prepare meeting minutes.
• Prepare the bi-weekly updates, progress reports that highlights issues to be discussed and actions to be taken for the counterparts and for supervisor, and draft quarterly/biannual/annual reports as required by the donor.

Task 3: Support regular administration, procurement and organization of project events

• Provide operational support in planning, organization and follow-up of project events including online and offline meetings, trainings, workshops, conferences and other events of the project in close liaison with Project Manager, Technical Advisor, Programme Associate and Project Partners if appropriate.
• Support with the development and translation of letters, statements, briefs, project materials into English and/or Vietnamese.

For the KVPVP project:

Task 4: Support administration and implementation of project activities and events

• Keep contact with 03 provincial coordinators in Thua Thien Hue, Quang Ngai and Binh Dinh to support the implementation of project activities and inform the Project Manager the issues may occur and affect the timely completion of the project activities as planned.
• Provide operational support in planning, organization and follow-up of project events including online and offline meetings, trainings, workshops, conferences and other events of the project in close liaison with Project Manager, Programme Associate and Project Partners if appropriate.
• Support with the development and translation of letters, statements, briefs, project materials into English and/or Vietnamese.
• Attend required meetings with relevant partners and UNDP to prepare meeting minutes.

Function 2: Technical provision to Climate Health nexus sub-portfolio

Task 5: Provide technical inputs to Climate Health related activities/projects:

• Support in KOFIH project approval procedures, preparation and implementation of project activities when requested.
• Develop TORs for project activities and technical interventions, research.
• Proactively contribute technical inputs to the implementation of project activities.
• Involve in preparation and provide technical inputs to formulation of new Climate – Health nexus proposals/projects for resource mobilization.
• Perform other appropriate tasks as requested by the supervisor.

Function 3: Acting as M&E focal point to all projects under Climate – Health nexus sub-portfolio.

Task 6: Be responsible for the M&E of Climate – Health nexus projects

• Be responsible for the M&E of all the climate – health related projects.
• Providing timely actions and support to relevant partners and as requirements of UNDP and donors to assure the project targets met and to assure the quality of project products.
• Prepare the bi-weekly updates, progress reports that highlights issues to be discussed and actions to be taken for the counterparts and for supervisor, and draft quarterly/biannual/annual reports as required by the donors.

Core competencies:

• Achieve Results: LEVEL 1: Plan and monitor own work, pay attention to details, delivers quality work by deadline.
• Think Innovatively: LEVEL 1: Open to creative ideas/known risks, is pragmatic problem solver, makes improvements.
• Learn Continuously: LEVEL 1: Open minded and curious, shares knowledge, learns from mistakes, asks for feedback.
• Adapt with Agility: LEVEL 1: Adapts to change, constructively handles ambiguity/uncertainty, is flexible.
• Act with Determination: LEVEL 1: Shows drive and motivation, able to deliver calmly in face of adversity, confident.
• Engage and Partner: LEVEL 1: Demonstrates compassion/understanding towards others, forms positive relationships.
• Enable Diversity and Inclusion: LEVEL 1: Appreciate/respect differences, aware of unconscious bias, confront discrimination.

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies:

Business Management

• Project Management: Ability to plan, organize, prioritize and control resources, procedures and protocols to achieve specific goals.
• Partnerships Management: Ability to build and maintain partnerships with wide networks of stakeholders, Governments, civil society and private sector partners, experts and others in line with UNDP strategy and policies.
• Monitoring: Ability to provide managers and key stakeholders with regular feedback on the consistency or discrepancy between planned and actual activities and programme performance and results.
• Evaluation: Ability to make an independent judgement based on set criteria and benchmarks; Ability to anticipate client’s upcoming needs and concerns.

Digital & Innovation

• Data analysis: Ability to extract, analyze and visualize data (including Real-Time Data) to form meaningful insights and aid effective decision making.
• Social media: Knowledge of social media and ability to advise the use of social media for development outcomes.

Administration & Operations

• Event Management: Support projects with event management including venue identification, accommodation, logistics, catering, transportation, and cash disbursements, etc.