UNDP is the United Nations’ global development network, advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. On the ground in more than 170 countries, UNDP works on solutions to global and national development challenges. As the United Nations’ development network, UNDP draws on a world of experience to assist Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei Darussalam in developing their own solutions to the development challenges. Through partnerships and innovation, UNDP supports countries achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by reducing poverty and inequality, strengthening the rule of law and governance, promoting environmental sustainability and addressing Climate Change.

More than half of the world’s young people reside on this continent. At the moment, roughly 68 of every 100 people in Asia are of working age. It is a region facing up to the challenges of extreme poverty and climate change but brimming with economic dynamism and a youthful workforce to deliver on unfulfilled potential. Young people in the region are 5-7 times more likely to be unemployed than their older counterparts at the same level of education. Women’s access to education and participation in the labour force remain stubbornly low across populous swathes of the region. The next wave of development gains as envisioned by the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals must address the needs of those left behind.

The 1997 National Youth Development Policy defined youth in Malaysia as ranged between the age of 15-40. However, the policy also specifies that youth development programs and activities shall be focused on youth aged 18-25. This makes up almost half of the Malaysian population and the potential of this youthful demographic bulge to contribute to national development is often overshadowed by the reality of young peoples’ lives as they grapple with the challenges toward realizing their development.

UNDP’s Youth Empowerment Portfolio in Asia and the Pacific (YEP-AP) aims to invest in and empower young people across the region to accelerate the implementation of SDGs. YEP-AP believes that youth can be leaders, who create inclusive and equitable societies free of discrimination. They can make a positive difference by taking on the challenges through social innovation, mobilizing their peers and communities, and creating adaptive and innovative solutions.

Aligned with the regional Youth Empowerment Portfolio led by UNDP Bangkok Regional Hub (BRH), UNDP Malaysia will be expanding the youth programmes both in Singapore and Malaysia and explore potential to initiate programmes in Brunei Darussalam. With this context UNDP Malaysia and BRH expect to engage a programme analyst to support the implementation and scaling of youth initiatives in Singapore and support to strengthen the efforts in Malaysia as well.

The incumbent will report to the Deputy Resident Representative of UNDP Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei Darussalam. The incumbent will also work closely with the Regional Youth Programme team at the UNDP Bangkok Regional Hub and Global Centre for Technology, Innovation and Sustainable Development in Singapore.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Programme Coordination

• Lead the proposal, coordination and development of existing and new strategic youth interventions and projects in Singapore, and regional level, including EoIs, workplans, budgets and concept notes for both regional team at UNDP BRH and UNDP Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei Darussalam.
• Led the programming and operations with private and public sector partners, as well as the internal UNDP coordination and process management for ongoing programmes in Singapore, including Youth Action Challenge. Conduct research, and represent UNDP BRH and UNDP Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei Darussalam in thought leadership events, and convene dialogues on policies, strategies and priorities related to the topics of social entrepreneurship, innovation and youth development.
• Produce background notes, briefings materials, speeches, and presentations for UNDP Malaysia speakers for their engagements in Singapore related to Youth Empowerment, if required.
• Provide regular project updates to the UNDP Malaysia and BRH management and other project partners.
• Support the organization on other related activities and events as applicable with special focus on youth-led engagement in Singapore, Malaysia and Asia Pacific, including the Movers Programme, YECAP, Skill Our Future, and more.

Partnership Management

• Manage the relationship with regional partners and potential partner mapping to identify strategic partnerships and areas of programmatic priority overlap and alignment in Singapore in the area of youth empowerment.
• Maintain an up-to-date database of all potential partners for the event and follow-up support.
  • Work with the team to develop and support the partnership strategy and database.
  • Identify local partner(s) in the field of inclusive youth development in Singapore for the execution of the projects and long-term support for all the youth led programmes
• Support regional partnerships activities and training on youth empowerment strategic partnerships with public and private sector and relationship building with new partners.
• Document lessons learned and supported the fundraising and engagement strategies of UNDP BRH and Country Offices around youth innovation and empowerment in Asia Pacific.
  • Support the development of regional partners engagement plans to foster and maintain sustainable and long-term relationships with existing partners with presence in Singapore.
  • Maintain a comprehensive regional partners database to track partners engagements and coordinate outreach and communications, in line with regional partners and donor databases, and tracking efforts.
  • Provide local context and advice around engagement and fundraising strategies and support country programmes in the development of donor engagement strategies.
  • Contribute to the Youth Empowerment Alliance at both National and Regional level.

Event Management

• Manage project workflow process including scheduling, budgeting, procurement and payments in collaboration with the UNDP operations team (based in Malaysia and BRH).
• Provide and coordinate project related administrative and on-site logistics support in Singapore.
• Act as local focal point for speakers, participants and partners in Singapore.
• Prepare outreach/communication materials (PPTs, brochures) for the programs and projects.
• Drafting of annual report or event documentation including project progress and financial reports, if required.

Supporting youth programmes in Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam

• Support UNDP Malaysia in implementing youth empowerment programmes in Malaysia including Youth Co: Lab, YECAP, Skill Our Future, Movers Programme etc.
• Support to manage regional donors who are interested to support programmatic activities in Malaysia.
• Support the development of proposals and youth portfolio generation for Brunei Darussalam, if required.

Competencies:

Core competencies:

• Achieve Results: LEVEL 1: Plans and monitors own work, pays 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.
• Risk management: Ability to identify and organize action around mitigating and proactively managing risks.

Partnership Management

• Resource Mobilization: Ability to identify funding sources, match funding needs (programmes/projects/initiatives) with funding opportunities and establish a plan to meet funding requirements.
• Multi-stakeholder engagement and funding: Knowledge and ability to forge multi-stakeholder partnerships and remove any obstacles to resource mobilization and multi-stakeholder funding platforms.
• Strategic Engagement: Ability to capture and sustain attention, interest and agreement of high-level, influential policy and decision makers and secure their buy-in of high-level vision and objectives.

Business Direction and Strategy

• Effective Decision Making: Ability to take decisions in a timely and efficient manner in line with one’s authority area of expertise and resources.
• 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.

• Advanced university degree (master’s degree or equivalent) in international development, social sciences, development, international relations, media, management, business administration or related fields is required.
• A first-level university degree (Bachelor´s degree) in the areas mentioned above in combination with additional 2 years of qualifying experience, will be given due consideration in lieu of Master´s degree.

Experience:

• Minimum 2 years (with Master´s degree) or 4 years (with Bachelor´s degree) of experience in Singapore on youth engagement and/or social entrepreneurship/innovation required.
• Demonstrated experience or capacity in multisectoral initiatives, working with entities like International Organizations, MNCs, social enterprises, government agencies, and Development Banks.
• Experience in working in the SE Asia region on youth engagement and skills development.
• Relevant experience managing and delivering youth development programmes with public and private sector partners in Singapore.
• Relevant experience and skills writing partnership proposals for national, regional and global opportunities for funding.
• Relevant experience and skills working with internal and external stakeholders and with people at leadership levels.
• Excellent writing, communication and event management skills.
• Demonstrated capacity in writing and preparing proposals, blogs, white papers and reports.
• Experience managing the communication and partnership strategy for regional partners from Singapore.

Required Languages;

• Fluency in English is required.
• Working knowledge of another UN language is considered an asset.
• Working knowledge of other local and regional languages also considered an asset.