As the United Nations lead agency on international development, UNDP works in 170 countries and territories to eradicate poverty and reduce inequality. We help countries to develop policies, leadership skills, partnering abilities, institutional capabilities, and to build resilience to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Our work is concentrated in three focus areas: inclusive sustainable development, democratic governance and peace building, and climate change and disaster resilience.

UNDP connects countries to the knowledge, resources, and networks they need to achieve development breakthroughs. Our work is summed up in our six signature solutions, adapted to context and powered by three potent enablers for greater impact. Responding in an integrated and coherent manner, we are determined to end poverty and hunger, protect the planet from degradation, ensure that all people have prosperous lives, with growth that occurs in harmony with nature, and to foster peaceful and inclusive societies. We are committed to mobilizing the means to implement the 2030 Agenda through a revitalized Global Partnership for Sustainable Development, based on a spirit of strengthened global solidarity.

UNDP has supported the Government and people of Liberia in their efforts to reduce poverty and inequality in a bid to attain sustainable development since 1977. This has been done by among other things strengthening and reforming governance institutions to be inclusive and participatory, developing the necessary regulatory frameworks, upholding human rights, and supporting growth of the private sector and civil society. Our United Nations identity ensures neutrality and respect for people’s choices. Transparency and accountability in operations makes us a trusted partner for national and international development stakeholders.

UNDP encourages and enables collective intelligence, collaboration, integration, critical thinking and thought leadership. We mainstream innovation, digitalization opportunities, gender equity and diversity/inclusion principles in all aspects of our work. Our staff consistently strive for excellence, effectiveness, efficiency and inclusion across all areas of work.

In close cooperation with the UNDP Programme teams and other Country Office units, the Operations team supports the UNDP Country Office and programme implementation through the provision of relevant and timely procurement, finance, ICT and digital services, General Administration services, and Human Resources support. This includes a focus on collaboration, innovation, speed and administrative efficiency as well as advisory services for enhanced planning. The unit contributes to a collective engagement with other teams, partners and UN Agency clients to offer timely, well-planned and efficient services that meet the standard and requirements of UNDP policies and procedures.

Broadly defined, governance constitutes the mechanisms, processes, relations, and institutions through which citizens and groups articulate their interests, exercise their rights, mediate their differences and build consensus on shared interests, is a ‘work in progress’ in Liberia. A genuine and ultimate measure of success will be achieved when citizens realize their development aspirations through state institutions that work; an optimally functioning civil service; an independent judiciary; a capacitated Legislature enabled to exercise its oversight functions over the Executive, and a free media that empowers society, among others. Reforming the governance system in Liberia is at the core of efforts to consolidate peace and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in line with its medium to long term national priorities to i) to build a capable state, through enhanced public-sector performance, improved service delivery, advanced decentralization, increased local economic growth, and; ii) reducing corruption, through more effective, accountable and transparent performance by the Ministries, Agencies and Commissions (MACs); iii) guarantee rule of law, access to justice, human rights and implement regulatory, legal and electoral reforms for  a just, participatory and inclusive society.

In tackling governance reform, emphasis and discourse has been placed on the forms and structures of national institutions, and mostly at the national level. This has resulted in the establishment of a wide variety of agencies, authorities, commissions and boards tasked with advisory and normative considerations (i.e. drafting laws and regulations). Significant investments have been made in capacity enhancement, review of institutional capacities, structures, functions, and staffing, as well as public financial management; extension of state authority to the counties and strengthening of county administrations (decentralization); and improving access to public services at the county level through de-concentration.

Under its Governance and Public Institutions Pillar, UNDP has maintained support in implementing some of the most challenging and sensitive reforms, including constitutional reform, decentralization, national reconciliation, elections, integrity and institutional reforms aimed at strengthening core government functionality. Focus is also on justice and security sector to enhance a restoration of access to justice and the rule of law with specific attention to the promotion of grassroots approaches to safety and security; engage with the formal and informal justice actors and processes to increase observation of international standards, with a focus on gender and juvenile justice. On decentralization, focus remains to provide sustained support to ensure roll-out of a County Service Centers and the accompanying passage of the Local Government Act and roll-out of implementation of key provisions of the Act. On reconciliation, priority is further analysis of conflict drivers and triggers, building social cohesion, addressing the discrimination and barriers related to economic class, gender, age and political affiliation.

Under the current and future programme, UNDP will maintain support to governance reform with a focus on inclusive governance with a strategy that focuses investments in enhancing national reconciliation, peace and social cohesion and improved service delivery and accountability through decentralized and inclusive governance. These strategies have gained special relevance and urgency since UNMIL’s final withdrawal from Liberia in March 2018. Under justice and security, UNDP will engage with formal and informal justice actors and processes to increase observation of international standards, with a focus on gender and juvenile justice. For these reform efforts to be effectively advanced and accelerated, UNDP is seeking to recruit a Team Leader and Manager of its Governance Portfolio.

Under the overall guidance of the Resident Representative and direct supervision of the Deputy Resident Representative-Programme, the Team Leader, Governance and Public Institutions (GPI) Pillar acts as one of the advisers to Senior Management. In addition to the senior managerial functions, the incumbent is responsible for contributing to the overall Country Programme with management and supervision responsibilities, strategic planning, proactive delivery and effective implementation of the governance portfolio. The incumbent will cover the entire range of functions in the programme cycle, from conceptualization and formulation to monitoring and evaluation.  In liaison with DRR/P and other programme teams, he/she plays a lead role in the analyses of the governance landscape, social, economic and political context in Liberia and advises on responses to emerging complex challenges and possible areas for UNDP interventions within the Country Programme Document. In addition, he/she identifies and forges strategic partnerships with the government, UN Agencies under ONE UN Programme/UNSDCF, CSOs as well as bi-laterals.

As Team Leader, the incumbent heads the Programme team within the GPI Pillar working through and with the operations team in the CO, programme staff in other UN Agencies, UNDP HQs staff and Government officials, technical advisors and experts, multi-lateral and bi-lateral donors and civil society to successfully implement the UNDP programme. And as member of the CO Leadership Team, he/she may also advise on potential areas of policy that could have an impact on the country as far as governance reform is concerned. On a day-to-day basis, the incumbent provides direct support to DRR/P in relation to policy advice and guidance to strengthen national capacity to accelerate delivery ensuring cross-programme and synergies and complementarities.

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.

• Advise and participate in the relevant pillars of the UNSDCF process including promoting thematic and sectoral synergies and coordination of programme activities and execution; identify relevant areas where UNDP can leverage on its technical and advisory resources;
• Advise the DRR/P and management in general on emerging issues in the governance domain that require UNDP’s attention, the allocation of resources, coordinate pillar level programme delivery, identifying bottlenecks that impede accelerated delivery and escalating them as appropriate;
• Support inter-agency collaboration and joint programming with other UN agencies in line with UN system priorities established in the UNCT; act as focal point for the relevant outcome areas and pillars of both the UNSDCF and National Development Plan of the country;
• Advise the DRR/P on innovative approaches and modalities of the UNDP programme to achieve development targets focusing on those which facilitate partnership building, engagement of diverse stakeholders, etc;
• Coordinate the GPI team in implementing and monitoring programme assurance activities related to the implementation of the Country Programme and assessment of national capacity in financial management and procurement of goods and services;
• Continuously assess the political and socio-economic situation and trends in the country to ensure that UNDP policy support, programmes and services are relevant and responsive to emerging priorities and needs;
• Ensure follow-up on thematic and program evaluations under GPI to ensure continuous improvement on development impact. Apply lessons learned from audit and evaluation exercises to new management efforts and program development;
• Promote knowledge management to ensure access to best available expertise and facilitate organizational learning.

• Thorough analysis of the political, social and economic situation the country and collaborative preparation/revision of Common Country Analysis (CCA), United Nations Sustainable Development Corporation (UNSDCF), Country Programme Document (CPD) and any other planning instruments;
• Identification of strategic and innovative programme areas of cooperation enabling the attainment of the outcomes outlined in the CPD as aligned with the UNSDCF and the National Medium Term Development Plan;
• Support CO Leadership Team in the operationalization of UNSDCF/CPD and UNDP’s inputs into the UN One Programme;
• Document best practices, covering concepts, strategies and implementation approaches and support the SMT in streaming programmes policies and practices;
• Working closely with relevant Government departments and Implementing Partners (IPs )on related areas of support, disseminating policy decisions and responding accordingly;
• Also works closely with Senior Staff from IPs responsible for the execution of Government/UNDP programmes, as well as with experts and technical personnel, related to democratic governance;
• Analysis and presentation of UNDP policies and procedures and implications for the Country programme in the CO as well as with partners;
• Provide support to Senior Management in undertaking office wide activities, strategic inter agency initiatives, knowledge sharing strategies, internal office reviews and evaluations.

Establish and maintain strategic Country Office partnerships and support resource mobilization efforts to achieve programme outcomes

• Implement CO partnerships and resource mobilization strategies;
• Develop partnerships with the UN Agencies, international financial institutions (IFIs), government institutions, donors, private sector (if applicable to CO), and civil society in assigned programme/thematic areas;
• Determine strategic programmatic areas of cooperation, including for joint programming, in line with agreed global, regional and national priorities;
• Analyze and research information on donors, prepare substantive briefs on possible areas of cooperation, and ensure due cost recovery;
• Lead development of Country office pipeline and portfolio that includes designing Programme/Project documents, concept notes, proposals and cross-sectoral coordination to bring resources for projects.

Ensures effective management of the Democratic Governance Portfolio and related joint UN programmes and assist the DRR/P in quality control of the full cycle of the programming from design through to implementation, monitoring and reporting, achieving the following results:

• Effective application of Results Based Management tools, establishment of management targets and monitoring achievement of results;
• Preparation and revision of corporate programming and monitoring tools, such as, IRRF/IWP, ROAR Scorecard, substantive evaluations, etc. ;
• Strategic oversight of planning, budgeting, implementing and monitoring of the programmes, tracking use of financial resources in accordance with the applicable policies and procedures; incumbent performs the function of Manager Level 2 in QUANTUM;
• Effective monitoring and evaluation, measuring the impacts of the CPD, democratic governance projects and related joint UN programmes;
• Sustained monitoring and analysis of the programme environment with possible timely re-adjustment of the programmes;
• Organization of cost-recovery system for the services provided by the CO to projects in close collaboration with Operations Team;
• Promotion of teamwork for enhanced coordination of programme management and implementation for results.

Ensures provision of top-quality policy advice services to the Government and facilitation of knowledge building and management focusing on achieving the following results, in the domain of sustainability:

• Identification of sources of information related to policy-driven issues, synthesis of best practices and lessons learnt directly linked to democratic governance;
• Preparing and updating programme/projects briefs information for partners to support UNDP awareness raising activities including through preparation of statements and other communication materials for advocacy of UN principles and UNDP thematic areas;
• Lead and monitor the process of implementing policy advisory services, including the organization of workshop, seminars, training and delivery of outputs (products);
• Lead the analytical and policy development work of the team and ensure high quality policy products. Contribute to the production of reports and publications and serve as peer reviewer as appropriate;
• Sound contribution to knowledge networks and communities of practice, including Team-works;
• Design and delivery of targeted trainings for the operations/ projects staff on programme;
• Provision of substantive inputs to government policy formulation and programmes in compliance with international conventions under the auspices of the UN(DP) and follow-up on the implementation of the Government’s commitments to these conventions; these include implementation of the SDGs, especially Goal 16 that seeks to promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development;
• Develop country-based intelligence on country situation, interests and prospects covering governments, UNDP and major development stakeholders.

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: Supervision and management of Governance Team.

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

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies

Business Direction and 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.

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 with regular activities for optimal return on investment. Knowledge and understanding of key principles of project, programme, and portfolio management

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

Communications: Digital governance

• Understanding of policies, standards and guidelines which govern effective digital communications

Digital:  E-governance

• Knowledge of how it works, understanding of the opportunities and challenges for governments and society

2030 Agenda: Peace       Innovation

• Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning for Portfolios

2030 Agenda: Peace       Governance

• Local Action (Localization and Locally led portfolios)

Level of Education: Bachelor Degree

Work Hours: 8

Experience in Months: No requirements