Job Purpose and Organizational Context:

UNDP is a long-term development partner of the Maldives for over 45 years. In the Upper Middle-Income Country context, UNDP country office in Maldives provides technical assistance, policy and technical advisory services to the Government of Maldives in their efforts towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG); in partnership with development partners, financial institutions, private sector and civil society. In Maldives, UNDP’s programme priorities and partnerships are defined and operationalized through the Country Programme between Government of Maldives and UNDP to support and contribute to the development priorities and results envisioned in the 5-year Strategic Action Plan. Maldives is currently in the process of formulating its Strategic Action Plan with UNDP support following the change of government in 2023.

In the current Country Programme cycle 2022 – 2026 (https://www.undp.org/sites/g/files/zskgke326/files/2022-07/CPD%20Maldives.pdf), UNDP has significantly shifted its programme offer to Maldives around 3 pillars supported by a diverse funding base from government finance, bilateral and multilateral donors, blended and innovative finance, etc.: (i) Integrated Governance Programme focusing on justice sector reform, decentralization and local governance with youth, gender and people with disabilities’ participation; (ii) resilience and climate actions, (iii) SDG finance and fiscal spacing, to enable Maldives to achieve sustainable development by eradicating inequality and poverty in all its forms and dimensions, accelerating structural transformations for sustainable development and building resilience to crises and shock.

The Management Performance and Oversight unit under the overall guidance of the RR provides effective oversight of programme and project management and ensuring the Country Office’s compliance with UNDP policies. It provides overall guidance on Programme resource management, portfolio management, pipeline development, project Quality Assurance (QA), focusing on results and target setting, monitoring, multi-year work planning, development effectiveness, and efficiency and donor reporting (annual and project). The unit further provides cost-efficiency analysis of the country programme delivery and capabilities required, consolidates CO financial planning and financial and resource management performance and undertakes monitoring and addressing issues related to management performance trends identified by Integrated Financial Dashboard (IFD), Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), Audits, Quality Assurance reviews, Vital signs, Harmonized Cash Transfer (HACT), Transparency portal, and other corporate and regional tools and structures.

Position Purpose:

Under the direct supervision of the Resident Representative and in close consultation with the Deputy Resident Representative, the Management and Oversight Analyst is responsible for managing and leading oversight and compliance activities of the Office and provides advice on quality assurance and oversight work for CO programme and operations activities. S/he will have the overall responsibility and accountability for effective and efficient provision of management and oversight advisory services to the Senior management and CO units, including on risk management, resource management, result based management and overall management performance within the Country Office and organizational learning to enhance the impact and relevance of the country programme.

S/he will act as primary focal point for management performance oversight and troubleshooting and support in implementing solutions to identified challenges, including through the development and follow up to improvement plans or remedial actions. The Management and Oversight Analyst promotes a collaborative, client-oriented approach consistent with UNDP rules and regulations and works in close cooperation with management, Programme, Operations and other Teams.

To be successful in this role, the Management and Oversight Analyst needs to have a strong programme and operations management background, sufficient knowledge of enterprise risk management,results-based management including advanced analytical skills. S/he should have strong teambuilding, interpersonal and communication skills, be client-oriented, and can look at issues from different angles and find creative solutions.

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.

Duties and Responsibilities:

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

• Review internal control mechanisms 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 UN/UNDP rules, regulations, policies and procedures (POPP).
• Set standard operating procedures and business processes for quality of the project formulation and implementation, including high-risk, high complexity and vertical fund projects to enable adequate monitoring and oversight.
• 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, resource management, strong governance mechanisms and arrangements etc.
• Contribute to the achievement of project objectives and outcomes by carrying out regular oversight review of projects; assess reliability and integrity of information provided in project reports, and the completeness of supporting documents.
• Provide analysis of the quality of evaluations, and audit trends and ensure management actions plans as well as adjustments to business operations and programming approaches.
• Prepares data analysis and reports, with recommendations on control issues requiring CO management’s actions and interventions.
• Advise and support programme teams on effective use of tools and methodologies for planning, monitoring and reporting to better orient environment vertical fund projects and other donor-funded projects against UNDP corporate and donor policies related to programme and 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.
• 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.

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

• Lead on the implementation of the enterprise risk management policy and procedures, including risk identification, risk assessments, risk analysis for decision making, design and implementation of risk mitigation strategies, actions, risk escalation, etc.
• 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, update of corporate systems.
• 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
• 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.
• Support implementation of anti-fraud mechanisms and anti-money laundering and countering finance terrorism (AML/CFT) policies and procedures
• Ensure effective application of the Social and Environmental Standards and facilitates oversight of adequate establishment of safeguards at country level.
• Oversee partner risk management mechanisms within the office (Due diligence, vetting, and risk assessments) and determination of residual risks for management
• Perform the function of Harmonized Approach to Cash Transfers (HACT) oversight focal point and coordinates required actions with programme and operations staff, oversee the quality of HACT implementation, including advice on the management of project level cash transfers to Implementing Partners/Responsible Parties.
• 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.

Ensure effective resource management, including promoting efficiencies and sound budget management performance:

• Serve as a performance quality assurance function for resource management and allocations, including financial reporting (programme resources, IB etc.)
• Review and advises on programme planning, resource allocation, and consolidated project budget planning, pipeline management and ensure the corporate systems are up to date and reflect accurate data on resources
• Perform data analysis on management performance indicators of the CO, including IFD, financial sustainability, multiyear budgeting, CDRs approvals, cost-recovery and other financial parameters.
• Ensure effective coordination mechanism for effective annual target setting, resource planning and management, budgeting, delivery/expenditure monitoring, and cost recovery services;
• Oversee the adequate projects set up in line with approved project documents, all ERP/PIMS/Quantum and other platforms attributes are created accordingly and maintained regularly. Ensure that any changes are implemented as required by UNDP’s programme and project management processes
• Analyze and monitor CO’s annual programme delivery target to identify bottlenecks and support the implementation of corrective actions, in consultation with CO management, as needed.
• Keep updated knowledge as to changes in UNDP programme and project budgeting and accounting. Provides support to programme and project staff on project budgeting / accounting rules and procedures.
• In close collaboration with Operation Manager, conduct periodic and targeted quality assurance and transaction level analyses, including sampling and reviews at project level, of CO operations, programme implementation, and risk management, and making recommendations on improvement to CO management team.
• Provide oversight on processes to monitor management of partner agreements and conditions of funding contributions / resources mobilization efforts.

Facilitates the results-based management performance of the country office:

• 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;
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Contribute to stronger coordination between Programme and Operations teams to promote and support synergies for implementation of the programme and assessment of results.
• Support RR 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.
• Ensure necessary follow-up measures to respond to the recommendations from global audits, regional assessments and corporate actions plans, etc.

Capacity development and knowledge facilitation:

• Ensure needs and capacity assessments are conducted on regular basis and capacity development actions are designed in an efficient manner.
• Provide training and facilitates effective knowledge dissemination across the office and projects to ensure colleagues have easy access to resources and tools.
• Conducts analysis of COs’ data and case evidence to distil relevant lessons on programme and project management and implementation.
• 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.
• Contribute to CO capacity building efforts and the planning and delivery of workshops and learning events
• 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.

The incumbent performs other duties within the functional profile as assigned and deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the office.

Competencies:

Core CoreBehaviouralCompetencies.pdf (undp.org)

Achieve Results:

• Scale up solutions and simplifies processes, balances speed and accuracy in doing work

Think Innovatively:   

• Offer new ideas/open to new approaches, demonstrate systemic/integrated thinking

Learn Continuously   

• Go outside comfort zone, learn from others and support their learning.

Adapt with Agility    

• Adapt processes/approaches to new situations, involve others in change process

Act with Determination       

• Able to persevere and deal with multiple sources of pressure simultaneously

Engage and Partner  

• Is facilitator/integrator, bring people together, build/maintain coalitions/partnerships

Enable Diversity and Inclusion        

• Facilitate conversations to bridge differences, considers in decision making

People Management 

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

Cross-Functional & Technical Competencies

Business Direction & Strategy: Strategic Thinking

• Ability to develop effective strategies and prioritized plans in line with UNDP’s objectives, based on the systemic analysis of challenges, potential risks and opportunities; linking the vision to reality on the ground, and creating tangible solutions.
• Ability to leverage learning from a variety of sources to anticipate and respond to future trends; to demonstrate foresight in order to model what future developments and possible ways forward look like for UNDP

Business Management: Risk Management

• Ability to identify and organize action around mitigating and proactively managing risks

Business Management: Resources Management

• Ability to allocate and use resources in a strategic or tactical way in line with principles of accountability and integrity

Business Direction & 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

2030 Agenda: Engagement & Effectiveness: Effectiveness

• RBM standards and practices for programming

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 and the maintenance of business-as-usual, while optimizing return on investment

Business Management: Working with Evidence and Data

• Ability to inspect, cleanse, transform and model data with the goal of discovering useful information, informing conclusions and supporting decision-making

Required Skills and Experience:

Education:

• Advanced university degree (Master’s degree  or equivalent)  in Business Administration, Project Management, International Development, Public Administration, or a related field is required. or
• A first-level university degree (bachelor’s degree) in the areas mentioned above, in combination with an additional two years of qualifying  experience will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree.
• Certification in programme/project management (e.g., PRINCE, MSP, PMP, etc.) and/or accounting/audit areas will be a distinct advantage.

Experience:

• A minimum of 2 years (with master’s degree) or 4 years (with bachelor’s degree) of relevant experience in areas related to management and oversight of programme/project and operation activities.
• Demonstrated experience in people management and working with diverse teams is desired
• Demonstrated experience in programme/project management or programme finance or operations management is highly advantageous.
• Knowledge of ERP platforms (PeopleSoft, Oracle Cloud, etc.) is required.
• Strong knowledge of UNDP Enterprise Risk Management Policy, Accountability Framework, programme and Project Management policies and procedures is desired.
• Proven records of strong communication/presentation skills and excellent writing skills are desired.

Language:

• Fluency in English and Dhivehi is required.