JOB DESCRIPTION

Background

Moldova has experienced sustained economic growth over the past two decades, driven largely by remittance-fueled consumption, which has improved living standards and reduced poverty. However, recent global challenges—such as the pandemic, energy crisis, and the war in Ukraine—have highlighted the need to enhance economic resilience and diversify the economy.

Building on UNDP-SDC’s previous work in local economic development, the first phase (2023-2024) of the Resilient and Inclusive Markets in Moldova (PRIM) project established micro-clusters in rural tourism, horticulture, and livestock, strengthening local economies, creating jobs, and improving community engagement. It also supported legislative reforms that benefited the business environment through significant annual savings for SMEs.

The second phase (2025-2029) seeks to further Moldova’s economic transformation by scaling up the clustering approach, expanding SMART specialization, developing value chains, and attracting investments at the micro-regional level. It will promote inclusive, sustainable, and resilient growth, supporting SMEs and vocational training, especially for local populations, returning migrants, and refugees.

As part of Outcome 1, the project focuses on strengthening policy and legal frameworks to create an enabling environment that fosters inclusive growth, SME development, and decent employment. This involves policy reforms supporting the scaling of successful models, improving support services, and fostering a coherent policy environment aligned with national strategies.

Outcome 2 aims to enhance the resilience of economic actors, including small farmers, to shocks such as regional conflicts or climate change. This will be achieved by further developing value chains, attracting investments, and supporting innovative approaches to micro-cluster SMART specialization, ensuring sustainable and inclusive growth.

To implement key activities under Outcome 2, the project is placing increased emphasis on advancing micro-cluster development as a core strategy for enhancing the resilience and competitiveness of Moldova’s regional economies. Building on lessons learned during the first phase, the second phase will support the establishment of three new micro-clusters and the consolidation of three existing ones, all designed to catalyze localized economic growth and strengthen value chains.

To this end, the project will engage a Project Specialist on Innovation and Development to provide methodological guidance across six targeted economic agglomerations.

Duties and Responsibilities

The main objectives of the Project Specialist on Innovation and Development are to provide innovation and methodological guidance in advancing six cluster development interventions.

Building on the insights and lessons learned during the first phase of the project, the Specialist will work to align the efforts of the project team with the objectives of the second phase. These objectives focus on establishing three new micro-clusters while enhancing and advancing three existing micro-clusters. The methodological approach, though grounded in the overarching project framework, must be continuously and thoughtfully adapted to address the unique characteristics, challenges, opportunities, and priorities of stakeholders within each targeted economic agglomeration.

Under the direct supervision of the Project Manager and in coordination with the Project Officer, the Specialist will take a leading role in methodologically guiding the cluster development process across the six targeted economic agglomerations. This effort will require an adaptive, context-sensitive approach that reflects the unique economic dynamics of the beneficiary micro-regions, while ensuring effective stakeholder engagement and fostering interlinked collaboration among all parties.

The Specialist is expected to coordinate key tasks, organized into two main areas of responsibility:

Strategic Support to Project Management

• Induction Training on Cluster Development for Project Facilitators and Local Stakeholders: Delivering comprehensive induction training sessions on the cluster development approach. These sessions will provide both theoretical and practical insights into the concept, tailored to the needs of local facilitators and stakeholders in the three newly targeted economic agglomerations.
• Provide solid input to the project’s analytical products, work plans, and progress reports. Support the preparation of thematic briefs on possible areas of cooperation with development partners.
• Benchmarking Study Visits: Providing assistance in identifying the most relevant external specialized economic agglomerations and establishing liaisons with their representatives to organize benchmarking study visits for the three emerging micro-clusters.
• Tailored Capacity-Building Activities: Providing assistance in the design and organization of capacity-building initiatives tailored to the specific needs and priorities of each supported micro-cluster to ensure their long-term sustainability and competitiveness.

Methodological Support and Coordination

• Stakeholder Analysis and Establishment of the Clustering Mechanism: Methodological coordination of the initial stakeholder analysis methodology across three newly selected economic agglomerations. This process lays the foundation for forming participatory cluster development working groups.
• Cluster Diagnostic Analysis: Methodological coordination in conducting the diagnostic analyses for three newly selected economic agglomerations, covering value chain mapping, economic analysis, market analysis, and governance assessments.
• Cluster Roadmap Development and Updates: Methodological coordination of the elaboration of development roadmaps for the beneficiary micro-clusters and ensuring their updates to ensure the post-project development.
• Cluster Institutionalization: Methodological coordination of the formal institutionalization process for three targeted micro-clusters to establish sustainable governance structures and frameworks. Â
• Cluster Roadmap Implementation: Methodological coordination and oversight of the implementation of cluster development roadmaps for six micro-clusters, ensuring the realization of at least 18 joint business improvement and competitive enhancement “quick wins”.
• Investment Co-Financing: Methodological coordination of the entire process of co-financing priority interventions under the PRIM Project. This includes designing the methodology for intervention selection, supervising implementation, and ensuring effective monitoring, evaluation, and reporting.

Institutional Arrangement

The Project Specialist will work under the guidance of the Project Manager and in close collaboration with the Project Officer on Local Development and other relevant stakeholders.

The specialist will work on-site at the UNDP premises.

Competencies

Core

Achieve Results:

• LEVEL 3: Set and align challenging, achievable objectives for multiple projects, have lasting impact

Think Innovatively:

• LEVEL 3: Proactively mitigate potential risks, develop new ideas to solve complex problems

Learn Continuously:

• LEVEL 3: Create and act on opportunities to expand horizons, diversify experiences

Adapt with Agility:

• LEVEL 3: Proactively initiate and champion change, manage multiple competing demands

Act with Determination:

• LEVEL 3: Think beyond immediate task/barriers and take action to achieve greater results

Engage and Partner:

• LEVEL 3: Political savvy, navigate complex landscape, champion inter-agency collaboration

Enable Diversity and Inclusion:

• LEVEL 3: Appreciate benefits of diverse workforce and champion inclusivity

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 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

Business Development – Knowledge Facilitation

• Ability to animate individuals and communities of contributors to participate and share, particularly externally

Business Management – Project Management

• Ability to plan, organize, prioritize, and control resources, procedures, and protocols to achieve specific goals

Business Management – Communication

• Ability to communicate in a clear, concise, and unambiguous manner both through written and verbal communication; to tailor messages and choose communication methods depending on the audience
• Ability to manage communications internally and externally, through media, social media, and other appropriate channels

Business Development – Knowledge Generation

• Ability to research information and to turn it into useful knowledge, relevant for context, or responsive to stated need.

Partnership management – 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.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Advanced university degree (master”s degree or equivalent) in Business Administration, Public Administration, Economics, Political Sciences, Social Sciences, or another relevant field is required, or
• A first-level university degree (bachelor’s degree) in combination with an additional two years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

• At least 5 years (with a master”s degree) or 7 years (with a bachelor”s degree) of professional experience in local economic development, local development, and business development.

Required skills:

• Good knowledge of the private sector development context in Moldovan communities.
• Excellent written communication skills, with analytic capacity and ability to identify relevant findings and prepare analytical and strategic documents in a clear and concise manner.
• Demonstrated interpersonal skills, as well as the ability to communicate effectively and build meaningful partnerships with all stakeholders.
• Knowledge and skills of the MS Office Suite and/or equivalents.
• Previous work experience within an UNDP Project or other international organization.
• Experience liaising with development agencies, including UN agencies, governments, NGOs, civil society organizations, and international organizations.

Desired skills:

• Proven experience in contributing to the conceptualization and/or implementation of grant programs on local economic development.
• Proven experience in organizing and conducting analytical diagnosis of specialized economic agglomerations.
• Strong competencies in organizing and conducting capacity-building activities for the Public and Private sector representatives.
• Demonstrated experience in the creation and development of economic clusters.
• Advanced experience in working with Local Public Administrations.

Required Language(s):

• Fluency in English and Romanian is required.
• Knowledge of one or more minority languages relevant for Moldova, including Russian, Romani, Gagauzian, Bulgarian, Ukrainian and sign language, is an asset.

Professional Certificates:

• Additional training and/or certification in economic and local development, economics, or other relevant topics would be an advantage.

Equal opportunity

As an equal opportunity employer, UNDP values diversity as an expression of the multiplicity of nations and cultures where we operate and, as such, we encourage qualified applicants from all backgrounds to apply for roles in the organization. Our employment decisions are based on merit and suitability for the role, without discrimination.

UNDP is also committed to creating an inclusive workplace where all personnel are empowered to contribute to our mission, are valued, can thrive, and benefit from career opportunities that are open to all.

Sexual harassment, exploitation, and abuse of authority

UNDP does not tolerate harassment, sexual harassment, exploitation, discrimination and abuse of authority. All selected candidates, therefore, undergo relevant checks and are expected to adhere to the respective standards and principles.

Right to select multiple candidates

UNDP reserves the right to select one or more candidates from this vacancy announcement. We may also retain applications and consider candidates applying to this post for other similar positions with UNDP at the same grade level and with similar job description, experience and educational requirements.

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