Background
ย Diversity, Equity and Inclusion are core principles at UNDP:ย we value diversity as an expression of the multiplicity of nations and cultures where we operate, we foster inclusion as a way of ensuring all personnel are empowered to contribute to our mission, and we ensure equity and fairness in all our actions. Taking a โleave no one behindโ approach to our diversity efforts means increasing representation of underserved populations. People who identify as belonging to marginalized or excluded populations are strongly encouraged to apply. Learn more about working at UNDP including our values and inspiring stories.
ย UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.
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Office/Unit/Project Descriptionย
The UNDP Strategic Plan embraces the complexity of development and commits the organization to helping countries find faster, more durable solutions to achieve Agenda 2030. Important development trends like urbanization, climate change, and rising inequalities pose significant challenges on our path to achieve the 2030 agenda of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
UNDP has begun incubating a number of strategic initiatives aimed at ensuring UNDP is โfit for purposeโ to deliver a new generation of solutions in line with the challenges the world faces.ย One such key strategic initiatives is the UNDP Accelerator Lab Network which operates as part of UNDPโs sustainable development offering.
Scope of Workย
a)ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Horizon scanning and intelligence for the Accelerator Lab
- Identify, visualize and communicate emerging development trends, data, technologies and issues with a particular focus on the edges and โbelow the radar screenโ events, opportunities and players, and systemically map their impacts onย economy, environment, society, and livelihoods of the poorest.ย
- Identify new sources of evidence and insights, analyze and visualize patterns in unstructured sources of data, present new insights in accessible and comprehensive ways to enable sensemaking and analysis
- Proactively explore and identify the new methods/approaches and frontier knowledge to tackle development challenges, collaborate with the Experimentation lead to turn these into learning options for addressing specific policy issues in the country
- Provide technical guidance for horizon scanning, foresight and data analysis for colleagues and partners.
- Contribute to the formulation of the Accelerator Lab service lines to the UNDP Country Programme based on findings from horizon scanning, systemsโ mapping, and local knowledge
b)ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Tapping into new data sources
- Set up partnerships with private sector companies including mobile network operators among others to gain access to anonymized data sets that can be used for sustainable development.ย
- Demonstrate through exploratory tests the utility of new data sources for UNDPโs development work
- Create partnerships for analyses of real time and other data to better inform decisions and policies
- Design and deliver workshops, tools, or platforms that tap into the collective intelligence of communities and mobilise action.ย
- Proactively manage risks with using data and technology, including those related to ethics and privacy
- Transform unstructured data sets into insights for UNDP and partnersย
c)ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Working out loud
- Share findings from the exploration on future trends, new methodologies/approaches, potential partnership,and others within UNDP and with partners;
- Proactively use blog posts and social media to share insights, attract partners and help position Accelerator Lab at the forefront of the exploration of new trends.ย
- Liaise with UNDPโs global Accelerator Lab network and share learnings and insights from the country-specific experienceย
- Jointly with the CO, support lab partners to develop an emerging pipeline of new initiatives, support other activities related to the design and operation of the Lab
d)ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Organizational learning and interface with the core business of UNDP
- Set up tools and partnerships to ransform information into actionable intelligence
- Design and deliver horizon scanning trainings for partners and UNDP, help embed horizon scanning and attention to the โedgeโ activities in the CO and with the partnersย
- Work together with your Accelerator Lab colleagues and experts to codify and advance the Accelerator Lab practice and exploration in particular.ย
- Organize and implement knowledge sharing and network events;
- Lead other activities related to the design and operations of the Accelerator Lab
- Design and deliver engaging and meaningful methods for reflection on learning from explorations
The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.
Institutional Arrangement
Head of Exploration reports to the Resident Representative and works in close collaboration with the CO staff and programme and projects teams.
Competencies
Core 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 improvementsย 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 flexibleย Act with Determination:ย 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 discriminationย
Cross-Functional & Technical competenciesย Thematic Area Name Definition 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 Development Knowledge Generation Ability to research and turn information into useful knowledge, relevant for context, or responsive to a stated need Business Development Human-centered Design Ability to develop solutions to problems by involving the human perspective in allย ย steps of the problem-solving process Digital & Innovation Story Telling
Ability to empathise with people's perceptions, motivations, feelings and mental models and craft narratives to build an emotive argument for changeย ย accordingly.ย
Ability to present data, insights or information in compelling ways to mobilise resources, talent or action.ย
Ability to choose media and channels that is fit for purpose to reach specific target audiences. Digital and Innovation Data Analysis
ย Ability to extract, analyse and visualize data (including
Real-Time Data) to form meaningful insights and aid effective decision making Digital and Innovation Collective Intelligence Design
Ability to design, lead or manage processes that help a collective to become smarter together by bringing together diverse groups of people, data, and technology.ย
Ability to define and articulate why and how collective intelligence can add value to development programming (understanding problems; finding solutions; decision making and mobilising action; monitoring progress in real time, learning and adapting)ย
Being able to integrate different types of data (realtime, โground-truthโ and novel data) to unlock fresh insights. Understand guidelines and principles around data privacy, ethics and protection.
Increase diversity of inputs - and look beyond the 'usual suspects', ability to navigate and manage a variety of actors, appreciate the diversity in perspectives, opinions, expertise.
Ability to facilitate platforms or sessions where people can contribute by providing their views and ideas independently and freely.
Being people-centred: ensure people understand and can determine how their data is used. Feed back inputs and insights to empower people, donโt extract data.
Minimum Qualifications of the Successful NPSA
Min. Education requirementsย ย ย
- Masterโs degree in social sciences, Data science, Statistics, Physics, Computer Science, Business Intelligence, or related field; OR
- Bachelorโs degree in social sciences, Data science, Statistics, Physics, Computer Science, Business Intelligence, or related field
Min. years of relevant work experience ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย
- A minimum of 2 years (with Masterยดs degree) or 4 years (with Bachelorยดs degree) of professional experience in development programming or policy; social innovation; partnership building; engagement (public and private sector) and/or resource mobilization.
Requiredย skills ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย
- Professional experience in development programming or policy and social innovation;ย
- Demonstrated capacity in horizon scanning;
- Demonstrated capacity in data analysis and visualization.
Desired skills in addition to the competencies covered in the competencies sectionย
- Experience in following areas is desirable but not necessary:
- Proven professional knowledge and experience in social innovation approaches such as Systems Thinking, Ethnography, Crowdsourcing, Collective Intelligence Design, Citizen Science, Positive Deviance, Social Network Analysis, Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning
- Professional experience in partnership building and engagement (public and private sector)
- Demonstrated capacity to use open data, mobile data, geospatial data, drone & satellite data, citizen data for informing policy making, strategic planning, or programme design.
- Proven professional knowledge and experience in at least one of the following: Future thinking and Foresight, Design Research, and Systems Mapping;
- Key awareness of key global and regional trends;
- Demonstrated access to networks of edge innovators.
Required Language(s) ย ย
- Proficiency in written and spoken English.ย
- Fluency in the UN language of the duty station is required.
- Fluency in the national language of the duty station is required for local personnel.
- Knowledge of another UN language is desirable.
Disclaimer
Important applicant information
All posts in the NPSAย categories are subject to local recruitment.
Applicant information about UNDP rosters
Note: 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.
Workforce diversity
UNDP is committed to achieving diversity within its workforce, and encourages all qualified applicants, irrespective of gender, nationality, disabilities, sexual orientation, culture, religious and ethnic backgrounds to apply. All applications will be treated in the strictest confidence.
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- A minimum of 2 years (with Masterยดs degree) or 4 years (with Bachelorยดs degree) of professional experience in development programming or policy; social innovation; partnership building; engagement (public and private sector) and/or resource mobilization.