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.
UNDP is the UNโs global development network, an organization advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience, and resources to help people build a better life. UNDP works in about 170 countries and territories, working with national counterparts on solutions to global and national development challenges. In Bhutan, over last 50 years, UNDP has been supporting the Royal Government to attain its national priorities. In 2024, UNDP started implementation of the Country Programme Document 2024-2028, aligning to the countryโs 13th Five Year Plan (13th FYP).ย
In 2023, Bhutan graduated from the UN list of Least Developed Countries (LDCs). Over the past decades, the country has made remarkable progress in reducing income and multidimensional poverty, aligned with its commitment to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Despite the impressive progress, the country is grappling with critical socio-economic challenges such as large-scale emigration of the productive and skilled labor force, youth unemployment, declining fertility rate, increasing trade deficit, and shrinking fiscal space. These challenges take place amidst a slow post-pandemic economic recovery and against the broader backdrop of structural challenges, such as limited economic diversification, a still-nascent private sector, absence of robust regulatory and institutional framework.ย
Bhutanโs 13th FYP (2024-2029) sets out the ambitious target of doubling the size of the countryโs economy within the next five years and then doubling it again over the subsequent five year, reaching USD 10 billion by 2034, a target year that Bhutan plans to reach the high-income status. To achieve this, Bhutan must maintain a nominal GDP growth rate of approximately 11.9% annually for the next 12 years1. If development plans uphold as projected, the GNI per capita would experience an annual increase of 11% over the same period, propelling Bhutan into the ranks of upper-middle-income Southeast Asian countries.ย
Recognizing the challenges and potential opportunities in Bhutanโs 21st-century economy, the Royal Government of Bhutan aims to accelerate and foster a robust economic recovery and growth. It is in this context that the Royal Government of Bhutan requested UNDPโs policy advisory assistance to support the Prime Ministerโs Office in a high-level consultation and the subsequent development of a development roadmap for the realization for the governmentโs development vision as outlined above.ย
At the core of UNDPโs policy support and high-level consultation is the institutionalization of a Policy Innovation Lab, that will execute three key functions of carrying out on-demand policy analysis and provide advisory services, undertake targeted policy analysis and experimentation through people centred and innovative design approaches and oversight of the implementation of the visioning exercise roadmap and strategies to accelerate the implementation of the 13th FYP and achieve the target of developed economy by 2034.ย
To support this initiative, UNDP seeks to recruit a Policy Designer.ย The Policy Designer will report to the will report to the Deputy Resident Representative at UNDP and Director, Office of the Cabinet Affairs and Strategic Coordination and Director, Office of the Prime Minister.
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Under the overall guidance of the Director, Office of the Cabinet Affairs and Strategic Coordination and Director, Office of the Prime Minister, and supervision of the Deputy Resident Representative at UNDP CO, the Policy Designer will bring design thinking, user-centered approaches, and systems thinking to the policy challenges for the three key big bets identified in the vision roadmap. He/ She will collaborate with cross-functional teams, including researchers, data scientists, technologists, and policymakers, to co-create and iterate innovative policy solutions. The focus will be on human-centered policy design that is responsive, inclusive, and adaptable.ย
Provision of Advisory Support
Provide advisory services and technical support to the Prime Minister's Office on critical policies using innovative tools and methodsย Provide support to agencies on logic and new directions/pivots for existing or new policies being developed through application of innovative human centered approachesยDesign and Prototyping:
Lead the design of innovative policy solutions by applying design thinking, prototyping, and systems thinking methodologies. Develop, test, and iterate prototypes to identify viable, scalable policy solutions. Create journey maps, service blueprints, and other visual tools to inform policy development.Ensure Stakeholder Engagement:
Facilitate co-creation workshops with stakeholders, including government agencies, civil society organizations, and communities. Work closely with policymakers, subject matter experts, and end-users to ensure policy designs are grounded in real-world needs and insights.Provide Research and Insights:
Conduct user research and gather qualitative and quantitative data to inform policy design. Translate research findings into actionable design principles and strategic policy recommendations.Provision of Collaboration and Communication:
Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams, including technologists, analysts, and evaluators, to ensure that design solutions are feasible and impactful. Communicate design insights, prototypes, and recommendations clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences.Facilitate Capacity Building:
Build Strategic Partnership and Resource Mobilization
Identify opportunities for resource mobilization and new partnerships and support proposal and partnership development efforts Develop partnerships and network with local innovators, youth organizations, NGOs, the private sector, local media and academia to build and provide a space to nurture and test new and innovative ideas and build local capacity. Undertake any other related actions as requested by the Prime Minister's OfficeThe incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.
ย CompetenciesCore competencies:ย
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 discriminationยCross-Functional & Technical competencies:ย
Business Direction and Strategy ย
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 systemDigital and Innovationย ย ย ย
Innovation Management: Being able to create the strategies, conditions, structures and systems to enable innovation at an organisational level; Ability to navigate uncertainty and ambiguity, is able to manage projects-based principles of adaptation and emergence; Ability to shape demand for innovation services, navigate political constraints and make the case for allocation of resources to innovation, connect the appropriate innovation approaches based on business needs and make the case for innovation to be integrated at the planning level within their context; Having in-depth theoretical and experiential knowledge of innovation processes, methods, capabilities. Regulatory sandboxes: Manage or advise on setting up a regulatory testbed that stay true to the core principles of an organisation while making it easier of certain players to test out new propositions, operational or business models; Ability to determine and advocate the purpose of a sandbox, what is the experiment for, what potential learnings look like and build a business case to invest in it; Ability to extract learnings from previous experiences and posses firm understanding of what rules are essential and why, and which can stand flexibility; Being able to anticipate, assess and manage risks, identify and resolve deficiencies in skills and expertise, set clear boundaries around the scope and duration of the experiment and have a clear exit strategyย Innovation capacity building: Ability to define and create the conditions for trying out new ways of working or introducing new problem-solving approaches to an organization; Ability to develop, manage and evaluate a learning curriculum that raises awareness, builds confidence, strengthens innovation capabilities around a certain method, tool or technique; or helps develop an innovation mindset; Ability to create the authorising environment (mandate, incentives) to embed and spread new ways of working; In-depth knowledge of one or more innovation methods, broad knowledge of innovation processes and innovation management; Ability to align a learning and development strategy with broader innovation strategyPartnerships Management ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย
Resource mobilization: Ability to identify funding sources, match funding needs (programmes/projects/initiatives) with funding opportunities, and establish a plan to meet funding requirementsBusiness 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 channelsBusiness Development ย ย
Knowledge generation: Ability to research and turn information into useful knowledge, relevant for context, or responsive to a stated need.ย Required Skills and Experience
Education:ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Advanced university degree (masterโs degree or equivalent) in Social Science (Psychology, Anthropology, Sociology, Economics, International Development), Environmental Science, Transition or Complexity Science, Engineering Design (industrial or service design, architecture, urban planning), Communications, Business, or a related area is required. Orย A first-level university degree (bachelorโs 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.
Experience: ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย
Applicants with a masterโs degree (or equivalent) in a relevant field of study are not required to have professional work experience. Applicants with a bachelorโs degree (or equivalent) are required to have a minimum of two (2) years of relevant professional experience in the field of innovation management, design research and international development either in public or private sector.ย Proven experience of working effectively in a team with diverse cultural and academic backgrounds. Relevant work experience in application of innovative tools and methods in policy process would be an asset. Additional years of work experience in areas of either qualitative social research, human centered design, user experience, behavioral insights, or futures and foresights would be an asset.ย Demonstrated experience in conducting field or remote qualitative research is desired.ย Demonstrated experience in crafting research tools and outputs for qualitative research is desired.ย Demonstrated ability to design policy experiments, validate hypotheses and test prototypes is an asset.ย Proven experience and knowledge about application of innovation in solving complex issues in private or public sector (assessed through generating ideas, prototyping, and developing solutions with real impact is an asset.ย Prior experience in working in an innovation lab in public or private sector would be an advantage is desired.ยRequired Languages:
Fluency in English is required. Working knowledge of another UN language is desired. Disclaimerย Important information for US Permanent Residents ('Green Card' holders)ย
ย Under US immigration law, acceptance of a staff position with UNDP, an international organization, may have significant implications for US Permanent Residents. UNDP advises applicants for all professional level posts that they must relinquish their US Permanent Resident status and accept a G-4 visa, or have submitted a valid application for US citizenship prior to commencement of employment.ย
ย UNDP is not in a position to provide advice or assistance on applying for US citizenship and therefore applicants are advised to seek the advice of competent immigration lawyers regarding any applications.
ย Applicant information about UNDP rosters
ย Note: UNDP reserves the right to select one or more candidates from this vacancy announcement.ย 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.
ย Non-discrimination
ย UNDP has a zero-tolerance policy towards sexual exploitation and misconduct, sexual harassment, and abuse of authority. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles.ย ย
ย UNDP is an equal opportunity and inclusive employer that does not discriminate based on race, sex, gender identity, religion, nationality, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy, age, language, social origin or other status.ย
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