Background
The Istanbul Regional Hub (IRH) serves as UNDP's primary knowledge and advisory hub for Europe and CIS (RBEC) region. The Hub connects the region to a global network of development experts, builds knowledge and capacity, and forges partnerships to address the development challenges of a complex and diverse region. The Regional Programme (2022-2025) focuses on three key directions of change: structural transformation (including green, inclusive and digital transitions); leaving no one behind; and building resilience.
The UNDP Innovation Team in Europe and Central Asia is pioneering a transformative approach to sustainable development through strategic innovation, portfolio and systems-thinking methods. At the core of this work is the portfolio approach, which organizes initiatives around cohesive outcomes, enabling UNDP to address complex challenges through systems thinking and adaptive management. With over 15 active portfolios across 12 Country Offices, this systemic approach is reshaping development strategies in areas such as urban transformation, digital innovation, and crisis response.
Looking ahead, the team is focusing on three key innovation portfolio areas: Twin Transition (Digital and Green) on local level; AI and emerging technologies, aimed at scaling these solutions; and Future Ready UNDP, which incorporates foresight and intelligence for horizontal integration across themes. Our innovation work is organized around three flagship projects:ย
The Mayors for Economic Growthย initiative, funded by the European Union, has grown to include over 400 municipalities across five countries. This project provides targeted support, from quick response grants to portfolio journeys, helping local authorities re-imagine economic development.ย The Slovak Transformation Fund enables city experimentation and impact acceleration work through BOOST, which accelerates social impact ventures through tailored support, networking, and financing opportunities. The Tadamon initiative, supported by the Islamic Development Bank, is empowering civil society organizations in OIC member countries. By mapping over 3,800 organizations, providing crowdfunding training to 600 CSOs, and offering grants for innovative projects, Tadamon is building a robust ecosystem of social impact.In addition to these flagship projects, the team is actively supporting conflict-affected countries on their pathway to EU accession, particularly Ukraine and Moldova. For instance, through the \"EU Response and Renewal Grant Programme for M4EG,\" we're providing direct support to city and town authorities in these countries, addressing immediate needs caused by the war and supporting longer-term economic recovery and renewal.
The team is also at the forefront of exploring innovative financing mechanisms to address the unique challenges faced by small capitals and secondary cities in the region. Building on the success of the UNDP Alternative Finance Lab (AltFinLab) and early experimentation with innovative financing mechanisms, we're exploring tools such as Green and SDG Bonds, Social Impact Bonds, tokenization, and smart contracts to bridge the financing gap for high-impact urban development projects.
Looking ahead, the team is exploring how emerging technologies can be harnessed for development. The innovation team is also focusing on digital transformation, recognizing that most innovation in the region is rooted in this space, with the goal of leveraging emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, blockchain, and digital financing solutions to drive systemic change and ensure transparent, efficient public sector andย while seeking to create new opportunities at the intersection of digital and green technologies to drive sustainable development and systemic change in the region. The team is also pioneering new financing approaches, such as developing a portfolio financing framework that aligns funding with systemic change efforts. Partnerships with blockchain platforms like Algorand and Cardano are opening new avenues for transparent and efficient development financing. Through regular reflections and a commitment to continuous learning, the innovation team ensures its work remains relevant and impactful. This adaptive approach allows UNDP to stay at the forefront of development innovation, constantly evolving its strategies to meet the complex challenges of our time.
As part of implementing the Regional Programme, UNDP is strengthening its capacity to deliver integrated support across 19 countries and territories in the region through innovative approaches and methodologies. The Regional Service Design Specialist will play a key role in advancing service design methodologies at the regional level, working across multiple Country Offices on portfolio-based approaches, leading on a number of digital products and services, contributing to regional initiatives such as the City Experiment Fund, Mayors for Economic Growth Facility, and advising other programmatic teams at the IRH on building design principles into their programs or developing service design capabilities. This position will be instrumental in developing and implementing service design solutions that can be scaled and adapted across different country contexts within the region, while ensuring that regional knowledge and best practices are effectively captured and shared.
The UNDP Innovation Team is not just about projects and innovation methods; it's also a dynamic and supportive environment for professional growth. New team members are welcomed with mentorship and regular feedback, ensuring they're well-equipped to contribute to and learn from our innovative work. We are walking the talk - applying the same principles of adaptation, learning, and collaboration to our team dynamics that we advocate in our development approaches. This creates a space where individuals can grow, take on new challenges, and make meaningful contributions to our mission of re-imagining development for the 21st century.
Duties and Responsibilities
As a key member of the UNDP Innovation Team at the Istanbul Regional Hub, the Regional Service Design Analyst will lead the integration of service design methodologies into UNDP's regional portfolio work across Europe and Central Asia. The position will focus on three main areas: (1) co-developing tools and supporting management of innovation portfolios using service design approaches, (2) building regional capabilities in social listening and human-centered design, and (3) advancing UNDP's development impact through strategic innovation.
The Analyst will play a crucial role in connecting country-level initiatives with regional priorities, ensuring that service design methodologies effectively support UNDP's structural transformation agenda, particularly in areas of green transitions, digital transformation, and inclusive development. Working closely with Country Offices and regional partners, the position will contribute to developing scalable solutions that can be adapted across different country contexts while maintaining coherence with regional approaches.
The role involves integrating service design principles with strategic innovation approaches, including portfolio management, foresight tools, and emerging technologies like AI, to enhance UNDP's ability to address complex development challenges. The Analyst will also support knowledge management and capability building across the region, facilitating cross-country learning and adaptation of successful approaches.
Strategic Service Design Leadership and Portfolio Management:
Develop tools and methods that support management of innovation portfolios for the Europe and Central Asia region, focusing on areas such as digital transformation, green transition, and future readiness; Lead the development and implementation of service design methodologies for regional portfolio management; Lead product development for specific innovation products and services; Design and oversee scalable tools and frameworks that enhance UNDP's regional programming responsiveness; Establish service design standards and quality assurance mechanisms for regional initiatives; Guide Country Offices in adapting and implementing service design approaches within their contexts; Integrate emerging technologies and innovation approaches into service design solutions.Regional Learning Systems and Capability Development:
Design and implement regional learning programs on service design, digital transformation and systems thinking; Lead the development of training materials and toolkits that can be scaled across different country contexts; Facilitate knowledge exchange and cross-country learning on service design best practices; Create frameworks for measuring and evaluating service design impact at regional level; Contribute to policy development related to innovation and digital transformation in development contexts; Support the integration of foresight techniques across Istanbul Regional Hub.Social Intelligence and Human-Centered Research:
Lead regional social listening and horizon scanning initiatives to identify emerging needs and trends; Design and implement user research frameworks that can be applied across multiple countries; Develop methodologies for capturing and analyzing user insights at regional scale; Synthesize research findings to inform regional strategy and programming; Assist in developing innovation project concepts and proposals; Review technical reports and provide feedback to align with portfolio objectives and innovation strategies; Support Country Offices with technical guidance on implementing innovative approaches and systemic digital transformation frameworks; Backstopping program and project level activities when required; Other tasks as assigned by the Innovation Team Lead.Innovation Integration and Strategic Partnership Development:
Identify and integrate innovative approaches and technologies into service design practice; Build strategic partnerships with regional innovation actors and knowledge institutions; Lead co-creation processes with multiple stakeholders across different countries; Design frameworks for scaling successful innovations across the region; Support the development of regional innovation and digital transformation ecosystems.Knowledge Management and Regional Practice Development:
Establish systems for capturing and sharing service design knowledge across the region; Develop case studies and best practice documentation for regional learning; Create templates and guidelines for service design implementation at country level; Lead the documentation of service design impact and success stories; Contribute to global innovation practice through thought leadership and knowledge products; The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.Institutional Arrangement
The Regional Service Design Analyst reports to the Team Lead of the Knowledge and Innovation Team at the Istanbul Regional Hub.
Competencies
Core Competencies:
Achieve Results:ย ย ย ย LEVEL 1: Plans and monitors own work, pays attention to details, delivers quality work by deadline. Think Innovatively:ย ย ย ย LEVEL 1: Open to creative ideas/known risks, is pragmatic problem solver, makes improvements.ย Learn Continuously:ย ย ย ย LEVEL 1: Open minded and curious, shares knowledge, learns from mistakes, asks for feedback. Adapt with Agility:ย ย ย ย LEVEL 1: Adapts to change, constructively handles ambiguity/uncertainty, is flexible.ย Act with Determination: ย ย ย ย LEVEL 1: Shows drive and motivation, able to deliver calmly in face of adversity, confident. Engage and Partner:ย ย ย ย LEVEL 1: Demonstrates compassion/understanding towards others, forms positive relationships. Enable Diversity and Inclusion:ย ย ย ย LEVEL 1: Appreciate/respect differences, aware of unconscious bias, confront discrimination.ยCross-Functional & Technical Competencies:ย
Project Management: ย ย ย ย Ability to plan, organize, prioritize and control resources, procedures and protocols to achieve specific goals. ย Communication: ย ย ย ย 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.ย Ability to manage communications internally and externally, through media, social media and other appropriate channels.ย Partnerships Management: ย ย ย ย Build and maintain partnerships with wide networks of stakeholders, Governments, civil society and private sector partners, experts and others in line with UNDP strategy and policies.ย Knowledge Generation: ย ย ย ย Ability to research information and to turn it into useful knowledge, relevant for context, or responsive to a stated need.ย Ability to apply existing concepts to new situations, and to develop new concepts to generate workable solutions and new approaches. Knowledge of relevant concepts, conceptual models, and theories that can be useful in addressing new situations. Collective Intelligence Design:ย ย ย ย 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. 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 (real- time, โground truthโ and novel data) to unlock fresh insights.ย Understand guidelines and principles around data privacy, ethics and protection. Increase diversity of inputs โ 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.ย Feed back inputs and insights to empower people, don't extract data. Co-creation:ย ย ย Ability to design and facilitate a process that enables a diverse group of stakeholders to solve a common problem, develop a practice, or create knowledge together. Ability to embrace diversity, work with a diverse group of stakeholders understand their interests, perspectives and views and tap into to them as a source for creativity. Ability to facilitate processes and create conditions that are open for diverse inputs, stimulate collaboration and sharing. Systems Thinking:ย ย ย ย 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.Required Skills and Experience
Education:
Masterโs degree in Service Design, Design Innovation, Strategic Design, or related fields is required, or; Bachelorโs degree in the above mentioned fields in combination with additional two years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree.ยExperience:
Minimum 2 years (with Masterโs degree) or 4 years (with Bachelorโs degree) of proven experience inย ย service design and/or social innovation.Requiredย Skills:
Professional experience in service design and/or social innovation, with at least 2 years working on complex, multi-stakeholder projects; Track record of developing service design tools and methodologies that have been successfully adopted by organizations; Experience in capacity building and facilitating learning processes across different cultural contexts.Desired Skills:
Demonstrated experience in designing and implementing scalable service design solutions; Proven ability to work with public sector institutions and international organizations; Strong analytical skills with the ability to synthesize complex information and present it clearly; Experience in organizing and facilitating workshops, training sessions, or collaborative events; Excellent project management skills, including the ability to manage multiple priorities and meet deadlines; Familiarity with UNDP's work or experience in international development organizations is preferred; Experience in writing technical reports, policy briefs, or other knowledge products related to innovation or development; Familiarity with foresight methodologies or scenario planning; Knowledge of agile methodologies or design thinking approaches; Knowledge of the socio-economic challenges faced by conflict-affected countries and those on the EU accession pathway is desirable.Required Languages:ย ย
Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another UN language or regional language is an advantage.Professional Certificates:
Additional certification in systems thinking, portfolio management, or innovation methodologies is 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.ย
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.ย
Right to select multiple candidates
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.
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