Duty Station : YANGON

With the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at its core, and in response to the General Assembly resolution 71/243 on the quadrennial comprehensive policy review of operational activities for development of the United Nations system, the UN Secretary General’s report (December 2017) “Repositioning the United Nations development system to deliver on the 2030 Agenda: our promise for dignity, prosperity and peace on a healthy planet” puts forward a comprehensive proposal on further improvements to the resident coordinator system to ensure more coherent, accountable and effective support for the 2030 Agenda. This was further reinforced by General Assembly resolution 72/729 of 1 June 2018, which gave the Secretary-General the mandate to implement the repositioning. A reinvigorated resident coordinator (RC) system is at the centre of a repositioned United Nations development system. While the system has been instrumental in driving coherence on the ground over the past four decades, it is now insufficiently robust to respond to the needs of the 2030 Agenda. The report stresses that resident coordinator offices will need to be adequately staffed to ensure sufficient substantive capacities to lead United Nations country teams. The core capacity will include expertise in coordination and strategic planning, economics, tailored policy support, results monitoring and evaluation, and strategic partnerships, plus a robust standing communications capacity within United Nations country teams. This position is part of this next generation of resident coordinator offices, with the skill set and competencies required to deliver on the 2030 Agenda. The position is located in the United Nations Resident Coordinator’s Office (RCO) in Yangon, Myanmar and reports to the UN Resident Coordinator (RC). The Head of the RCO manages the resources of the Office in order to provide support to the Resident Coordinator and the UNCT on sustainable development analysis, strategic planning, programming, financing, communications, advocacy, and partnerships. The Head of RCO serves as a key adviser to the RC in the pursuit of all their functions and is accountable for the overall quality and timeliness of the work of the office.

Within delegated authority, the Senior Development Coordination Officer, Head of RCO/Strategic Planner will be responsible of the following duties: Summary of Functions: 1. Leads the provision of strategic guidance to the RC and UN Country Team (UNCT) on effective, quality, and timely UN support for the implementation of the Transition Cooperation Framework (TCF). 2. Facilitates and oversees the initiation, establishment and coordination of external partnerships and joint resource mobilization efforts for the new generation TCF. 3. Coordinates and supports roll-out and implementation of the efficiency agenda (Business Operations Strategy, Common Premises and Local Shared Service Centers/Common Back-Office). 4. Manages and directs knowledge management and capacity development activities in and outside the UN System. 5. Supports the strategic positioning of the UN and corporate strategic communications in support of the Resident Coordinator and the UNCT. 6. Leads and coordinates overall management of the RCO to ensure efficient and effective substantive coordination support to the RC/UNCT and adherence to organizational policies and procedures. Deion of Functions: 1. Leads the provision of strategic guidance to the RC and UNCT of effective, quality, and timely UN support for the implementation of the Transition Cooperation Framework: • Leads and coordinates substantive support to the RC/UNCT in articulating and actively communicating a credible and convincing strategic vision for the UN, articulated through the TCF, which is consistent with UN values, and committed to the principles of universality, equality and leaving no one behind; • In line with TCF, provides strategic direction and develops recommendations to facilitate decision-making by the RC/UNCT to reposition the UN in country to advance the objectives of UN development system reform; • Develops policy recommendations to the RC/UNCT on the development, implementation, monitoring, reporting and evaluation of the new generation TCF as the primary instrument for the planning and implementation of UN development activities in country; • Ensures effective guidance to the RC/UNCT in asserting vision and accountability for the UN to operate as a nimble, innovative, and enterprising partner, demonstrating characteristics of a knowledge-based organization and thought leader; • Leads the strategic design of UN’s policy and programmatic services, operational capabilities, and partnership mechanisms; • Establishes and promotes close engagement across the humanitarian, development, and peace domains, as required by the country context; • Leads the identification, analysis, and prioritization of joint programmatic work of UN entities in line with the TCF; • Leads the coordination of the TCF through the Joint Workplan and results groups; directs TCF monitoring, evaluation, learning (MEL) and reporting through the UNINFO platform; and guides preparation and provision of the annual UN Country Results Report • Promotes the engagement of all relevant agencies – with and without physical presence in country – from across the UN system, including at Headquarters and at the (sub-) regional level in inter-agency fora and in discussions with external partners; • Ensures quality control and oversight over strategic communications and advocacy activities related the implementation of the TCF • Ensures coherence across the different intra-agency coordination bodies, including with Humanitarian Country Teams and the Security Management Team. • Oversees the coordination of all reporting for the RC and UNCT with various stakeholders in country and globally. 2. Facilitates and oversees the initiation, establishment and coordination of external partnerships and joint resource mobilization efforts for the TCF: • Facilitates and oversees the initiation, establishment, and coordination of effective working relationships with national and international public and private partners to ensure knowledge sharing throughout the TCF cycle. • Directs substantive support for positioning the UN as a key provider of integrated services in consultation with a broad range of stakeholders; • Based on the TCF, and in close collaboration with the Partnerships Officer, oversees the formulation and implementation of the partnership approach as well as the resource mobilization strategy; • Oversees strategic messaging and communication initiatives by RC/UNCT. 3. Coordinates and supports roll-out and implementation of the Efficiency agenda (Business Operations Strategy, Common Premises and Local Shared Service Centers/Common Back Office): • In collaboration with the Operations Management Team (OMT), directs substantive support to the RC/UNCT on business innovations for the UN in country; • Provides substantive support to the Resident Coordinator and UNCT in formulating, implementing, and monitoring the UN Country level Business Operations Strategy; • Supports the RC and the UNCT in their leading role in implementing common premises, and in establishing a common back office for location-dependent services; • Promotes a culture of continuous improvement and client-orientation in operational service delivery, including the implementation of high impact standardized common services, fostering the SDG impact through common operations; • Coordinates effective participation of entities at the country level in operations management team and represents the RC in the OMT. 4. Manages and directs knowledge management and capacity development activities in- and outside the UN System: • Creates an enabling environment for the knowledge generation, sharing, collaboration, as well as usage of existing good practices and lessons learnt within the RCO and in the UN Country Team. Leads by example; • Coordinates the effective communications within the RCO, in UN Country Team and among other stakeholders; • Leads and coordinates the sharing of good practices and lessons learned on issues related to UN strategic planning frameworks, methodologies, and tools, among others, within the DCO (at regional and global levels), across the UN system and with external partners; • Oversees the analysis of UN experiences, lessons learned and knowledge networking to contribute to strategic planning processes. • Keeps abreast of emerging innovative approaches and encourages the RCO and UNCT to apply new ways of working, where relevant. 5. Supports the strategic positioning of the UN and corporate strategic communications in support of the Resident Coordinator and the UNCT: • Oversees the development and implementation of strategic communications and public advocacy efforts to enhance the visibility, credibility, and influence of the UN’s work in country, ensuring alignment with UN corporate messaging and the priorities of the Resident Coordinator and UNCT; • Strengthens information integrity by anticipating, identifying, and responding to mis- and disinformation that may affect the UN’s reputation, mandate delivery, or multilateral norms, and coordinates system-wide efforts to safeguard factual, timely, and trusted public information; • Leads the development of a coherent, compelling, and data driven narrative that situates the UN as an indispensable partner and reinforces the vision of UN 2.0 as an anticipatory, networked, and solutions driven organization; • Oversees strategic positioning efforts that elevate the UN’s role as a convener, thought leader, and trusted advisor, leveraging insights from behavioral science, strategic foresight, and innovation; • Ensures coordinated and proactive communication strategies across UN entities to promote coherence, amplify collective impact, and reinforce unified messaging on key development, humanitarian, and peace priorities at country level; 6. Leads and coordinates overall management of the RCO to ensure efficient and effective substantive coordination support to the RC/UNCT and adherence to organizational policies and procedures; • Coordinates the formulation and implementation of the substantive work programme of the UNCT; allocates and monitors RCO resources for delivery of outputs and reporting on results, leveraging data driven planning and digital tools in line with UN 2.0 principles; • Supervises the activities undertaken by the RCO and manage performance of all RCO staff, promoting agile ways of working, continuous learning, and adaptive management informed by behavioural insights and strategic foresight, ensuring that programmed activities are carried out in a timely fashion; • In close collaboration with Service Providers, performs the role of certifying officer in the relevant platforms and performs the UMOJA approver role over processes related to human and financial resource management, procurement, general administration, security, time management, and information technology for the all RCO, ensuring compliance while promoting digital transformation and simplification consistent with UN 2.0; • Manages, guides and trains staff under his/her supervision; promotes teamwork and communications among staff in the RCO and across organizational boundaries; ensures staff complete mandatory trainings and UMOJA certifications; and fosters capability development in the UN 2.0 areas, in particular on data literacy, innovation, digital fluency; • Establishes and maintains a work environment in the RC Office and across UN entities that is conducive to innovation and engagement with a diverse set of stakeholders and delivers results in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, actively encouraging experimentation, co creation, and the use of frontier solutions to deliver results in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.