Job Opportunity at UNDP Tanzania:Asst Proj Officer

Position title: Asst Proj Officer

Job ID 27138

Practice Area - Job Family Poverty Reduction

Vacancy End Date (Midnight New York, USA) 27/11/2019

Duty Station Kibondo, Tanzania, United Republic of

Education & Work Experience G-Bachelor's Level Degree - 3 year(s) experience

Languages

Required: English,

Desired:  Kiswahili, Swahili

Grade SB3

Vacancy Type Service Contract (SC)

Posting Type External

Bureau Africa

Contract Duration One Year

Vacancy open for Tanzanian citizens only

Background

UNCDF makes public and private finance work for the poor in the world’s 47 least developed countries. With its capital mandate and instruments, UNCDF offers “last mile” finance models that unlock public and private resources, especially at the domestic level, to reduce poverty and support local economic development. This last mile is where available resources for development are scarcest; where market failures are most pronounced; and where benefits from national growth tend to leave people excluded. UNCDF provides capital and technical support through Inclusive Finance programmes to ensure that more people gain access to financial services – both formal and informal - that expand opportunities and reduce vulnerabilities. We have expertise in reaching unbanked populations, particularly women and youth, with a focus on savings, as well as in building financial capability through innovative delivery channels.

UNCDF also contributes to women’s economic empowerment by supporting local and international NGOs, government agencies, the private sector, and other stakeholders to design, plan, implement, evaluate, and sustain programmes that consider the specific needs and priorities of poor women as well as advocating for an enabling environment for inclusive local economic development.

The United Republic of Tanzania (Tanzania) currently hosts over 300,000 refugees fleeing civil strife and ethnic conflict in its neighboring countries. Emerging evidence suggests that access to financial services strengthens refugees’ resilience, improves their livelihoods, stimulates consumption, and contributes to local economic development for host communities.

Since mid-2017, UNCDF has led a financial inclusion programme in the Kigoma Region of Tanzania to improve economic self-sufficiency for refugees and those living in the surrounding host communities. Nearly two years after the programme’s inception, UNCDF has made significant strides, beyond what was projected, in achieving these outcomes. Because many formal financial services are not available to project beneficiaries in Kigoma, either because of legal or geographical constraints, the formation and strengthening of savings groups has been part and parcel with improving financial inclusion in this environment. UNCDF partners have formed 408 savings groups, with 10,890 beneficiaries, 64% of whom women. As per April 2019, total deposits accumulated in the groups reached TZS 340 million (USD 148,000), the same amount having been disbursed in the form of loans.

This initiative is part of the Kigoma Joint Programme, which is a leading example of cooperation among government authorities at different levels, UN Agencies, donors and NGO partners. Within the Youth and Women’s Economic Empowerment framework, UNCDF is developing a project to increase access to finance for refugees and surrounding host communities in Tanzania, with a focus on supporting the expansion of savings groups and improving digital and financial literacy. Within the Agriculture theme, UNCDF adopts a value chain approach in coordination with other agencies.

UNCDF in Tanzania seeks a national staff with experience in access to finance programming (savings group focus) in rural settings, to provide support in the design, development, coordination and monitoring of the access to finance project in three refugee camps and their host community.
The Assistant Project Officer will be based in Kibondo, Tanzania, reporting to the UNCDF Programme Specialist based in Dar es Salaam, with weekly travel to nearby refugee camps and communities in Kibondo, Kasulu and Kakonko districts.

Duties and Responsibilities
Support to Project Management and Coordination:

• Supports project management, quality control and supervision for the savings groups, as well as the financial and digital literacy projects in the refugee camps and host communities in the Kigoma Region, Tanzania
• Contributes to project delivery and achievement of objectives by working with and supporting implementing partners’ project-related activities;
• Identifies areas of weak performance and works with the partners and the UNCDF programmeme staff to find a solution;
• Ensures effective programmeme coordination between the implementing NGOs and other development partners, and ensures that all stakeholders are communicating with each other to enhance synergies;
• Supports sub-contracted consultants in their work and ensures they have access to required resources and data;
• Supports effective transfer of knowledge from UNCDF programmeme staff to consultants and partners;
• Contributes to the creation and sharing of lessons learned and good practices gleaned from the implementation of the project;
• Participates actively in meetings and reviews, specifically the Resilience and Self-Reliance Working Group as well as the Host Community Working Group;
• Ensures that local authorities are informed and supportive of UNCDF implementation, and that UNCDF role is known and understood by beneficiaries;
• Supports the Programme Specialist and staff with programme-related tasks and missions related to financial inclusion, including facilitating the logistics.

Technical Support and Capacity Building:

• Provides technical assistance to savings-group trainers and implementing partner‘s staff;
• Supports progress evaluations and help in identifying gaps in training and capacity through regular monitoring (surprise spotchecks) as well as feedback from client focus group sessions;
• Supports in capacity building and refresher trainings for partner staff and incentive workers;
• Ensures that financial and digital literacy tools are circulated and/or used on a regular and rolling basis with all partners, so that beneficiaries do not receive a simple one-off training programmeme, as well as ensuring that these tools are available in community centers on a regular basis for wider camp outreach;
• Ensures that the tools for delivering financial and digital literacy are connected by each partner to the internet on a bi-weekly basis, and have a strategy for ongoing charging, as well as regular orientation sessions;
• Identifies other opportunities for integrating savings-group approach in existing partner programmeming;
• Provides informational sessions on savings groups and financial education to UN Agencies, implementing organizations and local government authorities;
• Drafts case studies and briefs on project highlights.

Support to Monitoring & Evaluation

• Supports partners and consultants in the scheduling of M&E activities and the collecting and analysis of key performance indicators;
• Ensures that partners are correctly and accurately collecting data (specifically on set indicators, SAVIX, Kobo Collect and financial capability) and reporting as required;
• Measures project targets and activity progress, including social and gender dimensions and indicators of progress on a quarterly basis;
• Produces bi-weekly reports summarizing project progress and analysis of data;
• Facilitates M&E related missions.

Support to Partnerships and Programmeme Development

• Builds relationships with local and international NGOs and other stakeholders who will act as implementing and development partners;
• Identifies common areas of interest, leveraging tools and intelligence of the pilot project, to build and maintain technical and strategic partnerships;
• Develops and maintains effective relationships with local government authorities.

Support to Programme Team on Policy advocacy & Resource Mobilization on access to finance, women’s economic empowerment and local economic development in Tanzania;

• Supports policy development in the area of access to finance, savings groups, and women’s economic empowerment, drawing on the latest research and substantive dialogue with key practitioners and major international institutions. Focuses on the distinct needs of refugees and host communities, and how policies can be adapted and applied to support inclusive economic development;
• Contributes to regional debates and consultation processes related to UNCDF (and other UN Agencies where applicable) on women’s economic empowerment and financial inclusion;
• Organizes regional workshops for sharing of lessons and experiences.

Competencies

• Leadership
• People Management
• Communication
• Delivery
• Programme Management
• Results-based Management
• Communication
• Collaboration and Partnership

Required Skills and Experience

• A minimum of three 3 years of progressively responsible and relevant work experience in programme/project development and management with some field experience is required.
• Strong expertise in programme support coordination, monitoring, donor reporting and capacity building is preferable;
• Understanding & knowledge of financial inclusion, refugees, youth and women’s economic empowerment issues in Tanzania;
• Hands-on experience in working with local governments and grassroots organizations on improving access to finance and gender equity;
• Solid record of managing complex and challenging partnerships with governments and international partners;
• Ability to work with a multi-disciplinary team and respectful relations with all UN partner agencies and staff;
• Proven track record of producing policy briefs and advocacy materials and communication products.
• Prior experience in training rural, low-income, low levels of literacy or refugee communities, previous experience with financial and digital education programmes is a plus;
• Previous training experience with savings groups and rural communities is highly preferable, along with a ability to train those with low levels of literacy, numeracy, and calculative abilities;
• Experience working on agricultural value chains with smallholder farmers;
• Familiarity with technology, such as application-based learning, SMS-based learning, or other;
• Ability to collect, organize and analyse data in excel and MISs and proficient with Microsoft Office Suite – including Excel and PowerPoint;
• Ability to oversee timely project implementation and to provide necessary troubleshooting to keep project implementation on schedule;
• Strong communication and writing skills;
• Capacity to organize and lead workshops;
• Ability to undertake results-based management and reporting;
• Ability to plan own work, set priorities and complete tasks while facing competing demands;
• Consultative and empowering working style and willingness to learn from others;Ability to plan own work, set priorities and complete tasks while facing competing demands;
• Sensitivity to and responsiveness to all partners; Respectful and helpful relations with all UN partner agencies and staff;
• Prepared for a field-based position in Kibondo, Tanzania, with frequent visits (2-3 days per week) to refugee camps and surrounding host communities.

Disclaimer
Important applicant information
All posts in the SC categories are subject to local recruitment.
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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.

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