Innovative and Participatory Policymaking Project Analyst (Coordinator)

Under the direct supervision of the SDG Innovation Lab Manager and overall guidance of the Innovation, Acceleration and SDG Finance Programme Analyst, in close cooperation with the UNDP Programme and Operations Units, regional/local authorities, and the respective institutions, the Project Analyst (Coordinator) will be responsible for the project implementation, including planning, financial delivery, recruitment of the experts/consultants, procurement of goods and services, and reporting. The work will be carried out in line with the Project Document and in full compliance with UNDP Rules and Regulations.

Thematic expertise and strategic engagement:

• Provide thematic and analytical support related to the innovative and participatory policymaking and Social Protection reform in Armenia to UNDP and national partners.
• Analyze local context and international trends on public sector innovation ecosystem building and governance, and support SDG Innovation Lab/UNDP to identify potential synergies with UNDP’s Innovation and knowledge management strategy and cross-portfolio collaboration approaching-country and national/regional/international levels, map out emerging trends and opportunities globally and locally.
• Generate knowledge and evidence on public sector innovation with a focus on innovative and participatory policymaking through situation analysis and other research throughout the course of the project to inform its implementation.
• Support UNDP, Innovation, Acceleration and SDG Finance Programme Analyst,portfolio Lead and SDG Lab lead in high-level policy dialogue building partnerships with governments, think tanks, academic institutions, development partners, regional and international organizations and others to reinforce UNDP’s role in the public sector innovation ecosystem, network, and community-building. 
• Contribute to UNDP Armenia’s engagement in the comprehensive agenda of public sector innovation and enhancing resource mobilization according to the UNDP’s corporate offer on public sector innovation ecosystem .

Innovation expertise and strategic engagement:

• Mainstream Design Thinking capacities of SDG Lab team and “Building Resilient Social Protection System in Armenia” Project team, and in UNDP.
• Lead, supervise, and monitor the Design Thinking activities in digital and non-digital products of ongoing projects including those in “Building Resilient Social Protection System in Armenia” Project.
• Constantly conduct quality assurance of Design Thinking activities to identify and close gaps in quality.
• Based on the global trends and advancement of innovation methodologies, lead and supervise revision of Design Thinking toolset.
• Strategize, lead, and supervise integration of Institutional Transformation and Business Process Analysis tools into innovative projects.
• Lead, supervise, and monitor the adaptation of innovative institutional transformation tools into the local context.
• Horizontally collaborate with other service lines of SDG Lab to exchange knowledge, tools, and metrics and jointly develop standards and success criteria for innovation services to be upscaled in the public sector for development of national capacity. 

Implementation of project activities:

• Day-to-day management of project activities, monitoring financial performance of the Project according to the project budget.
• Coordinate with relevant implementing partners and responsible parties to ensure that the expected outputs are delivered in a timely manner, according to the project document.
• Ensure that the project is implemented in compliance with UNDP Procurement, Operations, Financial, IT, Monitoring and Evaluation and Human Resources, as well as rules and regulations and report any risks and deviations to direct supervisor.
• Set quarterly milestones and targets, develop detailed project work plan, role and task distributions, ensure that the project is implemented according to work plans and within the established budgets.
• Organize engagement of local and international experts, develop ToRs, arrange their onboarding, supervise their overall effectiveness and efficiency, ensure the quality and acceptance of their deliverables, assign, and monitor resources effectively to boost project efficiency and maximize delivery.
• Initiate collaboration across SDG Innovation Lab’s service lines and ensure streamlined application of innovative approaches throughout the project.
• Ensure the implementation of the project communication plan and visibility requirements.
• Ensure the results-based implementation of project activities.
• Support in the implementation of the Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS)  UNDP guidelines, promote and advocate for MHPSS in all aspects of work;Act as project assets custodian and ensure the project assets are properly inventoried and reported.

Implementation of reporting, monitoring and evaluation policies and strategies:

• Lead, supervise and monitor the project implementation process, including effective monitoring of project work plan and relevant activities as per outputs.
• Assess the programmatic impact and oversee the appropriateness and the accuracy of methods used to verify progress and the results, undertakes the project’s mid-term and final evaluations.
• Ensure timely submission of quarterly financial and activity progress reports on the financial and operational status of the project, as well as on adequate financial management of allocated resources.
• Ensure the timely preparation of reports to donors and the Project Board.
• Provide periodic analytical updates on the situation in respective sectors of the project.
• Collect, analyze and consolidate general and issue-specific materials, documentation, and contribute to the preparation of policy papers, corporate planning and reporting tools, resource mobilization and advocacy materials.

Liaison, partnerships and coordination with external and internal partners:

• Develop strategic partnerships with government institutions, bilateral and multilateral donors, private sector, civil society and media in the relevant thematic areas based on strategic goals of UNDP, country needs and donors’ priorities. 
• Analyse and research of information on donors, preparation of substantive briefs on possible areas of cooperation, identification of opportunities for initiation of new projects, active contribution to the overall office efforts in resource mobilization, maintain close relationships with donor partners.
• Closely liaise with other teams to ensure coherence and synergy among all projects of UNDP Armenia.
• Advise team members and management on new developments regarding key partners and stakeholders.
• Participate in inter-agency meetings/events on programming to collaborate with inter-agency partners/colleagues.
• Conduct research on potential donors and prepare resource mobilization materials/concept notes and briefs for fundraising and partnership development purposes.

Knowledge building and management:

• Apply innovative approaches and promote good practices to support the implementation and delivery of impactful and sustainable project results.
• Serve as a resource person in capacity building initiatives in the  field of public sector innovation  to enhance the competencies of the project and portfolio teams.
• Facilitate knowledge building and management in the areas of the project interventions.
• Identify, capture, synthesize, and share lessons learned, promote peer learning.
• Make sound contributions to knowledge networks and communities of practice including corporate communications repositories.
• Contribute to the design and implementation of appropriate learning strategies for stakeholders and target groups.

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 Project Analyst (Coordinator) will report to the SDG Innovation Lab Manager. 

• Achieve Results - LEVEL 2: Scale up solutions and simplifies processes, balances speed and accuracy in doing work.
• Think Innovatively - LEVEL 2: Offer new ideas/open to new approaches, demonstrate systemic/integrated thinking.
• Learn Continuously - LEVEL 2: Go outside comfort zone, learn from others, and support their learning.
• Adapt with Agility - LEVEL 2: Adapt processes/approaches to new situations, involve others in change process.
• Act with Determination - LEVEL 2: Able to persevere and deal with multiple sources of pressure simultaneously.
• Engage and Partner - LEVEL 2: Is facilitator/integrator, bring people together, build/maintain coalitions/partnerships.
• Enable Diversity and Inclusion - LEVEL 2: Facilitate conversations to bridge differences, considers in decision making.
   

• Business Management-Project Management     
  • Ability to plan, organize, prioritize, and control resources, procedures, and protocols to achieve specific goals.
• Business Direction & Strategy- Effective Decision Making             
  • Ability to take decisions in a timely and efficient manner in line with one’s authority, area of expertise and resources.
• Operations/Finance-Financial planning and budgeting   
  • Ability to create and manage processes to achieve UNDP’s long and short-term financial goals, including through planning, budgeting, forecasting, analyzing, and reporting.
• Partnership Management/Relationship Management    
  • Ability to engage with a wide range of public and private partners, build, sustain and/or strengthen working relations, trust, and mutual understanding.
• 2030 Agenda: Partnerships-SDG Finance             
  • Social impact investments 
• Business Direction & 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.