Tiered Approach

In line with the commitment to safeguard capacity and support personnel already in the Organization, a majority of UNDP UNCDF/UNV vacancies are advertised using a tiered application process whereby:

  • Tier 0: UNDP/UNCDF/UNV IP staff holding permanent (PA) and fixed-term (FTA) appointments, whose posts will be abolished, or contracts will be terminated or not renewed during 2026.
  • Tier 1: Other UNDP/UNCDF/UNV staff holding permanent (PA) and fixed-term (FTA) appointments
  • Tier 2: UNDP/UNCDF/UNV staff holding temporary appointments (TA), personnel on regular PSA contracts, and Expert and Specialist UN Volunteers
  • Tier 3 or no tier indicated: All other contract types from UNDP/UNCDF/UNV and other agencies, and other external candidates

Please make note of the Tier(s) indicated in the vacancy title, if any, and ensure that you satisfy the eligibility to apply.

Background

The UNDP Ethiopia Country Office is establishing a Development Innovation Hub as a flagship initiative to accelerate digital transformation, institutionalize innovation, and promote data-driven and evidence-based analytics towards strong thought leadership. Development Innovation Hub will drive digital projects, foster cross-functional collaboration, and build institutional capacity to ensure measurable and sustainable development impact across all programme pillars.

The Hub is designed as a strategic driver for the Ethiopia Country Office, embedding digital transformation, innovation, and data-driven analytics at the center of its operations. Its primary focus is to advance the UNDP Strategic Plan 2026–2030 as well as the country program document (2026-2030) by accelerating technology adoption, strengthening evidence-based programming, and fostering cross-functional collaboration across program pillars. The Hub aims to enhance transparency, accountability, and monitoring by leveraging advanced analytics and digital platforms, while also building institutional capacity and promoting digital literacy. By engaging new partners and mobilizing diverse resources, the Hub seeks to ensure the Country Office remains agile, innovative, and well-positioned to deliver impact.

Building on the rich experience accumulated over the past six years while operating as accelerator lab, the hub will continue to play key roles in advancing the Country Office’s mission in testing, experimenting and adopting solutions relevant to accelerating development and solving complex problems. It will continue to play a catalytic role in advancing nation wide ecosystem development for innovation, technology transformation including AI and data driven development planning, monitoring and evaluation. 

The hub and in particular the position holder is expected to offer service lines on innovation focusing on 1) Managing innovation processes, designing innovation challenges etc., 2) Embedding experimental and explorative mindsets into program design and 3) Scale systemic improvements

Position Purpose

Under the direct supervision of DRR - P and in close corporation with the other Development Innovation Hub team members, the Innovation Analyst is expected to lead the innovation related works at UNDP Ethiopia working both at the programme and project level to bring innovative approaches and methodologies to programme and portfolio design, programme implementation and knowledge management. The Innovation Analyst will play a pivotal role in designing, testing, and scaling innovative solutions that address complex development challenges. The role will focus on experimentation, partnership building, and ecosystem development, ensuring that the Development Innovation Hub remains at the forefront of innovation-driven programming within the Country Office and beyond. In addition, the Analyst will establish robust mechanisms for measuring and tracking the adoption, usage and integration of innovation in the CPD (Country Programme Document) and ensuring alignment with strategic priorities and results frameworks. They will enhance the use of innovation for decision-making by developing efficiency, effectiveness, quality assurance and then develop knowledge products that enable timely, evidence-based choices across programming and policy interventions.

UNDP adopts a portfolio approach to accommodate changing business needs and leverage linkages across interventions to achieve its strategic goals. Therefore, UNDP personnel are expected to work across units, functions, teams, and projects in multidisciplinary teams in order to enhance and enable horizontal collaboration.

Duties and Responsibilities

Lead the CO work on strategic innovation and portfolio management:

  • Support programme teams to mainstream innovations into development programs design and implementation in alignment with the Country Programme Document (CPD) pillars: Democratic Governance, Inclusive Economic Transformation, and Climate Resilience.
  • Facilitate ideation, prototyping, and testing of new approaches, leveraging emerging technologies and innovative finance models.
  • 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.
  • Build the capacity of UNDP staff, partner staff, government counterparts and other end users in the country in the use of innovation products and processes.
  • Coordinate and provide support on innovation strategy/action plan, including formulation, design, planning and implementation.
  • Oversee development and quality assurance during planning and deployment of Innovation initiatives; participate in establishing and maintaining standards, documentation and support mechanisms for Innovation projects.
  • Lead and manage project implementation for flagship innovation initiatives including timbuktoo and Innovation for Development (Phase II), ensuring effective planning, coordination, budgeting, risk monitoring, and delivery in alignment with UNDP standards.

Ensure Ecosystem Building & Partnerships:

  • Conduct regular reviews of existing UNDP projects to find opportunities for innovative solutions.
  • Design and manage pilot projects to test innovative approaches and then monitor and evaluate innovation initiatives, ensuring scalability and sustainability
  • Build and nurture partnerships with government, private sector, academia, civil society, and non-traditional actors to expand the innovation ecosystem and strengthen UNDP’s influence in it.
  • Support resource mobilization efforts by providing insights and innovative approach to project implementation that are cutting edge and
  • Represent the UNDP in national and international innovation forums, networks, and communities of practice.
  • Identify and package innovative concepts into fundable proposals in collaboration with programme teams and engage development partners, donors, and private sector investors to mobilize financial and technical resources for innovation initiatives
  • Contribute to donor briefs, pitch decks, and pipeline development for innovation‑driven resource mobilization

Promote innovation as MSME and Startup ecosystem development as accelerator and enable efficiency and quality improvement:

  • Support and coordinate the country office’s work on the implementation of the Startup Proclamation by facilitating regulatory awareness, catalysing linkages between startups and government agencies, and encouraging policy dialogue to create an enabling environment.
  • Drive startup ecosystem development by organizing incubator and accelerator programmes, providing mentorship and capacity-building workshops, and fostering connections with investors and industry experts through projects like timbuktoo and innovation for development phase two.
  • Coordinate the rollout and scaling of timbuktoo and other related innovation projects, ensuring alignment with national priorities and leveraging cross-sector partnerships for greater impact.
  • Monitor and evaluate the progress of innovation around MSME and startup-focused initiatives, supporting programme teams to capture data, success stories and lessons learned to inform continuous improvement and replication in other projects. In collaboration with the Research and Data specialist, build a comprehensive database of startups to measure the impact of startup programming and track progress across the years. 

Ensure Knowledge Management:

  • Document tested innovation projects and processes and ensure effective sharing and generation of knowledge around innovations in the Country Office as well as with UNDP global innovation network.
  • Support programme teams to identify, capture, synthesize and share lessons learned from Innovation for integration into broader knowledge development planning and management efforts
  • Foster a culture of experimentation, learning, and knowledge sharing within the Country Office and with external partners.
  • Capture, synthesize, and disseminate lessons learned, best practices, and insights gained through experimenting with innovative approaches.
  • Support the development of policy briefs, insights papers, and innovation intelligence products that position UNDP as a thought leader on digital transformation, startup ecosystems, and emerging technologies.
  • Represent UNDP in high‑level thought‑leadership platforms, including conferences, roundtables, and global innovation networks.
  • Contribute to shaping national discourse on innovation and technology for development.

The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.

Supervisory/Managerial Responsibilities: N/A

Competencies

  • Core Competencies:

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 improvements 

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 flexible 

Act with Determination: 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 discrimination 

  • Cross-Functional & Technical competencies: 

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 Management-Change Management: Initiate, design and ensure successful implementation of organizational change; prepare and support individuals and teams in implementing change

Business Management-Human-Centered Design: Ability to develop solutions to problems by involving the human perspective in all steps of the problem-solving process Knowledge and understanding of human centered design principles and practices

Digital-Human-Facilitation of digital innovation: Ability to facilitate groups and individuals through a digital innovation process 

Digital-Human-Innovation ecosystem curation: Ability to identify key players in an ecosystem, engage with them and mobilise them to build a community and over time a movement around a common mission that can bring about changes at the system level

Digital-Human-Innovation management: Ability to navigate uncertainty and ambiguity, is able 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. 

Digital-Human-Innovation capacity building: 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. 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 strategy.  

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

  • Advanced degree (master’s degree or equivalent) in Innovation, Technology Management, Human Factor and Information Design, Applied Science or related field is required, OR
  • A first-level university degree (Bachelor’s degree) in the above fields in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree. 

Experience:

  • Minimum 2 years (with master’s degree) or 4 years (with bachelor’s degree) of relevant experience in innovation management, digital transformation, or ecosystem building, preferably in development or public sector contexts.
  • Demonstrated experience in designing and implementing innovation projects, including digital solutions, startup support, or research commercialization is required.
  • Strong background and understanding of emerging technologies and their application to development challenges is desired.
  • Proven ability managing complex innovation or entrepreneurship projects including partnerships and mobilizing resources across sectors is desired.
  • Excellent communication, facilitation, and project management skills desired/experience.
  • Experience working in multicultural and multidisciplinary teams is desired.
  • Working experience in similar positions in the UN and specifically in UNDP is desired.

Language: 

  • Proficiency in oral and written English required.
  • Working knowledge of Amharic or another local language 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. 

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. 

Probation

For all new UNDP fixed term appointments (FTA), including for staff members being transferred or seconded to UNDP under the Inter-Organization Agreement concerning Transfer, Secondment or Loan of Staff, on an appointment of more than one year, continuation of the appointment beyond the initial 12 months is contingent upon the successful completion of a probationary period.

Right to select multiple candidates

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.

Use of AI by candidates

Applicants are invited to read UNDP’s guidance for candidates on using AI responsibly in UNDP recruitment and selection

Scam alert

UNDP does not charge a fee at any stage of its recruitment process. For further information, please see www.undp.org/scam-alert.

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