Output lead- Local Economy

Job Description

BACKGROUND

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.

UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

UNDP is working to respond to the crisis in Libya by undertaking projects to help stabilize the country and instill trust and confidence amongst communities, and between communities and the government. In this context, the UNDP Libya Country Office has made strong commitments to increase economic and livelihood opportunities in a more diversified economy, enhance effectiveness of public institutions, support private sector development and innovative entrepreneurship, and bring economic measures towards building peaceful societies at the local level.

Over the decade of the crisis, Libya’s economy remains fragile because of its dependence on oil and lack of economic diversification. Libya had an inflated public sector, which accounted for 85 percent of the labour force, and a relatively underdeveloped private sector, accounting for just 14 percent of jobs. Economic marginalization and inequitable allocation of state resources has led to a proliferation in organized criminal networks and armed groups taking advantage of the profitable illicit economy. The limited economic opportunities threaten the peacebuilding agenda of the country, as a majority of youth join criminal networks or other armed movements to earn a living. Low domestic production and reliance on imports, exacerbating the country’s inability to reliably meet essential needs, services, goods. Private-sector opportunities are neither numerous nor robust, but their addition to the broad subvention provided by state salaries is not sufficient. Youth entrepreneurship remains limited due to difficulty in regulations, accessing information and markets, need for technical guidance for market development, and access to capital/financing for start-ups and lack of continued growth. The job opportunities for women remain quite limited to education and healthcare sectors in public employment due to prevailing gender norms. 

As part of the Local Peacebuilding and Resilience efforts, “Strengthening Local Capacities for Resilience and Recovery” (SLCRR) is a multi-year and multi- phase action aiming at supporting local authorities in Libya to respond to the many conflicts and human mobility induced challenges that impact negatively people’s access to essential services, sustainable livelihoods, social cohesion and community security. Within this project, in partnership with the Ministry of Local Government, and other line ministries and local authorities, UNDP promotes stabilization and resilience, local economic recovery, and accountable and inclusive governance systems in 65 municipalities across the country for over 5 million people. One of the core objectives of the project includes strengthening economic opportunities for youth and vulnerable groups (including women) through more inclusive and participatory local economic recovery. 

As part of the project Economic Recovery Strategy, the following components are envisaged:

• Building data-driven approach for local economic assessments;
• Capacity building of state and local institutions in administering labor markets flows and entrepreneurship;
• Fostering entrepreneurship awareness and readiness among youth through campaigns, hackathons, innovation challenges, business incubation and acceleration;
• Private sector development, including capacity development of the companies operating in Libya towards inclusive business models;
• Digitalization of economy and upskilling of youth towards new opportunities in digital economy;
• Support of economic diversification, including boosting agricultural sector in the South of Libya through market-oriented development, dissemination of new good agricultural practices, support of for efficient water use in order to ensure that agriculture contributes to food security and nutrition to the largest possible extent, asset recovery mechanisms to facilitate rehabilitation of farms and cooperatives.
• Advancement of the Technical and Vocational Training (TVET) mechanisms in a country to support upskilling of population in line with labor market dynamics and new economic opportunities in the growing sectors of construction, energy, manufacturing, food industries;
• Developing tailored approaches for livelihoods in connection to the local peacebuilding, and inclusion in economic opportunities for vulnerable groups, including IDPs, refugees and migrants in Libya;
• Introducing new mechanisms of support for access to finance and credit in Libya, including fostering partnerships with local financing institutions and government counterparts.

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

The Output Lead – Local Economic Recovery will support the management of the outlined local economic output, including by developing and implementing strategies, plans and activities. In addition, she/he will support the Project manager to develop and maintain partnerships with key stakeholders and knowledge management.  

Facilitates identification and implementation of strategies and activities on emergency and long-term employment and local economic recovery by carrying out the following tasks

• Contribute to design of programme strategies to guide the project work on livelihoods and local economic recovery in line with the local context in target areas.
• Ensure synergies of the livelihood interventions of SLCRR with other UNDP programmes in order to optimize positive impact of UNDP’s interventions.
• Provide technical advice to implementing partners to ensure their activities are in line with the planned objectives of UNDP.
• Develop detailed annual work plans for the Local Economic Recovery Output, including assurance plans in accordance with UNDP’s rules and regulations.

Supports day-to-day management of Local Economic Recovery Output in line with the results-based-management approach and the Programme Operations, Policies and Procedures (POPP) guidelines through the following tasks

• Coordinate processes to sub-contract responsible parties/implementing partners for implementation of the output activities, including by designing TORs, Request for Proposals, capacity assessment of parties, evaluation of bids, preparation of procurement packages and issuing of contracts, among others
• Day-to-day monitoring to ensure the project activities are implemented in line with the planned schedule and agreed targets.
• Keep regular track of budget, expenditures, and balances to identify any financial issues and address them in a timely manner.
• Liaise with the M&E staff to set-up a system to gather, collate and analyze data.
• Provide inputs for result-oriented progress reports, information materials, and publications on the output activities in line with UNDP and donor requirements.

Contribute to facilitating partnerships with key actors, including government counterparts, civil society, academia and the private sector, for successful implementation of the project activities, policy advocacy and resource mobilization

• Support the Project Manager to analyze donor priorities to identify resource mobilization opportunities for livelihood activities and prepare substantive concept notes and project proposals as required.
• Identify opportunities to promote innovative partnerships with non­traditional donors, private sector and academic institutions to promote objectives of the project livelihoods work.
• Establishes and maintains partnerships with private sector, national and international organizations to build synergies and achieve greater impact of the UNDP interventions.
• Participate in UNDP and UN wide task forces and working groups on cross-cutting themes as requested, including Peacebuilding joint projects, Livelihoods working group.

Knowledge Management and Innovation

• In partnership with the Communication Teams, contribute to producing knowledge management and comms/visibility products.
• Produce/review key strategic guiding and progress update documents, concept notes on local economic recovery strategies used.
• Ensure comprehensive documentation, reporting of the implementation of the local economic recovery strategies in the identified municipalities.
• Capture and adequately communicate lessons learned on innovation, digitalization.

COMPETENCIES

Core Competencies:

• Achieve Results:  LEVEL 3: Set and align challenging, achievable objectives for multiple projects, have lasting impact 
• Think Innovatively:  LEVEL 3: Proactively mitigate potential risks, develop new ideas to solve complex problems 
• Learn Continuously:  LEVEL 3: Create and act on opportunities to expand horizons, diversify experiences
• Adapt with Agility:  LEVEL 3: Proactively initiate and champion change, manage multiple competing demands 
• Act with Determination:  LEVEL 3: Think beyond immediate task/barriers and take action to achieve greater results
• Engage and Partner:  LEVEL 3: Political savvy, navigate complex landscape, champion inter-agency collaboration
• Enable Diversity and Inclusion:  LEVEL 3: Appreciate benefits of diverse workforce and champion inclusivity

Cross-Functional & Technical Competencies:

Business Direction & Strategy – Strategic Thinking

• Ability to develop effective strategies and prioritized plans in line with UNDP’s objectives, based on the systemic analysis of challenges, potential risks and opportunities, linking the vision to reality on the ground, and creating tangible solutions.
• Ability to leverage learning from a variety of sources to anticipate and respond to future trends; to demonstrate foresight in order to model what future developments and possible ways forward look like for UNDP.

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 – Result Based Management

• Ability to manage programmes and projects with a focus at improved performance and demonstrable results.

Business Management – Risk Management

• Ability to identify and organize action around mitigating and proactively managing risks.

Partnership Management – Strategic Engagement

• Ability to capture and sustain attention, interest and agreement of high-level, influential policy and decision makers and secure their buy-in of high-level vision and objectives.

Digital & Innovation – Data storytelling and communications

•  Skilled in building a narrative around a set of data and its accompanying visualizations to help convey the meaning of that data in a powerful and compelling fashion.

 Business Management – Portfolio Management

• Ability to select, prioritize and control the organization’s programmes and projects, in line with its strategic objectives and capacity
• Ability to balance the implementation of change initiatives and the maintenance of business-as-usual, while optimizing return on investment.

QUALIFICATIONS

Education

• Master’s degree (or equivalent) in economics, business management, international development, social sciences or other related field.

Experience, Knowledge, and Skills

• Minimum 5 years prior working experience in design and implementation of private sector development, livelihood, economic recovery projects.
• Minimum 3 years of demonstrated experience in employment creation/job placement and/or small and medium enterprise promotion (SMEs), start-ups development, increasing access to finance, innovation and and/or vocational training.
• At least 2 years’ experience in crisis and post-conflict environment is an asset
• Proven track record in the areas of private sector development and resilient livelihoods, IDPs and migrants including in crisis and fragile contexts, preferably within the UN system, and UNDP.
• Past experience of working with UN/UNDP is an advantage.
• Competence of mainstreaming gender into project implementation is an asset.

Language requirements

• Proficiency in oral and written English.

Please note that continuance of appointment beyond the initial 12 months is contingent upon the successful completion of a probationary period.

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