Municipal Specialist, Kandahar and Bamiyan, Afghanistan

Closing Date: Sunday, 08 August 2010

MUNICIPAL SPECILAIST UNDP/ASGP VA NO. 2010-07-248 RE-ADVERTISEMENT (2 POSTS)
Location :     Kandahar and Bamyan, AFGHANISTAN
Application Deadline :    08-Aug-10
Additional Category    Millennium Development Goals
Type of Contract :    Service Contract
Post Level :    SB-4
Languages Required :    English
Duration of Initial Contract :    One Year (with possibility of extension)

Background

The Afghanistan Subnational Governance Programme (ASGP) is the UNDP’s flagship governance programme and plays a key role in developing the institutions and systems to ensure effective implementation of the sub-national governance strategies outlined in the Afghan National Development Strategy and the Afghanistan Compact.

ASGP works with and through the Government of Afghanistan to build the institutional structures required for effective service delivery at the central, provincial, district, and municipal levels. ASGP’s activities are designed to achieve long term sustainability through institutional, organizational and individual capacity development.

ASGP is directly implemented in partnership with the Independent Directorate for Local Governance (IDLG) and the Independent Administrative Reform and Civil Service Commission (IARCSC). Currently beginning its second phase, a five year period through 2014 with an anticipated budget of USD 180 million, ASGP will expand significantly over the next five years.

The Programme provides:
    * Support and capacity building to central government agencies responsible for formulating and implementing sub-national governance policy and developing the legal and regulatory framework for sub – national governance;
    * Support to the government’s public administration reform strategy to build institutional and administrative capacities in provincial, district and municipal administrations to manage basic service delivery through reforming organizational structures, streamlining management processes, developing essential skills and knowledge of civil servants and improving management of public service delivery; and,
    * Support to the development of representation and participation in sub-national governance by strengthening the capacity of provincial councils.

ASGP has a fully functioning and independent administrative system including finance, procurement, logistics, security and human resource management. The programme employs approximately 300 staff (either as direct employees or contractors) who work in Kabul, the programme’s five regional offices and throughout Afghanistan.

Under the guidance and direct supervision of the Regional Governance Advisor (Technical Specialist) in the region, and with technical instructions from the Municipal Reform Team Leader, the Municipal Specialist coordinates and oversees the implementation of the municipal governance reform program in the region. The specialist is responsible for seeing to it that the annual municipal work plan for the respective region is implemented through staff embedded in municipalities and that quality is ensured.

Duties and Responsibilities

Summary of Key Functions:
# Provincial and regional joint planning
# Coordination and oversight of municipal program implementation
# Facilitate knowledge building and information/experience sharing

1. Provincial and regional joint planning for municipalities in the region
# Conduct provincial and regional joint planning with municipalities based on the budget envelop and programme menu provided by the central team to create a draft annual action plan that allows ASGP to provide demand-driven assistance;
# Submit the plans for municipalities to the municipal central team, including proposals for integrating activities and capturing other synergies.

2. Coordination and oversight of municipal program implementation:
# Coordinate and oversee the implementation of annual work plans in municipalities and the achievement of the annual targets through the staff embedded in municipalities via memoranda of understanding;
# With technical guidance from the central municipal team, assist municipalities, established organizational mechanisms like commissions or taskforces, and the staff placed in municipalities to produce annual results and deliverables through coaching and mentoring;
# Provide facilitation support or act as resource person during workshops/ trainings;
# Consult mayors, municipal councilors, partner organizations and civil society organizations on the improvements and priority assistance required;
# Ensure and strengthen coordination and cooperation among ASGP and municipalities and other stakeholders, partner organizations and civil society organizations;
# Provide overall administrative and logistic support for the municipal activities in the region;
# Collect essential data from municipalities in respective region as per requirement from the central municipal team;
# Conduct municipal assessments and prepare case studies; success stories and lessons learned and communicate the findings to the Technical Specialist and the central municipal team;
# Undertake preparatory tasks for all regional meetings/trainings/workshops to be carried out for municipalities;
# Prepare and submit reports of annual plan implementation progress and issues.

3. Facilitate knowledge building and information/experience sharing:
# Design and organize regional information/experience sharing and exposure visits;
# Support municipalities in creating network of provincial-provincial municipalities; provincial-district municipalities and district-district municipalities and professional communities of practice;
# Other tasks as required by the supervisor and ASGP management.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:
# Demonstrates commitment to UNDP’s mission, vision and values;
# Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.

Functional Competencies:
Knowledge Management and Learning
# Shares knowledge and experience;
# Promotes a learning environment;
# Provides feedback and advice;

Development and Operational Effectiveness:
# Ability to perform a broad range of specialized activities;
# Strong IT skills;
# Ability to plan, organize and coordinate work.

Leadership and Self-Management:
# Ability to lead a team;
# Focuses on result-oriented delivery of the program;
# Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
# Demonstrates strong oral and written communication skills;
# Remains calm, in control and good humored even under pressure;
# Demonstrated openness to change and ability to manage complexities;
# Responds positively to critical feedback and differing points of view.

Required Skills and Experience
Education and Experience:
# Master’s degree or Bachelor’s degree in Public Administration, Management, Business, Economics, law or related field.
# With master’s degree 2 years of relevant working experience and with Bachelor’s degree 4 years of experience is required;
# 3 to 5 years of work experience in management; previous engagement with municipalities will be a distinct advantage;
# Able to use computer programs/applications (MS. Word, Excel, Power Point, Access).

Language Requirements:
# Fluency in English, Dari and/or Pashtu;

Interested and qualified national Afghan candidates should apply on-line through the UNDP Jobs site at http://www.undp.org.af/jobs and please ensure that to fill up and upload Personal History Form-P.11 which is available at www.undp.org.af/jobs in the relevant field of the on-line application.
Incomplete applications or applications received after the closing date (08 August 2010) will not be given consideration. Please note that only applications who are short-listed will be contacted.
For more detailed information about UNDP Afghanistan please visit our website at www.undp.org.af
The vacancy announcement is open only for Afghan national(s) applicants
Female candidates are highly encouraged to apply.