Summary
Date Posted: Wednesday, August 11, 2021 , Base Salary: Not Disclosed

JOB DETAILS:
Result of Service
SRO-SA, in collaboration with ECA Macroeconomic and Governance Division (MGD) and in partnership with UNCTAD will start executing activities under another UNDA funded project titled “Towards integrated national financing framework”. Integrated national financing frameworks (INFFs), a planning and delivery framework to help countries finance sustainable development and the SDGs, can be a valuable tool in helping to formulate a comprehensive strategy for pots-Covid recovery – one that is aligned with the SDGs, the Paris Agreement, and that is sustainably financed. The Inter-agency Task Force on Financing for Development (IATF) set out key features and steps to operationalize the INFFs for the SDGs in the 2019 Financing for Sustainable Development Report (FSDR). INFFs are a tool for governments to (i) align financing policies with national sustainable development priorities, and (ii) strengthen the links between planning processes (such as National Sustainable Development Strategies or national development plans) and financing policies. INFFs can also help Governments bring together and better utilize the wide range of support measures on SDG financing provided by the international community. Ultimately, they can help them raise resources to implement national development plans and finance the SDGs. Activities under this project will target Zambia as a beneficiary country.an international consultant is being recruited to support the implementation of the above-named projects.
Work Location: Remote
Expected duration: Duration
The assignment will last 5 months from the start of the contract date. Please note that ECA can extend the contract at no additional fees to facilitate the completion of deliverables.
Remuneration
The total fees for the assignment will be US$20,000 (twenty thousand dollars) to be paid in five monthly instalments of US$ 4000, upon submission of a satisfactory monthly performance report by the supervisor.

Duties and Responsibilities
1. Background
The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) Sub-regional office for Southern Africa (SROSA) is currently implementing several technical assistance projects funded from the UN Development Account (DA) that contributes to the achievement of the primary objective of the office “Accelerating and deepening industrialization in Southern Africa” by promoting an intermediate objective of strengthening capacities in the private sector.

One project titled “Global initiative towards post-Covid19 MSME sector” aims at to develop and implement capacity building tools for governments and MSMEs to facilitate resurgence and strengthen resilience of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in developing countries and economies in transition to mitigate the economic and social impact of the global Covid-19 crisis and to facilitate the MSMEs contribution to the SDGs implementation.

The initiative brings together UNCTAD, UN DESA and the UN regional commissions for Africa (ECA), Europe (ECE), Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), and the Arab region (ESCWA) with funding provided by the UN Development Account. Thereby, it ensures both global reach and regional presence, international cooperation, and exchange of knowledge and good practices from all over the world.

The project is structured in five clusters addressing most critical areas of the MSME recovery:
1- Mobilize entrepreneurial ecosystem and strengthen business skills
2- Simplify business registration and facilitate formalization
3- Improve access to finance/financial literacy
4- Increase access to technology and innovation
5- Enhance access to markets

SRO-SA is executing a set of deliverables under cluster 4 and 5. Activities under phase 2 are being finalized while activities under Phase 3 are starting and are all due to be in progress by December 2021.

Concurrently, SRO-SA is about to start implementation of a UNDA 13th tranche project titled “Innovative approaches for MSME competitiveness to promote trade and inclusive industrialization in Southern Africa in the Post-Covid context” whose aim is to strengthen capacities of Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSMEs) in six selected Southern African member states to design and apply innovative approaches to enhance their competitiveness so that they can be effective private sector enablers of trade and inclusive industrialization and build resilience to unexpected shocks such as Covid-19. This project will focus on how MSMEs can leverage innovative approaches to address competitiveness challenges during and after adverse shocks. There are two components to this project: the first component focuses on strengthening capacities of MSMEs in the private sector to address competitiveness challenges that impede them from participating effectively in inclusive industrialization processes (Covid and Post-Covid); the second component focuses on strengthening capacities of MSMEs in the private sector to address challenges that impede them to trade effectively (Covid and Post-Covid).

SRO-SA, in collaboration with ECA Macroeconomic and Governance Division (MGD) and in partnership with UNCTAD will start executing activities under another UNDA funded project titled “Towards integrated national financing framework”. Integrated national financing frameworks (INFFs), a planning and delivery framework to help countries finance sustainable development and the SDGs, can be a valuable tool in helping to formulate a comprehensive strategy for pots-Covid recovery – one that is aligned with the SDGs, the Paris Agreement, and that is sustainably financed. The Inter-agency Task Force on Financing for Development (IATF) set out key features and steps to operationalize the INFFs for the SDGs in the 2019 Financing for Sustainable Development Report (FSDR). INFFs are a tool for governments to (i) align financing policies with national sustainable development priorities, and (ii) strengthen the links between planning processes (such as National Sustainable Development Strategies or national development plans) and financing policies. INFFs can also help Governments bring together and better utilize the wide range of support measures on SDG financing provided by the international community. Ultimately, they can help them raise resources to implement national development plans and finance the SDGs. Activities under this project will target Zambia as a beneficiary country.
Against this background, SRO-SA is planning to recruit an international consultant to support the implementation of the above-named projects.

Duties and Responsibilities
The international consultant is expected to work under the direct supervision of the Economic Affairs Officer of the Sub-Regional Initiatives (SRI) Section of ECA SRO SA, who in turn reports to the Chief of SRI. The consultant will be expected to work closely with all staff of SRO-SA and ECA and engage when needed, with other UN agencies, member states, private sector and other stakeholders in the course of this assignment.
Specifically, the consultant will have to perform the following duties:
1. Prepare and update a monthly calendar of activities for the 3 above projects with timelines;
2. Prepare substantive documents and notes required for planned workshops/meetings including concept notes, agendas and other related documents;
3. Planning and organization of workshops and meetings and execute tasks as identified by the Economic Affairs Officer that will include drafting letters of invitation, following up on letters to ensure good participation at the meetings, identifying suitable panelists and participants at the events and eliciting their participation at events, and drafting presentations;
4. Servicing workshops and meetings held in the course of the projects including taking notes at meetings and drafting inputs for speeches and statements;
5. Identification, selection and recruitment of consultants needed for the execution of project outputs;
6. Prepare substantive inputs for terms of reference of consultants;
7. Establishment of databases that may be needed for the project;
8. Identifying sources of extra-budgetary funds for the office;
9. Participate in the mobilization of strategic partnerships for the office;
10. Contribute innovative and creative ideas to the delivery of project deliverables to enhance the quality of project outputs and impacts of results to be achieved;
11. Identify suitable methodologies to be employed in the course of output delivery;
12. Perform administrative tasks in relation to the project, in close consultation with the administrative staff of SRO-SA and ECA;
13. Preparation of communications materials needed to disseminate the project outputs including video scripts and tweets;
14. Perform any ad-hoc requests as required by the Economic Affairs Officer to ensure a high quality and timely delivery of project deliverables including setting up meetings;

Work Approach
The consultant in the course of his assignment will work closely with the staff of SRO-SA and ECA and shall maintain a very good working relationship with all stakeholders.

Qualifications/Special Skills
• Academic Qualifications: Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or above) in Economics, International development, political affairs, business administration, or related fields is required.
• Experience: The candidate should have a minimum of five (5) years of proven experience in assisting in implementing projects and /or working for an international organization. Excellent (written and oral) communications skills will be an advantage.
• Prior experience in programme management and/or with the United Nations is highly desirable.

Language: English and French are the working languages of the United Nations. For this post, fluency in English (both oral and written) are required. Fluency in a second UN official language is an advantage.

Work Hours: 8

Experience in Months: 60

Level of Education: Postgraduate Degree

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