Programme Specialist (Health) Full Time

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the UN’s global development network, advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience, and resources to help people build a better life. We are on the ground in 170 countries and territories, working with Governments and people on their own solutions to global and national development challenges to help empower lives and build resilient nations.

UNDP Angola Country Office supports the Government of Angola, as well as civil society, in pursuing the country’s national targets for the Sustainable Development Goals. Working within the framework of Angola’s national development plans, UNDP focuses its action on three strategic priorities : employment, health and climate change. Such action is informed by cross-cutting interventions in the areas of governance, gender equality and innovation.

UNDP Angola’s Country Office portfolio on health includes UNDP’s role within the UNAIDS Budget and Results Accountability Framework (UBRAF), UNDP’s Principal Recipient role for Global Fund grants, UNDP’s cost-sharing agreements with the Government of Angola as well as other partnerships with UN agencies.

The purpose of the Programme Specialist (Health) position is to ensure strategic coherence, programmatic impact and operational compliance of the Country Office’s health portfolio.

The Programme Specialist (Health) provides thought leadership in global health. S/he contributes to policy dialogue and resource mobilization efforts alongside the national authorities, the Global Fund, International Financing Institutions (IFIs), other multilateral and bilateral donors and the United Nations (UN).

S/he participates in the formulation, management and evaluation of programme or project activities within his/her portfolio. The Programme Specialist provides oversight and quality assurance of UNDP’s health projects, in line with UNDP’s Programme and Operations Policies and Procedures (POPP). S/he will therefore work closely with UNDP Country Office programme and project personnel, as well as Operations and Finance teams.

The Programme Specialist works in close collaboration with the Ministry of Health, Provincial Governments, Civil society, the Global Fund, IFIs, USAID, PEPFAR as well as the UN Country Team.

• Operationalizes the UNDP Strategic Plan for HIV, Health and Development and the UNDP Country Programme document through its projects on health;
• Carries out constant monitoring and analysis of the health programme environment in order to perform timely readjustments of the programme;
• Keeps himself/ herself up to date with strategic, donor and programme developments in global health;
• Provides substantive input into UNDP technical documents; Country Programme Document (CPD); UN Common Country Assessments (CCA) and United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Frameworks (UNSDCF);
• Identifies strategic areas of intervention in relation to UNDP’s health-related support;
• Identifies and pursues opportunities for portfolio approaches and other types of synergies with UNDP’s environment, inclusive growth and governance portfolios;
• Ensures the mainstreaming of gender equality, youth empowerment, innovation and digitalization in UNDP’s health projects.

2) Ensures effective development, management, oversight and quality assurance of the UNDP Country Office’s programme on health, focusing on the achievement of the  following results:

• Designs and formulates the Country Office programme within the area of responsibility i.e., health; translates UNDP’s priorities into local interventions;
• Initiates projects; presents them to Project Approval Committees; finalizes agreements in line with UNDP’s Programme and Operations Policies and Procedures (POPP);
• Coordinates the review, setting and monitoring of annual targets for programme delivery and resource mobilization within area of responsibility;
• In collaboration with the Results-Based Management (RBM) Unit and project teams, monitors the implementation of resource mobilization plans;
• Monitors the achievement of programme delivery targets by project teams; identifies operational and financial issues; develops and implements solutions;
• Performs strategic oversight of project planning, budgeting, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, and risk management processes;
• Advises project teams on project implementation issues such as partner selection, procurement strategies and financial management;
• Ensures that capacity assessments are completed for Implementing Partners; follows up on the implementation of capacity development plans;
• In close collaboration with the RBM Unit ensures timely and quality execution of corporate processes such as Project Quality Assurance; Transparency Dashboard; Risk Management; Social and Environmental Standards planning and implementation; Results Orientated Annual Report; Integrated Work planning and project closure, using UNDP’s Enterprise Resource management platform (Quantum +);
• Ensures project teams’ compliance with UNDP’s Integrated Finance Dashboard and Finance Dashboard indicators;
• Ensures that partners’ financial management and financial reporting capacities are assessed, and related recommendations are followed up;
• Assists audit exercises and follows up on audit recommendations; ensures timely reporting on exceptions by project teams;
• Contributes to the development and implementation of the Country Office’s Monitoring and Evaluation Plan as well as Communications Strategy and Plan;
• Ensures timely cost-recovery for the services provided by the Country Office to Projects, in close collaboration with Country Office Operations and Finance teams.

• Designs and implements the Country Office’s strategic partnerships and resource mobilization plan related to health in order to achieve Country Programme outcomes;
• Aggregates reports on activities, outputs and outcomes; prepares donor reports, using Quantum+;
• Analyses and researches information on donors; produces substantive briefs on possible areas of cooperation; identifies opportunities for initiation of new initiatives actively contributes to the overall Office efforts in resource mobilization;
• Promotes effective partnerships with the Ministry of Health; Provincial governments; the Country Co-ordination Mechanism (CCM) for Global Fund grants; the UN joint Team on HIV; USAID; PEPFAR; the European Union; International Financial Institutions; and other bilateral and multilateral donors;
• Identifies and pursues opportunities for joint programming with other UN agencies;
• Consolidates strategic partnerships with civil society organizations, including key populations associations and representatives;
• Pursues partnership opportunities with academia as well as the private sector, including health technology companies.

4) As a senior technical expert, provides quality advisory services to Government and facilitates knowledge building and management, focusing on the achievement of the following results:

• Contributes to the development and implementation of the Country Office’s learning strategy and plans, especially in relation to portfolio approaches;
• Identifies and pursues opportunities for knowledge generation; draft best practices, lessons learned and related content;
• Develops specialized policy advisory papers, white papers, analysis, high-level technical knowledge products and communication products;
• Facilitates the dissemination of knowledge products by Projects and Communications teams;
• Contributes to strategic planning exercises in collaboration with Government and other strategic partners;
• Provides quality and strategic contributions to UNDP’s knowledge networks, in particular the Community of practice on HIV, Health and Development;
• Builds and maintains external networks to access and expand knowledge;
• Organizes and/or co-facilitates training opportunities for knowledge sharing internally and externally, including with national counterparts;
• Actively participates in relevant strategic advisory groups in-country and internationally;
• Establishes advocacy networks at national level and linked to international networks.

Supervisory/Managerial Responsibilities:

The Programme Specialist (Health) will work under the direct supervision of the Deputy Resident Representative. As Head of the Health Unit, s/he will manage one Programme Associate (to be recruited). In close consultation and collaboration with Project Coordinators, s/he will have the following responsibilities

• Establishes/consolidates and monitors the annual Health Unit’s workplan;
• Provides guidance, supervises and coaches personnel placed under her/his supervision;
• Manages personnel performance and development objectives (PMD) and ensures personnel’s well-being;
• Supervises and leads programme support personnel; coordinates activities of projects’ personnel;
• Represents UNDP at official meetings and functions and undertake all other delegated tasks under those functions;
• Any other tasks requested by the Supervisor.

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

People Management 

Motivate and Direct

• Create and communicate a compelling vision and purpose;
• Align people and resources with organizational vision, strategy, objectives;
• Understand and proactively builds the team/organization culture

Manage Performance and Ensure Accountability

• Ensure regular conversations with people about work;
• Provide positive and constructive feedback;
• Discuss poor performance in a timely manner;
• Provide praise and recognition, as well as ensure accountability.

Lead with Humility

• Be authentic and transparent, act with integrity;
• Be accessible and available to team members they lead;
• Encourages debate and discussion, creating a culture where people are comfortable to challenge senior leaders and feel listened too;
• Be modest, giving credit for success to others and admit own shortcoming.

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies

External Relations and Advocacy: Resource mobilization

• Ability to identify funding sources, match funding needs (programmes/projects/initiatives) with funding opportunities, and establish a plan to meet funding requirements

Business Management: Portfolio Management

• Ability to select, prioritize and control the organization as 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.

Business Management: Partnership Management

• Ability to build and maintain partnerships with wide networks of stakeholders, Governments, civil society and private sector partners, experts and others in line with UNDP strategy and policies.

Digital & Innovation: Co-creation

• Ability to design and facilitate a process that enables a diverse group of stakeholders to solve a common problem, develop a practice, or create knowledge together;
• Ability to embrace diversity, work with a diverse group of stakeholders, understand their interests, perspectives and views and tap into to them as a source for creativity;
• Ability to facilitate processes and create conditions that are open for diverse inputs, stimulate collaboration and sharing.

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.

2030 Agenda – People Health : HIV/AIDS

Tagged as: Angola, UNDP