Data & Project Management Analyst, IPSA 8 - UNCDF - FMS Home-Based

Background and Organizational Context   Diversity, Equity and Inclusion are core principles at UNDP/UNCDF:  we value diversity as an expression of the multiplicity of nations and cultures where we operate, we foster inclusion as a way of ensuring all personnel are empowered to contribute to our mission, and we ensure equity and fairness in all our actions. Taking a ‘leave no one behind’ approach to our diversity efforts means increasing representation of underserved populations. People who identify as belonging to marginalized or excluded populations are strongly encouraged to apply. Learn more about working at UNDP/UNCDF including our values and inspiring stories.   UNDP/UNCDF 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.

General Assembly Resolution 2186 (XXI) decided to “bring into operations the United Nations Capital Development Fund as an organ of the General Assembly which shall function as an autonomous organization of the United Nations. The UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) assists developing countries, especially least developing countries, in the development of their economies by supplementing existing sources of capital assistance by means of grants, loans, and guarantees. UNCDF’s vision is to help mobilize and catalyze an increase of capital flows for SDG impactful investments to Member States to address the most pressing development challenges facing vulnerable communities in these countries and thereby contribute to sustainable economic growth and equitable prosperity. 

UNCDF utilizes its unique capability in the UN system to deploy grants, loans and guarantees to crowd-in finance for the scaling of development impact. UNCDF focuses on where the needs are greatest, a deliberate focus and capability rooted in UNCDF’s unique investment mandate to support the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the realization of the Doha Programme of Action for the least developed countries, 2022–2031. 

As per its Strategic Framework, UNCDF works to deploy its functions as a hybrid development organization and development finance institution. UNCDF responds to Member States requests for assistance by providing targeted technical and financial advisory services on investments for development outcomes, designing bespoke financial structuring solutions, undertaking financial derisking of investments, and enhancing investment readiness of SDG aligned projects in partnership with private sector, UNOs, International and Local Finance Institutions, Development Finance Institutions as well as Foundations and Philanthropy, among others. UNCDF works to develop local financial systems, new markets and mobilize and crowd in capital from public and private sources. UNCDF is driven by a partnership mindset which enables it to deploy its different capital capabilities in highly tailored and responsive ways in order to mobilize investments flows from other sources, in particular from the private sector By structuring transactions which are highly impactful, but also recognize the need for multiplying the impact of its own capital, UNCDF seeks to position itself as a preferred partner for different stakeholders. UNCDF’s work is focused on six priority areas, including: 

•  Sub-national and local infrastructure financing
• Women owned enterprise financing 
• Nature and climate financing 
• Energy and decarbonization finance 
• Sustainable food systems financing 
• Inclusive digital finance 

Following a recent restructuring, UNCDF’s organizational set up includes an Investment and Implementation Division (IID), Investment and Finance Oversight Division (IFOD), Operations and Oversight Division (OOD) and a Directorate of the Executive Office. UNCDF staff and personnel are located in regional hubs based in Dakar (Senegal), Nairobi (Kenya) and Bangkok (Thailand) with sub-regional presence in a number of locations in the Caribbean and Pacific Regions. UNCDF is led by an Executive Secretary based out of New York, USA. Pursuant to General Assembly resolution 2321(XXII, para 1.a), the Administrator of the UNDP performs the function of the Managing Director of UNCDF. UNCDF is overseen by the Executive Board of United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) and performs the function of the Executive Board of UNCDF. 

In order to support this strategic shift, UNCDF is seeking a Data and Project Management Analyst to be part of the Finance and Management Services (FMS) unit. Working under the guidance and supervision of the Business Intelligence Analyst, the Data Analyst will support the ongoing workplan and goals of UNCDF in terms of Data Analysis and AI, including but not limited to maintaining existing Power Platforms Applications, deploying automatic tools, supporting colleagues, preparing technical and functional documentation, providing training and webinars. 

Duties and Responsibilities
Under the supervision of the Business Intelligence Analyst, the Data Analyst will perform the following tasks: 

1. Contribute to the development of dynamic reports 

• Contribute to the analysis of business requirements to design, develop, and update corporate reporting Dashboards;
• Develop dashboards and visualizations for UNCDF colleagues and provide user support;
• Support the BI Analyst in preparing data, and data models;
• Contribute to identifying data quality issues;

2. Facilitate knowledge sharing, building and innovation 

• Support data mining, optimization, metrics development, and predictive analysis
• Support research on innovative technology products driven by data and analytics
• Prepare the training materials (functional documentation, presentations, videos, ..)
• Create and animate a community of practice;
• Identify and formulate lessons learned and recommendations to integrate into broader knowledge management efforts
• Organize and conduct trainings on existing tools/reports
• Create and animate a community of practice;

3. Develop Database Queries              

• Guide in developing queries in the Quantum Datawarehouse
• Guide in identifying, querying, or implementing external useful databases
• Contribute to identifying data quality issues.
• Use APIs to collect and exploit external data
• Support other/ad hoc activities as seen as relevant and needed

4. Contribute to the new structure implementation in Quantum 

• Coordinate with the Quantum team and all the UNCDF stakeholders: Collaborate closely with both the Quantum team and key stakeholders from UNCDF to ensure seamless communication and alignment
• Follow-up on actions to support the creation of the new structure: Track and monitor progress on all action items related to the development of the new structure, ensuring deadlines and objectives are met.
• Test the solution and ensure consistency: Conduct thorough testing of the proposed solution, verifying that it aligns with project requirements and maintains consistency across all components

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

Competencies

Core

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 a 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  

Thematic Area Name   Definition

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 - Portfolio Management        

• Ability to select, prioritise and control the organization's programmes and projects in line with its strategic objectives and capacity Ability to balance the implementation of change initiatives with regular activities for optimal return on investment. Knowledge and understanding of key principles of project, programme, and portfolio management.

Business Management - Working with Evidence and Data

• Ability to inspect, cleanse, transform and model data with the goal of discovering useful information, informing conclusions and supporting decision-making.

Business Management - Digital Awareness and Literacy      

• Ability to monitor new and emerging technologies, as well as understand their usage, potential, limitations, impact, and added value. Ability to rapidly and readily adopt and use new technologies in professional activities, and to empower others to  use them as needed. Knowledge of the usage of digital technologies and emerging trends.

Information Management & Technology - IT Customer Support       

• Ability to support all customers on IT related issues and generate and contribute to continuous improvement processes to deliver a great user experience. Knowledge of ISO 9001 desirable. ITIL certification or similar is desirable. 

Information Management & Technology - User Experience and Business   Analyst       

• Capacity to translate efficiently users needs in IT requirements around human-centred design principles. Knowledge of Oracle. 

Information Management & Technology - Network, Communication and Infrastructure Management         

• Ability to develop/integrate/operate/manage IT network, communications, Cloud or on-premise infrastructure, and new technologies like IoT. Cisco CCIE CCNP or similar is desirable. 

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Minimum Education requirements

• Advanced university degree (Master’s Degree or equivalent) in Computer Sciences, Statistics, Engineering, Data Analytics, and/or other relevant field is required. Or
• A first-level university degree (bachelor’s degree) in the areas mentioned above, in combination with an additional two years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree

Experience:

Minimum years of relevant work experience 

• Applicants with a Master’s degree (or equivalent) in a relevant field of study are not required to have professional work experience. 
• Applicants with a Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) are required to have a minimum of two (2) years of relevant professional experience in data analytics, data visualization and finance modelization at the national or international level. 

Required skills

• Experience in using data processing & data visualization software (at a minimum: Microsoft Excel, PowerBI).
• Programming experience with R or Python.
• Experience with Cloud (Azure or AWS).
• Experience creating presentations and handling Excel files.

Desired skills in addition to the competencies covered in the Competencies section

• Prior experience working with UN agencies or international organizations is an advantage.
• Prior experience working in the area of Finance is a plus.
• Knowledge of video editing software and content creation tool is desired.

Required Language(s) 

• Fluency in English is required.
• Knowledge of French will be considered an asset.

Professional Certificates

• Data Analytics Certification is preferred.

The following documents shall be required from the applicants:

a)     Personal CV or P11, indicating all past positions held and their main underlying functions, their durations (month/year), the qualifications, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate, and at least three (3) the most recent professional references of previous supervisors. References may also include peers.

b)     A cover letter (maximum length: 1 page) indicating why the candidate considers him-/herself to be suitable for the position.

c)     Managers may ask (ad hoc) for any other materials relevant to pre-assessing the relevance of their experience, such as reports, presentations, publications or other materials.

Disclaimer   Important information for US Permanent Residents ('Green Card' holders)    Under US immigration law, acceptance of a staff position with UNDP/UNCDF, an international organization, may have significant implications for US Permanent Residents. UNDP/UNCDF advises applicants for all professional level posts that they must relinquish their US Permanent Resident status and accept a G-4 visa, or have submitted a valid application for US citizenship prior to commencement of employment.    UNDP/UNCDF is not in a position to provide advice or assistance on applying for US citizenship and therefore applicants are advised to seek the advice of competent immigration lawyers regarding any applications. 
  Applicant information about UNDP/UNCDF rosters. 
  Note: UNDP/UNCDF 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/UNCDF at the same grade level and with similar job description, experience and educational requirements.   Non-discrimination 
  UNDP/UNCDF has a zero-tolerance policy towards sexual exploitation and misconduct, sexual harassment, and abuse of authority. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles.  
UNDP/UNCDF is an equal opportunity and inclusive employer that does not discriminate based on race, sex, gender identity, religion, nationality, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy, age, language, social origin or other status. 
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