Programme Associate - Social Policy at UNDP

Job Description

• The Programme Associate will work closelywith the Programme Analyst-SDGs and NationalEconomist to support the implementation of health and education financing programs.  
• The incumbent will provide technical assistance and administrative support to ensure successful implementation of projects related to health financing, including health insurance schemes,social health protection, human capital development, Innovative MSMEs and startups in healthcare management, especially with rural interventions, and financial management of health systems.
• The Programme Associate will work with government officials, donors, and other stakeholders to promote best practices in health financing and will assist with the monitoring and evaluation of program activities.

Duties and Responsibilities

Social Policy and Programme Coordination; Health and Education

• Support the programme team, particularly in providing support towards policy advisory to the government and the private sector in scaling up national action plans and financing of SDGs 3 and SDGs 4.
• Support the programme team, particularly the National Economist to contribute in the production of policy incentive of targeted projects/programmes to increase investment in healthcare and human capacity development in education to achieve SDG 3 and SDG 4, focused on increasing budget allocations to the health and education sectors and implementing policies that will improve access to healthcare and education.
• Assist the Programmes team to provide technical assistance in the design and implementation of Nigeria’s Multidimensional Poverty Index related to healthcare and education.
• Assist in the delivery of technical assistance to government officials, NGOs, and other stakeholders in designing and implementing health financing programs, including health insurance schemes, innovative social health protection, innovative  healthcare businesses/startup and financial management of health systems.
• Support the development and implementation of monitoring and evaluation plans for health financing programs and assist with data collection and analysis.
• Assist in the preparation of program reports, presentations, and other documentation.
• Support the organization and facilitation of workshops, trainings, and other events related to health financing.
• Support the data analyst team to design and conduct research and analysis on health financing issues and education financing gaps to provide input into policy and program development.
• Support the programmes unit to increase policy activities that will ensure the use of technology in accelerating the delivery of SDG 3 and SDG 4.
• Support the National Economist in carrying out regular reviews and research activities in addressing social insurance schemes in rural areas and invest in digital education and healthcare services.
• Support the programme team to research avenues to strengthen Public-Private Partnerships in achieving SDG 3 and SDG 4 in Nigeria, working with government and private sector organizations to improve access to healthcare and education services.
• Support the programme team to identify, build and maintain strong relationships with government officials, donor relations, and other stakeholders, including rapporteur services during meetings and other events.
• Assist with budget preparation, financial tracking, and expenditure reporting.
• Contribute to the development and implementation of program work plans and budgets.
• Perform any other duties assigned by the Programme Manager, Health Financing.

Strategic Partnership and Multi-Stakeholder Engagement

• Support in the country office in their engagement on SDGs and SDG Financing with the Government, private sector, UN  country team and partners.
• Develop partnerships and lead engagements with the private sector to drive the mobilization of private capital towards SDG-aligned development needs.
• Assist in organizing multi-stakeholder consultative forums, including public-private dialogues to foster collaboration between public and private sector stakeholders.
• Identify potential synergies between UNDP Nigeria, the UNDP Regional Hub and UNDP Country Offices implementing similar Initiatives.
• Support UNDP in building strategic alliances and partnerships with governments, private sector, think tanks, academic institutions, development partners and others to expand UNDP’s work on SDG financing.
• Strengthen collaboration with other UN agencies and external partners to scale innovative financing for the SDGs.
• Increase capacity of states to mobilize private investments for the SDGs.
• Work closely with sub-national governments in designing their SDG aligned state development plans.

Learning and Knowledge Management:

• Facilitate the development and update of market intelligence on the drivers to exclusion from quality education and healthcare.
• Facilitate potential synergies and trade-offs in building policy and planning around SDGs 3 and SDGs 4.
• Develop concept notes for technical workshops/webinars/side-events for UNDP’s development finance programmes.
• Produce regular knowledge tools including thought provoking policy brief relating to Financing Sustainable Development  within national and regional contexts.

Outreach Engagement

• Collaborate on the organization of events, including high-level dialogues, workshops, events, and programme launches  on subject matter.
• Collaborate on project communications, including Annual Reports and Newsletters.
• Follow technical discussions in other fora and represent UNDP in relevant meetings.
• Perform other duties, as may be required by the Supervisor.

 Skills and Experience

• A university degree

Experience:

• At least 6 years of experience working in a number of these areas; healthcare management, healthcare research, and  financing, health systems strengthening, preferably in low- or middle-income countries.
• Work experience in sustainable development, policy analysis, private sector development, strategic planning, public health, medical sciences, research, healthcare programming or other related fields.
• Bachelor's degree in public health, medical sciences, health education, health economics, health management, or a related field.
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively with stakeholders from diverse backgrounds.
• Willingness to travel to project sites as required.
• Strong record in engaging with the CSOs, NGOs, private sector and development partners on issues relating to subject matter.
• Excellent writing skills, as demonstrated by previous research/analytical reports/policy notes on relevant topics.
• Experience of working in and with developing countries in Africa, especially Nigeria.
• Experience of working with UNDP or UN Development System on matters related to development finance policies will be an advantage.
• Excellent computer skills, in particular masteryof all applications of the MS Office package.
• Proficiency in MicrosoftOffice and data analysis software.
• Ability to work independently and prioritize tasks effectively.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• A good working knowledge of software support applications to aid programme planning (Kobo app, google suite, etc) would be an added advantage