Research and Development Analyst - NPSA8 at United Nations Development Programme

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the United Nations' global development network. It advocates for change and connects countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life for themselves. It provides expert advice, training and grants support to developing countries, with increasing emphasis on assistance to the least developed countries. It promotes technical and investment cooperation among nations.

Headquartered in New York City, the status of UNDP is that of an executive board within the United Nations General Assembly. The UNDP is funded entirely by voluntary contributions from UN member states. The organization operates in 177 countries, where it works with local governments to meet development challenges and develop local capacity.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Research and Development Analyst - NPSA8

Job Identification: 2029
Location: Lagos, Nigeria
Grade: NB4
Job Schedule: Full time
Practice Area: Crisis Management / Country Management Support
Bureau: Regional Bureau for Africa
Vacancy Type: National Personnel Service Agreement
Contract Duration: 1 Year with Possibility for extension

Background

• UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.
• UNDP 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.
• Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country with an estimated population of 206 Million1 and an annual population growth rate of 2.6%2 . By 2050, the country’s population is expected to have doubled, reaching more than 400 million and thereby becoming the third largest country in the world3 . More than half of its population will be under the age of 30 years.
• At the same time, unemployment and under-employment are one of the key development challenges facing young people in Nigeria and undermining the prospects of the country to achieve its development aspirations and fulfil its potential as the continent’s largest economy.
• According to the National Bureau for Statistics’ report of 2018, over 13.9 million youth are unemployed. The highest unemployment rate was recorded for youths between 15 - 24 years standing at 40.8%, followed by those aged between 25 – 34 years at 30.7%4 . Investing in Nigeria’s youth is therefore becoming more urgent than ever.
• In response to this complex development challenge, the Federal Government of Nigeria, in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and other partners, seeks to invest in the next generation of leaders through the establishment of the Nigeria Jubilee Fellows Programme (JFP) - a platform for empowering young Nigerian graduates with practical on-the-job skills and leadership competencies through a twelve-month paid placement opportunity.
• Under this programme, highly qualified recent graduates of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme will be provided with work opportunities within private sector organizations, the public sector, UN agencies and development organizations.
• The goal of the NJPF is to enhance these Fellows with professional and leadership capacities thereby enabling them to positively contribute to the social and economic development prospects of Nigeria. The enrolment of an initial 20,000 Fellows is envisaged followed by a scaling up of the programme in the coming years.
• The Jubilee Fellows Programme will expand opportunities for learning to work transitions for fresh graduates in Nigeria through placement opportunities, job market information, skills transfer and facilitated learning.
• It is designed as a partnership platform that brings together private and public sector actors – including learning institutions to co-create and deploy to scale a viable solution that enhances youth employability, entrepreneurship and retention of national talent.
• To this end, UNDP Nigeria is seeking a qualified Research and Development Analyst, to provide research and analytical support in the implementation of the Jubilee Fellowship program framework.
• The Research and Development Analyst will do this by providing data-analytic support to the team’s knowledge products, including building and maintaining large development data sets for analytical and responsive agility.
• The Research and Development Analyst will develop innovative approaches to determine the impact of the Jubilee Fellowship on youth participation in the economic sector and will contribute to the analytical base for thought leadership around youth employment policy issues.
• The Research and Development Analyst will also support the development and dissemination of quarterly reports and lessons learned.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Under the direct supervision of Jubilee Fellows Team Lead (Crisis Prevention and Recovery Advisor), and matrix reporting to the Knowledge hub Team Lead (Data Management Specialist), the Research and Development Analyst will be responsible for the following functions and tasks:

Summary of Key Functions
The Research and Development Analyst, under the supervision and guidance of the Fellows Team Lead (Crisis Prevention and Recovery Advisor) and in close cooperation with the Impact Learning & Monitoring Analyst, will be responsible for:

• Managing the successful implementation of knowledge management and research activities of the project;
• Strengthen knowledge production and analysis in the Jubilee Fellowship project; ensure internal and external knowledge sharing; streamline knowledge management activities in annual work plans and significantly participate in the project monitoring, evaluation, reporting and data collection;
• Document and develop knowledge products, innovative practices and lessons-learnt documents of the implementation of Jubilee Fellowship project and contribute to the exchange within UNDP and with partners.

Specific Functions / Results Expected
Knowledge Building and Research:

• Identify key knowledge gaps in the program area and determine knowledge products that might help to address them for the project staff and project target groups/beneficiaries;
• Support documentation and sharing of success stories and failure, promising practices (good practices if formally evaluated) through concrete and in-depth analytical case studies, video and other mediums that supports the advancement of youth employment in Nigeria;
• Ensure that data is disaggregated by Age, Sex and Disability status and contributing to the development of youth employment policies;
• Work proactively with CO and project teams to identify opportunities for capturing and sharing knowledge and disseminating information about major progress and results.
• Design the annual work plan on knowledge products for the Jubilee Fellowship project and contribute to the realization of the plan according to the guidance note on developing knowledge products;
• Contribute to conducting Fellows’ attitudes and/or perception surveys, designing performance review surveys, monitoring attendance reports, establishing feedback mechanisms and monitoring mentor/mentee interactions during the fellowship period;
• Conduct baseline, midline and end of project surveys;
• Document results achieved, lessons-learnt to reflect process issues, recommendations for similar future projects/ activities after each of the project activities conducted by the project team;

Knowledge Management and Knowledge Sharing:

• Oversee the development of knowledge products in the Jubilee Fellowship project with respect to UNDP Quality Assurance Standards;
• Ensure validation of all the knowledge products developed in the framework of the Jubilee Fellowship project in line with the Guidance Note for Developing Knowledge products;
• Provide guidance to the team and partners on how to collect practical and action-oriented information grounded in quantitative and qualitative evidence;
• Engage with policy-oriented research networks that provide data, analysis, advice, and peer review support which will help UNDP to influence youth employment policies in Nigeria as a means of contributing towards the achievement of the SDGs;
• Disseminate best practices through stakeholder workshops, online platforms and listserv.
• Contribute to the maintenance of Communities of practices (CoPs) for the project and identify knowledge-sharing methodologies to respond to UNDP and stakeholders needs;
• Capture lessons learnt in the project implementation for the preservation and use of institutional memory and help inform the development of other knowledge products;

Data Analysis, Monitoring and Evaluation:

• Support the Impact Learning and Monitoring Analyst in conducting project monitoring, site visits and reporting;
• Maintain updated and comprehensive evidence of all project activities and project result framework with performance indicators;
• Provide data, programming, analytical support, and supervision to staff in accessing and utilizing the data for specific projects;
• Design and produce related infographics to illustrate and analyze results and recommendations from empirical research;
• Document the overall experience of project work, including the research on knowledge, expertise and networks in identified areas; engagement with the partners; the support to resource mobilization, etc.; and provide documentation reports to the Fellows Team Lead (Crisis Prevention and Recovery Advisor), upon request;
• Construct relevant data analytics to demonstrate project results;
• Conduct strategic analysis using large economic and development datasets, to demonstrate project impact;
• Perform a variety of data-related duties to improve and normalize data including data cleaning, documentation, quality control, data aggregation and integration;
• Perform such other duties as may be assigned.

Institutional Arrangement:

• The Research and Development Analyst will report to the Fellows Team Lead (Crisis Prevention and Recovery Advisor), and may require to also have a matrix reporting to the Data Management Specialist while working in cooperation with the Impact Learning and Monitoring Analyst in ensuring the smooth run of the programme.

Required Skills and Experience
Education:

• Advanced Degree in Social Policy, Public Policy, Politics, Development Studies, Statistics, Political Science, International Relations or related field.
• A first-level University Degree in combination with two (2) additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

• A minimum of zero (0) year for MA and two (2) years for BA of progressively responsible experience in development research, data analytics;
• Knowledge of and previous experience with data visualization and data visualization software is an asset;
• Experience with programming languages, such as SQL, Oracle, and Python is desired;
• Knowledge of development studies is desired;
• Knowledge of the UN system and coordination is desired.
• Strong quantitative analytical skills and ability for strong visualizations and representation of data;
• Excellent knowledge of information technology, including expert knowledge of Excel;
• Excellent communication and writing skills;
• Prior experience with data analysis is an important asset;

Required Language:

• Fluency in spoken and written English.

Competencies

Core Competencies:
Innovation: Adept with complex concepts and challenges convention purposefully:

• Contributes to prototyping, piloting, and evaluating lessons / feedback.

Leadership: Generates commitment, excitement and excellence in others:

• Actively shares knowledge.

Communication and relationship management: Synthesizes information to communicate independent analysis:

• Communicates ideas and positions with command and confidence;
• Finds common ground to solve problems.

People Management: Models independent thinking and action:

• Demonstrates behaviors of teamwork, collaboration, knowledge sharing, maintaining relationships.

Delivery: Meets Goals and Quality Criteria for Delivery of Products or Services:

• Embraces complex challenges and opportunities for getting work done;
• Ability to embrace challenges with minimal supervision;
• Works to develop organizational awareness of UNDP’s approach to client service delivery and integrity and accountability.

Technical / Functional Competencies:
Primary:

Strategic Planning:

• Ability to make decision that aligns with strategy, vision and mission; to set goals and indicators, and to synthesize recommendations into usable information to inform policy, strategy and/or action.

Data Analysis / Measurement:

• Ability to evaluate, transform and model data to derive relevant findings.

Secondary:

Monitoring and Evaluation:
Knowledge of methodologies, tools, systems and apply practical experience in planning, monitoring, evaluating and reporting and ability to apply to practical situations:

• Implement & Manage: Exercise’s skills and knowledge independently, demonstrating ability to manage self and team responsibilities, in area of work

Result-based Management:
Ability to manage programmes and projects with a strategy aimed at improved performance and demonstrable results:

• Implement & Manage: Exercise’s skills and knowledge independently, demonstrating ability to manage self and team responsibilities, in area of work

Report Writing:

• Ability to prepare quality reports
• Technical Assistance: Performs defined tasks efficiently and deepens knowledge of area of work.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply

Application Deadline  21st January, 2022 at 05:59 AM.