Full description of assignment: https://www.unv.org/calls/GNBR000082-6528
Eligibility criteria
Minimum age: 25 years old. Nationals of the country of assignment are not eligible, except the assignments in Headquarters duty stations.
Description of task
The Accelerator Lab, which is tasked to develop new ideas and experiment new solutions for Guinea Bissau, will be a key element of a redesigned Strategic and Innovation Unit within UNDP that is led by the senior economist. Within this context and organizational structure, UNDP is seeking an international UNV Innovation Lab Coordinator who will be leading the day to day work of the Lab.
Within the delegated authority and under the supervision of the Senior Economist or his/her designated mandated representative (s), the UN Volunteer Innovation Lab Coordinator will:
- Create an environment that fosters innovation and innovative thinking, and new ways of working;
- Identify and establish a network/platform of “agents of changes” with whom to develop an agenda of change;
- Formulate effective new ideas and innovative strategies for program development and implementation;
- Manage the implementation of a number of specific innovation project portfolios in the country;
- Prepare outreach and advocacy materials associated with innovation as needed;
- Develop new partnerships;
- Generate collective knowledge by combining better understanding, ideas and knowledge;
- Proactively use blogs and social networks to share knowledge and experiments;
- Regularly link with UNDP Accelerator Lab Global Network and share learning and insights from country-specific experience;
- Identify new sources of evidence and insights, analyze and visualize patterns (including by using non-conventional data sources), to present new insights in an accessible and comprehensive manner to enable meaningful analysis and creation;
- Proactively explore and identify new methods / approaches and knowledge to address development challenges;
- Collaborate with program / project managers to anticipate emerging needs, adapt customer demand and support the country office in developing a pipeline of emerging projects;
- Explore opportunities for resources and investment mobilization by proactively mapping potential partners and creating investment proposals in the Lab;
Examples of activities:
Some activities will be dedicated to the need for (a) developing new ways of working, (b) to learn design thinking essentials as a potentially new way of working, and (c) work around the new country office space to make it more conducive for creativity and cross practices fertilization, including by involving external actors.
Other activities will involve the organization of a series of innovation workshops and dialogue with different actors of the ecosystem to learn from, discuss and engage on, innovation. These workshops will also help better understand and map the existing ecosystem and will be the basis on which expanding and facilitating new partnerships with innovation as the common denominator.
Activities will also be developed to reach out small startups, youth associations, private investors and other possible nodes/agents present in the innovation ecosystems of Guinea Bissau and partners with them in innovation design and testing. Hackathons and other similar competitions on innovation and social changes in the context of the SDG will be organized.
Over time and with increasing information and data gathering, the Lab will develop a platform/data base to capture existing innovation and best practices in both the private and public sector in Guinea Bissau.
Organize SDG boot camp to better understand the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the United Nations by 2030 and promote out-of-the-box thinking. These camps will provide an opportunity for young people active in civil society to find social impact solutions that will enable them to contribute to the achievement of the SDGs.
Similar to hackathons, as part of the SDG boot camp, there might be competition that aims to select the best SDG projects that will be awarded either financially or in opportunities to show case the project in international workshop and/or conference.
Through partnerships and joint ventures with innovators, and also through direct experimentation and testing, over time the Lab is expected to eventually build a portfolio of experiments (of 8-12 weeks duration) to test solutions that can address some of developmental challenges of Guinea Bissau and accelerate the SDG.
Qualifications/Requirements
Required degree level: Master degree or equivalent
Education - Additional Comments:
Advanced university degree (Master’s or equivalent) in international development, international relations, development economics, design thinking, social innovation, computer science or any other relevant area
Required experience: 36 Months
Experience remark:
Professional work experience at the national and/or international level in promoting development policy and/or social innovation;
Professional knowledge and proven experience in at least one of the following domains: Future and Prospective Thinking, Systems Research and Mapping;
Experience in the following areas is desirable, but not mandatory:
- Proven access to cutting edge innovation networks;
- Key awareness of key global and regional trends;
- Experience with implementing the SDGs
- Experience working in the UN or other international development organization;
- Working experience in a developing country.
Language skills:
- English(Mandatory), Level - Fluent
- French(Optional), Level - Working Knowledge
- Portuguese(Optional), Level - Working Knowledge
Area of expertise: Development programme management
Area of expertise details:
- Good oral and written skills; excellent drafting, formulation, reporting skills;
- Accuracy and professionalism in document production and editing;
- Good interpersonal skills; culturally and socially sensitive; ability to work inclusively and collaboratively with a range of partners, including government officials, private sector, civil society organizations and other UN colleagues;
- Ability to work and adapt professionally and effectively in a challenging environment and in a multicultural team of international and national personnel;
- Solid overall computer literacy, including proficiency in various MS Office applications (Excel, Word, etc.) and email/internet; familiarity with database management; and office technology equipment;
- Self-motivated, ability to work with minimum supervision; ability to work with tight deadlines;
- Sound security awareness;
- Have affinity with or interest in UNDP’s areas of work (poverty reduction, governance and in volunteerism as a mechanism for durable development, and the UN System).
Driving license: No
How to apply:
* Not yet registered in the UNV Talent Pool?
First register your profile at https://vmam.unv.org/candidate/signup.
Important: After creating your account, complete all sections of your profile and submit it. Then go to ‘My Page’ at https://vmam.unv.org/candidate/mypage and click on the ‘Special Calls’ hyperlink. Lastly, select the special call to which you would like to apply.
* Already registered in the UNV Talent Pool?
First update your profile at https://vmam.unv.org/candidate/profile.
Then go to ‘My Page’ at https://vmam.unv.org/candidate/mypage and click on the ‘Special Calls’ hyperlink to select the special call to which you would like to apply.