Strategic Advisor: Office of the Resident Representative

As the United Nations lead agency on international development, UNDP works in 170 countries and territories to eradicate poverty and reduce inequality. We help countries to develop policies, leadership skills, partnering abilities, institutional capabilities, and to build resilience to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Our work is concentrated in three focus areas; sustainable development, democratic governance and peace building, and climate and disaster resilience. UNDP’s mandate is to end poverty, build democratic governance, rule of law, and inclusive institutions. We advocate for change, and connect countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life.

This role supports the Resident Representative (RR) not as a traditional coordinator, but as a strategic advisor and execution partner. It combines strategic thinking, organizational intelligence, execution discipline, and digital capability to help the RR operate at maximum effectiveness. The successful candidate will interpret the pulse of the organization, translate strategy into actionable priorities, anticipate risks before they escalate, and ensure the right decisions are made at the right time. This is a role for someone who leads with judgment, not just competence. The Distinction That Defines This Role Below is not illustrative. It is the lens through which performance in this role will be evaluated. Candidates should read it carefully and self-assess honestly before applying. Strategic Advisor - what this role requires: - Recommends what to prioritize and what to decline. - Provides a recommendation with the brief: here is what I think you should do, and why. - Anticipates problems and proposes solutions before they escalate. - Identifies which actions are stuck, who is blocking them, and what to do about it. - Curates information - filters noise, highlights risks, surfaces what matters. - Assesses which events are strategic and advises on trade-offs between commitments. Coordinator - Insufficient for this role - Tells the RR what is scheduled - Prepares background briefs - Flags problems when they escalate - Tracks actions - Manages information flow - Supports external events

1. Strategic Advisory - Provide the Representative (RR ) with concise, opinionated briefings - not just background information, but recommendations: here is what I think you should do, and why. - Proactively assess which meetings, events, and commitments are strategically valuable and advise on trade-offs. - Support positioning on key strategic issues across programme, partnerships, and policy. - Go beyond briefing to answer: what should we do, and why? 2. Organizational Intelligence - Maintain a continuous, firsthand understanding of programme pipelines, delivery bottlenecks, and internal dynamics through direct engagement with teams, not solely through reports. - Proactively meet with programme officers to understand their priorities and return with informed advice for the RR. - Surface emerging risks, tensions, and opportunities before they reach the RR as problems. - Identify which actions are stuck, analyze why, and recommend practical unblocking steps. 3. Information Curation - Filter and synthesize large volumes of information from internal and external sources. - Distinguish signal from noise - highlight what requires the RR's attention, what can wait, and what can be delegated. - Ensure the RR has what they need to act, not just everything that exists. 4. Execution and Delivery Tracking - Track key decisions and strategic priorities with a clear view of progress against objectives. - Go beyond tracking to analysis - identify what is behind schedule, why, and what the path forward is. - Flag risks to delivery before they become visible to external stakeholders. - Ensure clear tracking and follow-up on a defined set of priority actions agreed with the RR, with regular, structured updates on status and blockages. 5. External Engagement Support - Prepare targeted, recommendation-led briefing notes for high-level meetings and events. - Assess trade-offs between competing commitments and advise accordingly. - Manage sensitive correspondence and engagements with senior stakeholders on behalf of the RR. 6. Digital, Data, and Analytical Capability - Deploy modern digital and artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted tools to improve decision-making, track performance, and generate insights. - Build and maintain structured systems for tracking strategic priorities and follow-up actions. - Develop light analytical products - dashboards, summary briefs, visual trackers - that give the RR clarity at a glance. - Stay ahead of emerging tools relevant to development finance, communications, and organizational management.