What are the responsibilities and job description for the Futures Research Fellow (4 positions) position at United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)?
Futures Research Fellow (4 positions)
(date when the selected candidate is expected to start)
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.
Background
CORPORATE BACKGROUND:
UNDP works in 170 countries and territories, helping to eradicate poverty, reduce inequalities and exclusion, and build resilience. As the UN’s development agency, UNDP plays a critical role in helping countries achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
UNDP’s Strategic Plan 2022-25 aims to build a more agile, anticipatory UNDP that embraces complexity, actively manages risk, continually adapts and seeks to learn alongside delivering results.
STRATEGY AND FUTURES TEAM BACKGROUND:
The Strategy and Futures (S&F) Team in the Executive Office supports the UNDP Administrator in building a more agile, anticipatory UNDP, alert to the trends and changes of an uncertain world and ready to respond to many different futures.
The S&F Team is responsible for two pillars of work: strategy and futures. Both pillars intersect and help inform each other. The strategy pillar is responsible for shepherding the Strategic Plan and for providing direction to the corporate systems that underpin our planning and reporting. This includes developing the organization’s strategic plans and driving the midterm review of the plans. The futures pillar’s focus is to connect, cohere and amplify the various futures efforts across UNDP, linking people and resources of knowledge and experience, and to establish a futures ecosystem, enabling UNDP to achieve stronger development impact. An important element of the team’s work in 2022-23 will be to establish a trends and signals system that picks up signals of change in the world that are relevant to UNDP’s mission.
Duties and Responsibilities
The S&F team is hiring fellows, from around the globe, who are passionate about imagining the future of sustainable development. Collectively, the fellows will provide analytical and research support to the S&F Team. They will be required to work closely with members of the S&F Team, and potentially other units in the Executive Office and the broader organization.
The Fellows will have the following duties and responsibilities:
No
Duties and responsibilities
% of time
1
Research and identifying signals, trends and drivers
- Support the S&F team in rolling out a trends and signals system for the organization to better capture and use signals of change in the world (political, economic, social, technological, environmental, values) that are relevant to UNDP’s mission.
- Conduct research and identify signals across various geographies and themes, as pieces of evidence that might support an emerging trend.
- Support the S&F team in grouping and categorizing signals.
- Participate in team conversations around translating signals into trends and generating insights and meaning for UNDP.
- Receive training on using the system.
50%
2
Support the development of a UNDP Global Signals Report
- Building on the insights generated from the signals and trends system, support the S&F Team in developing a global signals report, focusing on those signals that may have the greatest potential impact on development.
- Conduct research and summarize findings on specific topics to feed into the report.
30%
3
Offer creative futures thinking
- Assist the S&F team in spotting emerging changes, scanning, trend analysis, scenario planning, and forecasting.
- Offer diverse and creative perspectives by providing honest and authentic thinking.
- Attend brainstorming sessions with the S&F team to help imagine alternative futures.
- Capture and document UNDP’s journey around using strategic foresight.
- Support other activities as relevant and needed.
20%
Competencies
Other competencies and attitude:
- Offers creativity and innovative thinking;
- Interest and motivation in working on futures and in an international organization;
- Good analytical skills in gathering and consolidating data and research for practical implementation;
- Can analyse quantitative data and draw lessons/insights from their analysis;
- Outgoing and initiative-taking person with a goal-oriented mind-set;
- Communicates effectively when working in teams and independently;
- Good at organizing and structuring various tasks and responsibilities;
- Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
- Responds positively to feedback and differing points of view;
- Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude.
Fellows will be identified from as wide a geographic basis as possible, without distinction as to race, nationality or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital status, family status or disability.
Required Skills and Experience
Education:
Candidates must meet one of the following educational requirements:
- Currently enrolled in a Master’s or other advanced degree in social sciences, such as public administration, economics, international relations, political science, futures studies, behavioural science, development studies or a related area;
- Or, completed an advanced degree within the last 3 years
Work Experience:
- Candidates must have at least one year of working experience.
- Experience in futures, strategic foresight, research, or systems thinking and design is desirable, but not required.
- Experience in disciplines outside of international development will be considered favorably.
IT skills:
- Essential: proficient user of Microsoft Office productivity tools (e.g., Excel; Teams; PowerPoint; Word)
- Desirable: familiar with data management tools (e.g., Airtable, Google Sheets/Forms),
Language skills:
- English proficiency is required
- Knowledge of another language is an advantage.
