Programme Specialist – Integrated Social Policy: Home-Based UN Role Driving SDG Impact (Apply by Sept 12, 2025) – *The United Nations Joint SDG Fund is seeking a Programme Specialist in Integrated Social Policy to accelerate progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This full-time, home-based international position (IPSA-10) is open to Tier 1, 2, and 3 applicants. The ideal candidate will have a Master’s degree and 5+ years of experience in social policy, UN joint programming, and partnerships with International Financial Institutions. If you are passionate about ‘Leave No One Behind’ principles, digital transformation in social protection, and managing high-impact portfolios, apply before September 12, 2025, to shape transformative global development initiatives.*

ALSO CHECK : Chief of Strategy, TISFD – Home-Based Leadership Role in Sustainable Finance & Inequality (Apply by Sept 11, 2025)

Background & Job Description

Please note: This job post is advertised on our platform on behalf of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for the Joint SDG Fund. We are not directly affiliated with the hiring organization but are providing this information as a service to our audience of international development professionals.

The Joint SDG Fund is a pivotal catalytic financing mechanism within the United Nations system, dedicated to supercharging progress towards the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Fund operates by financing transformative Joint Programmes (JPs) that are nationally owned and implemented by UN Country Teams under the leadership of the Resident Coordinator (RC). Its core mission is to incentivize coherent, collaborative UN action, breaking down siloes to address complex development challenges in an integrated manner. By providing strategic seed and catalytic funding, the Fund helps piece together innovative policy solutions and identify fiscal space to overcome political and financial barriers, ultimately accelerating SDG achievement.

Hosted by the UN Development Coordination Office (DCO) and with the Multi-Partner Trust Fund Office (MPTF-O) serving as its Administrative Agent, the Joint SDG Fund adopts a dynamic portfolio approach. This allows for flexibility and the ability to leverage synergies across different thematic areas and interventions. The Fund places a paramount emphasis on mainstreaming the core principles of Leaving No One Behind (LNOB), human rights, and gender equality throughout all its operations.

This role is situated within the Fund’s Secretariat and is critical to its mission. The Programme Specialist for Integrated Social Policy will provide strategic programmatic oversight and technical guidance for a portfolio of high-impact Joint Programmes. The focus will be on innovative social policy solutions—such as integrated social protection systems, decent work initiatives, and digital transformation in service delivery—that are designed to reduce poverty, drive economic transformation, and ensure that the most vulnerable populations are reached and empowered. The specialist will act as a key linchpin, ensuring programmatic coherence, managing risks, synthesizing portfolio-level insights, and facilitating the flow of knowledge and technical assistance to country-level implementations.

Programme Specialist – Integrated Social Policy: Home-Based UN Role Driving SDG Impact (Apply by Sept 12, 2025)

Tasks

The Programme Specialist will be responsible for a diverse and strategic set of tasks, including:

• Strategic Portfolio Management: Lead the provision of portfolio-level support and monitoring for high-impact track Joint Programmes with a focus on integrated social policy, ensuring they align with the Fund’s strategic objectives and deliver transformative results.
• Results-Based Management: Facilitate the effective application of results-based management (RBM) tools, oversee programmatic risk management, and track and report on the achievement of programmatic results and catalytic impact for assigned portfolios.
• Technical Oversight & Guidance: Provide high-quality technical oversight and strategic programmatic guidance throughout the Joint Programme cycle (development and implementation), emphasizing policy coherence, systems thinking, and innovative solutions like digital social protection.
• Leave No One Behind Mainstreaming: Ensure the prioritization and effective integration of Leave No One Behind (LNOB), human rights, gender equality, and disability inclusion principles across all assigned portfolios, including robust reporting on impacts for vulnerable groups.
• Inter-Agency Coordination: Support the effective mobilization and use of inter-agency technical assistance from across the UN system (global, regional, and country levels) for joint programming on integrated social policy and LNOB.
• Partnership Development: Lead coordination and build strategic partnerships with International Financial Institutions (e.g., World Bank), the European Union, and other key development partners on integrated social policy, social protection floors, employment, and innovative financing mechanisms.
• Knowledge Management & Learning: Spearhead the Fund’s knowledge management and organizational learning efforts for the integrated social policy portfolio. Identify, document, and disseminate best practices, emergent lessons, and policy innovations.
• Knowledge Product Development: Lead the development of high-quality knowledge products, policy briefs, and learning tools that capture insights, strengthen evidence-based decision-making, and facilitate knowledge exchange among UN Country Teams and partners.
• Programme Maturation Support: Contribute to the process of maturing seed funding initiatives into full high-impact Joint Programmes by identifying strategic entry points for scalability and impact.

Qualifications

Education and Certification

• An advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in Public Policy, Public Administration, Political Science, International Development, Economics, Social Sciences, or a directly related field is required.
• A first-level university degree (Bachelor’s degree) in the areas mentioned above, in combination with an additional two (2) years of qualifying experience (for a total of 7 years), will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree.
• Certifications in Project/Programme Management (e.g., PRINCE2, PMP), Monitoring & Evaluation, or specific social policy fields are desirable assets.

Experience

• A minimum of five (5) years (with a Master’s degree) or seven (7) years (with a Bachelor’s degree) of progressively responsible and relevant professional experience is required.
• This experience must be in supporting integrated social policy through analytical work, strategic partnerships, and programme or portfolio management, preferably in diverse country contexts.
• Demonstrable, hands-on experience in supporting the design and implementation of UN Joint Programmes at the country, regional, and/or global level is mandatory.
• A proven track record of building and managing partnerships with UN entities and International Financial Institutions (IFIs), such as the World Bank, on issues related to integrated social policy and development financing is required.
• Desired skills include at least two (2) years of experience supporting digital transformation and cooperation initiatives.
• Desired knowledge and experience in programmatically mainstreaming gender equality, women’s empowerment, disability inclusion, and broader human rights-based approaches.
• Strong writing and data synthesis skills are required, with the ability to extract, analyze, and visualize data (using Excel, AI tools, etc.) for compelling reports and briefs.
• Advanced proficiency in standard office software (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and internet research is required, with basic graphic design skills being a distinct advantage.

Additional Information

• Eligibility: This position is open to Tier 1, 2, and 3 applicants. Please carefully review the definitions in the original post to confirm your eligibility tier based on your current contract type.
• Contract Type: This is an International Personnel Service Agreement (IPSA) position at the IPSA-10 level.
• Duration: The initial contract is for a period of one (1) year, with possibility of extension subject to performance and availability of funding.
• Schedule: This is a full-time position.
• Location: The position is home-based (remote). The listed location of New York, United States, is for administrative purposes.
• Reporting: The Programme Specialist will report directly to the Senior Programme Adviser (Head of Programme) of the Joint SDG Fund.
• Application Deadline: The final deadline for applications is September 12, 2025, at 05:59 AM (likely UTC time; please confirm the time zone on the official UNDP site).
• Language Requirements: Fluency in English is mandatory. A working knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish) is highly desirable.
• Equal Opportunity: UNDP is an equal opportunity employer and values diversity. All applications are judged on merit and suitability for the role.
• Scam Alert: UNDP does not charge any fees at any stage of its recruitment process.

How to Apply: All applications must be submitted through the official UNDP job portal. Use the Job Identification number 28892 to search for this specific vacancy.

Suggested Top Keywords:
Programme Specialist, Integrated Social Policy, UN jobs, home based, Joint SDG Fund, IPSA-10, Leave No One Behind, social protection, SDGs, sustainable development, UN joint programmes, international development jobs, remote work, digital transformation, poverty reduction, partnerships, World Bank, IFIs, apply by September 2025, Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 3