Cross-Functional Competencies
The key cross-functional competencies are driven by the UNDP operating and funding models and are aligned with the
best practice in other private and public knowledge-based professional services organisations. Such competencies
capture knowledge and skills to be demonstrated by personnel in a significant number of jobs across career tracks and
streams. The main cross-functional competencies include the following.
Competency Definition
I. Business direction and strategy
•Ability to develop effective strategies and prioritized plans in line with UNDP’s objectives,
based on the systemic analysis of challenges, potential risks and opportunities; linking the vision
to reality on the ground, and creating tangible solutions
1 Strategic Thinking
•Ability to leverage learning from a variety of sources to anticipate and respond to future
trends; to demonstrate foresight in order to model what future developments and possible
ways forward look like for UNDP
•Ability to understand and deal with a business situation in a manner that is likely to lead to a
Business Acumen
good outcome
and Commercial
2
Thinking
•Knowledge and understanding of the operational frameworks in the organization and ability to
make good judgments and quick decisions within such frameworks
•Ability to create clarity around UNDP value proposition to beneficiaries and partners and to
Entrepreneurial
3 develop service offers responding to client needs based on UNDP’s organizational priorities and
thinking
mandate
•Ability to use objective problem analysis and judgement to understand how interrelated
4 System Thinking elements coexist within an overall process or system, and to consider how altering one element
can impact on other parts of the system
Effective Decision •Ability to take decisions in a timely and efficient manner in line with one’s authority, area of
5
Making expertise and resources
•Ability to reach an understanding, persuade others, resolve points of difference, gain
Negotiation and
6 advantage in the outcome of dialogue, negotiates mutually acceptable solutions through
Influence
compromise and creates ‘win-win’ situations
II. Business development
Knowledge •Ability to research and turn information into useful knowledge, relevant for context, or
1
Generation responsive to a stated need
Knowledge •Ability to animate individuals and communities of contributors to participate and share,
2
Facilitation particularly externally
Collective •Ability to bringing together diverse groups of people, data, information or ideas, and
3
Intelligence Design technology to design services or solutions
Human-centred •Ability to develop solutions to problems by involving the human perspective in all steps of the
4
Design problem-solving process
•Ability to identity, and integrate capacity and assets of the UN system, and engage in joint
Integration within
5 work; knowledge of the UN System and ability to apply this knowledge to strategic and/or
the UN
practical situations
UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME
UNDP | People for 2030 – Competency Framework – Cross Functional Competencies
UNDP •Ability to represent UNDP and productively share UNDP knowledge and activities; advocate
6
Representation for UNDP, its values, mission and work with various constituencies
III. Business management
Results-based •Ability to manage programmes and projects with a focus at improved performance and
1
Management demonstrable results
Project •Ability to plan, organize, prioritize and control resources, procedures and protocols to achieve
2
Management specific goals
•Ability to select, prioritise and control the organization’s programmes and projects, in line
Portfolio
3 with its strategic objectives and capacity; ability to balance the implementation of change
management
initiatives and the maintenance of business-as-usual, while optimising return on investment
•Ability to build and maintain partnerships with wide networks of stakeholders, Governments,
Partnerships
4 civil society and private sector partners, experts and others in line with UNDP strategy and
Management
policies
Risk •Ability to identify and organize action around mitigating and proactively managing risks
5
Management
Resource •Ability to allocate and use resources in a strategic or tactical way in line with principles of
6
Management accountability and integrity
Change •Ability to prepare, support, and help individuals and teams in designing and implementing
7
Management organizational change
•Ability to communicate in a clear, concise and unambiguous manner both through written and
verbal communication; to tailor messages and choose communication methods depending on
the audience
8 Communication
•Ability to manage communications internally and externally, through media, social media and
other appropriate channels
Digital Awareness •Ability and inclination to rapidly adopt new technologies, either through skilfully grasping their
9
and Literacy usage or through understanding their impact and empowering others to use them as needed
Working with •Ability to inspect, cleanse, transform and model data with the goal of discovering useful
10
Evidence and Data information, informing conclusions and supporting decision-making
UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME
UNDP | People for 2030 – Competency Framework – Cross Functional Competencies
