Jobs

Background

UNDP Bhutan CO is seeking five interns who will be based in RRCO Thimphu, Bhutan, and work under the direct supervision of the National Coordinator, Tax for SDGs and Regional Director/Head of the Tax Administration. 

Background:

In collaboration with the Royal Government of Bhutan, the United Nations System, and various development partners, UNDP Bhutan is committed to assisting the country in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This partnership aims to eradicate poverty in all its dimensions, facilitate sustainable structural transformations, enhance resilience to crises, strengthen governance, foster innovation, and mobilize resources towards poverty alleviation, employment creation, climate action, and other developmental priorities. Additionally, UNDP is tasked with supporting the integration of SDGs to expedite progress towards sustainable development objectives, enhancing advocacy on tax including engagement of young people advocates.                                                                                         

UNDP has recently positioned itself as a key partner in supporting Bhutan's economic transformation and financing efforts related to the SDGs, including domestic resource mobilization. In this regard, UNDP is assisting the Department of Revenue and Customs (DRC) within the Ministry of Finance to enhance domestic revenue mobilization by improving tax administration efficiency. The effective mobilization and utilization of domestic resources are crucial for advancing Gross National Happiness (GNH) and achieving the SDGs. Taxation, as a fundamental fiscal and social policy instrument, plays a pivotal role in this context, enabling wealth redistribution, promoting equality, funding essential public services such as healthcare and education, influencing inclusive and sustainable socio-economic and environmental outcomes, and contributing to the overarching goal of leaving no one behind. This role becomes even more significant given Bhutan's impending graduation from the category of Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and its potential implications for official development assistance and access to concessional financing mechanisms.

Historically, tax revenue has been vital for domestic resource mobilization in Bhutan. From the implementation of the first Five Year Plan in 1961, which marked the transition from in-kind taxation to nominal monetized taxes on various economic activities, to subsequent revisions aimed at rationalizing tax structures and enhancing administrative procedures, taxation policies have evolved to support economic development. The enactment of various tax laws, such as the Sales Tax, Customs and Excise Act of Bhutan in 2000 and the Income Tax Act of 2001, reflects ongoing efforts to modernize the tax system and broaden the tax base.

The tax audit for Business Income Tax (BIT) and Corporate Income Tax (CIT) will commence in August 2024. During this period (August-December), tax officials will be heavily involved in field audits, significantly increasing the workload for tax administration. The office staff will also be attending to taxpayers accessing services through online platforms (such as RAMIS) or in person at Regional Revenue & Customs Offices (RRCO), particularly RRCO Thimphu, due to its large taxpayer base. Compounding the challenge is a high attrition rate in the civil service, resulting in severe manpower shortages and a critical situation in tax administration.

To ensure efficient taxpayer services, reduce the administrative burden on tax officials, and contribute to the tax administration's mandate of efficient collection of domestic resource mobilization, disseminate tax related information particularly for young people and support youth engagement in tax administration UNDP will be recruiting interns to support tax administration at RRCO Thimphu for a six-month period. Recruiting interns will support the department's objectives of strengthening tax governance and institutions, including professional capacity for enhanced transparency and accountability. This initiative will help increase revenue mobilization by enhancing the efficiency of tax administration and reducing tax leakages for socio-economic development, welfare promotion, and achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the guidance and direct supervision of the National Coordinator, Tax for SDGs and Regional Director/Tax Head, the interns will mainly provide assistance and support the tax administration in delivering tasks such as, but not limited to,

1. Registration of PIT/BIT/CIT
2. Filing PIT on behalf of taxpayers
3. Tax return filing and acceptance of BIT/CIT entities,
4. Tax clearance verification,
5. Maintaining and updating taxpayer’s files and records,
6. Answering taxpayers’ queries through calls and face to face communication,
7. Data entry in the system such as TDS information,
8. Issuing Tax Clearance Certificates,
9.  Carrying out tax advocacy for young people
10. Other front desk services to taxpayers, and  
11. Report Tax issues and other issues to supervisors and the management.

In addition, the interns will also support the UNDP CO youth related works such as engagement with Parliament for tax advocacy and policy reforms.

Competencies

1. Attention to details,
2. Time management,
3. Ability to work independently,
4. Data entry,
5. Communication skills,
6. Taxpayer service,
7. Good with numbers,
8. Multi-Tasking and,
9. Any other skills are a bonus point

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Candidates must at the time of application meet ONE of the following requirements:

(a) Be enrolled in a postgraduate degree programme (such as a master’s programme, or higher);

(b) Be enrolled in the final academic year of a first university degree programme (such as bachelor’s degree or equivalent);

(c) Have recently graduated with a university degree (as defined in (a) and (b) above) and, if selected, must start the internship within one-year of graduation;

(d) Be enrolled in a postgraduate professional traineeship program and undertake the internship as part of this program.

Applicants with a relevant degree and experience in finance/accounts/business will be given preference.

Language:

• Excellent writing and speaking skills in English

• Good level of knowledge in Dzongkha

Background

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.

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.

UNDP is the leading United Nations organization fighting to end the injustice of poverty, inequality, and climate change.  Working with our broad  network  of  experts  and  partners  in  170  countries,  we  help  nations  to  build integrated, lasting solutions for people and planet. Learn more at undp.org or follow at @UNDP.

“Biodiversity, and the benefits it provides, is fundamental to human well-being and a healthy planet. Despite ongoing efforts, biodiversity is deteriorating worldwide, and this decline is projected to continue or worsen under business-as-usual scenarios”. Responding to this existential need for stepping up biodiversity conservation efforts, at the High-Level Segment of part one of the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP- 15) in October 2021, Parties to the Convention adopted the Kunming Declaration, where they committed to develop, adopt and implement an effective post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF)  that would put biodiversity on a path to recovery by 2030 at the latest, towards the full realization of the 2050 Vision of “Living in Harmony with Nature.” Critically, the framework would also include provision of the necessary means of implementation, in line with the Convention and its two protocols, as well as appropriate mechanisms for monitoring, reporting and review.

The objective of this global project is to fast-track readiness and early actions to implement the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) by providing financial and technical support to GEF-eligible Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in their work to align their National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) including national biodiversity targets, monitoring, policy, and finance frameworks with the Global Biodiversity Framework of the CBD. Financial and technical support is provided through two pathways: first, grants made to Parties to undertake early actions at the national level, and second, a global technical support grant that will make it possible to provide technical guidance to Parties to ensure these early actions are effective efficient, inclusive, and of the highest technical standards. Each of the participating countries, based on their current planning status, will use the grant to undertake activities from the following menu:

a) Rapid review of NBSAP for alignment with the post-2020 GBF;

b) assessment of monitoring systems;

c) policy and institutional alignment and review of policies for coherence with the GBF; and

d) biodiversity finance activities.

The rapid review of the NBSAP and national targets will focus on identifying gaps required to align the national targets, goals, objectives and action plans within the existing NBSAP to the new GBF. The assessment of monitoring systems will focus on identifying gaps and promoting alignment between the NBSAP-related monitoring system and the GBF.  The policy and institutional  review  will  focus  on  identifying  policy  gaps  and  inconsistencies  within  the existing NBSAP and the GBF. Further, the biodiversity finance activities will focus on preparedness for developing and/or implementing a finance plan for implementing a GBF-aligned NBSAP.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Creative Design Clerk has overall responsibility for supporting the team in production of communication material under leadership of supervisor related to the development of knowledge products of Natural Resource Management (NRM) cluster in general, including post 2020 GBF project. Key tasks include:

1. Provision of support to supervisor in for plan development and timeline for communicating the of knowledge products of NRM cluster together with Content Specialist Consultant to have the sufficient exposure of knowledge products of NRM cluster for all stakeholders
2. Provision of support in the event (workshop, FGD, talk show) as assigned by supervisor related to the development of knowledge products of NRM cluster including but not limited to:

• in coordination with Public Relation Bureau of Bappenas or implementing partners
• in coordination with NRM Cluster and Communications Unit, UNDP Indonesia
• Preparation of promotional publication material about the event which will be advertised on conventional media, social media, and web
• Develop draft for  press release to targeted media
  1. Develop draft digital design for social media in collaboration with Content Specialist Consultant related to the development of knowledge products of NRM cluster

1. Closely working with Content Specialist Consultant
2. Provide support for  live feed for streaming across online media and multiple display screens/projection within the conference hall
3. Support the development of sub-titles in the video as needed
4. Photo documentation that will successfully capture and emotionally express the core elements of the situation assigned for coverage.
5. Provision of support for  biodiversity publication designs on Bappenas/LCDI website as needed

Institutional Arrangement

The Creative Design Clerk will work under the overall guidance of Programme Analyst Nature, Climate, and Energy of the Environment  Unit  and content specialist consultant to support key creative design productions of the project and relevant initiatives.

Competencies

Core

Achieve Results:                                                           

LEVEL 1: Plans and monitors own work, pays attention to details, delivers quality work by deadline

Think Innovatively:                                                     

LEVEL 1: Open to creative ideas/known risks, is pragmatic problem solver, makes improvements

Learn Continuously:                                                   

LEVEL 1: Open minded and curious, shares knowledge, learns from mistakes, asks for feedback

Adapt with Agility:                                                     

LEVEL 1: Adapts to change, constructively handles ambiguity/uncertainty, is flexible

Act with Determination:                                           

LEVEL 1: Shows drive and motivation, able to deliver calmly in face of adversity, confident

Engage and Partner:                                                   

LEVEL 1: Demonstrates compassion/understanding towards others, forms positive relationship

Enable Diversity and Inclusion:                               

LEVEL 1: Appreciate/respect differences, aware of unconscious bias, confront discrimination

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies 

Communications Multimedia writing/editing

Ability to create and/or edit written content for multimedia 

Communications Graphic Design

Ability to communicate visually and create appealing UNDP graphic products 

Communications Digital strategy

Ability to plan the use of resources through digital channels to reach and engage target audiences effectively and to achieve particular objectives 

Communications Media Relations

Ability to develop media relations across all aspects of media work including relationships with media and preparing media materials such as messages 

Communications Multimedia production

Ability to create and combine images, text and audio-visuals to produce multimedia content 

2030 agenda-people Gender Gender mainstreaming

Required Skills and Experience

Minimum academic education

Secondary education is required.

University degree (Bachelor’s degree) in communication, design, art science, or related fields with strong portfolio of illustrations or other graphics will be given due consideration, but it is not requirement..

Min. years of relevant work experience

• Minimum three years (with Secondary Education) of professional experience in lay-outing documents, graphic design, and/or report publication or and no work experience for candidate with bachelor´s degree. 

Required skills and competencies

• Illustration design

• Design software

• Visual communication

Desired additional skills and competencies

• Experiences with government and/or formal document preparation would be an advantage.
• Experiences in using Adobe Photoshop and/or other graphic design applications.
• Experiences in issues related to biodiversity management, environment, or sustainable development are highly desirable.
• Experience working with Government and UN/UNDP procedures would be desirable.

Required languages (s) (at working level)

•  Good in written and spoken English is required;

•  Fluency in written and spoken Bahasa Indonesia is required.

APPLICANT MUST COMPLETE P11 FORM AND SUBMIT AS PART OF THEIR APPLICATION.

Click here to download the form: 

https://bit.ly/P11-DOWNLOAD

UN is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.

UN Indonesia reserves the right to select one or more candidates from this vacancy announcement.  We may also retain applications and consider candidates applying to this post for other similar positions with UN Indonesia at the same grade level and with similar job description, experiences and education requirements.