JPO Stories
Questions to a current JPO: Srikiran Devara
Srikiran Devara is an Indian JPO funded by the Netherlands working on Governance and human rights with UNDP in Uganda.
1. Name
Srikiran Devara
2. Duty Station
UNDP Uganda
3. Where are you from?
I am an Indian national (born in State of Andhra Pradesh) and I come from a small family. My father is a retired police officer, my mother is a homemaker and my brother and his wife are both lawyers. My wife is also a development professional.
4. What did you study?
I did a Masters at the London School of Economics (LSE) and a Masters at the University of Hyderabad in India. The Masters programme at LSE is an intense course on development studies and development management and my degree from the University of Hyderabad is in anthropological sciences.
5. What were your pre-JPO professional experiences?
After my course work in LSE, I went back to India and started working - supporting a governance reform project in the southern Indian State of Andhra Pradesh. I was funded by the Department for International Development of the United Kingdom and I worked on this assignment for almost three years.
The Masters from LSE has really helped me in understanding the nuances of development. Reforms in the governance sector but with an explicit eye on economics is what I learned during my studies and this helps me most in my current job.
6. What do you do as a JPO?
My tasks are actually a cross section of assignments. I am the focal person for the Transparency and Accountability sector and I am also the focal person for the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) and Parliamentary Support projects. Additionally, I chair the Parliament Donor Group.
I am active in undertaking some management assignments in the country office. For example, I was a member of the technical team formed to internalise the new capacity building framework for countries in the African region. Furthermore I am the focal person for the Country Programme Action Plan (CPAP) review mission. Another part of my activities: presentations to the country office staff on the Global Staff Survey, the new Strategic business plan of UNDP and PRINCE 2. I am also a member of the Change Facilitation team.
Resource mobilisation forms an important facet of my work. For instance, I was successful in mobilising 300,000 £ and 420,000 $ for a project managed by UNDP. As Chair of the donor group, I took active part in supporting the development of a new strategic and investment development plan for the Parliament of Uganda.
7. Five random words that come to your mind about your first year as a JPO?
Tense, opportunity to prove myself, learn more, work hard, see success.
8. What has been the most challenging situation from a personal point of view?
Governance is a very challenging sector to work in. Uganda is a country which is fast changing in terms of its social, economic, demographic and political profile. It is very critical to keep the programme at equal pace with regard to these changes. However my supervisor has been very instrumental in shaping my capabilities to address such a challenge.
9. Future steps?
I love the work I am doing. In the future I would like to work for UNDP and engage myself more in policy related work. I am especially keen on doing some good work in the area of the macroeconomic and fiscal policy related aspects of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). I would like to engage in upstream work on Goal 1 of the MDGs - finding solutions on how to raise incomes of the poorest of the poor, enhance productivity and finding practical solutions to achieving inclusive growth. However, it is though to say anything about future steps at this stage. I am not sure how the future looks after my current assignment as a JPO, but I am clear on one thing - I enjoy what I am doing now.
10. Words of advice to future JPOs?
- Patience: I think this is a very important character trait.
- Proactive engagement: try to be part of a more diverse set of tasks than defined by your Terms of Reference. It might be quite strenuous sometimes but it helps in the end in building a good exposure and experience.
- Respect: it is important to realise that there is a lot to learn in this world and what we know is just a tip of a big iceberg.
- Read: there is quite a lot of analytical strength in the documents of UNDP.
- Team work.
