UNDP Jobs - 48603- Event Management and Advisory Support in Preparati

Event Management and Advisory Support in Preparation and Conduct of 2-day Expert Meeting and UN General Assembly Side-Event

Location :

New York, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

18-Aug-2014

Application Deadline :

06-Aug-14 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

20-25 days

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

20-25 days

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.

Background

A broad consensus has been reached that fostering the resilience of societies is central to efforts to recover and protect the development gains, especially those for the most vulnerable. This consensus is reflected in key discussions and efforts in and around the UN Open Working Group crafting the Post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals; the International Dialogue for Peacebuilding and Statebuilding; the next Hyogo Framework of Action for Disaster Risk Reduction; the policies of many donor governments; and more importantly, affected countries. It is also recognized that response to conflicts, such as the Syrian crisis and its implications on neighboring states, particularly Jordan and Lebanon, demands a reset, if our desired outcomes are resilience and sustainable development.

There are therefore increasing calls for: a) “long-range,” “multi-sectoral”, “coordinated”, and “comprehensive” strategies with a much greater emphasis on anticipating, preventing, preparing, and transforming in the aftermath of crisis; and b) the recognition of risk awareness and risk reduction as key determinants for the resilience of societies to all forms of shock, stresses and change. Some national governments are already systematically placing risk and vulnerability at the heart of their recovery and resilience efforts, and are achieving major progress towards resilience outcomes.

Using case-studies and the experiences of member states, UN agencies and the private sector, UNDP is convening a High Level Side Event to review the application of recovery and resilience-building efforts in a range of selected disasters and conflicts. The senior leaders will be encouraged to present cases on how recovery and other strategies have impacted the resilience of their respective societies, what has been learned, and how the international community should organize itself to harness resilience in crisis and post-crisis settings.

The target audience includes heads of States/ Governments with resilience and recovery agendas, government delegations, development partners, civil society and Foundations supporting resilience responses. The event will be open to the media that has accreditation with the UN. It will be preceded by a two-day Expert-Group roundtable, outlined in the Annex. The Chair’s Summary of the Expert Group roundtable will be presented at the High-Level meeting.

The Expert Group roundtable will convene 25-30 practitioners and policy makers, ‘political champions’ and partners, including the European Union and World Bank, for a discussion on the application of a resilience-based development response in fragile and conflict environments. The round-table will draw on successful examples of cooperation in early recovery, crisis and post-crisis contexts which has enabled Member States, donor governments, UN organizations, multilateral organizations, civil society and private sector partners to successfully exploit time-sensitive opportunities to accelerate recovery and a rapid return to sustainable development after a crisis. In doing so, the roundtable will review achievements in building the capacities of crisis-affected governments, communities, and people to develop and drive the long-range strategies required to emerge out of crisis and fragility, build resilience to various risks, and lay the foundations for a more inclusive, fair, and sustainable future.

UNDP is convening an event on the side-lines of the General Assembly. The side-event will provide a platform for a critical examination of successful as well as unsuccessful recovery and resilience efforts in ongoing and post-crisis settings. It will draw important insights that will help the international community in re-framing existing strategies, financing mechanisms, and coordination structures for recovery and resilience.

The consultant will provide support to the design, implementation and execution of the 2-day Expert Meeting and the High-Level Side Event, working closely with a UNDP task team to achieve the following objectives, closely aligned to a concept note (share separately):

Reflect on the key building blocks for a sustainable process of recovery and their contributions to building resilient societies, in the aftermath of disasters (conflict or natural hazards);
Deepen understanding and application of a resilience-based development response to ongoing and recurrent crisis (conflict or disaster from natural hazards) with the Syrian crisis and its impact on the sub-region as a case in point;
Examine why current investments in resilience building in crisis settings, particularly during the early recovery and recovery windows, lag behind the rhetoric and what concrete measures can be taken to resolve this issue.

Key deliverables

Develop and manage detailed workplan for organization of the High-Level and Expert Group meetings, as agreed by BPPS Task Team and under the overall supervision of the BPPS Task Team Coordinator;
Support coordination and synthesis of inputs from all units/agencies involved in the organization of the event to prepare background and preparatory materials for the Expert Group meeting;

Facilitate implementation of all aspects of workplan for the Expert Group and High-Level meetings, including the following aspects:

Ensuring all administration, logistics, and participant support for the event;
Developing and supporting implementation of a communication plan in consultation with our respective teams and the OC;
Identifying and liaising with invitees and protocol issues associated with the event;
Supporting identification of a facilitator for the event, as well as co-facilitate select session;
Ensure recording of the proceedings;
Support drafting of various speeches, including for the High Level event;
Produce publication to document the proceedings from the various sessions of the Experts Group Meeting, ensuring that these are provided as inputs to the outcome statement from Expert Group.

The consultant will report to the BPPS Task Team coordinator.

Ethics & Values:

Strong written and verbal communication skills, in a multi-cultural setting;
Familiarity with the subject area: resilience-based development;
Excellent research skills and familiarity with UNDP and the inter-governmental system;
An excellent understanding of international development issues and knowledge of the UN system.

Communicating Information and Ideas:

Excellent interpersonal skills, objectivity and ability to analyze large multi-country data sets in short period.

Working in Teams:

Experience working collaboratively in small teams with tight deadlines.

Ethics & Values:

Strong written and verbal communication skills, in a multi-cultural setting;
Familiarity with the subject area: resilience-based development;
Excellent research skills and familiarity with UNDP and the inter-governmental system;
An excellent understanding of international development issues and knowledge of the UN system.

Communicating Information and Ideas:

Excellent interpersonal skills, objectivity and ability to analyze large multi-country data sets in short period.

Working in Teams:

Working collaboratively in small teams with tight deadlines.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Masters or PhD in a relevant field.

Experience:

At least 7 years of professional experience, including with the UN, in the area of development, recovery, humanitarian affairs, peace and security, natural disaster;
Familiarity with the subject area: resilience-based development;
Familiarity with UNDP, the UN system and the international development landscape;
Previous experience drafting or contribution to UN development documents;
Field experience in UNDP country offices is an asset;
Experience in high-level event management and organization;
Strong knowledge of UN system policies and programming in crisis and post-crisis situations;
Relevant UNDP or UN experience highly desirable;
Experience with policy research and peer review processes;
Experience with computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.).

Language:

Fluency in English, both oral and written is required.