UNDP Jobs - 49672- Technical Specialist (Early Recovery & Resilience

Technical Specialist (Early Recovery & Resilience Building)

Location :

Goma, CONGO, DEM. REPUBLIC

Type of Contract :

FTA International

Starting Date :

01-Oct-2014

Application Deadline :

19-Sep-14 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

P-3

Duration of Initial Contract :

1 year

Languages Required :

English French

Expected Duration of Assignment :

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

Early Recovery/ Community Resilience is a key component of humanitarian crisis response. Emergency relief addresses peoples’ survival and basic well-being. Early recovery restores people’s capacities and supports communities’ first steps to recover from the crisis. It also advocates for humanitarian actors to integrate approaches into their humanitarian work, where possible, that will mitigate the impact on a community of a future crisis. Early recovery or resilience building projects are an important element of supporting communities’ first steps to recovery and include a range of different actions, including, but not limited to livelihoods support, cash interventions, asset creation/provision, public service provision, support to local authorities etc. However, from a coordination point of view, many of these ‘projects’ fit better in an already existing cluster in a crisis-affected country. In this sense, there is recognition that mainstreaming early recovery and building community resilience into the overall humanitarian response is an appropriate approach to restoring the capacities of those affected by a crisis at the earliest time possible, so that communities, local authorities, businesses, market systems etc. can function again. In this sense, the humanitarian response, by integrating the early recovery approach across the system, can lend itself well to the longer-term recovery process.

In august 2013 the Pooled Fund, one of the important funding mechanisms for humanitarian interventions in DRC, accepted to fund 2 year project, going well beyond the traditional ‘life-saving’ approach, underlining once more the importance of integrating early recovery/resilience building aspects in the humanitarian response.

In DRC the most important humanitarian intervention zone is the East (Ituri and North- and South-Kivu and to a lesser extent Maniema, Oriental and Katanga), characterised as a low-level conflict or post-conflict zone. In the same geographical area the stabilisation program (STAREC) of the government, supported by the ISSSS (International Security and Stabilisation Support Strategy), is implemented. The ISSSS is recently revised by the SSU (Stabilisation Support Unit) and in the 4th pillar (Return, Reintegration and Recovery) and in the 1st pillar (community dialogue) an important aspect is building community resilience, linked to conflict resolution, economic recovery and improvement of basic social services. Building community resilience is also a way to ensure better appropriation of the interventions by the communities. Most of the project in these two pillars is executed by international NGO’s and/or through joint projects of agencies.

As the interventions in the framework of the humanitarian response as well as those in the framework of stabilisation are for an important part implemented in the same geographical area and as they are very similar, although conceptualised in different approaches. An alignment of the different project and approaches becomes more and more important and urgent.

There is need for increased capacity and expertise to ensure coherence and synergies between the ER/RB activities 1) within the different clusters / sectors; 2) between the emergency-relief interventions and those of stabilisation and 3) between the efforts of the international actors and the national and local authorities.
The response to an atypical situation in DRC requires modi operandi adapted to that situation. This is true for the way the humanitarian, stabilisation and development response is undertaken as well as for the way the response is financed. A vast majority of the actors in the DRC realise that a shift of gears in the response is imperative and that the response should be adapted geographically. One cannot longer consider the entire Eastern DRC as a situation that requires an exclusive focus on life-saving actions. The time-critical aspect of certain activities becomes increasingly important. Some places require an emergency relief response (more humanitarian); other areas are conducive to community based resilience building and recovery activities (more stabilisation and development). Both approaches should be complementary.

The discussion how to better coordinate the emergency-relief, stabilisation and development interventions have re-emerged and several provinces have elaborated ‘edit provincial’ (provincial laws) to ensure the lead by the provincial governments in this effort.

UNDP, with the support of BCPR (Bureau of Crisis prevention and Recovery) is setting up a team of Early Recovery/Community Resilience (ER/CR) Specialist in order to elaborate and implement an overall and coherent ER/CR approach as an overarching strategy of humanitarian, stabilisation and development interventions. Within this framework UNDP intents to recruit a early recovery/ resilience building expert (ER/RBE) in Goma.

Duties and Responsibilities

The ER/RBS would represent UNDP in the different clusters/sectors; promote ER / RB activities in the humanitarian and stabilisation response; increase UNDP’s added value for the response through translating UNDP’s expertise in resilience building and working with the authorities to the context; explore opportunities for joint programmes to enhance community based resilience building; and as far as possible support the adaptation of UNDP programming in the field of inclusive growth and sustainable development (croissance inclusive et développement durable, CIDD in French) to the atypical context in the DRC, in particular in the East.

The ER/RB-E will work under the general supervision of the Team Leader CIDD, and the Early Recovery/Community resilience advisor in Kinshasa, but under the direct supervision Early Recovery/Community resilience advisor in Goma. He/she will be based in Goma within the SSU (Stabilisation Support Unit).

Supporting UNDP in Promoting ER/RB

Participate in the discussions and initiatives concerning Early recovery and community resilience in the province of North Kivu;
Contribute to the elaboration, implementation and monitoring of the overall ER/CR approach strongly linked to reintegration of vulnerable groups and conflict-affected populations;
Strengthen UNDP’s role as lead in coordinating the inter-agency early recovery/resilience building network across clusters and sectors (including establishing an early recovery/resilience building network or similar construct depending on the on-going discussions in DRC, hereafter this is referred to as a support network as this network is not limited to humanitarian actors, but includes also actors active in stabilisation and development);
Support the SSU in the elaboration and implementation of needs assessments, conflict analysis and the elaboration, implementation and monitoring of the response (projects, programs) within the ISSSS, while ensuring the integration of the ER/RB approach, and focusing on the 4th pillar of the stabilization strategy dealing with reintegration and economic recovery.
Liaise with all cluster and sector coordinators to ensure that the humanitarian and stabilisation response incorporates the early recovery/resilience building approach, including in needs assessments and in response plans., especially concerning reintegration and with specific attention to gender, women economic empowerment and environment.
With the support of the support network, work across clusters and sectors to establish monitoring mechanisms that illustrate how well early recovery/resilience building is integrated into the implementation of the humanitarian and stabilisation response, and account for how effective the clusters/sectors are in sustaining the gains of the emergency interventions (how stabilisation and development activities build on previous emergency-relief interventions): 1. Feed into established humanitarian and stabilisation monitoring mechanisms so that progress on early recovery/resilience building can be reported in a timely, transparent and consolidated manner; 2. Ensure early recovery/resilience building ‘questions can be raised’ within established monitoring mechanisms to identify early recovery gaps and propose alternatives;
Advocate for the inclusion of national and local actors to the extent possible in the humanitarian and stabilisation response (co-leading clusters, partnerships) to ensure local capacity is utilised effectively (participatory planning) and provides the platform for sustainable results.

Practical support to humanitarian and stabilisation actors; identifying opportunities and constraints and lending support to take the opportunities:

Lend technical support to NGOs and agencies in project development to strengthen the elements of early recovery/resilience building in project work (and the response in general);
Support the clusters and inter-cluster, as well as the stabilisation mechanisms to develop and harmonise criteria for early recovery/resilience building;
Lend technical support to inter-cluster and stabilisation (and other) assessments to ensure early recovery/resilience building issues are included in the development of assessment frameworks and intervention responses;
Ensure the integration of transversal issues, notably gender, women economic empowerment and environment, within the ER/CR approach;
Advocate to donors on the importance of early recovery/resilience building to maximise the potential for mobilising resources to support integrated projects that respond to immediate needs and illustrate how the project contributes to longer term recovery and community resilience.

Programme Delivery, Coordination and Management

Coordinate the development and delivery of livelihoods-related early recovery/community resilience projects and programs in North Kivu, taking into account proper integration of specific issues: reintegration of vulnerable groups (durable solutions for IdPs, support to host communities, youth at risk, etc), gender, women’s economic empowerment, and environmental economic value chains;
Support the elaboration and implementation of a monitoring and evaluation system, ensuring the links with the UNDP-DRC 2013-2017 program and the UNDP Strategic plan 2013-2017, and the integration of indicators concerning gender, women empowerment and environment;
Ensure systemic and effective capturing of the project/programs results achieved in North Kivu, and assess their alignment with the UNDP-DRC programme 2013-2017 and the UNDP strategic plan 2014-2017, especially on ER/CR issues and among others on gender and women’s empowerment (indicator 18, and outcome 6.4 of UNDP Strategic Plan 2014-2017).

Information Management

Engage in the information management coordination process led by OCHA and SSU, to ensure visibility of early recovery/resilience building as a mechanism across clusters and sector, but within both the humanitarian and stabilisation response, in information products.
Develop information and communications products individually (in coordination with OCHA and SSU) to showcase early recovery/resilience building as a process, and as a learning and advocacy tool e.g. early recovery/resilience building best practice.
Ensure that humanitarian and stabilisation actors are aware of the most up-to-date CWGER policy guidelines and technical standards: 1. Provide advice to, and develop approaches for, humanitarian and stabilisation actors to understand clearly and apply early recovery/resilience building guidelines and standards; 2. Ensure the integration of transversal issues, notably gender, women economic empowerment and environment, within the ER/CR approach.

Linking Humanitarian Processes to Stabilisation and the longer Term Agenda

Promote the discussion between the humanitarian decision making structures and those of stabilisation and development (at the provincial level) in order to arrive at a better alignment and complementarity of the interventions;
Assist the UNCT/HCT structures at the provincial level by linking early recovery/resilience building to the broader recovery agenda e.g. identification of strategic entry points for building sustainable institutions and systems (and advising on coordination mechanisms of humanitarian, stabilisation and development interventions);
Work closely with national counterparts, the World Bank, donors and other stakeholders to ensure that activities support and / or link into recovery and stabilisation strategies;
Advocate for an early involvement/deployment of development actors to facilitate a smoother transition from relief to development;
Provide input to the design of HCT/UN strategic plans as appropriate.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

Demonstrates commitment to UNDP’s mission, vision and values;
Exerts adherence to corporate rules, regulations and procedures;
Familiarity with the internal control framework and results-based management tools is a must;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.

Functional Competencies:

Management and Leadership;
Builds strong relationships with clients, focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback, remains calm even under pressure;
Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities;
Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities;
Leads teams effectively and shows mentoring as well as conflict resolution skills;
Demonstrates strong oral and written communication skills.

Development and Operational Effectiveness:

Ability to perform a variety of specialized tasks related to Results-Based Management, including support to design, planning and implementation of programs, managing data, reporting;
Ability to provide inputs to business processes, re-engineering, implementation of new systems, including new IT based systems;
Excellent interpersonal skills are essential part of the job;
Excellent facilitation and presentation skills;
Ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, to advocate and influence policy makers;
Ability to analyse, evaluate and interpret factual data and to prepare accurate and complete reports and other documents;
Ability to understand the institutional sensitivities and different mandates of different United Nations organs and institutions

Knowledge Management and Learning:

Promotes knowledge management in UNDP and a learning environment in the programme and office through leadership and personal example;
Actively works towards continuing personal learning and development in one or more Practice Areas, acts on learning plan and applies newly acquired skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master's Degree in Political Sciences, Social Sciences, Economics, Business Administration, Management, Humanitarian Action or related field.

Experience:

Minimum 5 years of experience in humanitarian response and/or crisis prevention and recovery;
Proven experience in formulation of recovery strategies and programming including an in-depth understanding of the multisectoral dimensions of early recovery;
Experience in policy advisory services to government counterparts and development partners;
Experience in working with the UNDP and UN interagency coordination processes, including collaboration with Humanitarian actors;
Demonstrated experience in resource mobilization and partnerships;
Knowledge and experience from DRC would be an advantage.

Language Requirements:

Fluency in both written and spoken French;
Ability to speak and write in English;
Working knowledge of Swahili is an asset.