UNDP Jobs - 49798- Technical Specialist (Transition)

Technical Specialist (Transition)

Location :

N'Djamena, CHAD

Type of Contract :

FTA International

Starting Date :

01-Nov-2014

Application Deadline :

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

Post Level :

P-4

Duration of Initial Contract :

One (1) year renewable

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

Chad's history has been marked by different factors and threats of its stability and violence stemming. The first source is the geo-cultural divide line of tensions between the mainly Arab-Muslim north and the predominantly Christian and animist south. The second source is that the country’s basic institutions remain artificially stable. This institutional instability seriously impacts the basics of a state nation building process and any idea of sustainability. Chad is currently confronted with a complex humanitarian and security situation along its borders. Persisting volatility in the region (Sudan, Central African Republic (CAR), Libya, Niger, Nigeria, etc.) has resulted in Chad hosting today over 700,000 people in forced displacement: 385,000 from Sudan and CAR, 170,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) including the forced return of some 150,000 Chadians from Libya in 2011 as well as the most recent influx of over 50’000 from the neighboring Darfur region in Sudan as well as several thousand from Northern Nigeria. The independence of Southern Sudan in 2011, and more recently the deployment of stabilizing forces to Mali are certainly contributing the increase threat of instability on Chad. concerted efforts are equally deployed to bring appropriate response to the fourth and last source of instability to Chad: a combination of various types of natural disasters (drought, floods, weather shocks, etc.) that affect communities by infringing permanent threat, sorrows and destructions in the country. Moreover, on the regional scene, January 15, 2010 saw the end of the frequent rebel incursions and spill-over effects from the Darfur conflict and a five-year war between Chad and Sudan, the Governments of Chad and Sudan signed an “Accord de Rapprochement”. This created a joint Sudanese-Chadian force to be deployed along the border between the two countries and strengthening security forces in eastern Chad. So far, this agreement is effectively implemented and positive results are tangible since this region is no longer object insecurity complaints.

Regional positioning. Chad is critical to regional stability and increasingly plays an important role in the Central African region both of a geopolitical and geostrategic nature, notwithstanding its military capability. The Government of Chad committed 2,000 troops to Mali in response to the insecurity in the North of that country. The brokering role that Chad is playing in the region is further characterized in the crisis which unfolded in the Central African Republic, where President Deby has chaired the ECCAS response to the 24 March 2013 coup d’etat and the resulting seize of power by the rebel leader sworn in on 16 August 2013. Chad is also a key UN partner for the stabilization and resilience agenda in the Sahel region and the Government has also taken a very active stance on implementation of the G7+ New Deal and Compact.

Despite oil production since 2003, Chad is one of the ten poorest countries in the world. The poor development progress has been exacerbated by recurring post-independence conflicts and adverse climatic conditions. The recurring food and nutrition crisis in the Sahel, coupled with the recent Libya crisis, make Chad one of the higher risk countries in Central Africa from both a natural disaster and conflict prevention point of view.

On the governance agenda, Chad’s recent joining of the African Peer Review mechanism to ensure national transparency and accountability. Along with the Government’s recent request that the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights (OHCHR) open an office in N’Djamena, are encouraging indicators, that the Government is attempting to address its long term challenges in these areas. Performance evaluation of policies and institutions of the country revealed weaknesses and weak responsiveness, as overall performance of Chad is below the average for Sub-Saharan Africa in terms of accountability, effectiveness, rule of law and perception of corruption. The Chadian Government developed on an interim basis, a National Development Plan (PND 2013-2015), to serve as its development policy framework. It has helped to define four (4) strategic orientations in order to define the vision of an emerging nation in 2025.

The Security sector faces important challenges linked to the post crisis situation of the country.

Chad has made several advances in recent years in regards to the status of women and girls. However, gender-based violence is pervasive in Chad. Prevalence of sexual violence is 12% and nearly one in three women is victim to domestic violence each year.

This situation translates into additional responsibilities for the UNDP Country Office to manage the country’s complexity, and to respond to high expectations from a range of stakeholders/partners to deliver on its mandate.

The Country Office undertook a major effort to realign its programmatic priorities to the emerging realities governing the socio-economic, security and political environment of a post-conflict Chad in 2012, which resulted in a new Country Programme Action Plan (CPAP). A solid Transition portfolio focusing on enhancing livelihoods of those most affected by the recent conflicts and reinforcing the resilience of the communities and the institutions, is being developed to represent the backbone of the CO’s forward-looking strategy. A key initiative has been launched in the Sila region, and represents an important step for positioning the Country Office and determining the future direction of the UNDP Chad Transition pillar. In this respect, the Transition/CPR strategy to be finalized and operationnalized will serve as the backbone to the Country Office support structure, both in terms of personnel and technical advice.

Duties and Responsibilities

Policy advice and strategic technical guidance and leadership on Transition and CPR issues

Support the Country Office in the field of Transition / CPR with a Gender-based human rights approach, all in a conflict sensitive manner;
In collaboration with internal UNDP programme experts(i.e. Transition, Democratic Governance, Economic Governance, Sustainable Development) as well as BCPR technical support, external partners and stakeholders, including the national counterpart, local authorities, bilateral partners, World Bank European Union, and CSOs, identify entry points and develop concrete strategies and activities for strengthening social cohesion, inter and intra community dialogue, achievement of consensus and all other strategies for conflict prevention, re-establishment of state authority including access to justice, reintegration through community recovery , and community security. Ensure complementarity and coherence of UNDP interventions in these areas;
Strengthen the analytical and implementation capacity of the UNDP Country Office to facilitate its role in supporting national partners in conflict prevention, establishment of Rule of Law, community security, reconciliation and social cohesion; restoration of the state authority, and securing livelihoods and revitalization of the local economy, especially in the transition context;
Support the Country Office in the field of Resilience building and economic recovery;
As Advisor to the Management Team of the country office ensure that UNDP CO has a transition and conflict-sensitive programmatic approach, toward reinforcing the resilience of the communities and the institutions;
Support the identification and development of initiatives at the local, national and sub-regional levels, based on documented need-assessments;
In close collaboration and coordination with the national and international counterparts, provide leadership in political dialogue and establishing strategic partnership in Transition / CPR areas;
Positioning UNDP in Transition / CPR areas as a strategic actor in Chad in order to initiate and lead discussion at national level;
Based on UNDP’s comparative advantage and in close harmonization and synergy with other partners, contribute to the efficient coordination of Transition / CPR activities with Government, donors, UN agencies and NGOs.

Programme Planning and/Management

Ensure that UNDP Chad programmatic activities are conflict-sensitive;
Establish functional link between Transition and thematic units;
Coordinate the Transition / CPR pillar of the CPAP;
Support the implementation of the Transition related program, projects and activities;
Plan, manage, monitor, and oversee the different steps and stages of the execution of the Transition / CPR program, projects and activities, take decisions and timely actions to ensure results are achieved, while ensuring coherence of the various initiatives;
Guide and supervise the formulation of the work plan, activities, targets, budget, standards for measuring progress and results and determine the processes, tools and methodologies to be used to ensure effective and efficient project implementation and operations. Monitor progress and identify risks for timely action and early resolution;
Building on existing CO capacity and resources, plan and manage program resources (financial and human resources) to maximize project cost-effectiveness and efficiency. Determine technical inputs including staffing needs, approve terms of reference, establish performance objectives and standards and ensure timely and appropriate feedback, guidance and support to ensure optimum performance. Ensure that both in the formulation as well as in the implementation of post-conflict programme and related projects, the gender dimension is fully taken into account;
Assess program impact and oversee the appropriateness and accuracy of methods used to verify progress and results. Develop innovative improvements to enhance performance;
Provide authoritative advice and technical guidance on project implementation and delivery. Initiate strategic discussions and contribute to senior level government debate to advocate and promote organizational issues, and agenda. Advise UNDP senior management and senior national government officials on the direction, strategies and technical issues of the program;
Be responsible for required and other project reports (progress, financial, procurement, etc.) for management information, oversight and action. Plan and oversee the implementation of mid-term and other required project evaluation to address any design or implementation issues;
Ensure compliance of all actions and activities with organizational rules, regulations, policies, strategies and internal control mechanisms and the achievement of results according to the principles of results based management (RBM).

Building strategic partnerships and alliances

Maintain dialogue with partners and stakeholders to advocate, promote and advance organizational issues, priorities, interests and competencies for a successful programme and project delivery;
Coordinate and collaborate with clients, partners and stakeholders to link and harmonize approaches and to promote common interests and achievement of results;
Develop a strategy and plan of action for resource mobilization to achieve optimum interests and funding;
Represent UNDP in regional and global fora to promote, advocate and speak for the organizational on strategic CPR issues. Ensure the liaison with key partners / donors active in the field of conflict prevention in order to identify further opportunities for partnership and resource mobilization;
Contribute to the mobilization of financial resources from bilateral and multilateral partners and ensure a proper functioning of the rapid response mechanism.

Building knowledge and capacity

Compile best practices on Transition / CPR issues, based on the experiences of UNDP Chad;
Develop and implement a strategy for knowledge transfer with key stakeholders within the national counterpart;
Build a knowledge base for the CO staff and other audiences both internal and external UN/UNDP;
Support the development of an appropriate communication strategy in conjunction with the office communication specialist.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

Show integrity by putting forward the values and morals of the United Nations;
Show flexibility and adaptation to differences related to culture, gender, religion, race, nationality and age.

Functional Competencies:

Knowledge Management and Learning;
Good knowledge of the country and/or region of assignment, including the political, economic and social dimensions, and their relation to the main engines of instability and conflict;
Sound knowledge and exposure to a wide range of post-conflict, peacebuilding, good governance, human rights and development-related issues;
Ability to lead strategic planning, results-based management and reporting;
Actively works towards continuing personal learning, acts on learning plan and applies newly acquired skills;
Ability to advocate and provide timely policy advice;
Ability to identify issues and to use sound judgment in applying technical expertise to resolve a wide range of problems.

Development and Operational Effectiveness

Ability to establish and maintain contacts with senior-level officials of the host government required;
Excellent interpersonal skills are essential part of the job. Ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, for effective advocacy and influence on policy makers;
Ability to perform a variety of specialized tasks related to Results-Based Management, including support to design, planning and implementation of programme, managing data, reporting;
Good knowledge of institutional mandates, policies and guidelines pertaining to reintegration, recovery and development issues, peace and security and sound knowledge of the institutions of the UN system;
Ability to analyze is required to obtain, evaluate and interpret factual data and to prepare accurate and complete reports and other documents;
Ability to develop a strategic planning, the management based on achievement and reporting;
Ability to formulate, implement and ensure the monitoring and the evaluation of projects / programs of development and resources mobilization;
Ability to formulate and manage budgets, contributions and investments, and transactions;
Solid knowledge and experience in programme management and financial resources management.

Management and leadership

Develop strong relationships with customers, focus on results for the customer, respond positively to the feedback;
Develop a work approach with energy and a positive and constructive attitude. Ability to implement new systems and have a positive impact on the change of the staff attitude;
Excellent communication (spoken and written) skills, including the ability to draft/edit a variety of written reports and communications and to articulate ideas in a clear and concise style;
Ability to plan own work, manage conflicting priorities and work under pressure of tight and conflicting deadlines;
Fully proficient computer skills and use of relevant software and other applications;
Very good interpersonal skills and ability to establish and maintain effective partnerships and working relations;
Very strong leadership capacities to guide a multi-cultural team in difficult circumstances. Demonstrates openness to the change of ability to manage complex situations.

Required Skills and Experience

Education

Graduate degree of Masters level in, Economics, Local Development, Public Administration, and Political, Social Sciences or any other related field.

Experience

Minimum 7 years of experience in management consulting, design, monitoring and evaluation of Transition / CPR projects / Program of development, including extensive experiences and knowledge in socio-economic reintegration and community recovery, community security, and social cohesion; and all related Transition / CPR issues such as conflict prevention and post-conflict recovery, governance, rule of law and security sector reform;
Proven experience in implementing partnerships with international organizations and government institutions;
Be deeply familiar with the institutional environment in post-conflict situations (international cooperation mechanisms, partnership arrangements with NGOs, system of the UN agencies, national capacity building emerging, etc.). UNDP attaches great importance to the Gender Dimension in general and particularly in post-conflict situation, be familiar with the 1325 resolution and have the ability to promote and sensitize on the Gender Dimension issue in the framework of all the activities;
Mastery of common software in computers science (Windows, Excel, Internet, Outlook, ...);
Having experience in post-conflict settings;
Having worked in Sub-Saharan Africa, in Central Africa and the Sahel region is an advantage.

Language

Excellent knowledge in French with very good knowledge of English.