Background

The Caribbean is at a crossroads. The world order is in re-alignment and new development processes are now emerging. Opportunities and challenges are on the doorstep. Growth in this way has slowed, amid expanding fiscal and current account deficits. CARICOM economic integration has reached its limits in an increasingly globalized world while there has been relative success in functional cooperation, intra-Caribbean migration and cultural intercourse. Official Development Assistance has declined and more stringent loan concessionalities have been put in place, despite pockets of poverty, growing inequality and extreme vulnerability to climate change and natural disasters. As the Caribbean struggles to overcome these development challenges, the destructive synergies between crime, endemic violence, insecurity and sustained economic development become even starker.

Trinidad & Tobago, Barbados and the OECS, Jamaica and Guyana are inextricably linked in their experience of violent crime as illicit drugs, small arms and the criminals themselves move with relative ease through the region.  In addition, the socio-political similarities between each country are significant. Through CARICOM, Caribbean Community Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS), the University of the West Indies and a number of other regional organisations sanctioned by Caribbean governments, there is great opportunity to provide country level support while linking to a regional framework. Currently the regional framework addresses violent crime and weakened social cohesion in a disparate way. CARICOM has difficulty ensuring that decisions taken at Ministerial and Heads of State level are reflected in country level initiatives.  Similarly, the UN support to governments in the affected countries has so far been unable to effectively reflect regional strategies.

In this context, a two year PDA position will provide an unprecedented opportunity for the UN leadership in these countries to develop linkages with regional organisations and to produce analysis to better inform entry points for the UN leadership in affected countries. This will allow RC/RRs to offer their respective governments the technical capacity to address the entrenched structural challenges that feed organized crime, gangs and chronic violence in a cohesive manner and aligned to regional strategies. The PDA, with full UNCT support, will help deepen UN leadership conversations with Regional Organisations and national Governments to address the violence/gang challenges and the complex and sometimes problematic linkages to the state systems and powerful individuals in society. A PDA backed by the independent, neutral trusted platform of the UN in the affected countries will be able to support a more open dialogue of concerned groups regionally and nationally engaged with the crisis of violent crime, and will be able to link existing platforms to promote strategic and practical approaches to addressing the challenges of organized crime and gangs.

A Senior Peace and Development Adviser who could assist in linking these and similar regional initiatives with national strategies would support RCs in the region to give more targeted technical support to governments in developing integrated national strategies that are supportive of, and supported by, regional approaches. A senior Peace and Development Advisor would support RC’s in developing multidimensional approaches to combatting insecurity and its synergistic impact on economic development, particularly in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals, and help set the ground for the preparation of the proposed 2016 regional Human Development Report on Multidimensional Support. In addition, the Peace and Development Advisor would support UNCTs and their member Agencies to ensure programme development in support of citizens’ security is grounded in conflict sensitive analysis.  Analysis of the root and proximate causes of violence and gang affiliation has been weak in the Caribbean. Greater analysis of all the dimensions of endemic violence, including the gender implications and the impact on democratic governance and economic development goals, will facilitate more targeted programming, better monitoring of the impact of policy response, improve understanding and empower both the UN and government leadership in the affected countries. Here again regional capacity exists through, among others, the University of the West Indies (UWI). Academics of the English speaking Caribbean have been underutilised and their efforts at analysis disparately applied to policy formulation. The Jamaica campus of UWI boasts the Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies (SALISES), the Institute of Gender and Development Studies (IGDS), Department of Sociology, Social Work and Psychology, and the Faculty of Medical Sciences.  The Department of Behavioural and the Centre for Criminology and Criminal Justice of the Trinidad and Tobago campus of UWI are also well capacitated, however, there is a need to develop stronger synergies between the UWI, Central Statistical Offices and other government departments that should be collaborating to gather data, analyse and develop evidence-based policies against all forms of pervasive violence.

The PDA will also support the added value of the UN in providing long term sustainable solutions based on building the capacity of national actors (Government, business, civil society, academia) to carry out violence prevention and peace building, social cohesion. The relationships and credibility the PDA will establish will support resource mobilization and the positioning of the UN with key multilateral and bilateral donors concerned and engaged across the Caribbean in this work. Much of this work should involve a range of UN agencies working together to secure impact. Additionally, in order to fully support the RCs and UNCTs, it is crucial that the PDA have deep experiential knowledge of the English speaking Caribbean, including relevant sub-regional organisations.

Given the uniqueness of these small sovereign island states with complex societies and complicated political regional relationships, it is crucial for the PDA to possess extensive experience in the English speaking Caribbean in order to fully support RC/RRs to open the doors, facilitate dialogue, understand the context deeply and enable the repositioning of the UN to add its full value in addressing this growing challenge.

As the UN builds up its programme work in this area, the expertise of the PDA will support the strategic and approach of the work its linkages to addressing as effectively as possible some of the root causes of violence across the Caribbean. The UN long-term presence should support more policy continuity on this critical set of societal challenges between election systems. The PDA will bring with them best practices and enable the Caribbean to better access the expertise across the UN to address these deep-seated problems of organized crime, gang violence and chronic violence.

Duties and Responsibilities

Provide strategic and analytical support to the RC/RRs in his/her relations with government officials, academia, civil society, and with the wider political and civic leadership, including through:

• Close liaison with key regional players such as CARICOM, IMPACS, OAS, UWI and others;
• Participating, on behalf of the RC/RRs, in relevant regional and national fora and representing the UN system where necessary;
• Providing substantive leadership for strategic initiatives on citizens' security, including convening on behalf of the RR/RCs dialogue processes; assisting social cohesion/conflict resolution activities in high risk communities; building skills for negotiation and mediation for leadership at local government and community level, especially political party leadership, and for the relevant branches of government as deemed necessary; establishing and extending the capacities of networks of mediators and facilitators at regional, national and local levels;
• Under the direction of the RC/RRs, engage with other regional and national institutions and initiatives in order to promote a common approach towards supporting social cohesion, governance, conflict and violence prevention, citizens' security, and other relevant efforts.  In some circumstances, these interactions may be on behalf of the RC/RR with high-level officials particularly at the regional level;
• Provide continuous analysis to RCs and UNCTs on regional and national political developments and violent crime dynamics, with a view to identifying appropriate 'entry points' and recommending appropriate strategic responses for the UN system;
• Provide support to development and implementation of community and national-level initiatives based on regional strategies to strengthen confidence in local development capacities, including through the promotion of local dialogue capacities for non-violent conflict resolution at local and/or national levels.

Identify areas of strategic and programmatic engagement with regional stakeholders, and support to RC/RRs in the preparation of the UN response to government requests, related to social cohesion, dialogue, governance reform, citizens' security, conflict and violence prevention at the national levels:

•  Lead related social cohesion activities such as: designing high-level dialogue processes; facilitating national multi-stakeholder processes; skills building for negotiation, mediation and alternative dispute resolution processes; support to capacities of networks of mediators and facilitators at national and local levels; strengthen women's initiatives and groups in social cohesion and non-violent resolution of disputes processes; undertake/support confidence-building measures; training and capacity-building workshops for national stakeholders at all levels; and other inter-group process, as required;
• Undertake necessary activities to build/strengthen/apply/sustain national capacities/institutions/processes to prevent viiolence and mainstream citizens' security interventions throughout the work of the UNCT;
• Identify and engage civil society actors across the Caribbean sub-region in the social cohesion/citizens' security agenda supported by the UN.

Establish and strengthen strategic partnerships with key regional, international and national actors and development partners:

• Establish and maintain networks and strategic partnerships at the regional and national levels for social cohesion and citizens' security related strategies and initiatives;
• Liaise closely with key regional and national stakeholders from Governments and civil society and key international actors to identify entry points, foster dialogue and strengthen strategic alliances and partnershps on violence prevention, citizens' security, and social cohesion initiatives;
• Maintain close liaison with relevant donors and other actors supporting UNDP's conflict prevention and citizens' security efforts.  In some circumstances, these interactions may be on behalf of the RC/RRs with high-level regional and national officials;
• Support the RC/RRs in mobilizing resources for social cohesion, citizens' security and conflict and violence prevention initiatives;
• Maintain close contact with relevant staff in UN Headquarters including relevant focal poitns at UNDP nd UN/DPA.

Strengthen capacity of UNDP and UNCTs to undertake conflict analysis and mainstream conflict sensitivity and violence reduction strategies into regular programming:

• Provide analytical and strategic support to UNCTs based on regional and national trends and strategies for violence prevention;
• Define/implement a strategies for identifying entry points for mainstreaming of conflict prevention and conflict sensitivity in the UNCT, inclduing within the framework of common country planning processes (UNDAF, CPD, etc) based on linkages regional with regional strategies for reduction of conflict and violence;
• Conduct training for UNCT staff and key national partners on conflict analysis, conflict and violence prevention and/or conflict-sensitive development.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

• Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UN's values and ethical standards;
• Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UN/UNDP;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality, and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Good knowledge of UN/UNDP rules, regulations, policies, procedures, and practices;
• Good understanding of the UN system;
• Treats all people fairly without favouritism.

Functional Competencies:

• Strong political acumen and extensive experience of providing policy advice;
• Well-developed skills and demonstrated experience in facilitation, consensus-building, multi-stakeholder processes and negotiation;
• Excellent analytical skills.  Experience and specialist knowledge in building national capacities in good governance and building national reconciliation;
• Proven high-level facilitation, training, networking, coordination, team-building, consensus-building and organizational skills;
• Ability to lead strategic planning, results-based management and reporting;
• Possesses specialist knowledge in the area of conflict prevention, social cohesion, dialogue and governance reform or related areas, as well as in-depth practical knowledge of inter-disciplinary development issues;
• Excellent communication and inter-personal skills and ability to establish and maintain effective partnerships andn working relationships with internal and external parties in a multi-cultural environment;
• In-depth knowledge of human development situation in the Caribbean/Trinidad and Tobago;
• Ability to advise and oversee formulation, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of projects and programmes;
• Sound understanding and capability to empower and develop the capacity of national counterparts;
• Proven ability to incorporate into his/her work relevant international practices.

Management Competencies:

• Excellent team-building, diplomatic, and interpersonal skills;
• Resourcefulness, initiative, and maturity of judgement;
• Very strong leadership capacities to guide dialogue activities among mixed groups;
• Strong communication and advocacy skills;
• Sound time management and organizational skills with the ability to handle and delegate multiple tasks;
• Ability to build strong relationships with clients and external actors;
• Focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback;
• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
• Capacity to work under pressure, manage stress and adapt to rapidly evolving situations.

Behavioral Competencies (select most applicable/relevant):

• Team player, self-motivated and initiative taking, dedicated, creative, resourceful, flexible, energetic and sound judgment;
• Builds strong relationships with partners, focusing on impact and results;
• Demonstrates creativity, openness to change and ability to manage complexities;
• Demonstrated objectivity, integrity and impartiality;
• Possesses positive and constructive attitudes to work;
• Actively works towards continuing personal learning and development.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Advanced university degree in political science, sociology, international relations, international economics, law, public administration or other related social sciences.

Experience:

• At least 7 years of senior level international experience in conflict analysis, policy and strategy development, development and/or conflict prevention in a governmental, multilateral or civil society organization;
• Prior experience working in, and excellent knowledge of the Caribbean, including relevant sub-regional organisations is necessary;
• Experience in mediation, dialogue and conflict prevention initiatives;
• Proven policy, advisory and advocacy experience and track record of engagement with senior levels of government, United Nations and donors;
• Extensive experience in project develompent and implementation;
• Proven experience in development programming and knowledge of relevant international practices;
• Experience working within a UN agency, particularly in conflict/post conflict/negotiation contexts would be a major asset.

Language:

• Excellent standard of written and spoken English.