UNDP Jobs - 60053- Civil Society and Media Officer

Civil Society and Media Officer - Open to Myanmar Nationals Only

Location :

Hakha(1), Taunggyi(1),Mandalay(1), Mawlamyine(2), MYANMAR

Type of Contract :

Service Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

14-Oct-15 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

SC-8

Duration of Initial Contract :

One year

Languages Required :

English

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

In April 2013 the Government of Myanmar and UNDP signed the UNDP Myanmar Country Action Plan (CPAP) initially for 3 year period but now extended to 2017. This CPAP presents a change in the way that UNDP previously worked in Myanmar from a restricted mandate with focus on human development at the community level to a new programme with three programmatic pillars covering (i) Local Governance; (ii) Climate Change, Environment, Energy and Disaster Risk Reduction and (iii) Democratic Governance. Under the UNDP country programme, the Local Governance/Local Development Program (Pillar 1) aims to strengthen democratic institutions at the sub national level through the provision of an integrated package of development assistance for improvements of local governance and local development in rural areas of Myanmar with high poverty incidence and post conflict settings.

Under the Local Governance/Local Development Programme, four specific outputs are being pursued:

Output 1 - Strengthened institutional capacity for local governments and township administrations for area-related development planning, responsive and effective public service delivery, organizational management and conflict prevention;
Output 2 – Communities, civil society organizations and networks strengthened for participation in local governance, with emphasis on addressing gender gaps and rural urban gaps (combined civil society and media support);
Output 4 - Strengthened capacity of institutions required to support livelihoods at the local level (microfinance, vocational training, technical extension centers);
Output 5 – Livelihood support for social cohesion and peacebuilding.

Each of the outputs currently has a team led by a Programme Specialist based in Yangon, working with Programme Analyst(s) and a Programme Associate. Implementation of the programme throughout the country is facilitated by six area offices with selected international UNVs and local specialized staff. In the field, Output 2 was previously represented by Civil Society and Media Associates. Due to expanding workload largely in part to more focused interaction with CSO and Media Networks, the associate positions will be superseded by the officer positions.

Output 2 (combined civil society and media support) is designed primarily to stimulate the participation of citizens in the local governance and local development processes through the involvement of organized groups such as Civil Society Organizations, NGOs and other non-government actors. Empowerment of civil society groups and enabling them to pro-actively pursue their issues with the appropriate authorities at the sub-national level is the overall objective. An added dimension to this output is the analysis of obstacles to and improvement of access to information by all sections of the community. As such, media development and capacity building of stakeholders is simultaneously pursued, with the intention of drawing linkages between open and transparent access to information and meaningful participation of civil society for improved development outcomes.

Output 2 complements the overall pillar programme by strengthening the capacities of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and media actors through engagement in partnerships to help contribute to the effectiveness of local development interventions and to an overall strengthening of social accountability. To date Output 2 has facilitated the formation of representative CSO and media network associations (Network Partners) in 5 states/regions. In addition, the program has provided leadership and organizational training and initiated small grants for women-led Federations of Self-Reliant Groups across 31 townships. New initiatives aim to strengthen engagement capacities of civil society to contribute to local development planning and decision making processes; establish a forum for community/CSOs to enhance civic education and awareness, facilitate better access to relevant information that supports their interaction with government partners for public discussion and decision making processes through piloting of township community dialogue and information platform and community media; contribute further to women’s empowerment and gender parity through a national network of rural women; and contribute more to peace building efforts at local levels by supporting CSOs and ethnic media groups to enhance their knowledge and skills for engagement with state and non-state actors on community peace concerns. Overall the programme output in its initial phase aims to develop models of engagement and support that can be scaled up and replicated in other locations.

Under the direct supervision of the Output Lead (Programme Specialist) for Civil Society and Media, the Civil Society and Media Officer supports implementation of Output 2 activities in the relevant states/regions.

Duties and Responsibilities

Summary of Key Functions:

Support the preparation of strategies and work-plans;
Support implementation and monitoring;
Support partnership-building;
Support communication and knowledge management.

Support the preparation of strategies and work-plans focusing on achievement of the following results:

Collecting, analyzing, and presenting information for programme formulation;
Facilitating consultations with stakeholders to gather information and data feeding into the preparation of civil society and media strategies and work-plans;
Identifying new opportunities, needs and entry-points, designing new interventions;
Providing inputs to drafting new concept notes and proposals;
Supporting the development of relevant planning instruments and products.

Support implementation, monitoring and quality assurance of civil society and media activities focusing on achievement of the following results:

Leading the planning, implementation, monitoring and reporting of activities;
Leading the formulation of area level workplans;
Conducting and/or supporting local planning and assessment exercises;
Leading the collection of data, analyzing data, and reporting against relevant indicators, baseline and targets;
Leading the identification of CSO and Media Network Partners, grantees and other State and Township Level partner organizations;
Facilitating and supporting relevant visiting missions and consultants, including by organizing mission programmes and supporting logistical arrangements;
Monitoring the implementation of activities by Network Partners, grantees, and other partner organizations;
Complying with relevant monitoring and reporting requirements and submitting reports and/or providing inputs into reports, as required;
Ensuring UNDP operational and financial procedures are followed in project implementation;
Ensuring the necessary documentation are filed at the area level.

Support partner-building focusing on achievement of the following results:

Developing and strengthening partnerships with stakeholders in government, civil society organizations, media and development agencies;
Representing Output 2 in meetings and workshops at area level.

Ensures support for communication and knowledge management focusing on achievement of the following results:

Leading the organization and/or facilitation of discussions relevant to enhancing civil society and media participation at the area level;
Organizing and facilitating capacity development and training at the area level for fellow UNDP personnel, Network partners, and other partners on relevant topics;
Developing case studies and communication stories.

Competencies

Functional Competencies:

Advocacy/Advancing A Policy-Oriented Agenda:

Preparing information for advocacy

Identifies and communicates relevant information for a variety of audiences for advocating UNDP’s mandate.

Results-Based Programme Development and Management:

Contributing into results through primary research and analysis

Assures project performance to identify success factors and incorporates best practices into project work;
Researches linkages across programme activities to identify critical points of integration;
Monitors specific stages of projects/programme formulation;
Analyzes country situation to identify opportunities for project development;
Participates in the formulation of project proposals and ensures substantive rigor in the design and application of proven successful approaches and drafts proposals accordingly.

Building Strategic Partnerships:

Maintaining a network of contacts

Maintains an established network of contacts for general information sharing and to remain up-to-date on partnership related issues;
Analyzes and selects materials for strengthening strategic alliances with partners and stakeholders.

Innovation and Marketing New Approaches:

Enhancing processes or products

Generates new ideas and proposes new, more effective ways of doing things;
Documents and analyses innovating strategies/best practices/new approaches.

Resource Mobilization (Field Duty Stations):

Providing inputs to resource mobilization strategies

Analyzes information/databases on potential and actual donors;
Develops a database of project profiles. Identifies opportunities for project proposals for presentation to donors.

Promoting Organizational Learning and Knowledge Sharing:

Basic research and analysis

Generates new ideas and approaches, researches best practices and proposes new, more effective ways of doing things;
Documents and analyses innovative strategies and new approaches.

Job Knowledge/Technical Expertise:

Fundamental knowledge of own discipline

Understands and applies fundamental concepts and principles of a professional discipline or technical specialty relating to the position;
Possesses basic knowledge of organizational policies and procedures relating to the position and applies them consistently in work tasks;
Strives to keep job knowledge up-to-date through self-directed study and other means of learning;
Demonstrates good knowledge of information technology and applies it in work assignments;
Demonstrates in-depth understanding and knowledge of the current guidelines and project management tools, and utilizes these regularly in work assignments.

Global Leadership and Advocacy for UNDP’s Goals:

Preparing information for global advocacy

Identifies and communicates relevant information for advocacy for UNDP’s goals for a variety of audiences.

Client Orientation:

Establishing effective client relationships

Researches potential solutions to internal and external client needs and reports back in a timely, succinct and appropriate fashion;
Organizes and prioritizes work schedule to meet client needs and deadlines;
Anticipates client needs and addresses them promptly.

Core Competencies:

Demonstrating/safeguarding ethics and integrity;
Demonstrating corporate knowledge and sound judgment;
Self-development, initiative-taking;
Acting as a team player and facilitating team work;
Facilitating and encouraging open communication in the team, communicating effectively;
Creating synergies through self-control;
Managing conflict;
Learning and sharing knowledge and encourage the learning of others;
Promoting learning and knowledge management/sharing is the responsibility of each staff member;
Informed and transparent decision making.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master Degree in Social Sciences or relevant field of studies;
Alternatively, Bachelor’s Degree in Social Sciences or relevant field of studies with additional two years of work experience;
Specialized training (diploma, course, etc) in development, civil society capacity development, media, peacebuilding or relevant field would be an advantage.

Experience:

With Master’s degree, up to 2 years of work experience in programme or project management with civil society and/or media, as well as capacity development;
With Bachelors degree, additional 2 years of work experience required;
Experience building and maintaining partnerships with Government, other development partners and the private sector would be an advantage;
Experience in usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc) required.

Language:

Must be Myanmar national;
Fluency in both oral and written English language required;
Knowledge of 1 or more local languages of the duty-station would be an advantage.

Please clearly mention the duty station applied for.