UNDP Jobs - 61836- Peace and Development Advisor

Peace and Development Advisor

Location :

Khartoum, SUDAN

Type of Contract :

FTA International

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

02-Dec-15 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

P-5

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

Sudan, one of the largest and most geographically diverse states in Africa, has long been beset by conflicts and lack of development. The Sudanese external debt continues to represent a considerable burden on the economy, which is further aggravated by economic sanctions, lack of external assistance, mounting inflation and the loss of roughly half of its revenues as a result of South Sudan’s secession in 2011. Furthermore, violence in Darfur, Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile States continues unabated and the security situation along the border with South Sudan remains to be tense.

The protracted conflict in Sudan is complex and involves multiple factors and actors at various conflict levels. The conflict reflects issues of long standing economic disparities, political exclusion, and social and cultural deprivation in the distribution of economic and political power between the center and the peripheries. Many of the drivers of conflict in Sudan are deeply rooted in development and governance deficits. These complex political challenges hinder stabilization, the return to peace, the promotion of governance and the shift towards sustainable development in Sudan.

The Peace and Development Advisor (PDA) will assist the Resident Coordinator and the UNCT in identifying gaps and opportunities for UN-system wide support to the Government’s efforts to build national capacities for generating consensus around strategies for building peace, promoting governance and advancing sustainable development. This will include building agreement on crucial reforms and preventing and mitigating recurring cycles of violence over land and natural resources that adversely affect development and inclusive growth in Sudan. The PDA will support national counterparts working on peacebuilding in Sudan, including through existing programming to stabilize conflict-affected areas in the Southern States and Darfur through creation of sustainable and alternative livelihoods and support to local peace processes. The PDA will moreover work on ongoing initiatives to promote an enabling environment for dialogue, including support to consultations around the current national dialogue initiative.

In this context, the role of the PDA will be to provide analysis and strategic advice to the UN Resident Coordinator/Resident Representative and - through the RC/RR – to the UNCT and UN Headquarters in New York (DPA and UNDP) on how to take forward the socio-economic as well as the political side of peacebuilding efforts through actor and context specific analysis and provide recommendations for strategic initiatives and programming.

Further to this, s/he will also advise on mainstreaming conflict sensitive approaches to recovery and development interventions as well as assist other key stakeholders. S/he will closely monitor the political situation in the country, and provide periodic reports as needed. S/he will also be responsible for consolidating the UN’s partnerships with other stakeholders working on the peace processes and in particular the government, and non-state actors. The strategic advice provided by the PDA will take into account the Secretary-General’s good offices process, and the PDA will coordinate closely with DPKO missions in Darfur and Abyei, and the appointed UN Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan.

The incumbent works under the overall supervision of the UN RC/RR and will discharge his/her day-to-day functions as a member of the Office of the Resident Coordinator.

Duties and Responsibilities

Summary of key functions:

Provide strategic and analytical support to the RC/RR in his/her relations with high-level government officials, academia, civil society, and with the wider political and civic leadership;
Identify areas of programmatic engagement with national stakeholders, and support to RC/RR in the preparation of the UN response to government requests, related to social cohesion, dialogue, democratic reform, conflict prevention, peacebuilding or other relevant field;
Establish and strengthen strategic partnerships with key national stakeholders, regional and international actors and development partners;
Strengthen capacity of UNDP and UNCT to undertake conflict analysis, mainstream conflict sensitivity in regular programming.

Under the direct supervision of the Resident Coordinator and in close collaboration with the country team, the PDA will:

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

Provide strategic advice and analyses, including when necessary to UNHQ through the UN RC, on options for promoting inclusive and effective governance in Sudan, with a specific focus on the challenges and opportunities that this offers to the UNCT;
Prepare periodic reports analyzing trends in Sudan, as well as their impact on UN programmes and positions;

Provide support for strategic initiatives on conflict prevention, including assisting the RR/RC in the organization of conflict resolution activities in conflict-affected communities; building skills for negotiation and mediation for leadership at national level and for the relevant branches of government as deemed necessary; establishing and extending the capacities of networks of mediators and facilitators at the national and local levels, and undertaking confidence building measures; including advisory support to UNDP’s programming under the governance and stabilization cluster;
Under the direction of the RC/RR, engage with other national and international institutions and initiatives in order to promote a common approach towards supporting social cohesion, governance, conflict prevention, peacebuilding and other relevant efforts;
Provide continuous analysis to RC and UNCT on political developments and conflict dynamics, with a view to identifying appropriate ‘entry points’ for conflict prevention and recommending appropriate strategic responses for the UN system;
Organize, develop, and implement community and national-level initiatives to strengthen confidence in local development capacities, including through the promotion of local dialogue capacities for conflict resolution at local and/or national levels.

Identify areas of programmatic engagement with national stakeholders, and support to RC/RR in the preparation of the UN response to government requests, related to social cohesion, dialogue, democratic reform, conflict prevention, peacebuilding, or other relevant field:

Lead related peace-promoting activities such as: support to dialogue processes and facilitation of national multi-stakeholder processes; skills building for negotiation, mediation, and reconciliation processes; support to capacities of networks of mediators and facilitators at national and local levels; strengthen women’s initiatives and groups in peace 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 crisis and mainstream conflict prevention interventions throughout the work of the UNCT;
Identify and engage civil society actors in the peace and development agenda supported by the UN.

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

Establish and maintain networks and strategic partnerships for peace building related strategies and initiatives;
Liaise closely with national, regional, and local stakeholders from Government and civil society and key international actors to identify entry points, foster dialogue and strengthen strategic alliances and partnerships on conflict prevention, reconciliation and confidence-building initiatives;
Maintain close liaison with relevant donors and other actors supporting UNDP’s peace building efforts;
Support the UN Resident Coordinator in mobilizing resources for peace building and conflict prevention initiatives;
Maintain close contact with relevant staff in UN Missions in Sudan and UN Headquarters including relevant focal points at UNDP and UN/DPA.

Strengthen capacity of UNDP and UNCT to undertake conflict analysis and mainstream conflict sensitivity in regular programming:

Support the design and implementation of strategy for identifying entry points for mainstreaming of conflict prevention and conflict sensitivity in the UNCT, including within the framework of common country planning processes (UNDAF, CPD, etc);
Conduct training for UN Country Team staff and key national partners on conflict analysis, conflict prevention and/or conflict-sensitive development;
Provide analytical and strategic support to UNCT.

Impact of Results

Enhanced capacity for socio-political analysis and strategic advice;
Expanded partnership with national counterparts in government, civil society, academia, and think-tanks/ research institutions;
Experiences enriched with regard to peacebuilding, socio-economic development and governance adopted and implemented by national stakeholders;
Strengthened capacities for dialogue, social cohesion, governance, mediation, reconciliation, conflict prevention, and confidence building.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UN and UNDP Sudan;
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,

Functional Competencies:

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;
Sound skills and demonstrated experience in facilitation, consensus-building, multi-stakeholder processes and negotiation;
Sound analytical skills;
Proven facilitation, training, networking, coordination, team-building, consensus-building and organizational skills;
Excellent communication and inter-personal skills and ability to establish and maintain effective partnerships and working relationships with internal and external parties in a multi-cultural environment;
In-depth knowledge of human development situation in (region/country).
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 and Leadership:

Strong team-building, diplomatic, and interpersonal skills. Resourcefulness, initiative, and maturity of judgment;
Communication and advocacy skills;
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.

Behavioural Competencies:

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;
Possesses positive and constructive attitudes to work;
Actively works towards continuing personal learning and development.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Advanced university degree (Master’s Degree) in political science, sociology, international relations, international economics, law, public administration, or other related social sciences.

Experience:

10 years of progressively responsible experience in conflict analysis, policy, and strategy development, development and/or conflict prevention in a governmental, multilateral or civil society organization;
Extensive experience in research and project development;
A proven policy, advisory and advocacy experience and track record of engagement with senior levels of government, United Nations, and donors;
Sound political acumen and extensive experience of providing policy advice;
Sound skills and demonstrated experience in facilitation, consensus-building, multi-stakeholder processes and negotiation;
Experience and specialist knowledge in building national capacities in good governance and building national reconciliation;
Experience working within a UN agency and experience in the region and or Sudan would be a major asset;
Sound knowledge of and extensive experience in the region and or Sudan, including in dialogue and conflict prevention initiatives, is an advantage.

Language Requirements:

Fluent written and spoken English;
Arabic is an asset.