UNDP Jobs - 63768- Re-advertisement - Senior Peace and Development Ad

Re-advertisement - Senior Peace and Development Advisor

Location :

Sana'a, YEMEN

Type of Contract :

FTA International

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

13-May-16 (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

Yemen is a country in conflict with a wide range of severe political, security, humanitarian and developmental challenges. A combination of long-term destabilising trends, unresolved grievances and a stalled political process have led Yemen to the point of country-wide conflict.

The recent upsurge in violence has had a tragic impact on the already serious humanitarian crisis in Yemen. Since the violence in Yemen escalated in March 2015 over 3,083 people have been killed and 14,324 have been injured, with 1.3 million more people have had to flee their homes. Now over 21.1 million people – 4 in 5 Yemenis – are in need some form of humanitarian assistance. In recognition of this, as of 1 July, the UN has declared the humanitarian crisis at the most severe level (Level 3).

In light of the humanitarian plight, the focus of the UN in-country has shifted to the provision of humanitarian assistance while maintaining a focus on livelihoods and income generation. At the same time, through its Special Envoy, the UN is working to promote a return to a peaceful path in Yemen and has been engaged in ongoing negotiations with the parties. Given the complexity of the situation in Yemen, the value of creating stronger links and synergies between development-political-security processes is recognized within both the Office of the Special Envoy and the UN Country Team, as represented by the UN Resident Coordinator (RC).

The position of the Peace and Development Advisor (PDA) which will be based in Sanaa will therefore serve as a primary resource to establish a bridge between the UN’s political efforts and the larger UNCT and to facilitate early and joint thinking on trust and peace-building activities in support of the political process. The PDA will be part of the team of the Special Envoy, which is based both in Sanaa and New York, and will work closely with the UNCT in Sanaa, through the Office of the Resident Coordinator. In the execution of day-to-day activities, the PDA will report to the Resident Coordinator, given their co-location in the country; however, identification of the priorities for the PDA’s work will be done jointly by the Special Envoy and the Resident Coordinator, and re-assessed regularly.

Duties and Responsibilities

Provide strategic and analytical support to the UN Resident Coordinator/Resident Representative in strengthening synergies between the UN’s support to political processes, and relevant activities of the UNCT in Yemen, with a view to promoting an enabling environment to promote a return to a peaceful path in Yemen;

Provide substantive leadership for strategic initiatives on conflict prevention including convening on behalf of the RR/RC dialogue processes, assisting conflict resolution leadership at national level and undertaking confidence building measures;
In close collaboration with the Office of the Special Envoy and the UNCT, facilitate joint conflict and political analysis and planning, with a view to articulating peace building priorities to promote sustainable peace in Yemen;
Provide continuous analysis to RC and UNCT on political development 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 local and national level initiatives to strengthen the confidence at different level of governance.

Identify areas of programmatic engagement with national stakeholders to promote trust and to create confidence building measures between the parties jointly identified and implemented by them, with the support of the UNCT and the Office of the Special Envoy:

Provide substantive and timely strategic advice to the Special Envoy, the Resident Coordinator and the UNCT on appropriate entry points to promote trust and to build confidence in Yemen;
Undertake necessary activities to build, strengthen, apply and sustain national capacities to prevent crisis and mainstream conflict prevention interventions throughout the work of the UNCT;
Lead related peace-promoting activities such as confidence-building measures.

Establish and strategic the UNCT partnerships and networks with key national stakeholders (at high level, if necessary), regional and international actors and development partners:

Establish and maintain networks and partnerships for peace building related strategies and initiatives, and support the mobilisation of resources for priority engagement in the country;
Assist in UN forward planning to support inclusive political processes;
Liaise closely with key government officials and key international actors to identify entry points, foster dialogue and strengthen strategic alliances and partnership on conflict prevention, reconciliation and confidence building initiatives.

Together with the RC, guide strategic directions of UNDP and UNCT to undertake conflict analysis, mainstream conflict sensitivity in regular programming in close contact with UN Headquarters including relevant focal points in UNDP’s Regional Bureau for Arab States, DPA’s Middle East and West Asia Division, the Office of the Special Envoy and PBSO.

Strengthen the capacity of the Office of the Special Envoy and the UNCT to undertake conflict analysis to inform programming at the national and sub-national level, and to mainstream conflict sensitivity into ongoing development programming:

Provide substantive and technical advice to design and implement selected confidence building measures, building on the comparative advantage of the UNCT, and its programmatic engagement in the country;
Maintain close contact, including through the sharing of information and analysis, with relevant staff at UN Headquarters including relevant focal points in UNDP, DPA and PBSO.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

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

Functional Competencies:

Strong political acumen and extensive experience of providing policy advice;
Excellent understanding of political negotiation processes
Excellent analytical skills;
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 peace building, trust and confidence building, 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 and working relationships with internal and external parties in a multi-cultural environment;
Ability to advise and oversee formulation, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of projects and programs;
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 judgment;
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:

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.

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:

At least 10 years of senior level experience in conflict analysis, policy, and strategy development, development and/or conflict prevention in a governmental, multilateral or civil society organization;
Specific experience in confidence building and peace building efforts, as well as joint analysis and planning, in conflict and fragile states;
Proven policy, advisory and advocacy experience and track record of engagement with senior levels of government, United Nations, and donors;
Experience working within a UN agency, the UN Secretariat, or a UN field mission is desirable;
Experience in Yemen/Arab States region would be a major asset.

Language:

Fluent written and spoken English, with Arabic language skills highly desirable..

Additional Information

Interested candidates should complete United Nations Personal History Form (P.11) available in the link below and upload it electronically to the site when applying:

http://www.undp.org/content/dam/undp/library/corporate/Careers/P11_Personal_history_form.doc

Incomplete P.11 form unfortunately will not be processed.

Previous applicants who applied do not need to re-apply.