UNDP Jobs - 76746- Community Cohesion and Resilience Officer

Community Cohesion and Resilience Officer

Location :

Torit, SOUTH SUDAN

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

01-Mar-2018

Application Deadline :

31-Jan-18 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

National Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

Six (6) Months

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

Six (6) Months

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

The Community Cohesion and Resilience Officer will be based in Torit, Eastern Equitoria, working under the Peace and Community Cohesion (PaCC) project. The incumbent will report directly to the PaCC Peacebuilding Specialist and under the overall supervision and guidance of the PaCC Project Manager.

Under UNDP South Sudan’s Democratic Governance and Stabilization Unit (DGSU), the PaCC project contributes to the reduction and mitigation of community level conflict and insecurity by investing in initiatives that address key drivers of conflict and insecurity. The project empowers communities to identify in an inclusive and participatory manner the drivers of conflicts in their communities and, using an integrated and gender sensitive approach, it supports communities to effectively prevent, manage and resolve conflict in a non-violent way. At the same time the project seeks to strengthen community relationships by identifying and strengthening cultural, social and economic connectors that make communities reliant on each other across gender and age divides.

The candidate will work closely with Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), State and Regional Peace Coordinators, other UN Agencies, amongst other relevant partners, to execute the following key functions in the relevant conflict clusters:

Duties and Responsibilities

Coordinate and facilitate the implementation of peace and community cohesion related activities:

Maintain regular communication and coordination with relevant partners to ensure timely implementation of activities;
Facilitate and provide technical assistance for the implementation of peace and community cohesion related activities, enabling high quality delivery of outputs and activity results as per the PaCC project documents;
Strengthen synergies with/between PaCC activities and work of other UNDP projects/UN Agencies/other relevant partners to ensure the achievement of integrated results;
Support local partners in strengthening mechanisms for the coordination of local level peacebuilding activities and facilitate the coordination with relevant state level actors;
Participate in relevant events and networks related to the specific scope of work.

Support the strengthening/capacity development of local peace structures and civil society partners:

Facilitate the strengthening of local peace structures, such as peace committees, to encourage joint and inclusive peacebuilding approaches at the local level;
Supervise and monitor the peace and community cohesion related work of CSOs identified by the project and facilitate and provide technical advice to ensure the achievement of quality results;
Identify capacity needs of local peace partners/structures and support the design and implementation of capacity development initiatives.

Support conflict mapping and analysis, monitoring and evaluation and lessons learned studies:

Promote community-led participatory conflict and context analyses to inform project programming;
Monitor and assess activity progress against the project’s Annual Work Plan targets and indicators;
Ensure that project lessons learned and best practices are captured, documented and periodically shared;
Support identification of new entry points for PaCC activities that contribute to social cohesion and community security;
Draft reports, updates, and briefing notes as necessary.

Competencies

Building Strategic Partnerships: Identifying and building partnerships

Effectively networks with partners seizing opportunities to build strategic alliances relevant to UNDP’s mandate and strategic agenda;
Promote networking and knowledge sharing with other colleagues in UNDP and the UN System;
Assist and train national counterparts in creating the tools necessary to support development policy in the Country;
Promotes UNDP’s agenda in inter-agency meetings.
Assist in undertaking continuous review of fragility and core governance functions.

Innovation and Marketing New Approaches: Developing new approaches

Seeks a broad range of perspectives in developing project proposals;
Identifies new approaches and promotes their use in other situations;
Creates an environment that fosters innovation and innovative thinking;
Makes the case for innovative ideas from the team with own supervisor.

Resource Mobilization : Implementing resource mobilization strategies

Analyzes information on potential bilateral donors and national counterparts to recommend a strategic approach;
Identifies and compiles lessons learned;
Develops a resource mobilization strategy at the country level.

Promoting Organizational Learning and Knowledge Sharing: Developing tools and mechanisms

Makes the case for innovative ideas documenting successes and building them into the design of new approaches;
Identifies new approaches and strategies that promote the use of tools and mechanisms;
Effective presentation and report-writing skills; strong analytical and strategic skills.

Knowledge/Technical Expertise: In-depth knowledge of the subject-matter

Understands more advanced aspects of primary area of specialization as well as the fundamental concepts of related disciplines;
Keeps abreast of new developments in areas of professional discipline and job knowledge and seeks to develop him/herself professionally;
Demonstrates comprehensive knowledge of information technology and applies it in work assignments;
Demonstrates comprehensive understanding and knowledge of the current guidelines and project management tools and utilizes these regularly in work assignments;
Excellent communication and interpersonal skills

Leadership

Generates commitment, excitement and excellence in others;
Creates new opportunities for team, not just self to learn and take on new responsibilities.

Required Skills and Experience

The successful candidate should have the following skills, experience and qualifications:

Education:

Master’s Degree or equivalent in political or social sciences, international development, conflict studies or other related field.

Experience:

Minimum of 5 years of relevant professional experience at the national or international level in development work related to peacebuilding and/or conflict transformation, preferably in post-conflict settings.
Experience in working with CSOs to promote peace and reconciliation especially at the grassroots level preferred.
Experience of managing staff and consultants to ensure effective delivery of workplans.
Excellent command of common Microsoft Office programs is a requirement.

Language:

Written and spoken English is essential.