UNDP Jobs - 47736- Peace and Development Specialist

Peace and Development Specialist

Location :

Tbilisi, GEORGIA

Type of Contract :

FTA International

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

14-Jul-14 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

P-4

Duration of Initial Contract :

1 year

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

1 year, with possibility of extension

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

Despite significant progress made under the previous and current governments, including the first ever peaceful change of government during the 2012 Parliamentary elections, Georgia still faces many challenges related to sustainable peace and development. This is in large part due to the two unresolved conflicts in the regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, where devastating conflicts and subsequent two decades of isolation have caused deprivation and had an adverse impact on human security in both regions and adjacent areas, including thousands of deaths and the displacement within Georgia of hundreds of thousands of people. Renewed conflict (in Abkhazia in May 1998 and in South Ossetia in August 2008) has caused further destruction and displacement, and contributed to high levels of poverty. International engagement with/in the two conflict regions is severely constrained, and the UN and the ICRC are the only international actors able to operate in Abkhazia, which places the UN – in the first instance UNDP – in a central position with regard to crisis prevention and recovery efforts. Combined with the role of the RR/RC in Working Group II (humanitarian issues) of the Geneva International Discussions, this unique access puts the UN in a leading role in-country, where the RR/RC chairs a number of conflict prevention mechanisms.

To that end, a Peace and Development Advisor (PDA) will be recruited to support the Resident Coordinator and the UN Country Team. The PDA will be key in ensuring that the UN Country Team has the capacity to consolidate and improve peace and development initiatives, to support local counterparts, strengthen conflict management capacities at key junctures (such as elections), and to contribute to the strengthening of national capacities for conflict prevention and peace building.

In line with the standard operating procedures of the Joint UNDP/DPA Programme on Building National Capacities for Conflict Prevention, the PDA will regularly communicate with both UNDP and DPA."

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of the UN Resident Coordinator (RC), in close coordination with the Deputy RR, the Peace and Development Specialist will be reporting directly to the RC and will carry out the following tasks:

Provide analysis and strategic advice to the RC and Deputy RR on developing a vision and long-term strategy on the role of the UN system to support national efforts for conflict prevention and peace building and to manage the complex political transition process.

This will include the following tasks:

Provide continuous analysis on conflict dynamics and conflict potentials in the country, as well as on the democratic process (e.g. election code reform, constitutional reform, decentralization process), political stability (e.g. the role of political parties and civil society) and its linkages to sustainable development;
Support the RC and Deputy RR in identifying the role of and entry points for the UN system in supporting the development of a national strategy on conflict prevention (‘peace architecture’);
Provide strategic guidance regarding the enhancement of conflict prevention and confidence-building elements in the current UN/UNDP portfolio, in particular regarding current initiatives in the Abkhaz and South Ossetian conflict zones;
Support the RC and Deputy RR in the integration of conflict-sensitive principles into the work of UNDP and the UNCT;
Liaise and coordinate with UN/UNDP HQ (RBEC, BCPR and DPA in particular) on a continued basis regarding the further development of the overall peace and development strategy and concrete interventions;
Develop strategic partnerships with national and international partners (e.g. EU (EU Delegation EUMM, EUSR, CoE, OSCE, etc.) in the area of peace and development and confidence-building, including good governance (at national and local level);
Provide strategic guidance and technical support to the implementation of the UN supported conflict prevention/peace and development programme, including technical support to capacity development for resolution of conflicts, dialogue and consensus building. Also, to identify entry points to strengthen conflict prevention at local, regional and national levels.

Impact of Results:

National conflict prevention and confidence building capacity of civil society organizations and Government strengthened and new entry points for UN engagement identified;
Conflict-prevention and confidence-building elements of existing UN/UNDP initiatives in Abkhazia/Western Georgia and South Ossetia/Shida Kartli strengthened;
Conflict sensitive principles integrated into the work of UNDP/UNCT.
Quarterly reports as well as final narrative report on implemented activities produced.

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;
Treats all people fairly without favoritism.

Functional Competencies:

Good understanding of UNDP programming modalities, particularly in conflict, crises and post-conflict settings;
Demonstrable ability to work in a team environment, and to strengthen all team members through collective action and individual initiative;
Demonstrable ability to engage with sensitivity, strategic foresight, and political acumen in situations involving multiple—especially political—actors and stakeholders.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Advanced degree in social sciences, with a focus on international relations, political science, development studies, conflict resolution, or equivalent field.

Experience:

Substantive international experience (7 years preferred) in the field of conflict prevention, peace building and conflict sensitive development;
Significant experience in providing political analysis and political advice;
Experience in multi-stakeholder facilitation and consensus building, preferably in fragile and conflict situations;
Experience in the development of national conflict prevention and resolution capacities on a national and local level;
Prior work experience related to the South Caucasus is greatly desirable.

Language:

Fluency in English required;
knowledge of Russian and/or Georgian is an asset.