UNDP Jobs - 51705- Livelihoods & Local Economic Recovery Internationa

Livelihoods & Local Economic Recovery International Consultant to Develop Project Document

Location :

Juba, SOUTH SUDAN

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

05-Jan-2015

Application Deadline :

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

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

30 days

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

30 days

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 armed conflict that erupted in South Sudan on 15 December 2013 was a culmination of months of tensions, mistrust and division in the ruling SPLM party and public disagreement amongst party leadership on the implementation of party rules and regulations and the party constitution reform process prior to the National Elections envisaged for 2015. Within days of armed violence erupting, large-scale defections spread across the security sector. Nation building and civil administration were seriously compromised by mobilization of armed groups, local militias as well as deep ethnic cleavages opened up in some communities leading to large scale movement of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).

After several weeks of violence, an Agreement on Cessation of Hostilities was signed on 23 January 2014 following negotiations brokered by the Inter-governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), which however was quickly violated, resulting in further massive displacement. On 9 May, an Agreement to Resolve the Crisis in South Sudan was signed between the parties. Since then, fighting has started to decrease significantly. As of October 2014, 469,000 refugees have fled the country and 1.4 million individuals remain internally displaced and most are seeking shelter in remote rural areas across the country. Displacement patterns remain fluid due to violence. There are currently over 100,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) sheltering in nine UN bases across South Sudan. Living conditions in some PoC sites are inadequate and very harsh as these facilities were never designed to host populations not least in such a large numbers. Approximately 203,200 people, displaced in the early stages of the conflict, have since returned to their homes, and in many cases have lost all of their belongings and livelihoods.

The UN’s response to the crisis has been swift. A response plan focusing on saving lives, protecting conflict-affected communities, resumption of livelihoods and logistical support was developed. However, critical elements of stability such as economic alternatives, community cohesion, rule of law, governance and peace and reconciliation to potentially high-risk groups, both in the settlements and in communities of origin, need to be introduced explicitly for a more integrated response.

UNDP’s response was defined within a 90-day Action Plan , guided by three interrelated objectives, notably: to promote peace and stabilization through national reconciliation and healing, stabilization and community security; to build resilient communities through early economic recovery and extension of responsive local government; and to deepen democracy to assist consolidation of a political settlement within the framework of constitutionalism, credible transitional justice processes and promote the rule of law. On the basis of the 90-day Plan, an Integrated Crisis Prevention and Recovery Programme was developed and received US$ 3,250,000 in seed funding from UNDP’s former Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery (BCPR). The Pilot Programme is currently being implemented and is yielding positive results. The pilot programme with special reference to the livelihood and local economic recovery component needs to be developed into a full-fledged project document with a view to replication and scaling up in the country. It is within this context of strengthening UNDP South Sudan’s response that the consultant on livelihoods and local economic recovery is being recruited.

Duties and Responsibilities

Summary of Deliverables for the Livelihoods & Local Economic Recovery consultant:

A detailed and high-quality project document defining the up-scaling of the livelihoods and local economic recovery initiatives in the current country context that are being piloted under the Crisis Prevention and Recovery (CPR) Integrated Programme, ready for sharing with the donor community for effective resource mobilization.

Key activities:

Take stock of the achievements, challenges, and lessons learnt from the implementation of the livelihoods and local economic recovery pilot initiatives that were started under the Crisis Prevention and Recovery (CPR) Integrated Programme;
Assess and define, in close collaboration with relevant CO staffs, and in consultation with relevant UN Agencies (including FAO, ILO, WFP) opportunities for the up-scaling of the livelihoods and local economic recovery initiatives that were started under the Crisis Prevention and Recovery (CPR) Integrated Programme;
Draft a detailed and high-quality project document defining the expansion and up-scaling of the sustainable livelihoods and local economic recovery initiatives that were started under the Crisis Prevention and Recovery (CPR) Integrated Programme, ready for sharing with the donor community for effective resource mobilization;
Identify program elements on emergency employment, sustainable livelihoods diversification including small and medium enterprise recovery, key socioeconomic infrastructure rehabilitation, links with natural resource management, as well as approaches that can contribute to building community security and social cohesion;
Ensure that the project document is conflict and gender sensitive and that linkages with other relevant components (such as peace & reconciliation, democratic participation and local governance, and rule of law) are clearly defined, i.e. how emergency employment and diversified livelihoods recovery projects can improve social cohesion, support overall stabilization efforts and contribute to women empowerment;
Ensure that UNDP Strategic Plan Outcome 6 relevant Indicators are contextualized and addressed by the project document;
Develop a baseline for livelihoods/employment related outputs and an M&E framework for documentation and reporting of results as part of the project document, based on established practices and capacities within the CO. A clear focus should be on documentation of the benefits (monetary or otherwise) accruing to women and girls;
Design an exit strategy and linkages with other programs that support mid- to long term recovery efforts in the UNDP Country Office Poverty /Inclusive Growth and /or Governance teams;
Engage with programme staff on Early Recovery programming with a focus on: emergency employment and enterprise recovery, community infrastructure rehabilitation and broader approaches to livelihoods and economic recovery in crisis and post crisis situation on the basis of amongst others UNDP Livelihoods Signature products, UNDP Guide on Livelihoods and Economic Recovery in Crisis and Post Crisis, and UN Post Conflict Policy on Employment Creation, Income Generation and Reintegration;
Support the CO with the establishment of partnerships for the implementation of the project and the preparation of project formulation workshops feeding into donor meetings.

Deliverables:

Sustainable livelihoods project document including log-frame, results and resource framework, defining the up-scaling of the livelihoods and local economic recovery initiatives that were started under the Crisis Prevention and Recovery (CPR) Integrated Programme, ready for sharing with the donor community for effective resource mobilization;
One pager summary and PowerPoint presentation capturing key programme approach, activities and expected outcomes

Impact of Results:

The project developed by the Consultant is meant to generate the resources required for its implementation and produce results that are considered a critical aspect to stabilize community livelihoods, commence a process of economic revitalization and serve as an entry point to improve social cohesion at community level;
The project’s results are aimed at; i) restoring livelihoods, generating income for conflict affected men and women and thereby serve as an entry point to resilience building and improved social cohesion at community level; ii) to scale up the capacity of local economic actors including relevant government counterparts in service delivery and economic revitalization; iii) boost the purchasing power and revive the markets in the host communities, increasing the economic absorption capacity for returning displaced population groups, such as IDPs and refugees. Overall, the project will help to support a rapid transition from humanitarian to a sustainable development pathway in South Sudan;
The project will contribute to UNDP’s overall aim of achieving early recovery and a rapid transition to sustainable human development in crisis and post crisis situations.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.

Functional Competencies:

Development and Operational Effectiveness.

Ability to lead strategic planning, change processes, results-based management and reporting;
Ability to lead formulation, oversight of implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development programmes and projects;
Ability to apply development theory to the specific country context to identify creative, practical approaches to overcome challenging situations.

Management and Leadership

Demonstrates team-building capacity including interpersonal and communication skills and ability to cope with a difficult environment where formal institutions of government are at the embryonic stage;
Builds strong relationships with clients, focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback;
Deals diplomatically with challenging bureaucratic processes, and pressure to meet strict deadlines;
Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities;
Ability to lead effectively, mentoring as well as conflict resolution skills;
Remains calm, in control and good humored even under pressure;
Proven networking, team-building, organizational and communication skills;
Capacity to work under pressure, manage stress and adapt to rapidly evolving situations;
Ability to work in a multicultural environment with sound understanding and capability to empower and develop the capacity of national counterparts.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master degree in economics, social sciences, development, political sciences, management or other relevant practice areas.

Experience:

Minimum of 7 years of experience in the design and implementation of emergency employment/ livelihoods recovery programmes in challenging conflict affected environments;
5 years of experience in humanitarian, community and development environments;
Experience in (post) conflict contexts programming/project formulation;
Experience and knowledge of the country a plus;
Experience in procurement and project design, execution and financing with UNDP and IFIs will be considered as an asset.

Language Requirements:

Fluency in written and spoken English.

Applicatoin procesdure:

Job Proposal: Letter of Interest, stating why you consider yourself suitable for the assignment;
Brief methodology on the approach and implementation of the assignment;
Personal CV Highlighting past experience in similar projects;
Work references - contact details (e-mail addresses) of referees;
Financial proposal indicating consultancy fee, lump sum fee with a breakdown of the costs or unit price together with any other expenses related to the assignment (e.g. travel costs, translation interpretation, etc).