Historique
- The Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) was a completely new phenomenon in West Africa. It has placed a heavy burden on the three affected countries (Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone) since its outbreak in 2014. The socio-economic impact of the EVD outbreak on the three West African countries and on the region was tremendous. The epidemic outbreak has reversed the impressive socio-economic performance these countries have achieved in the last 10 years. As underscored in the Ebola Recovery Assessment (ERA) report from January 2015, “the Ebola EVD severely impacted on human lives, livelihoods and social cohesion, health, the economies of the West African Region in general, and on the three countries in particular, leading to humanitarian, peace and security threats. Many people have lost employment, and agricultural activities have been abandoned in the most-affected rural areas. Livelihoods of households and communities have deteriorated. The education of an estimated 5 million children and youth has been set back as schools closed at the peak of the outbreak. The EVD has strained the finances of governments. Additional expenditures to contain the EVD crisis amidst drastic shortfalls in domestic revenue has increased national deficits in the respective countries”.
The epidemic has seriously affected the service delivery infrastructures and capacities of the affected countries, particularly in the health sector and social sectors. Hospitals and clinics were not equipped and prepared to handle disease emergencies of this nature and magnitude which was previously not experienced in the sub-region. Technical abilities to cope, coupled with weak service delivery mechanisms at the local level, slowed down support for and response to the epidemic. Also the lack of coordination between the affected countries speeded up the spread across borders.
UNDP serves in many respects as the operational arm of the United Nations at the country and the regional levels and works with partners in numerous countries to promote among other things sustainable development, socio-economic recovery, resilience, restoration of livelihoods, institutional capacity building, eradication of poverty, women and youth empowerment, good governance and peacebuilding.
Following the July Conference, the Government of Japan approved a post-Ebola recovery regional project on” supporting and strengthening sub-regional post-Ebola medical surveillance and socio-economic recovery initiatives in West Africa” for one year which aims at accompany regional initiatives as well as local level initiatives in the four MRU countries (Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone). The overarching goal of the project is to supporting and strengthening capacities for post-Ebola medical surveillance beyond the frontiers of the Ebola affected countries and recovery initiatives. The project will strengthen the operational and coordination capacities of regional institutions such as ECOWAS, West African Health Organization (WAHO), Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR) and the Mano River Union and other specialized African institutions to address medical surveillance and will assist communities, local authorities and civil society for livelihood, economic opportunities and promotion of rapid local development, peace building, social cohesion and resilience interventions. It is worth noting that the planned interventions of this project are linked to UNDP Strategic Plan 2014-2017, the Regional Programme for Africa; to UNDP’s agreements with other regional organizations and development partners involved in the Ebola recovery efforts.
The project implementation came to the end on March 31, 2018, however administrative related tasks including reporting, archiving, and additional donor collaboration continue which requires additional human resources. In this regard, UNDP needs an Intern as part of a broader Post-Ebola regional project team. The incumbent will directly report to the Governance and Peacebuilding Advisor and under the overall supervision of the Platform Coordinator.
Devoirs et responsabilités
Under the direct supervision of the Governance and Peacebuilding Advisor and the overall supervision of the Platform Coordinator, the intern will perform, inter alia, the following tasks in support of the regional project:
Research and Data Management :
- To explore and generate technical inputs to the Governance, Peacebuilding and socio-economic Recovery programmes;
- To support the development frameworks and indicators on governance, peace and security and socio-economic recovery;
- Perform policy-oriented research on governance, peace and security, economic governance, local governance and gender;
- Compile literature reviews on issues related to economic development, governance, peace and security, human rights and gender;
- Assist in preparing for events and staff travel pertaining to the project;
- Undertake research related to donors’ intelligence both at regional and country levels.
- To support in the writing of the minutes of the meeting and the review of project related reports;
Knowledge Management and Communication :
- Support in the archiving of project documents online and filing hard copies;
- Identify and documents best practices of the project;
- Collect and compile the project success stories in publishable documents
- Draft, review and edit concepts notes, knowledge products and presentations;
- Review and shape resources mobilization and partnership concepts;
- Participate in meetings and perform other support tasks as required;
- Ensure extra and intra project related communication are initiated/responded timely.
Monitoring and evaluation
- Liaise with the CO project contacts to identify opportunities for the sustainability of the project achievements.
- To develop together with the regional project team and COs, the transition mechanisms,
- To support in the development of ToRs of project evaluation, data collection and report writing.
- The more specific focus will be decided in consultation with the intern taking into account his/her skills development interests.
Compétences
Technical/Functional Compétences :
- Good writing and researching skills;
- Strong analytical aptitude, communication and presentation skills;
- Good organizational, time management and strong interpersonal skills;
- Ability to work flexibly and meet tight deadlines;
- Attention to details and proven ability to work independently and effectively.
Corporate Competencies:
- Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
- Demonstrates openness to change and ability to receive / integrate feedback;
- Works collaboratively with team members by sharing information openly and displaying cultural awareness and sensitivity;
- Establishes, builds and sustains effective relationships within the work unit and with internal and external partners;
- Positive and results-oriented attitude.
Qualifications et expériences requises
Education
- Applicants to the UNDP internship programme must at the time of application meet one of the following requirements:
- Be enrolled in a graduate school programme (second university degree or equivalent, or higher);
- Be enrolled in the final academic year of a first university degree programme (minimum Bachelor’s level or equivalent);
- Have graduated with a university degree (as defined in (a) and (b) above) and, if selected, must start the internship within one-year of graduation.
Experience
- Computer literate in standard software applications;
- Demonstrated keen interest in the work of the UN, and of UNDP in particular, and have a personal commitment to UNDP's Statement of Purpose and to the ideals of the UN Charter;
- Demonstrated the ability to successfully interact with individuals of different cultural backgrounds and beliefs, which include willingness to try and understand and be tolerant of differing opinions and views.
Language
- Proficiency in French and English.
Conditions of the internship
- UNDP will not pay for the internship; all expenses connected with it will be borne by the intern;
- UNDP accepts no responsibility for costs arising from accidents and/or illness or death incurred during the internship;
- Interns are responsible for securing adequate medical insurance for the duration of their internship with UNDP and must provide a medical certificate of good health prior to starting the internship. UNDP will not reimburse the medical insurance of the intern. Any costs arising from accidents and illness incurred during an internship assignment will be the responsibility of the intern;
- All the expenses connected with the internship will be borne by the intern, sponsoring Government or institutions;
- The intern is responsible for obtaining necessary visas and arranging travel to and from the duty station where the internship will be performed;
- Interns are not eligible to apply for, or be appointed to, any post in UNDP during the period of the internship;
- Interns are not staff members and may not represent UNDP in any official capacity.
- Applicants should indicate which months they are available part- and/or full time and when they complete their studies;
Females application are strongly encouraged.