Programme Associate (5 Positions)

Location: Addis Ababa, Bahir Dar, Mekelle and Semera

Closing Date: May 04, 2023, 06:59 AM

Job Description

The two-year conflict between Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) has been a major cause of humanitarian crisis in the three northern Ethiopia regions of Tigray, Amhara and Afar. The toll from the war has been enormous. More than 2,612,3531 IDPs in Northern Ethiopia need humanitarian assistance. Large-scale damage happened to infrastructure and services, estimated by the Government at US$ 20 billion and profound adverse effects on development, hamstringing Ethiopia’s ambitious economic and governance reform programmes.

On 02 November 2022, in Pretoria, an Agreement for Lasting Peace through a Permanent Cessation of Hostilities was signed between the Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (GoE) and the TPLF. Led by the AU, the Peace Agreement has ended active combat in Northern Ethiopia and raised hope for a gradual restoration of services and humanitarian operations in the region. This wide-ranging agreement committed, among other things, to an immediate and permanent cessation of hostilities, the restoration of federal authority in Tigray, the creation of an interim administration pending fresh regional elections, disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) of TPLF combatants, resumption of unhindered humanitarian access, the restoration of essential services, reintegration of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and returning refugees, transitional justice, social cohesion and reconciliation, and recovery and reconstruction.

It is in this connection that UNDP’s offer is focused on filling the gap likely exist between the urgency of addressing a wide range of urgent needs to quickly consolidate peace and to stabilize conditions and the time it will take for the larger, longer-term, and more comprehensive RRR Plan being prepared by the World Bank to meaningfully kick-in.

Therefore, the rationale for a UNDP-led Peace Support Facility (PSF) project in Afar, Amhara and Tigray regions is based on (i) the need an early peace dividend required to sustain the momentum of the Peace Agreement; and (ii) the need to pave the way and build the foundations for the larger RRR initiative led by the MoF and WB. The overall objective of UNDP-led PSF project is to build trust between communities and authorities at all levels and laying the foundations for recovery, peacebuilding, and development programmes. The programme will ensure that national and local actors and recognized governance systems are at the forefront of the peace support initiative.

The Programme Associate will be based in the Peace Support Office in UNDP Country Office and Project Offices in Addis Ababa (02), Mekelle (01), Bahir Dar (01) and Semera (01). 

Duties and Responsibilities

• Support the coordination/facilitation of damage/gap/need/capacity assessments in the region.
• Support data collection, analysis, and presentation of background information for preparation for effective application of RBM tools and establishment of management targets
• Support formulation of draft project documents, annual work plans (AWP), budgets proposals and implementation arrangements.
• Based on approved AWP, support the overall implementation of project activities in the region.

Coordinate and facilitate capacity building trainings and consultative workshops focusing on the achievement of the following results:

• In consultation with relevant partners, support the identification of capacity building needs and liaise with the Project Office and CO to identify competent consulting institutions/ICs potentially capable to provide trainings.
• Support designing of workshops that consider and addresses multiple interests, agendas; set out clear objectives and engaging activities; select appropriate tools, materials, resources that are needed to implement activities.
• Based on approved AWPs, support facilitation of National and Regional level consultative workshops
• Support procurement of services and materials necessary for the trainings and consultative workshops
• Closely work with procurement and finance teams to properly file relevant procurement and financial documents, timely settle outstanding advance and other payments.

Ensure partnerships and coordination mechanisms with government and non-government partners focusing on achievement of the following results:

• Support the engagement of wide range of public and private partners, build, sustain and/or strengthen working relations, trust, and mutual understanding between the organization and wide range of stakeholders.
• Support engagements with emerging partners, develop, and manage a strategy and develop approaches to developing and managing these new strategic partnerships.
• Support use available knowledge and ability to forge multi-stakeholder partnerships and remove any obstacles to resource mobilization and multi-stakeholder funding platforms.
• Conduct stakeholders’ mapping using 5Ws (Who is doing What, Where, When and with/For whom)
• Support any resource mobilization efforts with relevant partners working in targeted geographic and thematic intervention areas.
• Liaise with partners (government and non-government, humanitarian, and development) to complement on gaps/capacities and to avoid duplication on resources and efforts. 

Report and communicate with Peace Support Project Offices, Programmes (TLs) and Operations at CO level focusing on achievement of the following results:

• Support the organization of weekly briefing sessions with Head of the Project Office
• Support provision of updates to the SMT and TLs during monthly Programme/Operations Meetings
• Support collection and compilation of progress updates from the field and from implementing partners, share monthly/quarterly/semi-annual and annual reports with Head of Project Office and TLS.

Ensures facilitation of knowledge building and knowledge sharing focusing on achievement of the following results:

• Support the organization capacity building trainings for the project/operations staff on project/programme design, implementation, and monitoring/evaluation.
• Support synthetization of lessons learnt and best practices in project implementation for internal sharing.
• Support provision of sound contributions to knowledge networks and communities of practice

Oversee operations related tasks including staff, premises and asset management focusing on achievement of the following results:

• Support staff welling and staff safety and security related compliance mechanisms are in place.
• Support supervision of overall office and premise/compound management.
• Supervise staff under direct supervision, support staff to perform respective roles and responsibilities,
• Support and capacitate staff to develop key performance objectives and evaluate achievements.

Competencies

• Achieve Results: LEVEL 1: Plans and monitors own work, pays attention to details, delivers quality work by deadline.
• Think Innovatively: LEVEL 1: Open to creative ideas/known risks, is pragmatic problem solver, makes improvements.
• Learn Continuously: LEVEL 1: Open minded and curious, shares knowledge, learns from mistakes, asks for feedback.
• Adapt with Agility: LEVEL 1: Adapts to change, constructively handles ambiguity/uncertainty, is flexible.
• Act with Determination: LEVEL 1: Shows drive and motivation, able to deliver calmly in face of adversity, confident.
• Engage and Partner: LEVEL 1: Demonstrates compassion/understanding towards others, forms positive relationships.
• Enable Diversity and Inclusion: LEVEL 1: Appreciate/respect differences, aware of unconscious bias, confront discrimination.

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies 

• Business Management: Project Management: Ability to plan, organize, prioritize, and control resources, procedures and protocols to achieve specific goals.
• Business Management: Resource Management: Ability to allocate and use resources in a strategic or tactical way in line with principles of accountability and integrity.
• Business Management: Working with Evidence and Data: Ability to inspect, cleanse, transform and model data with the goal of discovering useful information, informing conclusions and supporting decision-making.
• Business Management: Communication: Ability to communicate in a clear, concise and unambiguous manner both through written and verbal communication; to tailor messages and choose communication methods depending on the audience, and Ability to manage communications internally and externally, through media, social media and other appropriate channels.
• Business Management: Operations Management: Ability to effectively plan, organize, and oversee the organizations business processes in order to convert its assets into the best results in the most efficient manner.
• Business Management: Digital Awareness and Literacy: Ability and inclination to rapidly adopt new technologies, either through skillfully grasping their usage or through understanding their impact and empowering others to use them as needed.
• Administration & Operations: Documents and records management: Overall document (hard or electronic) management; registry and retention policy including storing and archiving.

Required Skills and Experience

• At least four years of progressively responsible professional development experience in related areas in Ethiopia.
• Experience in Programme/Project Planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.
• At least 3 years’ experience working with UN system policies and programming.
• Demonstrated experience in planning, organizing, and overseeing the organizations business processes.
• Experience and knowledge of spreadsheet and database packages and handling web-based management systems.
• Fluency in spoken and written English and local language of the duty station.
• Experience working in the duty station of choice.

• Fluency in spoken and written English and knowledge of local language of the duty station.

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