Location: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Grade: P4
Closing Date: Mar 21, 2024, 05:59 AM
Job Description
Underpinned by African ownership and leadership and cognizant of the rich diversity of the continent, UNDP regional work is based on five mutually reinforcing rationality principles, which define the added value of regional or sub-regional approaches to addressing development challenges. These are: (a) promotion of regional public goods and services, based on strengthened regional cooperation and integration; (b) management of cross-border externalities (challenges and opportunities) and spill-overs – such as trade, the environment and conflict prevention that are best addressed collaboratively on an inter-country basis; (c) advancement of awareness, dialogue and action on sensitive and or emerging development issues that benefit strongly from multi-country and regional experiences and perspectives; (d) promotion of experimentation and innovation to overcome institutional, financial and/or informational barriers that may be too high for an individual country to surmount; and (e) generation and sharing of development knowledge, experience and expertise – for instance, through South-South and triangular cooperation – so that countries can connect to, and benefit from, relevant experiences from across the region and beyond. In all this, UNDP will make South-South and triangular cooperation core ways of working in the regional programme, to buttress inter-country initiatives that accelerate regional integration in Africa.
Challenges to governance peace and security in Africa persist. In the current decade, Africa has already experienced 6 military coups and 2 attempted coups. Over the last 10 years, the continent has grappled with coups, popular uprisings, post-election violence and political insurgencies. It is clear from the lived experience of many African people, as well as the literature, that African processes of political transition, when not managed carefully, have often resulted in violent contestation and conflict, with periods of instability due to incomplete or contested transitions impacting on development progress, sometimes catastrophically. Recognizing the challenge that such contestation and conflict can pose to development progress, the African Union has recently ramped up its efforts to focus critical resources on to what is being referred to as “unconstitutional changes of government” (UCG), including the challenges posed by contested, incomplete and/or violent conflict. Most recently, in March 2022, the African Union hosted a forum on UCGs which agreed that Accra Declaration on UCGs. That Declaration acknowledged the important contribution to be made by a new Facility being established by the United Nations, which will be managed by UNDP in collaboration with the Commission for Political Affairs, Peace, and Security (PAPS) at the African Union.
The UNDP Regional Bureau for Africa (RBA), through its Regional Service Centre for Africa (RSCA), proposes a programmatic instrument for responding to complex political transitions in Africa. The new African Facility to Support Inclusive Transitions (AFSIT), will support countries going through complex political transitions to peacefully navigate their pathway back to more stable democratic development, with a specific focus on ensuring the inclusion of women, young people and other marginalized groups. The Facility will support both regional and national activities, including by commissioning high-impact knowledge/research, providing responsive policy and technical advice to the A and RECs partners, and disbursing rapid-response funding to African countries – in close cooperation with UN Country Teams, as well as national and civil society partners – to pre-emptively and/or responsively to support the inclusive, accountable, and peaceful management of transitions by national partners in order to maintain positive national development trajectories.
- Project Support and Delivery
- Coordination
- Knowledge Management
- Project Support and Delivery
- Support the AFSIT Project Manager to effectively manage the AFSIT Project in accordance with UNDP Results-Based Management requirements, including by:
- Supporting the development of annual plans;
- Providing inputs to annual project financial and narrative reports;
- Developing concept notes, TORs and managing procurement, as required;
- Supporting monitoring and evaluation processes;
- Supporting communications and outreach activities.
- Develop policy briefs jointly with the AU aligned with its internal processes;
- Coordinate and communicate with development partners on AFSIT and support resource mobilization efforts;
- Support the organisation of key regional and national meetings, including developing concept notes, agendas and terms of reference (TORs) and organizing travel and provide direct programming and technical advice to UNDP Country Offices and other stakeholders upon their request, including developing project proposals and project documents, briefing notes and other documentation;
- Produce and/or oversee the production of reports from key meetings and forums organized and attended by the AFSIT team.
- Coordination : Support the AFSIT Project Manager in collaborating with the AU, RECs, DPPA, UNDP units, and development partners to strengthen early warning systems during disruptive political transitions, manage relationships with AU stakeholders, develop a roster of political transition experts, oversee recruitment of consultants, and coordinate quick-response needs assessments and monitoring teams, including logistics, liaison with UN DPPA and UN Country Teams, internal deployments, and mission report production.
- Support the AFSIT Project Manager to work with the[SMSM1] AU, RECs, DPPA, other UNDP units and development partners to implement activities aimed at strengthening early warning systems specifically in the context of disruptive political transitions;
- Maintain and manage relationships with AU stakeholders including PAPS, APRM, PSC Secretariat, AU Liaison offices and other regional actors to ensure regular updates on AFSIT to ensure technical and political buy-in;
- Develop an AFSIT-specific roster of key inclusive political transition experts, in collaboration with existing UNDP Roster Management and Deployment Teams;
- Manage the recruitment of consultants and other external experts required to implement the AFSIT work plan;
- Manage the deployment of quick-response needs assessment, programme design and monitoring teams in response to disruptive political transitions, in close collaboration with the Country Office Support Team (COST), including:
- Managing the logistics to support the AU to deploy their personnel;
- Liaising with the UN DPPA and UN Country Teams to ensure coordinated approaches;
- Managing UNDP’s internal deployments;
- Supporting the production of related mission reports.
- Knowledge Management: Oversee the creation of an online information platform for data on inclusive political transitions in collaboration with UNDP teams and external stakeholders, lead research initiatives by drafting concept notes, TORs, and managing contracts, coordinate Project activities with UNDP’s global and regional governance advisors, offer ad hoc support to Regional Programme initiatives, and fulfill additional duties as needed.
- Manage the development of a new online information platform focused on data and other information related to inclusive political transitions, in partnership with other relevant UNDP teams and external stakeholders;
- Commission and manage research in relation to inclusive political transitions, including drafting concept notes, TORs and other documentation and managing contracting;
- Coordinate closely all activities carried out under the Project with the global and regional governance advisors of UNDP, and where opportune, implement activities jointly;
- Provide ad hoc support to Regional Programme initiatives and projects;
- Perform other work related duties as may be required.
- Strategic partnerships – Oversee the development of an online information platform, lead research initiatives, coordinate with UNDP’s governance advisors, foster strategic partnerships for enhanced impact, and provide ad hoc support to Regional Programme initiatives.
- Oversee the development of a new online information platform for inclusive political transitions data in collaboration with UNDP teams and external stakeholders.
- Lead research initiatives by drafting concept notes, TORs, and managing contracts related to inclusive political transitions.
- Coordinate Project activities closely with UNDP’s global and regional governance advisors and implement joint activities where opportune.
- Foster strategic partnerships to enhance the project’s impact, particularly with relevant external stakeholders.
- Provide ad hoc support to Regional Programme initiatives.
- Fulfill additional duties as required in support of the project’s objectives.
Core Competencies – UNDP Core Competencies can be found here.
- Achieve Results – LEVEL 3: Set and align challenging, achievable objectives for multiple projects, have lasting impact
- Think Innovatively – LEVEL 3: Proactively mitigate potential risks, and develop new ideas to solve complex problems
- Learn Continuously – LEVEL 3: Create and act on opportunities to expand horizons, diversify experiences
- Adapt with Agility – LEVEL 3: Proactively initiate and champion change, manage multiple competing demands
- Act with Determination – LEVEL 3: Think beyond immediate tasks/barriers and take action to achieve greater results
- Engage and Partner – LEVEL 3: Political savvy, navigate the complex landscape, champion inter-agency collaboration
- Enable Diversity and Inclusion – LEVEL 3: Appreciate the benefits of a diverse workforce and champion inclusivity
Cross-Functional and Technical Competencies
External relations and advocacy (General) –
- Public Relations: Ability to build and maintain an overall positive public image for the organisation, its mandate and its brand, while ensuring that individual campaigns and other communications and advocacy initiatives are supported in reaching the public.
Partnership management –
- Relationship management: Ability to engage with a wide range of public and private partners, build, sustain and/or strengthen working relations, trust and mutual understanding.
- CSO engagement: Knowledge and understanding of CSOs and the ability to engage with CSOs.
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. Ability to manage communications internally and externally, through media, social media and other appropriate channels.
- Portfolio Management: Ability to select, prioritize and control the organization’s programmes and projects, in line with its strategic objectives and capacity; ability to balance the implementation of change initiatives and the maintenance of business-as-usual, while optimizing return on investment.
- System Thinking: Ability to use objective problem analysis and judgement to understand how interrelated elements coexist within an overall process or system, and to consider how altering one element can impact on other parts of the system.
- Advanced Degree (i.e., master’s degree or equivalent degree) in law, public administration, human rights, conflict prevention, peace studies/peacebuilding, international development, political science or related fields.
- A First-level University degree (Bachelor’s degree) in the above-mentioned fields with an additional of 2 years of relevant experience will be given due consideration in lieu of an advanced university degree.
- A minimum of 7 years of project management and advisory experience in international development work, preferably in governance, peace and security is required.
- Proven experience working with the African Union, Regional Economic Communities, and regional institutions is required.
- Proven experience in development work, specifically partnership building with multiple stakeholders on common development challenges is required.
- Sound knowledge of rule of law, human rights, peacebuilding and development issues and programming is preferred.
- Prior experience with UNDP is required.
- Demonstrated experience organizing and managing workshops and meetings is desirable.
- Proven experience in overseeing and ensuring technical soundness of research and analysis products is preferred.
- Demonstrated experience in project management, including coordinating activities and producing narrative and financial reports is preferred.
- Full computer literacy, in internet searching and Microsoft Office applications is desirable.
- Demonstrated experience engaging effectively with senior officials, in government and within the UN and AU system, is an advantage.
Language Requirements:
- Fluency in English. Fluency in French is desirable. Working knowledge of another UN language will be an asset.