Community Engagement Specialist

Details

Mission and objectives

UNDP’s Programme of Assistance to the Palestinian People (PAPP) derives its mandate from the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 33/147 of 20 December 1978. Called upon by United Nations Member States in that year, UNDP was requested “to improve the economic and social conditions of the Palestinian people by identifying their social and economic needs and by establishing concrete projects to that end”. UNDP/PAPP is a responsive development agency that works together with the Palestinian people to fulfil their aspiration for sustainable human development based on self-determination, equality and freedom.

Context

UNDP is the leading United Nations organization fighting to end the injustice of poverty, inequality, and climate change. Working with our broad network of experts and partners in 170 countries, we help nations to build integrated, lasting solutions for people and planet. UNDP’s Programme of Assistance to the Palestinian People (PAPP) derives its mandate from United Nations General Assembly Resolution 33/147 of 20 December 1978. Called upon by United Nations Member States in that year, UNDP was requested “to improve the economic and social conditions of the Palestinian people by identifying their social and economic needs and by establishing concrete projects to that end”. UNDP’s Palestinian Programmatic Framework (PPF) 2023-2025 sets out a vision of “a world in which all Palestinians can enjoy a dignified life and fulfil their own vision of a unified, peaceful and free society”. The PPF is centred around the concept of “Transformative Resilience” and its three elements: a cohesive Palestinian identity, self-reliance, and ownership and leadership. Over the next three years, UNDP/PAPP will build on its experiences and achievements to make critical contributions to the priorities defined by the Palestinian national development plans and the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF), through interventions in three programmatic priority areas: i) democratic governance and quality services; ii) inclusive economic opportunities; iii) sustainable natural resources management. This UNV assignment is part of UNDP’s Investment Programme for Resilience (IPR). The overarching objective of IPR is to enhance the socio-economic resilience of marginalized Palestinian communities, including greater self-reliance, enhanced ownership and leadership and cohesive identity, with a specific focus on women’s empowerment and gender equality at the community level (impact). To do so, the programme has embedded community engagement throughout the life cycle of the project, thus building leadership and ownership of the community. In its first three phases, IPR addressed community needs through: enabling the health sector to respond to COVID-19 and strengthening local service delivery and enhancing social cohesion in marginalized communities (phase 1); expanding its investments in community infrastructure linked to stronger community resilience (phase 2); and further expanding the community infrastructure component, strengthening access to socio-economic services and enhancing social engagement in marginalized and disadvantaged communities (phase 3). In its fourth phase, IPR is integrating a focus on gender equality as a means to further advance its work and contribution to community resilience. Overall, IPR IV seeks to ensure inclusive and more resilient access to gender-responsive and, whenever possible, gender-transformative socio-economic opportunities, supported by community engagement and addressing environmental sustainability. A key strategic approach of IPR is the engagement of men as allies for women’s socio-economic empowerment and agents of change towards gender equality.

Task description

Under the direct supervision of the Community Mobilizer, and with technical guidance and support from the Gender Consultant, the UN Volunteer Specialist will: 1. Provide oversight, guidance, and support to the UN Community Volunteers • Prepare an action plan for the roll-out of data collection/community profiling exercises in the targeted communities, in close collaboration with the Community Mobilizer, as well as with technical guidance from the Gender Consultant to ensure integration of gender within the community profiling methodology. • Provide support and guidance to the Community Volunteers in the facilitation of local participatory community engagement processes/ stakeholders engagement/ workshops, ensuring the integration of a gender transformative approach. • Support partnership development and coalition building and fostering networking and inter-communities collaboration. • Support the identification and analysis of potential community engagement initiatives, and develop and implement strategies to engage stakeholders in relevant activities ensuring the integration of a gender transformative approach. • Support the designing, planning and coordination of activities and events in the communities, ensuring the integration of a gender transformative approach. 2. Advance the gender equality agenda with local partners and the community • Provide support in the roll out of gender transformative sessions engaging local partners and community representatives. • Provide support in the design of locally-driven gender equality action plans. • Organize and conduct field visits on a regular basis to the targeted communities to monitor progress in advancing gender equality. 3. Support data collection, monitoring and reporting efforts • Organize and conduct field visits to the sub-projects and to the Implementing Partners (IPs) when needed to monitor progress of social cohesion and inclusion initiatives and report findings. • Support the organization of activities, including workshops focus group discussions, and other by scheduling, venue arrangement, and materials preparation, to facilitate meaningful data collection and community engagement • Support the Community Mobilizer in mainstreaming gender, environment and digitalization across all activities in the community. • Provide support in data collection to track key indicators related to social cohesion and inclusion initiatives, such as attendance records, feedback forms, and qualitative observations. • Provide technical guidance and support in the design of questionnaires and surveys. 4. Contribute to the roll out of the project’s communication and visibility plan • Support the project’s media, communication and visibility related activities (drafting of short stories, media briefs, press releases, …etc.). • Collect relevant information about the targeted beneficiaries, including details that will enable UNDP and its partners to promote the project. • Identify and document success stories in close coordination with supervisor, as well as with technical guidance/support from the Gender Consultant for identifying success stories that highlight gender transformative change (e.g., women feeling more empowered to engage and participate in decision-making in their community; men being supportive of women’s economic empowerment; men being more engaged and contributing to domestic care work within their households). • Collaborate with relevant stakeholders to ensure that community initiatives and activities are properly represented and communicated across all channels. 5. Any other related tasks, as may be required or assigned by the supervisor.