Peacebuilding Specialist

Overall purpose of the role:

The Peacebuilding Specialist will provide technical leadership and field-level support to the AHEAD Anticipatory Action project, ensuring that peacebuilding, social cohesion, and conflict sensitivity are effectively integrated into anticipatory action systems and early response mechanisms.

The role focuses on preventing and mitigating displacement linked to conflict and climate-related shocks by strengthening community preparedness, inclusive dialogue, local conflict management mechanisms, and protection-oriented anticipatory actions. The position will support the design, implementation, and learning of conflict-sensitive anticipatory interventions that reduce violence risks before shocks escalate into displacement.

Responsibilities:

1. Peacebuilding and Conflict Sensitivity in Anticipatory Action

• Provide technical guidance to ensure peacebuilding and social cohesion principles are embedded within anticipatory action design, triggers, and response packages.
• Support the integration of conflict analysis and political economy analysis into anticipatory action planning, readiness activities, and trigger validation.
• Ensure anticipatory actions do not exacerbate tensions and contribute to violence prevention, trust -building, and inclusive community engagement.
• Advise on context-specific anticipatory protection and peace dividends, including dialogue facilitation, community mediation, and conflict de-escalation activities.

1. Community Preparedness and Local Systems Strengthening

• Support community-based preparedness activities that strengthen local conflict prevention, early warning, and response mechanisms.
• Work with community leaders, women’s groups, youth structures, and local authorities to promote inclusive participation in anticipatory action processes.
• Support the design and implementation of anticipatory community dialogues linked to forecasted shocks (e.g. drought, flooding, conflict escalation).
• Strengthening linkages between community early warning systems and national / humanitarian anticipatory action frameworks.

1. Coordination and Stakeholder Engagement

• Coordinate with local authorities, community structures, CSOs, and protection actors to align peacebuilding efforts with anticipatory action objectives.
• Support DRC’s engagement in AA, protection, and peacebuilding coordination platforms, ensuring conflict dynamics inform anticipatory decisions.
• Facilitate collaboration between peacebuilding, protection, and anticipatory action teams to ensure coherent implementation.

1. Implementation Support and Quality Assurance

• Provide technical support to field teams during anticipatory action readiness, activation, and postactivation phases.
• Support monitoring of peacebuilding-related outcomes within anticipatory action interventions.
• Ensure participatory, conflict-sensitive approaches are applied during implementation, especially during trigger activationLearning, Evidence and Knowledge Management
• Contribute to evidence generation on how anticipatory action can reduce conflict risks and displacement drivers.
• Document lessons learned, good practices, and challenges related to integrating peacebuilding into anticipatory action.
• Support learning exchanges and contribute to national and global AHEAD knowledge products.
• Compliance and Accountability
• Ensure adherence to DRC’s Protection, AGD, Conflict Sensitivity, and Do No Harm standards.
• Support compliance with DRC policies on safeguarding, accountability, and ethical engagement

Experience and Technical Competencies:

• Minimum 5 years of experience in peacebuilding, conflict prevention, social cohesion, or protection programming.
• Bachelor’s degree in Peace and Conflict Studies, International Development, Social Sciences, Political Science, or a related field.
• Demonstrated experience integrating conflict sensitivity into humanitarian or resilience programming.
• Experience working with community-based early warning, dialogue, or mediation mechanisms.
• Familiarity with anticipatory action, early warning, preparedness, or forecast-based approaches is a strong asset.
• Experience working with national and local partners in fragile and conflict-affected settings.
• Strong facilitation, analysis, and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including ability to engage diplomatically and represent the organization.
• Experience with programming related to climate resilience, preparedness, and conflict sensitivity.
• Demonstrated ability to innovate and take a flexible, problem-solving approach in complex humanitarian environments.
• Familiarity with humanitarian coordination mechanisms and key international standards.