Community Cohesion & Resilience officer

The Community Cohesion and Resilience Officer will be based in Bor, Jonglei State, working under the Peace and Community Cohesion (PaCC) project. The incumbent will report directly to the PaCC Peacebuilding Specialist and under the overall supervision and guidance of the PaCC Project Manager.

Under UNDP South Sudan’s Democratic Governance and Stabilization Unit (DGSU), the PaCC project contributes to the reduction and mitigation of community level conflict and insecurity by investing in initiatives that address key drivers of conflict and insecurity. The project empowers communities to identify in an inclusive and participatory manner the drivers of conflicts in their communities and, using an integrated and gender sensitive approach, it supports communities to effectively prevent, manage and resolve conflict in a non-violent way. At the same time the project seeks to strengthen community relationships by identifying and strengthening cultural, social and economic connectors that make communities reliant on each other across gender and age divides.

The candidate will work closely with Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), State and Regional Peace Coordinators, other UN Agencies, amongst other relevant partners, to execute the following key functions in the relevant conflict clusters:

Coordinate and facilitate the implementation of peace and community cohesion related activities:

• Maintain regular communication and coordination with relevant partners to ensure timely implementation of activities;
• Facilitate and provide technical assistance for the implementation of peace and community cohesion related activities, enabling high quality delivery of outputs and activity results as per the PaCC project documents;
• Strengthen synergies with/between PaCC activities and work of other UNDP projects/UN Agencies/other relevant partners to ensure the achievement of integrated results;
• Support local partners in strengthening mechanisms for the coordination of local level peacebuilding activities and facilitate the coordination with relevant state level actors;
• Participate in relevant events and networks related to the specific scope of work.

Support the strengthening/capacity development of local peace structures and civil society partners:

• Facilitate the strengthening of local peace structures, such as peace committees, to encourage joint and inclusive peacebuilding approaches at the local level;
• Supervise and monitor the peace and community cohesion related work of CSOs identified by the project and facilitate and provide technical advice to ensure the achievement of quality results;
• Identify capacity needs of local peace partners/structures and support the design and implementation of capacity development initiatives.

Support conflict mapping and analysis, monitoring and evaluation and lessons learned studies:

• Promote community-led participatory conflict and context analyses to inform project programming; 
• Monitor and assess activity progress against the project’s Annual Work Plan targets and indicators;
• Ensure that project lessons learned and best practices are captured, documented and periodically shared; 
• Support identification of new entry points for PaCC activities that contribute to social cohesion and community security;
• Draft reports, updates, and briefing notes as necessary.

Building Strategic Partnerships: Identifying and building partnerships:

• Effectively networks with partners seizing opportunities to build strategic alliances relevant to UNDP’s mandate and strategic agenda;
• Promote networking and knowledge sharing with other colleagues in UNDP and the UN System;  
• Assist and train national counterparts in creating the tools necessary to support development policy in the Country;
• Promotes UNDP’s agenda in inter-agency meetings.

• Assist in undertaking continuous review of fragility and core governance functions.

Innovation and Marketing New Approaches: Developing new approaches:

• Seeks a broad range of perspectives in developing project proposals;
• Identifies new approaches and promotes their use in other situations;
• Creates an environment that fosters innovation and innovative thinking;
• Makes the case for innovative ideas from the team with own supervisor.

Resource Mobilization : Implementing resource mobilization strategies:

• Analyzes information on potential bilateral donors and national counterparts to recommend a strategic approach;
• Identifies and compiles lessons learned;
• Develops a resource mobilization strategy at the country level.

Promoting Organizational Learning and Knowledge Sharing: Developing tools and mechanisms:

• Makes the case for innovative ideas documenting successes and building them into the design of new approaches;
• Identifies new approaches and strategies that promote the use of tools and mechanisms;
• Effective presentation and report-writing skills; strong analytical and strategic skills.

Knowledge/Technical Expertise: In-depth knowledge of the subject-matter:

• Understands more advanced aspects of primary area of specialization as well as the fundamental concepts of related disciplines;
• Keeps abreast of new developments in areas of professional discipline and job knowledge and seeks to develop him/herself professionally;
• Demonstrates comprehensive knowledge of information technology and applies it in work assignments;
• Demonstrates comprehensive understanding and knowledge of the current guidelines and project management tools and utilizes these regularly in work assignments;
• Experience of managing staff and consultants to ensure effective delivery of workplans.

Leadership:

• Generates commitment, excitement and excellence in others
• Creates new opportunities for team, not just self to learn and take on new responsibilities.

The successful candidate should have the following skills, experience and qualifications:

Education:

• Master’s Degree or equivalent in political or social sciences, international development, conflict studies or other related field. A Bachelor degree with a minimum of 4 years experience may be considered in liue of the Master degree

Experience:

• Minimum of 2 years of relevant professional experience at the national or international level in development work related to peacebuilding and/or conflict transformation, preferably in post-conflict settings.  .
• Experience in working with CSOs to promote peace and reconciliation especially at the grassroots level preferred
• Excellent command of common Microsoft Office programs is a requirement; and Excellent communication and interpersonal skills;

Language:

• Written and spoken English is essential;
• Knowledge of Arabic will be an added advantage.

Application Procedure:

This vacancy announcement is for qualified South Sudanese nationals only

To start the application process, applicants are required to register at http://jobs.undp.org by creating a personal profile and completing UNDP Personal History Form. Please note that UNDP only accepts degrees from accredited educational institutions. Only applications received through http://jobs.undp.org will be considered and applications received after closing date will not be considered. Due to the large number of applications received for UNDP South Sudan vacancies, only applicants short-listed for written test and interview will be contacted.

General Information

UNDP is committed to gender equality in its mandate and its staffs and encourages applications from qualified female candidates and persons with disabilities.

UNDP is a United Nations organization whose staff are expected to uphold the highest standards of integrity, neutrality and impartiality. This includes respect for and commitment to human rights, diversity, and non-violent means of dealing with all kinds of conflict. UNDP staff are expected to uphold these values at all times, both at work and outside. Only persons who fully and unconditionally commit to these values should consider applying for UNDP jobs.

UNDP has zero tolerance of sexual abuse, abuse of authority and exploitation.

The United Nations does not charge fees at any stage of the recruitment process (application, testing, interviewing, etc). The United Nations does not concern itself with information related to bank accounts.