By continuing to browse this site, you agree to our use of cookies. Read our privacy policy

Senior Development Adviser

Manila

  • Organization: UNHCR - United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
  • Location: Manila
  • Grade: Senior level - P-5, International Professional - Internationally recruited position
  • Occupational Groups:
  • Closing Date: Closed

Before submitting an application, UNHCR staff members intending to apply to this Job Opening are requested to consult the Recruitment and Assignments Policy (RAP, UNHCR/HCP/2017/2 and the Recruitment and Assignments Administrative Instruction (RAAI), UNHCR/AI/2017/7 OF 15 August 2017.

Senior Development Adviser

Organizational Setting and Work Relationships
UNHCR's mandated responsibility for finding solutions to refugee situations has long required stronger cooperation with development partners and the inclusion of persons of concern within development planning and programming instruments, including national development programmes. Due to a variety of factors, the proportion of refugees and internally displaced persons in protracted displacement situations remains high. Moreover, the diminishing number of forcibly displaced people who have access to so-called durable solutions constitutes a worrying trend that has persisted in recent years. The increasing scale of irregular migration, large scale refugee movements, internal displacement and the costs of responding to humanitarian situations have placed forced displacement high on the global agenda. Given the complexity and protractedness of many of today¿s forced displacement situations, often occurring in fragile contexts, awareness is growing that the humanitarian model of care and maintenance is unsustainable in the longer term and that forced displacement requires a development response to complement humanitarian assistance, address poverty and other development challenges in a sustainable and inclusive manner. The SDGs provide a yardstick for inclusive development based on the principles of Leaving No One Behind and Reaching the Furthest Behind First. It is also acknowledged that extreme poverty and human suffering associated with refugees and other forcibly displaced people need to be systematically taken into account when addressing development challenges and development prospects of host communities, countries, and regions.
The Global Compact for Refugees frames this new approach towards a more predictable and equitable responsibility-sharing, recognizing that more sustainable approaches to refugee situations cannot be achieved without the systematic engagement of a broader set of stakeholders, including development partners.
Among the most significant humanitarian-development cooperation partnerships strengthened in recent years has been between the World Bank and UNHCR around forced displacement. In the eighteenth replenishment (2017-2020) of the World Bank¿s International Development Association (IDA), which provides financing for low-income countries, an amount of US$ 2 billion was included for those states receiving large numbers of refugees (Sub-Window for Refugees and Host-Communities). This dedicated financing instrument for low-income refugee hosting countries has been maintained and expanded to US$ 2.2 billion under the 19th IDA replenishment (2020-2023). The IDA allocations to refugee-hosting countries under the Sub-Window for Refugees (IDA18) and Window for Host Communities and Refugees (IDA19) are complemented by the operationalization of a Global Concessional Financing Facility (GCFF) for Middle-Income Countries (MICs) affected by large numbers of refugees. In addition, UNHCR has enhanced cooperation with the private sector wing of the World Bank, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and other development actors. In line with this approach UNHCR, continues to increase is strategic engagement with other Multilateral Development Banks and Bilateral Development Actors.
Within the context outlined above, the role of the Senior Development Adviser is to lead UNHCR's strategic engagement with development actors to expand existing and pursue new partnership opportunities towards ensuring sustained, predictable and long-term development approaches to forced displacement situations. The incumbent plays a leadership role in identifying and capitalizing on strategic partnership prospects with development actors. The objective being the creation of socio-economic opportunities for host communities and UNHCR¿s population of concern through inclusive programming and leveraging their convening power to influence policy dialogue/institutions that would improve protection environments, socio-economic inclusion, resilience and solutions. It is anticipated that development responses to forced displacement will grow in significance in future years due to the greater importance attached to fragility and addressing protracted displacement situations. The incumbent will lead and advise in identifying and pursuing opportunities and ensure complementarity between UNHCR's protection work, the economic and social development objectives pursued by development partners, and the political and development objectives of government counterparts in countries affected by forced displacement, including countries of origin.
The Senior Development Adviser will provide strategic guidance and support within the AoR to enhance UNHCR¿s efforts to (i) establish a strategic vision for engagement with key development actors; ii) lead this engagement; iii) align policy, advocacy, operational and programme priorities between humanitarian and development agencies, (ii) establish and maintain knowledge and information exchanges on key developments among stakeholders, (iii) identify and support the implementation of key pieces of research that would support the engagement of development actors in forced displacement, including host governments; (iv) advise on UNHCR engagement in development planning, programming and coordination processes with Government entities and development partners; and (vi) advise/lead in developing, contributing to and coordinating multi-year and multi-partner transition strategies and the engagement of development partners for protracted forced displacement and return situations. 
In the Regional Bureaux, the Senior Development Adviser will normally work under the overall supervision of the Bureau Director, Deputy Director, Head of External Engagement Service or Chief of External Engagement/Partnerships.

All UNHCR staff members are accountable to perform their duties as reflected in their job description. They do so within their delegated authorities, in line with the regulatory framework of UNHCR which includes the UN Charter, UN Staff Regulations and Rules, UNHCR Policies and Administrative Instructions as well as relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, staff members are required to discharge their responsibilities in a manner consistent with the core, functional, cross-functional and managerial competencies and UNHCR¿s core values of professionalism, integrity and respect for diversity.

Duties
For positions in Country Operations only:
- Advise operations on practical research and analysis to interpret long-term political, economic and social trends that will enhance opportunities for protection, solutions, resilience and inclusion for populations of concern to UNHCR.
- Provide advice to operations in planning for resilience and inclusion within a vision of longer-term protection and solution outcomes for people of concern taking into account host communities and leveraging development partner and government technical and financial resources.
- Support the development of comprehensive multi-year protection and solutions plans/strategies (incl. Multi-Year Multi-Partner Strategies).
- Facilitate the inclusion of populations of concern into national and local development planning and programming instruments, working closely with UNHCR and development partner technical leads.
- Lead the operation in identifying and capitalizing on development opportunities, including through Government pledges and or pledges made by bilateral/multiteral or UN development and/or peacebuilding partners.
- Provide leadership and guidance for relationship building with development co-operation agencies and peace and state-building agendas through the different stages of policy and programme identification, preparation, implementation and review.
- Lead in the development of partnerships and networks with development cooperation actors to influence the policy dialogue with governments on institutional arrangements related to sectors, locations and programme content of consequence to UNHCR and persons of concern. This would, in particular, focus on supporting the coordination of the in-country relationship with the World Bank and other multilateral development banks, especially where there is potential for specific funding directed towards UNHCR¿s persons of concern (e.g. WB IDA sub-window for refugees and host communities or the WB Global Concessional Financing Facility).
- Cooperate with development partners to assist them in incorporating the concerns of refugees, returnees and others of concern to UNHCR into the design and implementation arrangements of projects and interventions in a manner that impacts positively on protection circumstances.
- Identify, commission and/or contribute to studies and analytical activities that build the conceptual framework and evidence base for comprehensive, development-oriented responses, including preparedness work, to forced displacement.
- Ensure that development actors are provided relevant data to inform their planning, programming and advocacy around resilience for and inclusion of UNHCR persons of concern.
- Engage with governments, development partners (both multilateral and bilateral), and with the private sector and civil society (as appropriate) to identify opportunities for UNHCR to contribute to the design and implementation of monitoring systems to track progress towards agreed outcomes.
- Facilitate coordination and collaboration and the sharing of knowledge and experience between UNHCR and development actors and across UNHCR operations globally by documenting and disseminating good practices and active participation in the Division of Resilience and Solutions¿, Development Partnerships Community of Practice.
- Facilitate training activities aimed at the capacity building of UNHCR and partner agency staff to achieve greater coordination, effectiveness and synergies between humanitarian and development interventions.

For positions in Regional Bureaux only:
- Provide strategic vision for the engagement with development partners, ensuring a coherent, predictable and sustainable engagement to address the development challenges present in forced displacement situations and contribute to building resilience and protection and working towards solutions.
- Lead the engagement at the regional level with key development actors, in particular relevant regionally-focused MDB/Bilateral Development actors/IFIs.
- Engage with MDBs/Bilateral Development actors/IFIs to support the development, adoption and implementation of strategies and funding mechanisms focused on forced displacement.
- Provide advice to the Regional Bureau and/or operations in identifying, articulating and capitalizing on development and resilience opportunities, including through pledges made by regional partners, and regional development initiatives and programmes.
- Provide analysis and suggest actions on development perspectives related to protection/resilience longer-term situational solutions strategies, the means to address these and possible regional opportunities for engagement.
- Ensure support and coherence, where relevant, across operations in how they engage with development actors based on headquarters guidance where relevant (e.g. messaging, policies, etc.).
- Analyze and interpret long-term political, economic and social trends from a situational or regional perspective that can open up opportunities for inclusion of populations of concern and lead to more impactful approaches to refugee protection.
- Advise the Regional Bureau and/or operations on matters related to the political economy of development approaches to forced displacement, including underlying constraints, incentives and strategic interests of critical stakeholders, including relevant Government counterparts and development actors.
- Provide guidance to countries without an SDO as specified in the operational context for this position.
- Analyse available knowledge and data to feed into regional and HQ policy, programme and advocacy efforts on relevant development issues.
- Network and engage with regional bodies to identify and advocate for inclusion of forced displacement issues in development-related strategy or policy work or political for a.
- Identify, commission and/or contribute to studies and analytical activities from a situational or regional perspective that build the conceptual framework and evidence base for comprehensive, development-oriented responses, including preparedness work, to forced displacement.
- Perform other related duties as required.

Minimum Qualifications
Education & Professional Work Experience
Years of Experience / Degree Level
For P5 - 12 years relevant experience with Undergraduate degree; or 11 years relevant experience with Graduate degree; or 10 years relevant experience with Doctorate degree

Field(s) of Education
Development Economics; Development Studies; Socio-economic Development;
International Relations;                 Political Science;         Law
or other relevant field.
(Field(s) of Education marked with an asterisk* are essential)

Certificates and/or Licenses
Not specified

Relevant Job Experience
Essential
At least six (6) years of direct working experience with a multilateral, bilateral or UN development actor implementing development programmes, of which at least two (2) years in field operations, preferably with knowledge of, or experience in, local or area based economic development, direct engagement in a technical sector such as education, WASH, social protection, health, energy. Experience in primary data collection, quantitative research methods and results-based management.
Practical experience working with and an understanding of the different aspects of economic growth, governance, fragility and conflict. Expertise related to the governance of specific multilateral development banks or bilateral development actors most relevant to the AoR.

Desirable
Not specified.

Functional Skills
*MG-Partnership Development
*SO-Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
*SO-Networking
*UN-Policy Advocacy in UNHCR
*IM-Knowledge Management
*CO-Strategic Communication
*CO-Drafting, Documentation
PR-Refugee Protection Principles and Framework
CL- Strategy Development and Monitoring
MG-Project Management
PG-Results-Based Management
(Functional Skills marked with an asterisk* are essential)

Language Requirements
For International Professional and Field Service jobs: Knowledge of English and UN working language of the duty station if not English.
For National Professional jobs: Knowledge of English and UN working language of the duty station if not English and local language.
For General Service jobs: Knowledge of English and/or UN working language of the duty station if not English.

This is a Standard Job Description for all UNHCR jobs with this job title and grade level. The Operational Context may contain additional essential and/or desirable qualifications relating to the specific operation and/or position. Any such requirements are incorporated by reference in this Job Description and will be considered for the screening, shortlisting and selection of candidates. C001L4 - Accountability Level 4
C002L4 - Teamwork & Collaboration Level 4
C003L4 - Communication Level 4
C004L4 - Commitment to Continuous Learning Level 4
C005L4 - Client & Result Orientation Level 4
C006L4 - Organizational Awareness Level 4
M001L4 - Empowering and Building Trust Level 4
M005L4 - Leadership Level 4
M004L4 - Strategic Planning and Vision Level 4
M003L4 - Judgement and Decision Making Level 4
X001L4 - Analytical Thinking Level 4
X007L4 - Political Awareness Level 4
X008L4 - Stakeholder Management Level 4

The UNHCR workforce consists of many diverse nationalities, cultures, languages and opinions. UNHCR seeks to sustain and strengthen this diversity to ensure equal opportunities as well as an inclusive working environment for its entire workforce. Applications are encouraged from all qualified candidates without distinction on grounds of race, colour, sex, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation and gender identity.

Please note that UNHCR does not charge a fee at any stage of its recruitment process (application, interview, meeting, travelling, processing, training or any other fees).

Please note that the closing date for vacancies advertised in the March 2021 Compendium is Thursday 15 April 2021 (midnight Geneva time).

This vacancy is now closed.
However, we have found similar vacancies for you: