Peace and Development Officer

BACKGROUND

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.

UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

More countries have been experienced violent conflict than at any time in nearly 30 years. While the complex relationship between conflict, security and development is increasingly understood, international assistance and investment in conflict prevention have remained relatively low. At the same time, approaches to preventing conflict have been refined considerably, as policy and practice on peacebuilding have evolved – and the UN, its Member States and other partners are increasingly looking to prevention as a critical strategy for sustaining peace and nurturing development. Conflict prevention is increasingly recognized as a rational and cost-effective strategy for countries at risk of violence and for the international community.

The joint UNDP-DPPA programme on building national capacities for conflict prevention has made a ground-breaking contribution in bridging the gap between political engagement and development assistance in pursuit of preventing conflict and sustaining peace. In its current phase (2019-2023), the Joint UNDP-DPPA Programme will further strengthen the analytical capacities of national stakeholders and the UN system in support of Member States’ efforts to advance policy and programmatic coherence on conflict prevention and support strategies for sustaining peace.

The deployment of Peace and Development Advisors has been the primary instrument of the Joint Programme to provide capacity for Resident Coordinators, UNDP and UN Country Teams to support national partners in dialogue and national or local mediation processes, the establishment and operationalization of national infrastructures and mechanisms for peace; and other initiatives aimed at sustaining peace.

In an effort to ensure that PDAs are better equipped and empowered to deliver on their mandates, the Joint Programme has established in a number of contexts small ‘Peace and Development teams’ where a national Peace and Development Officer provides reinforced capacity to the PDA’s engagement in support of the RCOs and UNCTs in the area of conflict prevention and sustaining peace.

There are currently 64 PDA positions across the globe, including 35 teams.

In the Papua New Guinea context, the National PDO will support the Peace and Development Advisor in efforts related to research and analysis in the area of conflict prevention and peacebuilding, identify entry points and provide support for UN initiatives related to building national capacities for conflict prevention, including by providing support to the Highlands Joint Programme, and other coordination and partnership support functions to the PDA team.

Position Purpose :

The Peace and Development Officer works under the direct supervision and guidance of the PDA, to provide substantive support in three main areas of activity, including:

• Research, information-gathering and analysis with specific focus on supporting and promoting peacebuilding and conflict prevention
• Identify entry-points and support inclusive and conflict-sensitive approaches in efforts to build national capacities for conflict prevention, particularly with regard to civil society, including women’s and youth networks
• Provide technical support for coordination, partnerships and M&E

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

Assisting on research, information-gathering, and analysis with a specific focus on supporting and promoting peacebuilding and conflict prevention:

• Gather and process data and information relevant to the UN’s role and activities in Papua New Guinea, and particularly in the Highlands, with specific focus on supporting and promoting peacebuilding, social cohesion, conflict prevention and sustainable development.
• Support the PDA in undertaking political, political economy and/or conflict analysis, monitoring the situation in the country, early warning, and making recommendations for action
• Reporting of issues related to peace and security, including through regular situational reports and analysis of local sources.
• Carry out and coordinate research on particular issues and thematic areas.

Identifying entry-points and support inclusive and conflict-sensitive approaches in efforts to build national capacities for conflict prevention, particularly with regard to civil society, including women’s and youth networks:

• Assist the PDA in identifying areas of programmatic engagement with national stakeholders related to social cohesion, dialogue, conflict prevention and consensus building; and contribute to the development of conflict-sensitive approaches.
• Under the guidance of the PDA, support the exploration of entry points with key national counterparts including the Government, political parties, and civil society.
• Advise on mainstreaming conflict-sensitive approaches; including provision of training UN Country Team staff and key national partners on conflict analysis, conflict prevention and/or conflict-sensitive development; and advice to specific initiatives such as the Highlands Joint Programme.
• Undertake mapping and analysis with civil society actors’ (including youth, women, and marginalized groups) capacities for conflict prevention/ peacebuilding at local and national level, using the exercise to inform the support provided by the PDA and UNCT throughout the duration of the assignment.
• Support the PDA in their engagement with national and local stakeholders, focusing particularly on engaging with civil society actors at local level and academia, to help link local initiatives to national-level institutions, structures, and processes, as well as reinforcing dialogue between government and civil society and/or people-to-people dialogues.

Provide technical support for coordination, partnerships, and M&E:

• Support the external coordination of existing partnerships between stakeholders (government, civil society, private sector and the international community, including the UN system).
• In close collaboration with the PDA and the Joint Programme Secretariat, support monitoring and evaluation function, including collecting, processing and analyzing data in the framework of peace and development team workplan.
• Support knowledge management and sharing of good practices on conflict prevention and peacebuilding; ensure that stories and lessons learned are shared with the Joint Programme Secretariat; and respond to specific requests for information; and
• Perform an array of duties that support UN coordination and effective Peace and Development Team programme implementation. These may include assisting in organizing meetings and consultations, organizing, and implementing consultation processes with national and international partners.

COMPETENCIES:

Core Competencies

• Achieve Results: LEVEL 2: Scale-up solutions and simplifies processes, balances speed and accuracy in doing work
• Think Innovatively: LEVEL 2: Offer new ideas/open to new approaches, demonstrate systemic/integrated thinking
• Learn Continuously: LEVEL 2: Go outside the comfort zone, learn from others and support their learning
• Adapt with Agility: LEVEL 2: Adapt processes/approaches to new situations, involve others in the change process
• Act with Determination: LEVEL 2: Able to persevere and deal with multiple sources of pressure simultaneously
• Engage and Partner: LEVEL 2: Is facilitator/integrator, bring people together, build/maintain coalitions/partnerships
• Enable Diversity and Inclusion: LEVEL 2: Facilitate conversations to bridge differences, considers in decision making

Cross-Functional Competencies:

Business Direction & Strategy-Strategic Thinking

• Ability to leverage learning from a variety of sources to anticipate and respond to future trends; to demonstrate foresight in order to model what future developments and possible ways forward look like for UNDP

Business Direction & Strategy-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

Business Development-Knowledge Generation

• Ability to research and turn information into useful knowledge, relevant for context, or responsive to a stated need

Technical Competencies:

External Relations & Advocacy (general) -Event planning and execution

• Ability to plan, manage and execute of public and private events to ensure that they support and amplify individual communications and advocacy initiatives, as well as UNDP's overall brand and mandate.

2030 Agenda: Peace-Conflict Prevention, Peacebuilding and Responsive Institutions

• Conflict Analysis and conflict sensitivity

Communications-Writing and editing

• Ability to create and/or edit written content in different UN languages.

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

QUALIFICATIONS:

Education:

• Advanced university degree (Master’s Degree) in political science, sociology, international relations, development studies, international economics, law, public administration, or other related social sciences with 2 years of relevant experience. A university degree (Bachelor’s Degree)  with an additional 2 years of relevant experience will be accepted in lieu of an advanced degree.

Experience, Knowledge, and Skills

• Minimum of 2 years with a master’s degree OR 4 years with a Bachelor’s degree of progressively responsible experience in conflict analysis, development and/or conflict prevention in a governmental, multilateral or civil society organization.
• Extensive experience in analysis, research and sound drafting skills.
• Experience in project/programme development, management
• Experience in national and community-level conflict prevention and peacebuilding initiatives and programming.
• In-depth knowledge of and extensive experience in (country/region), including in dialogue and conflict prevention initiatives; and awareness and familiarity of key actors and stakeholders across the political, economic, and development spheres alongside knowledge of government, civil society, and other non-state actors.

Language Requirements:

• Fluent written and spoken English is required.
• Fluency in Tok Pisin and local languages spoken in the PNG Highlands Regions as distinct advantage.

Important Note:

• Candidates selected pursuant to this vacancy may be subject to UNDP’s policy on Probation upon assignment.

Applicant information about UNDP rosters

Note: UNDP reserves the right to select one or more candidates from this vacancy announcement.  We may also retain applications and consider candidates applying to this post for other similar positions with UNDP at the same grade level and with similar job descriptions, experiences and educational requirements.

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