Resilience Project Officer (NPSA9)

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the UN’s global development network, advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. We are on the ground in 170 countries and territories, working with governments and people on their own solutions to global and national development challenges to help empower lives and build resilient nations.

The Governance for Resilient Development in the Pacific (Gov4Res) Project works with the Pacific governments to ensure that countries adapt their decision making and governance systems towards more resilient development. The theory of change for the project  rests on a core assumption that Pacific Island people will be more resilient to the impacts of climate change and disasters if countries manage all development through a risk informed approach. This involves planning, financing, implementing and appraising development initiatives from a risk informed perspective, considering risks from climate change and disaster events, as well as gender and social inclusion needs.

The Gov4Res Project has three outcomes areas 1) government planning and financing systems enable gender and socially inclusive risk-informed development; 2) country oversight and accountability systems require gender and socially inclusive risk-informed development; and 3) regional organisations, policies and practices are actively supporting gender and socially inclusive risk-informed development. 

UNDP is partnering with a range of partners to deliver this project across the Pacific including Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT), Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).

The position will report directly to the Project Manager of the UNDP Governance for Resilient Development in the Pacific (Gov4Res) Project under the overall guidance of the Resilience and Sustainable Development Team Leader and will work in collaboration with other members of the Resilience and Sustainable Development team including the broader Gov4Res team and key partners. 

The Resilience Project Officer will be based in Suva, Fiji to support the Gov4Res project implementation. The incumbent is expected to work under the direct supervision of the Project Manager of Gov4Res, in the UNDP Pacific Office in Fiji. S/he will support project implementation, capacity development, development of knowledge products and communication materials for initiatives being risk informed and implemented in all Gov4Res countries. S/he will  liaise with project stakeholders including non-government organisations, local government, national government and regional partner agencies and provide technical and capacity development support as required. The scope of work includes:

• Provide assistance and advice to national counterparts and their institutions as well as locally based Resilience Project Officers on risk informing development (incorporating gender and social inclusion) in relation to planning, budgeting and financing at the national and subnational levels
• Provide risk screening and risk assessment guidance and conduct training and workshops as needed 
• Support facilitation and implementation of Gov4Res small grant and government grant funding through the organization and facilitation of information sessions, coordination and communication with potential grantees and support for proposal development, risk assessment and capacity building processes
• Support technical areas of RID programming through development of concept notes, proposals and identification of activity entry points in project work planning

Coordinate and collaborate for shared RID learning and programming

• Assist in coordination of in-country Resilience Project Officers and oversight of tasks and activities being undertaken in-country
• Liase with in-country Resilience Project Officers and support the coordination of stakeholders including NGOs, government agencies and regional organisations to integrate consideration of climate change and disaster risks into community development processes, projects, plans and budgets as well as government processes, plans and budgets
• Identify required technical expertise and coordinate provision of assistance of Gov4Res technical specialists as needed
• Support the development of peer to peer learning initiatives and the development of communities of practice across the region on risk informed development, gender and social inclusion and other related thematic areas
• Meet with donor partners and in-country posts to provide activity updates as needed

Develop knowledge and communication products that promote Gov4Res outcomes

• Identify good practice initiatives and project activities demonstrating systems change and enhance visibility of these through targeted communications materials and campaigns 
• Support the development of case studies and other knowledge products (in conjunction with the project’s communication team) of good practice in community-based risk informed development, for dissemination of learning and replication as appropriate
• Facilitate communication and visibility workshops and support government and non-government teams in developing communication and knowledge products to advocate for replication and scale of RID initiatives

Support project M&E, design and work planning processes

• Provision of support to the MERL specialist on data, information, quotes, stories etc. that contribute to project monitoring and evaluation processes
• Input into annual project reporting and work planning processes
• Undertake preparation of reports on assigned project activities as required and support the Gov4Res team preparing the donor-targeted and development partner information sharing materials

Support capacity building initiatives

• Support the Gov4Res team to plan, coordinate and facilitate training with targeted stakeholders, as required
• Provide support for the development of presentation materials, briefs and other knowledge products for relevant training and workshop sessions
• Support in-country Resilience Project Officers and other local stakeholders (including Government agency partners and non-government organisations) in the development of communication and visibility for their initiatives with a focus on advocating for risk-informed approaches
• Coordinate capacity building and learning initiatives on risk informed development, community development programming, gender and social inclusion, communication, story-telling and impact stories (both internally and externally)

Other related duties as required.

• Knowledge Generation: Ability to research and turn information into useful knowledge, relevant for context or responsive to a stated need
• Knowledge Facilitation: Ability to animate individuals and communities of contributors to participate and share, particularly externally

• 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

• Project Management: Project Management: Ability to plan, organize, prioritize and control resources, procedures and protocols to achieve specific goals

• 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