Background

Job Purpose and Organizational Context

UNDP is the knowledge frontier organization for sustainable development in the UN Development System and serves as the integrator for collective action to realize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and implementation of the Leave No One Behind principle. The Disaster Risk Reduction and Recovery for Building Resilience Team (DRT) is a specialized unit within UNDP dedicated to strengthening resilience and reducing vulnerabilities to disasters and climate-related risks. Operating through four interconnected workstreams, DRT focuses on integrated Risk Governance, climate and disaster risk information, preparedness, and resilient recovery.

In Africa, the DRT coordination unit is based within the UNDP Resilience Hub for Africa, based in Nairobi, Kenya. It oversees the implementation of various regional initiatives and projects, ensuring alignment and synergy in resilience-building efforts. The DRT-Africa and Resilience Hub implements a series of projects and programmes, key among which is the UNDP’s project on “Advancing Food Systems Resilience in Jordan and Kenya”.

The Food System Resilience Project aims to address intertwined challenges in humanitarian needs, peacebuilding, and development by strengthening governance, promoting gender-responsive and resilient food systems, and fostering regional collaboration. The initiative integrates sustainable food system practices to combat climate change and resource scarcity, targeting marginalized groups such as women, youth, and refugees. The project is a joint initiative of the DRT Global team, the UNDP Food and Agriculture Commodity Systems (FACS) team within BPPS,  and the UNDP Resilience Hub for Africa in Nairobi.  In Africa the project serves as a vehicle for implementation of the “Community Recovery and Resilience Facility (CRRF)”, a strategic initiative developed by UNDP and partners to empower communities in Eastern and Southern Africa to recover from shocks and build resilience by improving early warning systems, restoring critical infrastructure, and promoting sustainable livelihoods, promoting land restoration through nature-based solution, and improving access to climate finance. The project also builds on CRRF’s targeted efforts in West Pokot and Tana River counties.

The CRRF supports the implementation of key thematic programmes on urban resilience and risk-informed development. On urban resilience, UNDP joined the African Union and UN Habitat to establish the Aqinile partnership on urban resilience. The Aqinile partnership is  an implementation mechanism for the African Union’s Africa Urban Resilience Programme (AURP) to address the challenges of rapid urbanization, unplanned city expansions, and climate-induced risks. The AURP seeks to build resilience in urban areas through strategic investments, risk-informed urban planning, and climate-adaptive infrastructure, ensuring sustainable urban growth and development. On risk-informed development, the DRT leads the implementation of the EU-funded “Strengthening Disaster Risk Governance and Recovery Capacities” project, which focuses on enhancing resilient recovery, integrated solutions for risk-informed development planning and community-based disaster risk reduction.

To ensure the seamless integration and alignment of activities across global, regional, and country levels, maximizing the impact of the “Advancing Food Systems Resilience” project and related initiatives, and supporting the impactful implementation of the DRT Africa’s above-mentioned projects, UNDP is seeking a Community Resilience Analyst. This role provides critical support in facilitating partnerships, managing knowledge-sharing processes, and ensuring gender-responsive approaches are embedded in all interventions.

Duties and Responsibilities

1. Support coordination and alignment of global and regional projects
   • Facilitate linkages between country-level activities in Jordan and Kenya and global/regional initiatives.
   • Support alignment of the food system resilience interventions with the OACPS project and ensures linkage with the CRRF.
   • Organize and support events such as knowledge-sharing symposiums, workshops, and partnership roundtables.
2. Develop knowledge products and advocacy materials and facilitate knowledge sharing
   • Codify project lessons into reports, toolkits, and case studies for dissemination.
   • Produce communication products emphasizing gender-responsive food systems resilience.
   • Coordinate learning exchanges between stakeholders in the participating countries of the food systems and the OACPS project, and other regions.
3. Strengthen partnerships and resource mobilization
   • Support the development of background documents and analyses for strategic engagements of partners, including donors, private sector actors, and regional bodies.
   • Work with the partnerships unit to support the organization of donor/partner roundtables, in order to scale up the project to a wider scope.
4. Support gender-responsive programming
   • Ensure all activities integrate gender equality considerations
   • Support the development of gender-aggregated data
5. Monitor and evaluate project progress
   • Develop and maintain the projects’ monitoring and evaluation framework, ensuring gender-disaggregated data collection.
   • Prepare progress reports highlighting achievements, challenges, and recommendations.
   • Support the dissemination of project results, working with the communication team to maximise the reach of the project’s results
6. Capacity Building and Technical Support
   • Provide technical support for national and local partners on food systems resilience and risk governance capacities.

Institutional Arrangement

The Community Resilience Analyst will report to the DRT Regional Coordinator for Africa and work closely with the Project Manager of the EU-funded ‘Strengthening Disaster Risk Governance and Recovery Capacities project’, the FACS and DRT teams, Resilience Hub for Africa, and UNDP Country Offices.

Competencies

Core competency 

• Achieve Results: LEVEL 1: Plans and monitors own work, pays attention to details, delivers quality work by deadline
• Think Innovatively: LEVEL 1: Open to creative ideas/known risks, is a pragmatic problem solver, makes improvements
• Learn Continuously: LEVEL 1: Open minded and curious, shares knowledge, learns frommistakes, asks for feedback
• Adapt with Agility: LEVEL 1: Adapts to change, constructively handles ambiguity/uncertainty, is flexible
• Act with Determination: LEVEL 1: Shows drive and motivation, able to deliver calmly in face of adversity, confident
• Engage and Partner: LEVEL 1: Demonstrates compassion/understanding towards others, forms positive relationships
• Enable Diversity and Inclusion: LEVEL 1: Appreciate/respect differences, aware of unconscious bias,confront discrimination

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies 

• Business Direction & Strategy:   Systems 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 information and to turn it into useful knowledge, relevant for context, or responsive to a stated need. Ability to apply existing concepts to new situations, and to develop new concepts to generate workable solutions and new approaches. Knowledge of relevant concepts, conceptual models, and theories that can be useful in addressing new situations.
• Business Management: Project Management – Ability to plan, organize, prioritize and control resources, procedures and protocols to achieve specific goals
• Business Management: Partnerships Management – Build and maintain partnerships with wide networks of stakeholders, Governments, civil society and private sector partners, experts and others in line with UNDP strategy and policies
• Business Management: Results-based Management – Ability to manage the implementation of strategies, programmes, and projects with a focus at improved performance and demonstrable results. Knowledge and understanding of relevant theories, concepts, methodologies, instruments, and tools.
• Business Management: Monitoring & Evaluation – Ability to systematically monitor results of strategies, programmes, and activities with a view to make sure that they are being implemented effectively; Ability to provide managers and key stakeholders with regular feedback and reporting on the consistency or discrepancy between planned activities and programme management and results.
• 2030 Agenda: Planet – Climate:-  Climate Change Adaptation: Fostering Food Security and resilient Agricultural systems

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master’s degree in earth sciences, agriculture, water engineering, international development, or a related field of study. OR A first-level university degree (bachelor’s degree) in the areas mentioned above, in combination with an additional two years of qualifying experience, will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree

Experience:

• Minimum of 2 years (with Bachelor’s degree) or 0 years (with Master’s degree) of relevant work experience on development coordination or project management, related to the areas of resilience building, and disaster risk reduction.
• Proven experience in knowledge management, capacity building, monitoring and evaluation, resilience programming, and advocacy
• Experience managing knowledge products within the UN system and implementing partners will be desirable.
• Strong analytical, communication, and organizational skills.
• Experience in gender-responsive programming and resilience-building.
• Familiarity with food systems and disaster risk reduction frameworks.

Language: Excellent writing and editing skills of English.

Equal opportunity

As an equal opportunity employer, UNDP values diversity as an expression of the multiplicity of nations and cultures where we operate and, as such, we encourage qualified applicants from all backgrounds to apply for roles in the organization. Our employment decisions are based on merit and suitability for the role, without discrimination.

UNDP is also committed to creating an inclusive workplace where all personnel are empowered to contribute to our mission, are valued, can thrive, and benefit from career opportunities that are open to all.

Sexual harassment, exploitation, and abuse of authority

UNDP does not tolerate harassment, sexual harassment, exploitation, discrimination and abuse of authority. All selected candidates, therefore, undergo relevant checks and are expected to adhere to the respective standards and principles.

Right to select multiple candidates

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 description, experience and educational requirements.

Scam alert

UNDP does not charge a fee at any stage of its recruitment process. For further information, please see www.undp.org/scam-alert.