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.

UNDP’s Country Programme Document for South Sudan (2023 – 2025) aims to support the government and people of South Sudan to transition out of humanitarian assistance towards sustainable development with an emphasis on state building and peacebuilding.

Within the UN Secretary-General’s Action Agenda on Internal Displacement, UNDP is increasing its engagement and programming on development solutions to internal displacement. UNDP will work with governments and communities to strengthen regional, national and local solutions for displaced populations and the communities that host them, in close collaboration with the UN system (RC/HC) and partnership with humanitarian and peace partners.

The UN/Partner Working Group has agreed to revitalize the Partnership for Peace, Recovery and Resilience (PfPRR) for the operationalization of the Peace Humanitarian Development (PHD) nexus in South Sudan.  Within this context, the UNCT-HCT has decided to establish area based and context driven coordination mechanisms in close collaboration with local authorities and other humanitarian, development and peace partners. UNDP has been appointed as lead Agency to provide an Area Based Coordinator (ABC) for Wau and co-lead the thematic Pillar Durable Solutions to IDPs and returnees.   Thus, the Senior Advisor will also serve as the Area Based Coordinator (ABC) and represent the UNRC in Wau region.

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

This position will provide advisory and technical support to the UNDP South Sudan CO Senior Management on UNDP’s interlinked HDP nexus and development solutions to internal displacement positioning. The post will also support Senior Management and senior program officers through an adaptive management approach into the crisis response, leveraging these efforts and long-term vision, as well as guide the overall development of UNDP’s programming and positioning with the RC, humanitarian, and development partners on solutions to internal displacement.

Key duties and accountabilities include:

Foster synergies and enhanced coherence between humanitarian, development and peace actors acting as a trusted integrator across the Nexus:

• Assist the CO in harmonizing development, humanitarian and peace activities within strategic planning frameworks that involve government, bilateral, International Financial Institutions, (I)NGOs and UN agencies, funds and programs, as well as with the Integrated Office of the (DSRSG/RC/HC) and UNMISS.
• Promote the sharing of knowledge and data across humanitarian, development and peace stakeholders.
• As required, facilitate and contribute to further joint context and conflict analysis based on the Do-No-Harm approach to generate shared understanding of needs, risks and vulnerabilities, their root causes, entry points for conflict mitigation as well as the capacities available or needed to address them.
• As required, help the UNDP CO establish information sharing “bridge” to help identify create entry points with government counterparts and proactively engage them in information-sharing and to support UNCT and HCT agendas with updates on risks, opportunities and progress from actors across the nexus.
• Support joint learning, joint monitoring and evaluation processes.

Support efforts to undertake joined-up planning processes across humanitarian, development and peace efforts to reduce needs, risks and vulnerabilities and increase resilience in a more effective, complementary and coherent manner: 

• Together with UNDP CO programme staff, identify opportunities to implement cross-sectoral and area-based approaches which bring together a range of humanitarian, development and peace actors to work on common priorities in specific areas and conflict-, disaster-, poverty- and exclusion-related settings.
• Identify opportunities to undertake conflict sensitivity analysis across UNDP’s portfolio of planning & programmes, systematically ensuring that the design and implementation of programmes do not exacerbate conflict dynamics.
• Guide the development and drafting of UNDP’s programmatic response, as well as incorporating response in UNDP South Sudan’s projects, as necessary.
• Support the UNDP CO programming to be context specific and tailored to the risks, capacities, drivers and dynamics of each individual context.
• Support UNDP programming to be gender responsive by examining and actively addressing gender norms, roles and inequalities.
• Advocate for the strengthening of national capacity for planning and coordination of the recovery effort.

Support UNDP and UNCT efforts to produce and coordinate around the data, analysis and evidence to support a common analysis and identification of collective priorities linking solutions to internal displacement to the wider development agenda including Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):

• Provide technical leadership/advice to UNDP Country Office and/or Government at State level on development solutions in forced displacement situations.
• Support the Crisis Coordinator/Country Director and enhance UNDP’s thought leadership in convening national and international partner to co-develop sustainable development responses and solutions to new refugee / IDP situations and/or protracted displacement contexts.
• Promote/initiate/participate in joined-up humanitarian and development assessments, analysis and evidence building on challenges, with national and international partners.
• Support CO in development solutions data analytics and policy by linking with developmental profiling and assessments, data and policy to better understand facts and experiences of refugees and/or IDPs, host and affected communities, and governments disaggregated by age, gender and diversity.

Provide the UNDP CO with solutions programming development and implementation support leverage UNDPs programming and mandate to support national systems and actors:

• Carry out solutions mapping with communities, government and partners and identify social, political, and economic barriers to solutions.
• Support CO leadership in strengthening development approach in national/state level durable solutions strategies in the short, medium, and long term, to address protracted forced displacement as a national development priority, plan and budget.
• Strengthen national/local capacities to assess, adapt and transform service delivery for all.
• Leverage existing UNDP programmes, platforms, and facilities to engage more deeply on prevention and addressing root causes responding to the immediate needs of IDPs and host communities while initiating longer-term solutions.

Provide leadership and convene humanitarian, development, and peace actors in Wau on behalf of UNRC/HC to promote durable solutions based on shared analysis: 

• Coordinate analysis, planning and implementation of activities along the humanitarian-development-peace nexus,
• Promote a collaborative and inclusive approach to identify and implement solutions at all stages of the nexus, and promote engagement of local authorities and local populations,
• Work with the clusters, UNMISS and development actors to advocate for identified solutions, including for resource mobilization,
• Integrate and mainstream cross-sectoral issues into response and advocacy,
• Create synergies and economies of scale given the meagre resources to meet the unlimited wants.

Supervisory/Managerial Responsibilities: 

• Technical Specialist Nexus and Development Solutions will supervise a team of 5.

COMPETENCIES

Core Competencies:

• Achieve Results:  LEVEL 4: Prioritize team workflow, mobilize resources, drive scalable results/strategic impact.
• Think Innovatively:  LEVEL 4: Easily navigate complexity, encourage/enable radical innovation, has foresight.
• Learn Continuously: LEVEL 4: Create systems and processes that enable learning and development for all.
• Adapt with Agility: LEVEL 3: Proactively initiate and champion change, manage multiple competing demands.
• Act with Determination:  LEVEL 3: Think beyond immediate task/barriers and take action to achieve greater results.
• Engage and Partner: LEVEL 4: Construct strategic multi-partner alliances in high stake situations, foster co-creation.
• Enable Diversity and Inclusion:  LEVEL 4: Create ethical culture, identify/address barriers to inclusion.

People Management Competencies: 

• UNDP People Management Competencies can be found in the dedicated site.

Cross-Functional & Technical Competencies:

2030 Agenda – Engagement & Effectiveness: Recovery Solutions and Human Mobility

• Forced Displacement, incl. Durable Solutions

Business Management: 

• Portfolio Management: Ability to select, prioritize and control the organization’s programmes and projects, in line with its strategic objectives and capacity; ability to balance the implementation of change initiatives and the maintenance of business-as-usual, while optimizing return on investment
• Partnership Management: Ability to 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.
• Negotiation and Influence: Ability to reach an understanding, persuade others, resolve points of difference, gain advantage in the outcome of dialogue, negotiates mutually acceptable solutions through compromise and creates ‘win-win’ situations.

Business Development:

• Integration within the UN: Ability to identity, and integrate capacity and assets of the UN system, and engage in joint work; knowledge of the UN System and ability to apply this knowledge to strategic and/or practical situations.
• Collective Intelligence Design: Ability to bringing together diverse groups of people, data, information or ideas, and technology to design services or solutions.

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.

QUALIFICATIONS:

Education:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in development studies, social sciences, public policy or other relevant fields is required.
• OR A Bachelor’s degree in combination with an additional two years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the Masters degree.

Experience, Knowledge, and Skills: 

• Minimum 7 years (with a Master’s degree or equivalent) or 9 years (with a Bachelor’s degree) of work experience in crisis and fragile settings with specific knowledge in the field of humanitarian assistance, solutions and peacebuilding plans in complex situations, crisis settings or related field is required.
• Relevant years of experience in crisis response and recovery programming in fragile and crisis setting with specific knowledge and experience in multi-stakeholder coordination and planning mechanisms (UNCT, HCT, Government planning) is required.
• Demonstrated experience in UNDP program and project design, execution, financing, and resource mobilization is desired.
• Experience in slow-onset crisis such as famine, drought and climate-related impacts, DDR and SSR is desired.
• Experience as a UN Strategic Planner and/or UN coordination officer would be a strong asset.
• Experience building partnerships, strategic planning, and advocacy is required.
• Proven track record of designing conflict sensitive & human rights-based approaches that integrate Leaving is desired.
• Demonstrated experience to provide effective and coherent responses in humanitarian, development and/or crisis settings is required.

Languages:

• Fluency in oral and written English language is required.
• Knowledge of other UN languages is added advantage.

Note: Please upload copies of your academic qualifications and 3 latest performance evaluations (if applicable). 

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