Humanitarian, Development and Peace Specialist job at United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

About the Organization

The United Nations Development Programme is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human development. The UNDP emphasizes developing local capacity towards long-term self-sufficiency and prosperity.

Job Description

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the United Nations' global development network. UNDP works in about 170 countries and territories, helping to achieve the eradication of poverty, and the reduction of inequalities and exclusion. UNDP supports countries to develop policies, leadership skills, partnering abilities, institutional capabilities and build resilience to sustain development results. The 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.

Duties and Responsibilities

Strategic guidance and advice for the country office’s programming and delivery on the Humanitarian, Development and Peace nexus approach
Building Strategic partnerships and Resource mobilization
Strategic planning, quality assurance of the strategic and results framework of Humanitarian, Development and Peace interventions

Knowledge management and reporting

Strategic guidance and advice for the country office’s programming and delivery on the Humanitarian, Development and Peace nexus approach
Lead development of new opportunities for HDP work including at the level of policy and programming within the context of the Country Programme, the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDF) and other strategic frameworks;
Provide advice on identifying entry points to achieve a mixture of short-term, medium-term and long-term results which produce tangible improvements to cross-section of interrelated issues at local and national level;
Provide strategic guidance and advice to national HDP institutions and actors on policy issues: strategic planning, research and monitoring and evaluation, including key performance indicators, strategic plans for various organizations and research into various issues which impact on institutional performance;
Provide strategic guidance and advice to UNDP Senior management on the ongoing support to integrated HDP initiatives, on strategies, responses and changes in the broader HDP context;
Ensure the integration of cross-cutting issues, such as, cross-border, gender, peace building, youth and human rights into programme/project design, monitoring and evaluation;
Ensure that technical work undertaken across projects is adapted to the local context and in line with international good practice;
Contribute to building a strong understanding of the political dimension of HDP application to identify the drivers and blockers of change and develop strategies to ensure that project implementation and strategic approaches achieves impact.

Building Strategic partnerships and Resource mobilization

Engage in dialogues with development partners and donors, identifying funding opportunities and endeavor to ensure sufficient resource mobilization for the programmes/projects in close consultation with Senior Management and the partnerships unit and be responsible for reaching the annual resource mobilization targets;
Support UNDP efforts for resource mobilization for current and envisaged programmes/projects across the programmatic pillars of portfolio of integrated programmes;
Liaise regularly and forge close linkages with other UN programmes, agencies, funds, as well as other international and national stakeholders concerns with or providing assistance on HDP issues in general;
Coordinate programme activities with other UNDP initiatives, as well as, other United Nations agencies, donors, and other international partners, to develop inter-agency synergies and build complementarities with other programs;
Develop pilot initiatives for functional partnerships between HDP stakeholders and non-governmental organizations, local media and the public;
Ensure high-quality and timely reporting to donors and other partners involved in the programmes/projects; and
Contribute to harnessing effective partnerships for implementation of UNDP programmes/projects, and promote joint programming, and collaborate effectively in established frameworks for UN and other international coordination.

Strategic planning, quality assurance of the strategic and results framework of Humanitarian, Development and Peace interventions for select projects and initiatives:

Provide advice and guidance for the strategic planning and the implementation of the programmes/projects under the HDP nexus area, including joint UN projects and workplans, ensuring appropriate coordination and integration with the country programme components;
Ensure the linked HDP results specified in the annual work-plan of Programmes/Projects meet the required standard of quality, in a coordinated way and within the specified constraints of time and cost;
Based on analysis, briefs and relevant policy notes, advise UNDP Country Office on the overall implementation of the HDP oriented initiatives and portfolio of projects that are ongoing at the National and Local levels;
Working alongside the Quality Assurance Unit, support the development and maintenance of an effective monitoring and evaluation system oriented to HDP nexus programming including reporting to UNDP, UN entities, development partners and national stakeholders on systematic progress;
Facilitate and ensure quality assurance of reports including Progress Reports, Financial Reports, Annual Progress Reports, etc. and ensure timely completion of technical reports for the Programme/Project portfolio in the HDP Nexus area of responsibility; and
Facilitate and lead the coordination mechanisms put in place with UN entities to ensure coherence and coordination on issues pertaining to HDP issues in the context of the UNSDCF.

Ensure knowledge management and reporting focusing on achieving the following results:

Learnings from implementation, mechanism for their continued alignment with a systems approach linked to implementation of HDP interventions and that they are communicated;
Identification and synthesis of best practices and lessons learned from the programme/project areas for organizational sharing and learning, as well as, external information;
Active participation in UNDP knowledge networks and taking advantage of best practices and lessons learned that are available in the region and globally, and encouraging project staff to do so by creating a culture of knowledge sharing and learning;
Promoting the participation of UNDP Uganda in regional programmes and regional activities related to the HDP area as appropriate;
Support in carrying out joint assessments, analyses, planning and programming, with humanitarian and development partners seeking to systematically reduce the risks of vulnerabilities and enhance social cohesion;
Supporting capacity and knowledge building of national counterparts and officers as applicable;
Advocate for UNDP work in the area of responsibility and raise visibility of UNDP’s action on the HDP through knowledge sharing and well -developed communication materials; and
Support UNDP Uganda’s joint communication efforts on the subject.

Qualification, Experiences and Competencies

Achieve Results: LEVEL 3: Set and align challenging, achievable objectives for multiple projects, have lasting impact
Think Innovatively: LEVEL 3: Proactively mitigate potential risks, develop new ideas to solve complex problems
Learn Continuously: LEVEL 3: Create and act on opportunities to expand horizons, diversify experiences
Adapt with Agility: LEVEL 3: Proactively initiate and champion change, manage multiple competing demands
Adapt with Determination: LEVEL 3: Think beyond immediate task/barriers and take action to achieve greater results
Engage and Partner: LEVEL 3: Political savvy, navigate complex landscape, champion inter-agency collaboration
Enable Diversity and Inclusion: LEVEL 3: Appreciate benefits of diverse workforce and champion inclusivity

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies

Business Management: Portfolio Management

Ability to select, prioritize and control the organizations 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

Business Management: Communication

Ability to communicate in a clear, concise and unambiguous manner both through written and verbal communication; to tailor messages and choose communication methods depending on the audience
Ability to manage communications internally and externally, through media, social media and other appropriate channels

Business Direction and 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 Management: Results-based Management

Ability to manage programmes and projects with a focus at improved performance and demonstrable results.

Business Management: Project Management

Ability to plan, organize, prioritize and control resources, procedures and protocols to achieve specific goals

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

Business Development: UNDP Representation

Ability to represent UNDP and productively share UNDP knowledge and activities; advocate for UNDP, its values, mission and work with various constituencies.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

A university degree (master's degree or equivalent) in Social Science, Political Science Public Policy and Public Administration, Law, Environmental Management, or related discipline is required. OR
A first-level university degree (bachelor’s degree) 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 5 years (with master’s degree) or 7 years (with bachelor’s degree) of progressively responsible experience working with the Humanitarian, Peace and Development nexus approach and its integration in development programming;
Proven ability to work effectively in a multicultural team of international and national personnel is required;
Advisory and management experience on programmes and projects in the areas of governance, peace and security and in local, national and cross-border contexts;
Experience working with major actors of the Humanitarian, Governance, Peace and Security areas;
Experience in developing and managing multi-stakeholder partnerships is desired;
Experience in identifying relevant technical cooperation needs in a humanitarian, development and peace context is desired;
Knowledge of the UNDP or the UN systems is desired;
Experience with UN/UNDP programmes in the area of Humanitarian, Governance, Peace and Security is an asset;
Previous experience in humanitarian and conflict contexts is an asset;
Experience of working in a technical advisory, policy development and capacity building is an asset
Experience of monitoring and reporting on human mobility, migration and displacement issues is desired;
Demonstrated programme management skills including: results-based orientation, preparation of work plans, monitoring and evaluation;
Experience and strong knowledge and experience of country programme and projects development and management.