Job Description

Application Link:            https://jobs.undp.org/cj_apply.cfm?cur_job_id=51691

Additional Category        Crisis Prevention and Recovery

Type of Contract :          Service Contract

Post Level :                   SC-5

Languages Required       :English  

Starting Date :                (date when the selected candidate is expected to start)    01-Jan-2015

Duration of Initial Contract :    One year (Subject to satisfactory performance)

Background

The project aims to facilitate Nepal's complex post-conflict transition by fostering inclusive collaboration among a broad range of leaders, with an emphasis on women and vulnerable groups, and improving community security. Efforts will be focused on strengthening national capacity on collaborative leadership and dialogue across government, political party and civil society sectors at national and local levels, and supporting its application to reach consensus-based decisions on critical issues. The project will also aim to reduce armed and gender-based violence and improve community security through building trust, dialogue and collaboration between communities and security providers and strengthening security agencies’ knowledge and approaches on community security. It will also empower women and vulnerable groups to lead and play active roles in peacebuilding, security and development processes and enhance national capacity to deliver National Action Plan commitments on Security Council Resolutions 1325 and 1820.
Of the three programmes that feed into this project, two sit within UNDP and one within UN Women. UNDP’s five-year Conflict Prevention Programme (2010-15) focuses on promoting Collaborative Leadership and Dialogue. It supports leaders from different sectors at national and local levels to apply structured dialogue to key peacebuilding issues for more consensus-based outcomes. Further, UNDP’s new three-year programme Armed Violence Reduction and Strengthening Community Security will build national capacity on analyzing violence and effective community security provision, build relationships between communities and security agencies and raise public awareness on community security issues. Both programmes fall within the portfolio of UNDP’s Peacebuilding and Recovery Unit.
UN Women’s Peace and Security Unit’s programming focuses on the implementation of Nepal’s National Action Plan (NAP) on UN Security Council Resolutions 1325 and 1820. It supports the government at national and local level in the implementation of NAP commitments through capacity building and technical assistance, focusing in particular on the five NAP pillars of Participation; Protection and Prevention; Promotion, Relief and Recovery and Resource Management and Monitoring and Evaluation. 
The three programmes’ work is integrated through this project both strategically and practically. For example, dialogue approaches will inform community security planning processes in which women and people from vulnerable groups will be supported to play key roles. Field staff from each of the programmes will be co-located in shared offices and joint meetings and activities will be conducted with project stakeholders. The Project Coordination Officer’s role will be central to reinforcing this integration through working closely with Programme Managers and staff and ensuring that UN Peace Fund requirements are met.
The Project Coordination Officer post will be located within UNDP’s Peacebuilding and Recovery Unit (PBRU) and will report to the Head of Unit.

Duties and Responsibilities

Functions / Key Results Expected
Summary of Key Functions:

• Promote smooth collaboration between the two partner implementing agencies, UNPFN, government partners and project stakeholders;
• Support to project implementation – leading select cross-cutting activities and supporting the smooth implementation of others;
• Efficient support to tasks related to planning, reporting, monitoring and evaluation;
• Facilitation of knowledge building and management;
• Support to the development of strategic partnerships and resource mobilization;
• Other tasks as required.

 Project Coordination

• Under the leadership of UNDP’s PBRU, regularly and effectively liaise with, coordinate between and convene as necessary the UNDP and UN Women project component teams for planning and implementing project deliverables in an integrated and timely manner;
• Convene and prepare periodic Project Coordination Team (PCT) meetings for the project leads (Head of UNDP PBRU and Head of UN Women Peace and Security team) to be briefed on progress and to discuss strategic or implementation issues. Provide Secretariat support including drafting meeting minutes and circulating to PCT members;
• Cultivate positive working relationships with key project stakeholders, including project and UNPFN staff, government partners and concerned civil society organizations and bilateral development partners to promote coordination and exchange.

Support to achieving integrated, timely, effective implementation

• Lead the organization of cross-cutting project activities, including conflict sensitivity and gender trainings for project partners, mid-term review and evaluation;
• Support project implementation, including designing ToRs for project services and organizing subcontracts;
• Identify opportunities for complementarity and linkages, as well as any gaps or divergence emerging between the project components and any other strategic issues for the project component leaders’ consideration;
• Create mechanisms to support effective logistical ,financial and administrative collaboration between UNDP and UN Women or the three involved programmes to facilitate integrated project implementation;
• Ensure project activities are implemented in compliance with UNPFN requirements and, in liaison with appropriate agency staff, with UNDP and UN Women financial Rules and Regulations and Internal Control Frameworks in Nepal .

Planning, reporting, monitoring and evaluation (M&E)

• Review and finalize the current annual workplan in coordination with the project team;
• Integrate the work plans of the three project component programmes to produce detailed quarterly project workplans specifying the inputs, budget, timing and responsible party for each activity, ensuring there is appropriate collaboration and linkages between the different components;
• In consultation with programme staff, review and finalize the project Results and Resources Framework;
• Ensure delivery of resources and results according to planned targets;
• Ensure gender is integrated and mainstreamed throughout the project outputs;
• Work with programme staff to establish an effective project M&E strategy and system and oversee its implementation, including working with programme heads to ensure that the appropriate qualitative and quantitative data is gathered by the project staff according to the established indicators and results are aggregated and analysed on a quarterly basis;
• Establish an information management system to facilitate the collation and presentation of results in a clear and timely manner
• Feedback relevant data and trends discerned from monitoring to the project team, particularly if there are deviations, inconsistencies or points of significant impact;
• Conduct field visits to monitor implementation and gather specific information for results collation or lesson learning;
• Produce periodical (e.g. monthly, quarterly, annual) narrative and financial reports, coordinating inputs from project component staff as necessary;
• Lead in the prepartion of project’s final evaluation, exit strategy, sustainability scenarios.

   Knowledge capture, management and sharing

• Contribute to the analysis about project outcomes based on an overall project perspective to contribute to team learning and discussions on future programming;
• Collect and document lessons learned in different formats for internal and/or external consumption, including the preparation of thematic knowledge management products;
• Plan and coordinate the dissemination of project knowledge management products and other relevant project information. Ensure visibility of the development partners and implementing partners in all project outputs. 

Support to developing strategic partnerships and resource mobilization

• Support efforts to promote the project’s visibility with development partners through outreach and relationship building;
• Support the mobilization of resources from different partners, including the preparation of strategies, programme briefs and project documents, organization of regular donor field visits and meetings;
• Support the development of concept notes and proposals to raise further funds for work under UNDAF Outcome 9;
• Perform other duties as assigned by management.

Impact of Results
The key results will have an impact on the success of UNDP’s country programme within the specific area of peacebuilding. In particular, the key results have an impact on the coordination and successful implementation of activities, meeting reporting and other donor and partner requirements, creation of strategic partnerships and reaching resource mobilization targets.

Competencies

Competencies and Critical Success Factors
Functional Competencies:       

• Maintains an established network of contacts for general information sharing and to remain up-to-date on partnership related issues;
• Employs strong inter-personal skills to forge good relationships and manage the interests of various actors ;
• Analyzes and selects materials for strengthening strategic alliances with partners and stakeholders;
• Demonstrates maturity and confidence in dealing with senior members of national (including government) and international institutions;
• Generates new ideas and approaches, researches best practices and proposes new, more effective ways of doing things, and implements and documents these new approaches;
• Researches linkages across programme activities to identify critical points of integration;
• Monitors specific stages of project/programme implementation;
• Analyzes country situation to identify needs for project adjustment or opportunities for project development
• Participates in the formulation of project proposals and ensures substantive rigour in the design and application of proven successful approaches and drafts proposals accordingly
• Understands and applies fundamental concepts and principles of a professional discipline or technical specialty relating to the position;
• Demonstrates good knowledge of information technology and applies it in work assignments;
• Possesses basic knowledge of organizational policies and procedures relating to the position and applies them consistently in work tasks;
• Demonstrates in-depth understanding and knowledge of the current guidelines and project management tools and utilizes these regularly in work assignments;
• Demonstrates strong discretion, diplomacy and the ability to handle politically sensitive issues adeptly, and to work well in an inter-cultural, diverse environment.

Core Competencies:

• Demonstrating/safeguarding ethics and integrity; 
• Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment;
• Takes initiative; pursues self-development;
• Acts as a team player and facilitates team work;
• Excellent communications skills, both oral and written;
• Manages conflict effectively;
• Learns, shares knowledge and encourages learning in others. Promoting learning and knowledge management/sharing is the responsibility of each staff member.;
• Takes informed and transparent decisions;
• Able to work under pressure and to meet strict deadlines;
• Results-focused, with the ability to coordinate multiple tasks and follow up on their delivery.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:    

• Master's degree in political science, peacebuilding, sociology, gender studies or a related subject;
• Prince2 training and certification, RMG.

Experience:    

• A minimum of 7 years’ work experience in one or more relevant fields including conflict prevention, dialogue promotion, community security and the empowerment of women and vulnerable groups;
• At least 3 years’ experience in providing coordination and implementation support to large-scale projects;
• Experience of designing and implementing monitoring systems and evaluation for peacebuilding or socio-political projects
• Experience of producing high quality project reports;
• Experience of working with government agencies, local communities and international organizations;
• Knowledge of UN systems an advantage;
• Strong IT skills;

Language Requirements:    

• Ability to speak and write fluently in English and Nepali.