Background
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) takes a developmental approach across the issues of conflict prevention, PVE and peacebuilding. UNDP’s Prevention Offer (2022-2025) articulates the organization’s prevention and peacebuilding ambition and promotes a strong development lens that calls for acting early and at scale in conflict and crisis prevention and peacebuilding.
The UNDP regional development approach - Regional PVE Project, “Preventing and Responding to Violent Extremism in Africa and Arab States: A Development Approach” is a joint initiative of the Regional Bureau for Africa (RBA) and Regional Bureau for Arab States (RBAS), which aims to address the spread of violent extremism across Africa and Arab States regions. The regional project is implemented in six sub-regions: East Africa, Central Africa, West Africa (including the Lake Chad region, the Mali-Burkina Faso-Niger triangle, and the Littoral States), Southern Africa, North Africa, and the Mashreq of the Arab States region. The sub-regional windows focus on evidence-driven, well-coordinated strategies to position Preventing Violent Extremism (PVE) as a key element in addressing underlying development challenges that contribute to violent extremism, offering a development-based solution. In these subregions, the aim is to foster optimal interplay between PVE support for Regional Economic Commissions or Institutions, national government agencies, and local/grass-roots interventions. This collaborative approach is expected to flourish and provide the greatest potential for cross-border responses to address the transnational phenomenon of violent extremism. Within these sub-regions, the project's PVE-specific interventions at national and community levels focus on 5 pathways to prevention: whole-of-government and whole-of-society strategies that foster enhanced trust relations between state security services and at-risk individuals; disengagement and reintegration (including mental health support); alternative narratives through media and technology; the resilience of faith-based organizations; and gendered interventions.
This joint initiative is jointly implemented and coordinated by the Regional Service Centre for Africa (RSCA), based in Addis Ababa and the Regional Hub for Arab States, based in Amman, serving UNDP’s 46 country offices in Africa and 18 country offices in Arab countries, respectively. They develop high-quality knowledge and policy products that position the organization as a key counterpart to regional and continental bodies such as the African Union (AU), Leage of Arab States, and the Regional Economic Communities (RECs).
The Regional PVE Project, “Preventing and Responding to Violent Extremism in Africa and Arab States: A Development Approach,” is managed and coordinated by the Regional PVE team. It falls under the larger Governance and Peacebuilding Teams at the Regional Service Centre for Africa and the Regional Hub for Arab States. The Regional PVE Team provides technical advisory support to country offices and coordinates the design, implementation, monitoring evaluation, and reporting of interventions and serves as a hub of technical expertise. The team also supports country offices in delivering effective community-level interventions.
Under the direct supervision of the Regional PVE Programme Specialist, the Regional PVE Project Specialist, as part of the regional PVE team, will provide technical advisory support in the field of peacebuilding and PVE. The PVE Project Specialist will support the implementation of the Regional PVE Project and its sub-regional windows and initiatives, including planning, coordination, and monitoring and evaluation. S/he will also support knowledge management and sharing by leading on research, analysis, and policy development, facilitating knowledge exchange and learning through the internal and external PVE Community of Practices (CoPs) and the production of communication and knowledge materials. S/he will undertake other tasks as directed by the supervisor.
Scope of Work
The Regional PVE Program Specialist will be responsible for the following tasks:
I. Ensure regional coordination and technical guidance to country offices.
II. Contribute to development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, and reporting of PVE
programmatic interventions in the region
III. Knowledge management and sharing, community of practice networking, and communication plans
development and implementation
The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient
functioning of the Office and the Organization
Institutional Arrangements
The Regional PVE Project Specialist is based at UNDP’s Regional Service Centre for Africa, as part of the regional PVE team and will be supervised by the Regional PVE Programme Specialist under the overall Governance and
Peacebuilding Teams led by the Regional Governance and Peacebuilding Coordinators for Africa and Arab States.
s/he will work in close collaboration with the RSCA and Regional Hub for Arab States teams, and Country Offices as well as relevant HQ teams.
Competencies
Core 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; Act 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.Functional/Technical competencies
2030 Agenda: Peace
Conflict Prevention, Peacebuilding and Responsive Institutions Conflict Prevention and PeacebuildingBusiness 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
Working with Evidence and Data Ability to inspect, cleanse, transform and model data with the goal of discovering useful information, informing conclusions and supporting decision-making. 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. 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 with regular activities for optimal return onCommunication
Storytelling Ability to convey information in engaging narratives through digital media to achieve communication outcomes.Required Skills and Experience
Minimum Academic Education
Advanced university degree (master’s degree or equivalent) in International Relations, Conflict Prevention, Peace Studies, Political Sciences, Social Sciences, Law or equivalent is required, 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.Minimum years of relevant work experience
Minimum of 5 years (with Master’s degree) or 7 years (with Bachelor’s degree) of professional working experience in Conflict Prevention, Peacebuilding, Rule of Law or Prevention of Violent Extremism isRequired skills and competencies
Experience in implementation of peacebuilding, conflict prevention or prevention of violent extremism projects including project development, monitoring and reporting; Experience working with a range of partners such as community members, religious and youth organizations, regional organizations and authorities at different levels; Strong writing skills, including experience in producing reports/briefs/communication materials and analytical documents in conflict prevention/peacebuilding or prevention of violent extremism; Proven track record of resource mobilization skills.Desired additional skills
Previous experience working with the UN/UNDP is an asset; Prior experience in developing and fragile countries, including in the context of Africa is an asset; Proficiency in the use of office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) and web-based management systems.Required Language(s) (at working level)
Fluency in both written and oral English is required; Fluency in French would be an advantage.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.
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