Programme Analyst (Conflict Prevention and Peace Building) at UNDP

We are recruiting to fill the below position:

Job Title: Programme Analyst (Conflict Prevention and Peace Building)

Location: Abuja, NIGERIA

Background
Nigeria is significantly plagued by internal conflict and violence with considerable impact on the sustainability of her development endeavors, the consolidation of democracy, the viability of the state system. Conflict also threatens the corporate existence of the country as a federation with over 300 ethnic groups, distributed among 36 states and a federal capital territory, further subdivided into 774 local government areas. Prolonged military rule for 30 out of the 52 years of independence has had a considerable effect on party democracy and elections, eroding constitutional federalism through massive centralisation of power and resources. Nigeria’s plural and diverse ethnic, regional, and religious character is a key defining context of its electoral democracy and conflict dynamics. Generally, there are three broad typologies of conflict in Nigeria, namely, identity-based conflict, resource-based conflict and power-based conflict, which have diverse consequences on the country’s development. Significant resources have been invested to address these violent internal conflicts because of the acknowledgement that they threaten the country’s cohesion and stability if left unattended. However, despite the significant capabilities for reducing and managing internal conflicts, the initiatives are often ad hoc and reactive, with limited overall impact.

With the support of UNDP, the Nigeria Government intends to move away from ad-hoc and disconnected interventions responding to the myriad of conflicts in the country through the development and operationalization of a National Infrastructure for Peace, while strengthening conflict management capacities for dialogue in conflict-prone areas of the country. To this end, the UNDP Country Office developed the project “Advancing Peace and Development in Nigeria through a “National Infrastructure for Peace” (Phase 1, project duration may 2013- June 2014), which is to prepare the ground for the establishment of a comprehensive National Peace Architecture to facilitate cooperation among all relevant stakeholders in peace building in Nigeria. The project seeks to promote problem-solving methods to conflicts and to institutionalize the processes of response to conflicts which will transform conflicts and promote social, political and religious reconciliation and transformative dialogue. The project aims to establish effective early warning and response mechanisms, while providing support for gender-responsive mediation and conflict resolution mechanisms for recurring conflicts over land, ethnicity, religion and natural resources, and promoting dialogue, at all levels. The project also aims at strengthening the capacity of local authorities for more inclusive and conflict-sensitive development processes.

Under the overall guidance of the Country Director and the Deputy Country Director (Programme) and direct supervision of the PDA and Team Leader, Governance and Peace Building, the Conflict Prevention and Peace Building Specialist will be responsible for the formulation, execution, monitoring and effective delivery of UNDP conflict prevention and peace building programmes in accordance with the UNDP Programmes and Operations Policies and Procedures. He/she will provide substantial support for the execution and implementation of the proposed National Infrastructure for Peace project in Nigeria in close collaboration with national partners and BCPR, as well as, with UN agencies and development partners.The Conflict Prevention and Peace Building Specialist will also provide support to UNDP Nigeria programmes to strengthen national capacities for conflict prevention and management , peace building, as well as, other related recovery programmes aimed at reducing violent conflict in Nigeria. The Specialist will work closely with other members of the country team in providing high quality technical assistance for the development of conflict prevention initiatives and for the development of ‘best practice’ and knowledge products to promote sustainable peace in Nigeria.

Duties and Responsibilities
Summary of key functions:

• Supports the provision of high quality technical programmatic support to partners;
• Supports the development of knowledge products.
• Supports the co-ordination, formulation and implementation of Conflict Prevention and Peace Building Programme on building national capacities for government and non-state actors for managing conflicts and sustaining peace.
• Supports programme monitoring and evaluation, reporting and resource mobilization.

Supports the provision of high-quality technical/programmatic support to partners, focusing on achievement of the following results:

• High quality technical advice for the development of conflict prevention and peace building programmes.
• Sound technical analysis on conflict prevention and peace building that could support better engagement with national partners and strengthen programme development.
• Mainstreaming of conflict prevention and peace building into CPDs, UNDAFs and other UN-wide documents.
• Scanning the policy and political environments and their implications on peace building and potential Country Office responses.
• Effective technical and programmatic assistance provided for the implementation of conflict prevention initiative by UNDP and partners.

Supports the development of knowledge products, focusing on achievement of the following results:

• Development of knowledge products (tools, methodologies, situational briefs, updates or reports) to further position UNDP in the areas of conflict prevention and peace building.
• Preparation of early warning frameworks and strategies for addressing potential conflict triggers that could threaten peace building in any part of the country.
• Prepare effective communication for key partners, including donors, of UNDP strategies and approaches to conflict prevention and peace building.

Supports the co-ordination, formulation and implementation of Conflict Prevention and Peace Building Programme on building national capacities for government and non-state actors for managing conflicts and sustaining peace, focusing on achievement of the following results:

• Effective co-ordination and collaboration with national partners, the UN system and other development partners’ focal points for conflict prevention and peace building in supporting joint analysis, formulation, planning and implementation of conflict prevention and peace building initiatives.
• Build capacity of non-state actors and strengthen their collaboration with other national stakeholders in conflict resolution and peace building.
• Provision of programmatic guidance to national counterparts and partnership outreach to national stakeholders and development partners operating in the country.

Supports programme monitoring and evaluation, reporting and resource mobilization, focusing on achievement of the following results:

• Support the Country Office in the preparation of programme/reporting documents, including annual reports; peace building programme evaluation, Multi Year Funding Frameworks and input for monitoring of projects in ATLAS.
• Monitor and regularly brief the Governance Team Leader, the Deputy Country Director (Programme) on progress towards implementation of annual work plans and budget expenditure.
• Support the Country Office’s effort on resource mobilization and provide substantive inputs into resource mobilization documents and partnership building relating to conflict prevention and peace building.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

• Ethics and Values: Demonstrating/safeguarding Ethics and Integrity.
• Organizational Awareness: Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment.
• Developing and Empowering People/Coaching and Mentoring: Self-development, initiative-taking.
• Working in Teams: Acting as a team player and facilitating team work.
• Communicating Information and Ideas: Facilitating and encouraging open communication in the team, communicating effectively.
• Self-Management and Emotional Intelligence: Creating synergies through self-control.
• Conflict Management/Negotiating and Resolving Disagreements: Managing conflict.
• Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Learning: Learning and sharing knowledge and encourage the learning of others.
• Appropriate and Transparent Decision-making: Informed and transparent decision making.

Functional Competencies:

Building strategic partnerships

• Displays initiative, sets challenging outputs for him/her and willingly accepts new assignments.
• Takes responsibility for achieving agreed outputs within set deadlines and strives until successful outputs are achieved.

Promoting organizational learning and knowledge sharing:

• Makes the case for innovative ideas documenting successes and building them into the design of new approaches.
• Identifies new approaches and strategies that promote the use of tools and mechanisms.

Job knowledge/technical expertise:

• Understands more advanced aspects of crisis prevention and recovery and conflict prevention issues, as well as, the fundamental concepts of related disciplines.
• Keeps abreast of new developments in area of crisis prevention and recovery and seeks to development him/herself professionally.
• Demonstrates comprehensive understanding and knowledge of the current guidelines and project management tools and utilizes these regularly in work assignments.

Client orientation:

• Works towards creating an enabling environment for a smooth relationship between the clients and service provider.
• Keeps the client informed of problems or delays in the provision of services.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• A minimum of a Master’s degree or equivalent in one of the following or related fields: Dispute resolution, Law, Conflict Prevention and Management, Development Studies, Political Science or International Affairs/Relations.

Experience:

• At least 5 years of relevant work experience with the UN and/or other international development organization in conflict prevention, dispute resolution, peace building, development and/or democratic governance, including relevant field experience in conflict and post-crisis settings.
• Experience in research and project development;
• Experience working within a UN agency and experience in Africa/Nigeria would be a major asset.
• Proven experience in development programming and project management, including good understanding of UNDP programming modalities, and rules and regulations;

Language Requirements:

• Fluent written and spoken English is required for this position.

Application Closing Date
19th August, 2013

Method of Application
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online