Project Officer – Community Stabilization

Background
 
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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.

Decentralization, Human Rights, and Local Governance (DHL) is a multi-sector project aimed at strengthening rights-based development, community stabilization, gender equality, and social inclusion across all regions and provinces of Pakistan. The core objective of the project is to ensure inclusive and equitable service delivery by providing technical assistance and capacity development support to relevant federal ministries, provincial line departments, statutory bodies, civil society, and private sector organizations. A key aim is to support the creation of an enabling environment for accelerated access to rights, people-centered justice and people-centered security. The project is aimed at institution building while connecting with vulnerable and at-risk communities to build trust between rights holders and duty bearers, for inclusive, expeditious, and transparent access to rights and services. The Project will work with key UN partner agencies including OHCHR, UNHCR, UNWOMEN, ILO, and IOM in line with the One-UN strategy of leaving no-one behind. Key beneficiaries will include vulnerable and at-risk men, women, girls, transgender persons, persons with disabilities as well as marginalized and vulnerable populations in general. UNDP will leverage its partnerships with government, statutory bodies, private sector, and civil-society stakeholders at the national and sub-national levels for the institutionalization of a rights-based approach to development across Pakistan. 
Duties and Responsibilities

The Project Officer – Community Stabilization will work under the supervision of the National Technical Specialist UNDP-DHL. 

Under the overall supervision of the DHL Chief Technical Advisor and direct supervision of National Technical Specialist, the Project Officer – Community Stabilization is expected to provide services against the following list of activities while working in close collaboration with the project team members.

Provide implementation support to the UNDP’s community stabilization portfolio

• Support the National Technical Specialist in the strategic planning of community stabilization activities as well as the development of implementation modalities through close collaboration with field staff, government representatives at national and local levels, and other relevant stakeholders.
• Assist with the implementation of conflict transformation and rights-based/people-centered peacebuilding interventions for UNDP’s community stabilization portfolio.
• Create strategic partnerships and implementation modalities for the establishment of state society linkages for trust building, grievance reduction, and achievement of sustainable peace.
• Aid in integrating climate security and access to environmental justice in ongoing community stabilization project in Balochistan and design a strategy for scaleup work on climate security and access to environmental justice in Balochistan and other regions of Pakistan.
• Support in capacity building of human rights and environmental protection defenders on insider mediation and strengthen the national level network of defenders.
• Develop project concept notes, proposals, work plans, documents, and progress reports and facilitate research analysis in the field of stabilization or conflict transformation.
• Closely work with the National Technical Specialist and Project Officer – Rights Based Development to manage field operations for all the community stabilization projects to ensure timely, effective, and efficient programming delivery.
• Prepare detailed cost estimates, budget analyses, cost modifications, and projections as required to handle the financial operations of the project.
• Prepare terms of reference for individual contractors and firms including cost estimates and timelines for the implementation of the activities.
• Support that the projects are implemented by the UNDP and donor requirements, including those related to procurement, finance, and human resources, flagging issues and bottlenecks with senior management.
• Coordinate project-related activities including organization of roundtables, inception workshops, training, working meetings, and other events.
• Provide support to the implementation of UNDP’s country-wide human rights, gender justice, and environmental security initiatives. 
• Prepare progress reports and necessary knowledge products while ensuring compliance with organizational and donor standards and timelines for reporting.
• Lead the training of psychologists on implementing a comprehensive psycho-social program with individuals as well as community leaders, teachers, and partners from academia and facilitate the subject expert in developing the MHPSS manual and tools as per international best practices.

Lead monitoring, evaluation and reporting of ongoing projects:

• Undertake monitoring, assessment, and evaluation of stabilization program implementation, highlight implementation challenges, and propose practical solutions to achieve maximum efficiency in program delivery.
• Provide strategic recommendations to enhance the theory of change guiding the implementation of UNDP stabilization and peacebuilding projects and future engagements.
• Develop baseline survey (pre-end line) tools and facilitate the assessment and final report as per the community stabilization model/methodology.
• Develop standardized M&E tool kit for the community stabilization projects and ensure accurate and reliable data collection and analysis which eventually results in dissemination promptly.
• Review the existing stabilization/peacebuilding tool kit and provide methodological recommendations on how to adapt the toolkit to enhance the interlinking between existing UNDP projects and global stabilization/peacebuilding indicators.
• Develop reporting templates for downstream partners to ensure collection of high-quality and timely quantitative and qualitative programmatic data.
• In coordination with the National Technical Specialist and Project Officer - Rights Based Development, conduct review and reflection sessions to generate learnings, and operationalize the learnings into new designs and practices.
• Lead donor reporting of community stabilization projects through the development of monthly, quarterly, and yearly reports and compliance with any other reporting requirements.

Provide support to prepare knowledge products, programming strategies, and guidance notes

• Support the National Technical Specialist and Project Officer – Rights Based Development in the identification of strategic program areas of cooperation.
• Maintain a knowledge database, comprising thematic training material, lessons learned and best practices narratives, contextual learnings, district profiles, strategy documents, and similar other resources.
• Closely work with the National Technical Specialist to develop community stabilization strategies, lessons learned, and good practices documents - integrating climate security and access to environmental justice.
• Ensure that new programs incorporate gender equality, human rights, and social inclusion at the design stages of the projects as per the UNDP’s global Gender Equality Strategy and Women Peace and Security Agenda.
• Prepare necessary knowledge products while ensuring compliance with organizational and donor standards and timelines for reporting.
• Develop a mechanism for regular monitoring and tracking of context-specific conflict and security risks to strengthen engagement efforts and promote coherence in programmatic and policy objectives towards peace consolidation by Federal and Provincial Governments, the UN, and development partners for sustainable peace in the region.

Coordinate the implementation of programs with stakeholders and counterparts

• Provide technical guidance and oversight of compliance to project partners, individual contractors, and implementing entities to ensure that all goals are achieved, and services are delivered. 
• Conduct consultations, and develop and maintain working relationships, with government authorities, civil society partners, and other stakeholders.
• Support the National Technical Specialist to identify, promote, and foster strategic partnerships with key national and international actors and lead institutional development and preparation of substantive briefs on possible cooperation areas and identification of cost-sharing opportunities.
• Closely work with governmental and non-governmental partners to ensure measurable plans and concrete objectives for the implementation of community stabilization activities.
•  Identify and provide capacity-building support and opportunities to the partners in coordination with the Project Officer – Rights Based Development and subject experts.

The incumbent of the position will uphold the non-discriminatory behaviour and ensure that:

• Human rights and gender equality is prioritized as an ethical principle within all actions;
• Activities are designed and implemented in accordance with “Social and Environmental Standards of UNDP”;
• Any kind of diversities based on ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, disability, religion, class, gender are respected within all implementations including data production;
• Differentiated needs of women and men are considered;
• Inclusive approach is reflected within all actions and implementations, in that sense an enabling and accessible setup in various senses such as disability gender language barrier is created;
• Necessary arrangements to provide gender parity within all committees, meetings, trainings, etc.

The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization. 

Competencies

Core competencies:

• Achieve Results: LEVEL 1: Plans and monitors own work, pays attention to details, delivers quality work by deadline
• Think Innovatively: LEVEL 1: Open to creative ideas/known risks, is pragmatic problem solver, makes improvements 
• Learn Continuously:  LEVEL 1: Open minded and curious, shares knowledge, learns from mistakes, asks for feedback
• Adapt with Agility: LEVEL 1: Adapts to change, constructively handles ambiguity/uncertainty, is flexible 
• Act with Determination: LEVEL 1: Shows drive and motivation, able to deliver calmly in face of adversity, confident
• Engage and Partner: LEVEL 1: Demonstrates compassion/understanding towards others, forms positive relationships
• Enable Diversity and Inclusion: LEVEL 1: Appreciate/respect differences, aware of unconscious bias, confront discrimination 

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies:

Communications       

• Advocacy strategy and implementation - Ability to create and implement advocacy strategies which lead to impactful change

Digital & Innovation   

• Design thinking - Solving problems by putting people at the centre, visualizing ideas and making them tangible in order to improve them through and iterative process of developing and testing. Strong empathy skills, being able to put yourself ""in someone else's shoes"", understand needs, abilities, preferences, motivations, (everyday) experiences from different perspectives as well as their cultural, social, economic and political contexts. Ability to identify and challenge assumptions, (cognitive and social) biases and dominant mental models by generating new perspectives and frames that help redefine the problem, solution and opportunity space. Being able to work with incomplete information, ambiguity and opposing views, needs and constraints and synthesize them into solutions that are viable, technically feasible and useful.

Business Management           

• Project Management - Ability to plan, organize, prioritize and control resources, procedures and protocols to achieve specific goals
• 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

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

2030 Agenda: Planet 

• Climate - Climate Strategies and Policy: Inclusiveness
• Nature - Ecosystems and Biodiversity

Required Skills and Experience 

Education:

• Advanced university degree (master’s degree or equivalent) in Peace and Conflict studies, Development studies, International Relations, Political Sciences, Psychology (Criminal or Clinical), Sociology, Anthropology or another relevant field 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.

Experience:

• Minimum 02 years (with a master’s degree) or 04 years (with a bachelor’s degree) of relevant experience at the national or international level on topics related to stabilization, peacebuilding, and conflict prevention/transformation, including conducting conflict analysis 
• Experience in the use of computers, and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) is required.
• Knowledge and experience in relevant thematic areas i.e. community stabilization, promotion of human rights, climate security and climate justice, and citizen engagement is required.
• Strong analytical skills, proven experience in applying research methodology is required.
• Excellent report writing skills are required.
• Proven experience in networking and partnership development is desired.
• Experience in partnership development with academic institutions is desired. 
• Experience in monitoring and implementation of related projects (human rights, social inclusion, climate security and protection) is desired.
• Experience in coordination and communication with relevant stakeholders such as government counterparts and donor are desired. 
• Experience in the preparation of concept notes and project proposals is desired.
• Experience in donor reporting, knowledge management, communications, proposal development, and management will be considered an asset.
• Proven experience working in/on the conflict context in Pakistan and surrounding regions is desired.

Required Languages

• Fluency in the English and Urdu languages is required.
• Working knowledge of Pashto and/or Balochi language will be considered an advantage. 

Disclaimer
Important information for US Permanent Residents ('Green Card' holders) 
Under US immigration law, acceptance of a staff position with UNDP, an international organization, may have significant implications for US Permanent Residents. UNDP advises applicants for all professional level posts that they must relinquish their US Permanent Resident status and accept a G-4 visa, or have submitted a valid application for US citizenship prior to commencement of employment. 
UNDP is not in a position to provide advice or assistance on applying for US citizenship and therefore applicants are advised to seek the advice of competent immigration lawyers regarding any applications.
Applicant information about UNDP rosters
Note: 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.
Non-discrimination
UNDP has a zero-tolerance policy towards sexual exploitation and misconduct, sexual harassment, and abuse of authority. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles.  
UNDP is an equal opportunity and inclusive employer that does not discriminate based on race, sex, gender identity, religion, nationality, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy, age, language, social origin or other status. 

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