United Nations UNDP Social Work Jobs – Technical Specialist (Governance)

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Organisation: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Duty Station: Kampala, Uganda
Background:
Over the past two decades
Uganda has made important strides both in the socioeconomic and the political
arenas, with significant progress being made in achieving the MDGs, as well as
in securing peace and stability throughout the country. In the political
sphere, Uganda transitioned to a multiparty democracy in 2005, after amending
the 1995 Constitution to allow for the direct participation of political
parties in the electoral process. These reforms have since led to an opening of
political space in the country, with multiparty elections for the presidency
and Parliament being held twice, in 2006 and 2011.
While these reforms have paved
the way for the consolidation of multiparty democracy in Uganda, most analysts
agree that additional efforts are necessary to strengthen Uganda’s
institutional architecture for political dialogue, mediation and
consensus-building. Advancing political reform in this direction is expected to
bolster confidence in the electoral process in the country, by enabling
political differences emerging from such processes to be settled and channeled
through trusted institutional channels, thus minimizing the risk that they
spill over into episodes of heightened political tension, public expressions of
discontent or social unrest.
In this context, UNDP together
with key national counterparts have jointly conceived a project to strengthen
national capacities for dialogue and conflict management. The project’s
interventions are a combination of institutional capacity development and
political-level engagement, and aim at putting in place a mechanism for lasting
peace and stability in Uganda. A core premise of the project is that peace is
not just about mitigating and resolving conflicts, but also about having
well-established structures and means for collective solutions, consensus
building and dialogue. The aim of these interventions is to support the
consolidation of the political space in Uganda that enables citizens and their
representatives to air and deliberate alternate views and expressions,
therefore preempting possible socioeconomic disruptions that are the result of
discontent, street protests and political tensions.
As part of the implementation
of the project, UNDP CO intends to recruit a Governance Specialist to provide
advisory services and support the implementation of key project interventions.
Under the overall guidance of the UNDP Resident Representative and direct
supervision of the UNDP Country Director, the person recruited for this post is
expected to provide both policy advisory services and act as Project Manager to
the project. In performing his/her project management duties, the Governance
Specialist will oversee the effective achievement of project objectives and
manage the Project Implementation Unit (PIU), established by UNDP to implement
project outputs and act as secretariat for the National Elders Forum. In terms
of policy advisory work, the Governance specialist is expected to provide
quality advisory services to the project and engage, along with the project’s
Senior Technical Advisor, with key state political actors and non-state actors
in devising effective strategies for successful implementation of all three
components of the project, namely: Non-state Dialogue component with the
National Elders Forum; Political Parties Dialogue component with the
National Consultative Forum and Local level peace-building component with
the Inter-religious Council of Uganda.
In addition, the Governance
specialist is expected to provide regular policy advice to UNDP’s senior
management team on issues relevant to the overall goals of the project, as an
integral part of his/her work.
Key Duties and Responsibilities:
1. Provide high quality
analytical and advisory services, including those in support of the Senior
Technical Advisor’s work in undertaking consensus building, negotiation and
mediation efforts through facilitated multi-stakeholder engagements.
  • Undertaking regular
    political economy analysis of the evolving development trends in the
    country to identify political risks for peace and development in the
    country;
  • Develop prospective
    scenarios towards identifying policy options and entry points for
    preventive action and strengthening national mechanisms and institutions;
  • Working closely with
    the project’s Senior Technical Advisor, assist in the design of
    negotiation meetings and facilitate the undertaking of multi-stakeholder
    engagements with national stakeholders associated with the three
    components of project;
  • Provide advisory
    inputs to UNDP’s senior management and prepare strategies for UNDP’s
    effective engagement within the context of evolving political developments
    in the country;
  • Develop strategic
    partnerships and sound working relations with the state, non-government
    national counterparts and development partners for successful
    implementation of project interventions.
2. Oversee project implementation
and manage the Project Implementation Unit in close coordination with the
rest of UNDP’s Accountable Democratic Governance Programme, with a view of
effectively implementing project interventions and enable the successful
achievement of intended results.
  • Undertake project
    management functions in line with the DIM modalities of UNDP;
  •  Preparation of
    inputs for reporting, including donor reporting as required;
  • Coordination with the
    Accountable Democratic Governance Programme team-leader on
    programme-related activities and issues;
  • Support professional
    growth and mentoring of project implementation unit staff;
  • Ensure the collation
    of lessons learned and reports on key achievements for wider distribution
    including UNDP intranet.
3. Maintain and create strategic
partnerships between the national actors and UNDP/UN system with a view to
develop conflict prevention capacities.
  • Serve as liaison
    between UNDP’s senior management and key project partners, including the
    National Consultative Forum, National Elders Forum and the Inter-Religious
    Council of Uganda;
  • Pursue entry points
    and consolidate them into credible institutional mechanisms for dialogue
    and mediation that contribute to policy and political settlements and can
    act as preventive strategies;
  • Develop partnerships
    and build capacities, especially of local level institutions, in conflict
    prevention;
  • Represent UNDP in key
    forum meetings and other workshops as may be required.
Qualifications, Skills and Experience:
  • The candidate should
    possess an advanced degree (Masters or equivalent) in social sciences,
    with a focus on development studies, governance or related fields.
  • A minimum of  seven (7) years of international
    experience of working on issues of political governance, peace and
    development;
  • Experience of working
    in similar positions in UN agencies is an advantage;
  • Experience engaging
    political level actors in reform processes and developing strategies for
    implementation of reforms.
  • Proven experience in
    peace and conflict management;
  • Proven experience in
    developing strategic partnerships and ability to work with state and
    non-state actors for long term peace and stability;
  • Proven experience in
    project development processes, especially in the context of UNDP.
  • Language: Fluency
    in English in both writing and speaking. 
Personal Competencies:
Corporate Competencies:
  • Demonstrates
    integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
  • Promotes the
    vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP;
  •  Displays
    cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and
    adaptability;
  • Treats all
    people fairly without favoritism.
Functional Competencies:
  • In-depth
    understanding of the socio-economic and political context of Uganda with a
    strong understanding of the legal frameworks of the country;
  • Ability to
    facilitate and provide support to civil society in the area of governance,
    peace and development through consultative forums, workshops, mentoring
    and experience sharing.
Management and Leadership:
  • Focuses on
    impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback;
  • Consistently
    approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
  • Demonstrates
    strong oral and written communication skills;
  • Remains calm,
    in control and good humor even under pressure;
  • Demonstrates
    openness to change and ability to manage complexities;
  • Good
    understanding of Result Based Management (RBM).
Policy Advice and Knowledge
Management;
  • In-depth
    understanding of the socio-economic and political context of Uganda with a
    strong understanding of the legal frameworks of the country;
  • Ability to
    facilitate and provide support to civil society in the area of governance,
    peace and development through consultative forums, workshops, mentoring
    and experience sharing;
  • Ability to
    develop evidence-based policy advice;
  • Promotes a
    knowledge sharing and learning culture;
  • Actively
    works towards continuing personal learning and development in relevant
    practice areas.
Development and Operational
Effectiveness
  • Focuses on
    impact and results for the client and responds positively to feedback;
  • Ability to
    lead strategic planning, results-based management and reporting;
  • Ability to
    lead and manage corporate strategic initiatives;
  • Excellent
    computer and information system skills.
How to Apply:
If you believe you are one of the ideal candidates for this opportunity
in working with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), then visit the
web link below for full job details  
NB: UNDP is an
Equal Opportunity Employer. Qualified Women are encouraged to apply.
 Deadline: 1st November, 2013

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