Posts
Post title: TECHNICAL
SPECIALIST
Location : Kampala,
UGANDA
Application Deadline
: 01-Nov-13
Type of Contract : FTA International
Post Level : P-4
Languages Required : English
Starting Date : 02-Jan-2014
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.
Duties and
Responsibilities
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.
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.
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.
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.
Required Skills and Experience
Education:
Advanced degree
(Masters or equivalent) in social sciences, with a focus on development
studies, governance or related fields.
Experience:
At least 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
Requirements:
Fluency in English
in both writing and speaking.
UNDP is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Qualified women are
encouraged to apply.
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from the original posting:
http://jobs.undp.org/cj_view_job.cfm?cur_job_id=41129
