Policy Specialist (Peace and Development, CHTDF)

UNDP Bangladesh is supporting the Government to find innovative solutions to its development challenges based on the UN Development Assistance Framework and the Country Programme Document. The Country Programme Action plan is specific to the UNDP programme and policy interventions in the field of development. Core area of work includes democratic governance, local governance, MDGs, local poverty reduction, environment, climate change and comprehensive disaster management. UNDP advocates for change and connects countries to knowledge, experience and resources to assist people build a better life. UNDP is working with the government, CSOs, NGOs and the people of Bangladesh to bring about best practices as well as endogenous solutions to the global and national development challenges. The Peace and Development Cluster's core purpose is to advance peace and development by strengthening capacities of local government and communities, with a focus on issues of conflict resolution. Currently the initiatives of the Peace and Development Cluster are being implemented in the Chittagong Hill Tracts area, which is located in the south-eastern corner of Bangladesh It is one of the most diverse regions of the country in terms of geography, ethnicity, culture and traditions of the peoples. People from different indigenous communities have been living in geographically dispersed areas in the CHT The region remained largely outside the mainstream of development assistance for more than 25 years due to an insurgency which ended with the signing of the CHT Peace Accord in December 1997. The implementation of the CHT Peace Accord is considered to be central to peace and development in the region. UNDP commenced responding to these development needs in 2003 and has been continuing with its support under CHT Development Facilities (CHTDF) until 2013, embedded within the larger mandate of ‘Promotion of Development and Confidence Building in the CHT’. In order to ensure policy advisory services and advocacy as well as the expansion of the development facilities for the indigenous communities, UNDP Bangladesh looks for a Policy Specialist who would be responsible for policy advisory services and programme under Peace and Development cluster. S/he will work under the overall supervision of the Country Director with support of the Deputy Country Director—Programme. S/he will work closely with the CHTDF Project Director, Deputy Director, Chief of Confidence Building. S/he will provide substantive advice to the Senior Management Team, including office of the UN Resident Co-ordinator/UNDP Resident Representative in the subject area and, in general, on all aspects of the Country Programme. S/he will be responsible for leading the cluster team through planning, implementing, managing the delivery of innovative policies and practices, program development, capacity building, project monitoring and assurance, marketing, advocacy and knowledge services.

Duties and Responsibilities

Summary of Key Functions: The incumbent act as Policy Specialist while ensuring cluster coordination and in peace and development with a specific focus on indigenous communities. The summary of key functions is: Policy Advisory services: Based on specialized development mapping and knowledge accumulation, provide top quality policy advisory services and be the policy resource or specialist on CHT. Programme Development Services: Provide strategic direction to and lead programming and contribute to enhancing quality and effectiveness of UNDP technical assistance in development of indigenous communities in Bangladesh. Cluster Coordination and Management: Day to day functioning of the Cluster Team and managing the delivery of results. Partnerships and Resource Mobilization: Mapping of Government and donor interests, building of partnerships and mobilizing resources. Knowledge Management and Services: Lead the process of capturing knowledge through networking and dissemination of know-how. Advocacy and marketing and: Engage in advocacy for CHT. Specific Functions: 1. Policy advisory services Provide strategic analyses on issues relating to peace and development for UNDP Bangladesh and other related UN agencies with a view to enabling the best support from the wider UN system for peace-building and reconciliation in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) Region of Bangladesh.; Assist the Country Director and his team in identifying “entry points” for peace-building and reconciliation initiatives and developing appropriate strategic responses; Develop and support the implementation of dedicated programmatic activities for conflict prevention and peace-building, including convening of dialogue processes; assisting conflict resolution activities; building skills for negotiation and mediation for leadership at national and CHT level for the relevant branches of government as deemed necessary; Provide policy advisory services to the UNDP and facilitate stronger collaboration with other development partners on existing or new peace-building efforts of the UN system in Bangladesh; Support capacity-building, training, and joint policy analysis for attempts to revive dialogue at national level and bring decision-makers together to reach consensus on key policy issues affecting CHT; Advise on best practices on conflict resolution that includes land disputes, indigenous groups and settlers and developing policy advocacy plan for a constructive role and engagement of the community people, policy makers and development partners to facilitate institutionalizing clear mandates, roles and resources for development and confidence building; Advise on creation of harmonious and collaborative working relations between government and indigenous structures at regional, district and local levels; Facilitate promotion of social and political harmony, especially through community-level confidence-building initiatives, fostering of better inter-community relations, and building bridges across communities; Engage with national counterparts to catalyze fledgling national initiatives to build a wider constituency for peace, and to conduct systematic and broad-based advocacy for lasting peace and reconciliation; Engage, in consultation with the CD and the RR, with other international and national institutions and initiate a common approach towards supporting peace-building and reconciliation in the CHT and for other ethnic minority communities in Bangladesh; Develop policy guidelines to define viable mechanisms for transitional justice in order to reduce insecurity and impunity at the community level, and to support national and local actors in instituting these mechanisms; 2. Programme development services Assist the UN Country Team, the UNDP Country Office, and relevant national counterparts in integrating CHT development and conflict prevention issues into the UN Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF), Country Programme Document (CPD) and Country Programme Action Plan (CPAP) for next programming cycle from 2012-2016; Support management in the operationalization of UNDAF and CPD in CHTDF areas through CPAP and programme formulation; Identification of strategic and innovative programme areas of cooperation and prepare programme strategic frameworks; Document best practices, covering concepts, strategies and implementation approaches and support management in streaming programme policies and practices. 3. Cluster Coordination and Management Help ensure coherence between development initiatives in the CHTDF and UNDP initiatives on peace and development, including work with other clusters in the Country Office; Facilitate the day-to-day functioning of the Cluster Team and oversee achievement of results agreed with the management through cluster and country office development work plans; Coordinate the distribution of responsibilities amongst team members and organize monitoring and tracking system of all cluster services; Creating enabling environment for high level performance of Project Implementation Teams through timely recruitment and availability of high quality and specialized personnel; Ensure the cluster’s regular monitoring of progress, preparation of progress reports and organization of regular reviews. Use Results Based Management (RBM) /M&E techniques, methods and their applications and ensure programme management and monitoring modules in UNDP system; Supervise the cluster’s assurance and oversight of the CHTDF project, including planning, budgeting, implementing and monitoring of the programme, tracking use of funds, donor reporting, etc. Ensure that results and lessons learned feed into the analytical work of the cluster; Ensure timely preparation of programme/cluster/project reports and donor reporting; 4. Strategic partnerships and resource mobilization Analysis and research of information on donors, preparation of substantive briefs on possible areas of cooperation, identification of opportunities for cost-sharing; Build and maintain excellent relations with partners, prepare proposals for mobilization of human, technical or financial resources from international development; Work closely with UN agencies to leverage comparative advantage and partnerships within the CHT. 5. Knowledge management and services Lead the process of capturing knowledge of national, regional and global know-how in the subject area and production of knowledge-based products; Partner with practitioners and members of the UNDP regional and global networks, RBAP, BDP Organize internal and external networks or communities of practice covering prominent experts in government, nongovernment, think tanks, private companies, international development organizations and the UN system; Develop country based intelligence on country situation, opportunities, interests and prospects covering governments, UNDP and major development stakeholders. 6. Advocacy and marketing Support efforts to creating positive confidence building atmosphere in nationally and in CHT. Disseminate information on best practices and be active member of relevant global, regional networks, while playing a leading role in national/CHT/CSO networks, communities of practice. Ensure preparation of brochures, publications, press releases for dissemination. 7. Any other functions, responsibilities or portfolio which may be assigned by the UNDP management as appropriate in UNDP, may be assigned to other practice or sub-practice portfolios. The Staff Member should expected to be linked and contribute to the work of UNDP in all practice areas. Impact of Results The key results have an impact on the overall success of the country programme and reaching UNDAF/ CPD goals. In particular, the key results have an impact on the design, operation and programming of activities, creation of strategic partnerships as well as reaching resource mobilization targets.

Competencies

Qualifications and Competencies: Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards (human rights, peace, understanding between people and nations, tolerance, integrity, respect, results orientation (UNDP core ethics) impartiality; Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability Functional Competencies: Substantive and technical expertise should include: Conflict analysis/assessment tools Developing and delivering experiential conflict resolution/transformation skills-training to different levels of audiences, including training-of-trainers Mainstreaming conflict prevention into development programme in developing countries Building national capacities to manage/prevent/reduce violent conflict Facilitating multi-stakeholder national/local dialogues for conflict management Excellent knowledge of indigenous peoples’ issues, sensitivities and development. Outstanding knowledge of facilitation/training, process and co-ordination skills Extensive experience of providing policy advice (including report writing) at international level; Experience of inter-agency policy processes. Management and Leadership Builds strong relationships with clients, focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback, timely responses queries Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude Demonstrates good oral and written communication skills Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities Development and Operational Effectiveness Ability to engage with high ranking UNDP Managers, Government Officials and international donor community and provide policy advisory support services; Ability to identify opportunities, conceptualize and develop project proposals as well as ability to market the project ideas to Government and international donor community; Capability to engage in team-based policy and programme dialogue, experience of leading workshops and being a resource person; Ability to lead strategic planning, results-based management and reporting: full project cycle mastery, excellent work/project planning skills, mastery of UNDP’s new programme modalities (PRINCE 2, RBM Guide, NEX/DEX execution etc.) and also use ATLAS; Ability to lead formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development programme and projects, mobilize resources: ability to oversee timely project implementation and to provide the necessary trouble shooting to keep project implementation on schedule Ability to formulate and manage budgets, manage contributions and investments, manage transactions, conduct financial analysis, reporting and cost-recovery: excellent project oversight functions, including audit, accurate and thorough risk assessment Ability to implement new systems and affect staff behavioral/ attitudinal change Knowledge Management and Learning Promotes knowledge management in UNDP and a learning environment in the office through leadership and personal example: Excellent knowledge of capacity building theory and the application of methodology: good understanding of capacity assessment methodologies; Ability to identify significant capacity building opportunities, ability to get capacity built; Actively works towards continuing personal learning and development in one or more Practice Areas, acts on learning plan and applies newly acquired skills Excellent communication skills (written and oral): Sensitivity to and responsiveness to all partners, respectful and helpful relations with all UN/UNDP staff. Behavioral Competencies: Strong communication and advocacy skills; Ability to work in a complex environment requiring liaison and collaboration with multiple actors; Ability to demonstrate sensitivity, tact and diplomacy; Excellent analytical, organizational and negotiation skills, especially resource management systems; Excellent networking skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education: Master degree in social sciences with a focus on international relations, political science, development studies or peace and conflict; Experience: Minimum 7 years of progressively responsible experience in peace-building and/or conflict prevention, including relevant field experience, especially in crisis or post-conflict settings, and in conflict sensitive programming. Extensive knowledge of indigenous peoples’ rights, development and sensitivities. Specific experience in building national capacities for conflict prevention would be an asset. Minimum 3-year experience in policy advisory services and programming; Specific experience involving the facilitation of multi-stakeholder consensus, preferably in crisis situations; Specific experience in designing and delivering training on conflict prevention; Demonstrable ability to work in a team environment, and to strengthen all team members through collective action and individual initiative; Prior experience in the South Asia or in Asia and the Pacific region. Experience and knowledge of CHT region and issues will be an added advantage. Full working knowledge of English, excellent writing and computer skills is a must. Language Requirements: Fluency in written and spoken English

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.

Policy Specialist (Peace and Development, CHTDF)