Global Advisor, Forced Displacement

UNDP is the knowledge frontier organization for sustainable development in the UN Development System and serves as the integrator for collective action to realize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UNDP's policy work carried out at HQ, Regional and Country Office levels, forms a contiguous spectrum of deep local knowledge to cutting-edge global perspectives and advocacy. In this context, UNDP invests in the Global Policy Network (GPN), a network of field-based and global technical expertise across a wide range of knowledge domains and in support of the signature solutions and organizational capabilities envisioned in the Strategic Plan.

The Crisis Bureau (CB) spearheads UNDP’s efforts to support countries on a key challenge: how to anticipate, prevent, respond to, and recover from fragility and crisis. CB addresses the risks that precipitate crises, prevent early exit from them, and perpetuate long-term dependency on humanitarian assistance.  Guided by UNDP’s Crisis Offer (2022), CB works within the GPN and with Regional Bureaux (RBx) and Country Offices (COs) to implement solutions across prevention, response and recovery that help break the cycle of protracted fragility and crisis.  

CB is organized into five core teams. Each team integrates gender considerations across all areas of work to ensure inclusive and sustainable outcomes, leaving no one behind. 

The Crisis Readiness, Response, and Recovery Team ensures organisational readiness, mobilises timely and effective response to crises and enables early recovery based on a whole-of-CB and whole-of-GPN approach that builds on best-in-class procedures, systems, and expertise. To this end, the Team develops and maintains standards, protocols, and systems.  On readiness, the Team focuses on continuous improvement and innovation in crisis impact assessments, country office capacities, management of expertise through rosters, and forging of operational partnerships.  On response, the team provides immediate support to COs in crisis situations including coordination and delivery of financial, technical, and operational support.  The team emphasizes gender considerations in all aspects of its work. 

Assessments and Digital Solutions:

The team leads continuous development and innovation on digital assessment tools, coordinates assessment support for COs, provides technical expertise for rolling out UNDP-specific assessments and serves as the custodian of UNDP-managed assessment methodologies. 

Country and Recovery Solutions: 

The team provides technical and programmatic support for crisis response and recovery, leading efforts in areas such as stabilisation, host-community resilience, forced displacement solutions, basic services, economic recovery, mine action, and debris removal, while facilitating data-driven decision-making. 

Operations and Country Readiness: 

The team develops and institutionalizes crisis readiness protocols and systems, strengthens CO and corporate capacities for response and recovery, and innovates on operational solutions.

As part of its mandate, the Crisis Bureau leads critical policy functions, positioning UNDP as a global thought leader on issues such as the Humanitarian-Development-Peace (HDP) nexus, mission transitions, unconstitutional changes of government, and forced displacement with special reference to Internal Displaced Persons (IDPs). CB drives UNDP’s thought leadership on these matters, promoting innovative policies that ensure development is central to both immediate crisis response and long-term recovery efforts.

Forced displacement, particularly internal displacement, is a key focus area for UNDP. The organization promotes sustainable, development-focused interventions that enhance resilience in displaced communities, strengthen governance, and create opportunities for rebuilding livelihoods. UNDP integrates displacement concerns into national development strategies and collaborates with governments, international financial institutions (IFIs), civil society, and the UN system to address the root causes of displacement, including conflict, climate change, and poverty. As a lead UN agency in follow-up to the UN Secretary-General’s Action Agenda on Internal Displacement, UNDP engages with multiple stakeholders to ensure that displaced persons are part of inclusive, durable recovery processes. 

Position Purpose

Embedded in the Crisis Bureau Front Office and reporting to the Sr. Global Advisor, the Global Advisor Forced Displacement leads the collaborative process of inter-agencies coordination, programme, policy development, applied research and implementation of integrated development solutions to forced displacement with emphasis on IDPs in fragile and conflict situations, and disaster/post-disaster settings. S/he also ensures policy integration of UNDP’s priorities on crisis response (e.g. early recovery, stabilization, stabilization, livelihood, and services) – leasing with GPN, Regional Bureau and Hubs. 

UNDP adopts a portfolio approach to accommodate changing business needs and leverage linkages across interventions to achieve its strategic goals. Therefore, UNDP personnel are expected to work across units, functions, teams, and projects in multidisciplinary teams to enhance and enable horizontal collaboration. 

Duties and Responsibilities

Lead Programme and Policy Formulation, Development, and Implementation

• Substantially contribute to advice and coordinate UNDP’s work on IDPs - forced displacement in crisis and post-crisis settings.
• Lead and coordinate the production and implementation of global policy guidance on Forced Displacement - IDPs, in close collaboration with other GPN teams.
• Coordinate data management non forced displacement that inform UNDP programming.
• Guide the quality assurance of policy services and foster policy innovation on development solutions to forced displacement – IDPs supporting programme delivery,

Lead Programme and Policy Advice and Delivery Support

• Coordinate with the CB Team Readiness, Response and Recovery to ensure a rapid and well-coordinated response to forced displacement in crisis situations and provide related contributions to UNDP SURGE for country offices.
• Lead in the compilation and analysis of development solutions to forced displacement focusing on key indicators, contributing to UNDP’s leaving no one behind offer, to inform UNDP’s contribution to recovery and development in post crisis situations to achieve the 2030 Agenda.
• Provide guidance and input to regional hubs and advisors in their provision of programme and policy advisory services to country offices on all forced displacement programming efforts, including capacity building, development financing, macro-micro policy linkages, etc. as part of a package of integrated development solutions. 
• Lead UNDP role within the interagency Hub for Coordination of Solutions to Internal Displacement (the Solutions Hub) that serves as a global ‘one-stop-shop’ for RCs to access advice and support from global and regional levels. This includes the coordination and provision of technical support to RC/HCs and country teams from across the UN system.
• Lead UNDP responsibility of the Solutions Adviser Facility, administered by UNDP and integrated within the above-mentioned Hub. The Facility aims to strengthen UN and national capacities to address internal displacement by providing temporary capacities (up to three years) to Resident Coordinators (RCs) in the form of RC Office Solutions Advisers.

Lead Strategic Partnerships, Representation, Advocacy and Resource Mobilization

• Advise CB Management with inputs needed to position forced displacement and IDPs agenda in global contexts.
• Mobilize, foster, and strengthen strategic partnerships with UN entities and other relevant bodies, including bilateral donors, Multilateral Development Banks, and global think tanks and provide substantive inputs to those partnerships.
• Represent UNDP and engage in relevant UN interagency coordination as well as in other constitutional contexts related to Forced Displacement.
• Contribute to pipeline development and resource mobilization to support the delivery of UNDP results related to supporting development solutions to forced displacement – IDPs in crisis and post-crisis situations.
• Advocate policy and positioning of UNDP on the development impacts of forced displacement -IDPs and the shift in approach to government-led, development-anchored solutions in various fora, including academia and civil society.

Facilitate Knowledge Management

• Coordinate cross-regional exchange of knowledge by collaborating with regional Hubs and advisors to research, develop and share knowledge-based tools and guidance to help influence/advance policy dialogue on development solutions to forced displacement and present such material at various fora.
• Oversee the knowledge extraction, analysis, documentation, and codification of results/lessons learned regarding the application of integrated approaches to development solutions to forced displacement in crisis and post crises, ensuring knowledge sharing, and that content management is in line with guidelines and performed using corporate tools.
• Actively support pertinent Communities of Practice and Crisis Academy as well as Recovery Packages related to forced displacement and IDPs specifically.

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

Competencies

Core:

Achieve Results

• Set and align challenging, achievable objectives for multiple projects, have lasting impact. 

Think Innovatively

• Proactively mitigate potential risks, develop new ideas to solve complex problems. 

Learn Continuously

• Create and act on opportunities to expand horizons, diversify experiences.

Adapt with Agility 

• Proactively initiate and champion change, manage multiple competing demands. 

Act with Determination                

• Think beyond immediate task/barriers and take action to achieve greater results.

Engage and Partner

• Political savvy, navigate complex landscape, champion inter-agency collaboration.

Enable Diversity and Inclusion

• Appreciate benefits of diverse workforce and champion inclusivity.

Cross-Functional & Technical:

Business Direction & Strategy: Systems Thinking               

• Ability to use objective problem analysis and judgement to understand how interrelated elements coexist within an overall process or system, and to consider how altering one element can impact on other parts of the system.

Business Direction & Strategy: Negotiation and Influence             

• Reach a common understanding/agreement, persuade others, resolve points of difference through a dialogue, negotiate mutually acceptable solutions and create ‘win-win’ situations.

Business Development: Portfolio Management 

• Ability to select, prioritise and control the organization's programmes and projects in line with its strategic objectives and capacity. 
• Ability to balance the implementation of change initiatives with regular activities for optimal return on investment. 
• Knowledge and understanding of key principles of project, programme, and portfolio management. 

Business Development: Integration within the UN           

• Ability to identity, and integrate capacity and assets of the UN system, and engage in joint work. Knowledge of the UN System and ability to apply this knowledge to strategic and/or practical situations.

Business Management: Results-based Management      

• Ability to manage the implementation of strategies, programmes, and projects with a focus at improved performance and demonstrable results. 
• Knowledge and understanding of relevant theories, concepts, methodologies, instruments, and tool.

Business Management: Partnerships Management         

• Build and maintain partnerships with wide networks of stakeholders, Governments, civil society and private sector partners, experts, and others in line with UNDP strategy and policies. 

Business Management: Communication               

• 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.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Advanced university degree (master’s degree or equivalent) in Law, International Affairs, Public Policy, Politics, Development Studies, or a related area 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:

• A minimum of 10 years (with master’s degree) or 12 years (with bachelor’s degree) of experience in either public (national or multilateral, including UN) or private (academia, non-governmental sector) with increasing level of responsibility, with at least 5 years of field experience in crisis and post-crisis settings, required.
• Proven track record and leadership experience in the UN system related to forced displacement and situations of crisis and fragility, preferably in contexts of protracted displacement, required.
• Proven track record of programme development and management, desired.
• Proven track record of excellent negotiating and communication skills and ability to mobilize support from a wide range of partners, desired.
• Proven track record of partnership and resource mobilization skills, desired.
• Demonstrated experience in, use of qualitative and quantitative information in crisis and fragility settings is desired.

Language:

• Fluency in English is required. 
• Working knowledge of other UN language highly desirable.