Peace and Development Analyst

Details

Mission and objectives

UNDP works in 170 countries and territories to eradicate poverty while protecting the planet. We help countries develop strong policies, skills, partnerships and institutions so they can sustain their progress The primary and overarching objective of United Nations Development Programme in Kenya is the eradication of poverty in the context of sustainable development, including the pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals, and promotion of United Nations fundamental principles. A core dimension to the work of UNDP in Kenya is on Democratic Governance given the national focus on governance reforms. UNDP supports the country’s efforts towards achieving the Vision 2030 Political Pillar, which envisions a democratic system that is issue-based, people-centered, results oriented and accountable to the public. This Political Pillar gears to transform the country’s political governance across five strategic areas; The Rule of Law, Electoral and Political Processes, Democracy and Public Service Delivery, Transparency and Accountability, Security Peace Building and Conflict Management. These strategic areas are anchored in the Constitution, promulgated in August 2010 marking a major milestone in the democratic journey of Kenya and set a new threshold in terms of people-centred development.

Context

The Joint UNDP-DPPA Programme on Building National Capacities for Conflict Prevention has made a ground-breaking contribution in bridging the gap between political engagement and development assistance in pursuit of preventing conflict and sustaining peace. In its new phase (2019-2023), the Joint UNDP-DPPA Programme further strengthens the analytical capacities of national stakeholders and the UN system in support of Member States’ efforts to advance policy and programmatic coherence on conflict prevention and support strategies for sustaining peace. The deployment of Peace and Development Advisors has been the primary instrument of the Joint Programme to provide capacity for Resident Coordinators and UN Country Teams to support national partners in dialogue and national or local mediation processes, the establishment and operationalization of national infrastructures and mechanisms for peace; and other initiatives aimed at sustaining peace. To provide expanded and back-stopping support to PDAs and UNCTs on conflict analysis, conflict-sensitive programming and strengthening local capacities for conflict prevention, the Joint Programme also deploys a total of six Regional Programme Specialists in Nairobi, Amman, Bangkok, Dakar, Istanbul and Panama. The Regional Programme Specialists also provide surge expertise or short-term technical support to RCs in contexts where there are no PDAs, when urgent needs arise or when there is a gap between PDA deployments. The Regional Programme Specialist in Nairobi, with a specific focus on Southern and Eastern Africa, reports to DPPA-DPO (Office of the Special Envoy for the Horn), DCO Regional Director and the Team leader, Governance and Peacebuilding, UNDP Regional Hub and works in constant liaison with the Joint Programme management and team in New York

Task description

Under the direct supervision of the Regional Programme Specialist, the UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks: 1. Assisting on research, information gathering and analysis with specific focus on supporting and promoting peacebuilding and conflict prevention: • Gather and analyse data and information relevant to the UN’s role and activities in the Eastern and Southern Africa, with specific focus on supporting and promoting peacebuilding, early warning, conflict prevention and sustainable development; • Support the Regional Programme Specialist in undertaking regional and sub-regional political, political economy and/or conflict analysis, and reporting of issues related to peace and securi-ty; and • Carry out and coordinate research on particular issues and thematic areas, in particular, hate speech, climate security, cross-border prevention and peacebuilding, women peace and secu-rity as well as youth peace and security issues 2. Identifying entry-points and support inclusive approaches in efforts to strengthen capacities for conflict prevention: • Assist the Regional Programme Specialist in providing technical support to PDAs and UNCTs in the design of conflict prevention and peacebuilding programmes or other peace-related strategies at country and sub-regional levels; • Assist the Regional Programme Specialist in providing technical advisory support to PDAs and UNCTs in the region on mainstreaming conflict prevention and conflict sensitivity; and • Assist the Regional Programme Specialist in technically backstopping PDAs including on UNSDCF and CCA; and • Under the guidance of the Regional Programme Specialists, contribute to regional, sub-regional and cross-border conflict prevention initiatives, in close coordination and collaboration with DPPA and UNDP HQs and regional presences. • Assist the Regional Programme Specialist in the development of proposals, working docu-ments for meetings, preparation of briefing notes, organizing on-line knowledge exchange workshops, retreats and meetings; 3. Provide technical support for partnerships, knowledge management and M&E: • Support strengthening existing partnerships with stakeholders including the UN system, re-gional organizations, and civil society. • In close collaboration with the Regional Programme Specialist and the Joint Programme Secre-tariat, support monitoring and evaluation function, including collecting, processing and analyz-ing data; • Support knowledge management and sharing of good practices on conflict prevention and peacebuilding; ensure that stories and lessons learned are shared with the Joint Programme Secretariat; and respond to specific requests for information. Results/Expected Outputs • Timely, responsive and high-quality delivery of coordination and support to on-going and new development programs or other initiatives related to conflict prevention and peace building; • High quality analysis and collection of data on current domestic and regional issues of rele-vance for the Regional Programme Specialist portfolio; • Consistently take into account social inclusion and mainstream gender in all tasks; • Supporting coordination of existing and creation of new partnerships between relevant stakeholders (including the UN system, regional organizations and civil society);