Gender and Special Needs Officer

Tags: UNDP English language Environment
  • Added Date: Monday, 01 September 2025
  • Deadline Date: Monday, 08 September 2025
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Background

The Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration (DDR) program for Ethiopia was initiated as a crucial step towards implementing the peace agreement signed between the Government of Ethiopia and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) on 2nd November 2022 in South Africa. This agreement ended the long-standing conflict that had arisen between the TPLF and the central government in Ethiopia, resulting in widespread violence and displacement.

The objective of the DDR program is to facilitate the disarmament of former combatants from Tigray, Amhara and Afar, their demobilization and eventual reintegration into civilian life. The program is geared towards restoring peace, promoting reconciliation and creating a conducive environment for sustainable development.ย Eventual areas of coverage will go beyond Northern Ethiopia and cover other regions of Ethiopia.ย 

The Government of Ethiopia has mandated and created the โ€œNational Rehabilitation Commission (NRC)โ€ which is responsible for design, planning, implementation, and monitoring of the DDR programme in the country. The overall DDR beneficiaries identified are 371,971. The Government has planned implementation of the programme. In Phase 1, a total of 75,000 combatants will be demobilized in 2024 and the balance will be demobilized in 2025.

UNDP is supporting the NRC in close coordination with various national and international partners, including the United Nations, non-governmental organizations, and other actors. It is expected that the DDR program will provide an opportunity for the combatants in North Ethiopia to turn their focus towards peaceful and productive activities, thereby contributing to the overall stability and development of the North Ethiopia region.

The DDR program has close linkages with the National Dialogue, Transitional Justice, and Peace Support programme. The DDR programme is anchored in the Governance Unit.

Position Purposeย 

Under the direct supervision of the Reintegration Coordination Specialist and overall supervision of the Director DDR, the Gender and Special Needs officer is responsible for ensuring the needs and priorities of marginalized groups such as women and people with disability are addressed and met, as well as their capacities in regard to accessing DDR support and mainstream implementation of gender equality (GEN 2) seal in all DDR program activities.ย 

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 in order to enhance and enable horizontal collaboration.

Duties and Responsibilities

Gender, Disability, Referrals & Action Planningย focusing on achievement of the following results:

  • Conduct a comparative analysis of national gender, disability policies vs. UNDP gender and disability inclusion strategies and DDR frameworks, to identify gaps and compliance risks.
  • Draft and finalize DDR-specific Gender, Disability and Action Plans to mainstream these considerations across all DDR project phases.
  • Support consultations with stakeholdersโ€™ womenโ€™s groups, persons with disabilitiesโ€™ associations, GBV/SEA survivorsโ€™ networks, adhering to ethical protocols.
  • Map and report service providers, to establish and formalize referral pathways and riskโ€management protocols for GBV/SEA survivors.

    Manage the mainstreaming of Tools & Capacity Buildingย focusing on the achievement of the following results:

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