Project Specialist RoLSHR - Office-Based

Background
  Diversity, Equity and Inclusion are core principles at UNDP:  we value diversity as an expression of the multiplicity of nations and cultures where we operate, we foster inclusion as a way of ensuring all personnel are empowered to contribute to our mission, and we ensure equity and fairness in all our actions. Taking a ‘leave no one behind’ approach to our diversity efforts means increasing representation of underserved populations. People who identify as belonging to marginalized or excluded populations are strongly encouraged to apply. Learn more about working at UNDP including our values and inspiring stories.
  UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.
 

Office/Unit/Project Description 

UNDP is the knowledge frontier organization for sustainable development in the UN Development System and serves as the integrator for 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. Within the GPN, the Crisis Bureau guides UNDP’s corporate crisis-related strategies and vision for crisis prevention, response and recovery and other thematic which it anchors for the whole of UNDP (e.g. Human rights).

Within the Crisis Bureau, the Rule of Law, Security and Human Rights Team (RoLSHR) team is responsible for practice/policy development in the areas of rule of law, security, and human rights as they relate to crisis prevention and recovery in conflict and disaster settings as well as the implementation of the Global Programme on Strengthening the Rule of Law and Human Rights for Sustaining Peace and Fostering Development. The Global Programme is the main operational and financial instrument for UNDP globally to engage in justice, security and human rights in crisis-affected contexts and special development situations. It draws on some of UNDP’s most innovative rule of law programmes in these contexts, to assist UNDP Country Offices in developing multi-year, comprehensive rule of law programmes that respond rapidly and effectively to the needs on the ground. The Global Programme supports rule of law programmes in approximately 40 crisis-affected situations, with a total programming value of over USD 220 million. The RoLSHR team also leads UNDP’s engagement on the rule of law with the UN system through the Global Focal Point for Rule of Law, which was established in 2012 and has been increasingly operational in recent years.

The Justice Action Coalition (JAC) with a Secretariat co-hosted by UNDP and Pathfinders for Peace and Justice, is a multi-stakeholder, high-ambition coalition of countries and organizations championing equal access to justice for all. The guiding ambition of the Justice Action Coalition is to close the global justice gap and the goal is to achieve measurable progress in justice outcomes for people and communities. The coalition calls for bold action to transform justice systems. It urges countries to pivot to people-centred justice. As a co-host of the JAC Secretariat, UNDP is implementing a workstream focusing on supporting strategic and innovative people centred justice initiatives at country level. UNDP is anchoring this workstream based on its comparative advantage and niche of in-country presence and strong rule of law and access to justice programmes in different development settings. This workstream focuses on the management of Catalytic Funds to deliver quality country level programming which is co-designed and implemented with national stakeholders. UNDP provides technical expertise at both policy and programming levels to support quality programming. The Catalytic Fund is being implemented with an initial inception period of two years aimed at demonstrating results and lessons on focused interventions on people centred justice.

Scope of Work 

The Rule of Law, Security and Human Rights Team () Project Specialist will be responsible for the overall project management of the Catalytic Fund people centered justice initiatives at country level and provision to expert technical support and advice on people centered justice. The project Specialist will be directing key activities which include support towards country selections for Catalytic Fund investments, coordination with key stakeholders, and particularly JAC partners, facilitate continuous learning processes throughout implementation of country projects including putting in place a robust monitoring learning and evaluation tools, supporting conducting research and analysis to support of the team’s efforts to provide policy and programme advisory, advocacy, relationship building, and knowledge to the thematic area of Rule of Law, Justice and Security within the Crisis Bureau and UNDP as a whole across a range of development settings, particularly in conflict, crisis and fragile settings. 

Working under the direction and support of the Senior Advisor, Justice & Security and with matrix reporting to Programme Manager -Global Programme for Rule of law Security and Human Rights, the Project Specialist collaborates with teams across UNDP’s Regional Hubs, Country Offices and Global Policy Centers, to provide quality project and policy services and deliver technical advice which advances UNDP’s credibility and coherence in the area of people centered justice, human rights and gender justice. S/he collaborates with the UN system and other JAC members to ensure the execution of quality and coherent policy and programme advisory services at the country level, as well as to ensure alignment with the UNDP Strategic Plan.

More specifically, the ROLSHR Project Specialist will undertake the following tasks:

1.            Lead Project Management and Coordination

1. Facilitates the development and implementation of Country selection process for the Catalytic Fund on people centered justice.
2. Leads Catalytic Fund project management work including activities related to work planning, implementation and reporting.
3. Leads monitoring and reporting of overall implementation based on programmatic indicators, as well as corporate reporting and evaluation/lessons learnt requirements.
4. Ensures coordination and coherence with the other JAC workstreams on Data & Evidence’, Communication, Narrative and Connection to the SDGs and Financing
5. Contribute to the development of coherence in the implementation of guidance on people centered justice related tools for the implementation of global policy standards, including testing and rolling out of tools and methodologies. 
6. Provide inputs to support the quality assurance of policy services and foster policy innovation to promote partnerships for people centered security through reviewing lessons learned and evaluations to enhance programme delivery.
7. Lead in the process of drafting reports including review of issues and trends
8. Lead in the coordination and conducting of analysis of data, case evidence and research findings on people centered justice to distill relevant lessons from projects and programmes to inform policy formulation and guidance; 
9. Lead in the process of drafting reports including review of issues and trends

   2.           Build Strategic Partnerships and Resource mobilization.

   1. In synchronization with the Global Programme Manager and Senior Advisor on Justice and Security, will coordinate engagement with current and prospective partners, including Member States, Private Sector organizations, CSOs/NGOs and others to make available capacities for supporting Catalytic Fund programmatic efforts in the field and at HQ; 
   2. Implement partnership building and resource mobilization strategies, in line with Crisis Bureau’s and ROLSHR resource mobilization strategy in coordination with the ROLSHR Team Leader and Global Programme Manager.
   3. Guide and support team-wide efforts in strengthening strategic partnerships with JAC members, UN entities and other relevant bodies and provide inputs to those partnerships in support of UNDP initiatives:
   4. Support partnerships at field level for the implementation of JAC catalytic initiatives and provide advice and guidance to Country Offices on partnership strengthening.

      3.           Lead Policy Research and Development: 

      1. Contribute to the development/implementation of guidance on people centered justice and related tools for the implementation of global policy standards, including testing and roll out of tools and methodologies. 
      2. Support the development of multi-stakeholder policy and programme initiatives for different contexts on key emerging policy issues on people centered justice, in collaboration with policy teams in the Regional Hubs, and bringing in perspectives and knowledge from Country Offices and the regions. 
      3. Contribute towards coordination and conducting of analysis of data, case evidence and research findings to distill relevant lessons from projects and programmes to inform policy formulation and guidance. 
      4. Contribute to the development of relevant analysis and guidance, in close collaboration across the GPN, on emerging trends, analysis and partnership issues of global significance, as well as contribute to new research, including through working with the Global Policy Centers. 
      5. Support team’s engagement in UN interagency and other coordination in relevant policy areas by providing research insight in specific thematic area.

         4.           Facilitate Knowledge Management 

         📚 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗮 𝗝𝗼𝗯 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗡 𝗶𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯! 🌍🤝 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗡𝗘𝗪 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗿𝘂𝗶𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗚𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗡 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗨𝗡𝗛𝗖𝗥, 𝗪𝗙𝗣, 𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗖𝗘𝗙, 𝗨𝗡𝗗𝗦𝗦, 𝗨𝗡𝗙𝗣𝗔, 𝗜𝗢𝗠 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀! 🌐

         ⚠️ 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐍𝐨𝐰: 𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐚 𝐣𝐨𝐛 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐍𝐎𝐖!

         1. Keep an up-to-date library of knowledge related to the thematic area, whether at the global, cross-regional or region-specific level to and proactively share documents with team members and respond to their specific requests for information and learning.
         2. Participate in knowledge sharing processes and events within UNDP and with external partners and in particular JAC members and national counterparts at field level.
         3. Contribute to the development and review of knowledge products in close coordination with HQ, Regional Hub and country teams by analyzing and sharing lessons learnt and programme evaluation results. 
         4. Support to communication products such as blogs, stories, reports, social media in close coordination with the MEL and Innovation Team, the Programme Manager and the Senior Advisor on Justice and Security.

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

            Institutional Arrangement

            • The ROLSHR is based in the Crisis Bureau and reports to the Senior Advisor-Justice and Security and works closely with the Rule of law, Security and Human Rights Team and the GPN.

              Competencies

              Core Core   Achieve Results: LEVEL 3: Set and align challenging, achievable objectives for multiple projects, have lasting impact  Think Innovatively: LEVEL 3: Proactively mitigate potential risks, develop new ideas to solve complex problems  Learn Continuously: LEVEL 3: Create and act on opportunities to expand horizons, diversify experiences Adapt with Agility: LEVEL 3: Proactively initiate and champion change, manage multiple competing demands  Act with Determination:  LEVEL 3: Think beyond immediate task/barriers and take action to achieve greater results Engage and Partner: LEVEL 3: Political savvy, navigate complex landscape, champion inter-agency collaboration Enable Diversity and Inclusion: LEVEL 3: Appreciate benefits of diverse workforce and champion inclusivity

              Cross-Functional & Technical competencies  Thematic Area Name Definition Business Direction and 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. 

              2030 Agenda: Peace Rule of Law Security and Human Rights Safeguarding human rights and protecting vulnerable groups 2030 Agenda: Peace Rule of Law Security and Human Rights Access to Justice Partnership Management  Strategic Engagement  Ability to capture and sustain attention, interest and agreement of high-level, influential policy and decision makers and secure their buy-in of high-level vision and objectives 2030 Agenda: Peace  Rule of Law Security and Human Rights and 

              Effective Justice Sector Institutions 

              Business Development  Integration within the UN Ability to identify 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. 2030 Agenda: Peace  Rule of Law Security and Human Rights and 

              Access to Justice and Security for Women and Girls 

              Minimum Qualifications of the Successful IPSA

              Min. Academic Education           

              • Advanced university degree (master’s degree or equivalent) in Development eEconomics, Law, Governance, Human Rights, Development Studies, Political Science, Business Administration, Social Sciences or related disciplines is required. OR
              • A first-level university degree (bachelor’s degree) in the areas stated above, in combination with an additional two years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree.

                Min. years of relevant Work experience              

                • A minimum of 7 years (with master’s degree) or 9 years (with bachelor’s degree) of professional work experience in providing policy advice and programme support in the area of justice, human rights, rule of law in development and/or crisis contexts is required.

                  Required and Desired additional skills and competencies           

                  • At least 5 years of experience working in developing country settings is required.
                  • Experience in working with a wide range of partners on justice, human rights and rule of law (public, private, academic, civil society, business community leaders) is required.
                  • Proven track record and experience in the UN System related to working on justice, rule of law and human rights in crisis and/or developments contexts is desirable. 
                  • Proven track record of project management or project coordination is an asset.
                  • Experience in crisis contexts is an asset.

                    Required Language(s) (at working level)              

                    • Fluency in English, both written and oral, is required.
                    • Fluency in another UN language is an asset.         Disclaimer
                        Important information for US Permanent Residents ('Green Card' holders) 
                        Under US immigration law, acceptance of a staff position with UNDP, an international organization, may have significant implications for US Permanent Residents. UNDP advises applicants for all professional level posts that they must relinquish their US Permanent Resident status and accept a G-4 visa, or have submitted a valid application for US citizenship prior to commencement of employment. 
                        UNDP is not in a position to provide advice or assistance on applying for US citizenship and therefore applicants are advised to seek the advice of competent immigration lawyers regarding any applications.
                        Applicant information about UNDP rosters
                        Note: UNDP reserves the right to select one or more candidates from this vacancy announcement.  We may also retain applications and consider candidates applying to this post for other similar positions with UNDP at the same grade level and with similar job description, experience and educational requirements.
                        Non-discrimination
                        UNDP has a zero-tolerance policy towards sexual exploitation and misconduct, sexual harassment, and abuse of authority. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles.  
                        UNDP is an equal opportunity and inclusive employer that does not discriminate based on race, sex, gender identity, religion, nationality, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy, age, language, social origin or other status. 
                        Scam warning
                        The United Nations does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process. Should you receive a solicitation for the payment of a fee, please disregard it. Furthermore, please note that emblems, logos, names and addresses are easily copied and reproduced. Therefore, you are advised to apply particular care when submitting personal information on the web.