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.
Voluntary return in safety and dignity is the fundamental right of every refugee and internally displaced person. Over the last five years, sizeable numbers of IDPs in Syria, and to a lesser extent, Syrian as well as Palestinian refugees, have chosen to exercise this right, often in very difficult circumstances. For many, this has meant carving out a very precarious existence, amidst large-scale destruction of homes, livelihoods and social and economic infrastructure, against a backdrop of continuing – and now once again deepening – humanitarian needs across the country.
While the UN does not currently promote or facilitate the large-scale organized return of Syrian refugees, several UN agencies and NGOs have stepped up their support to communities receiving returnees, as well as other communities in need, including through concrete and practical interventions in areas such as shelter, protection services including legal aid and civil documentation, distribution of relief items, water and sanitation, health, education, livelihoods, repairs to civilian infrastructure and restoration of basic services. Such support is provided in accordance with relevant international legal and policy frameworks and respecting principles of do no harm.
UN agencies and other humanitarian actors, through the Technical Working Group (TWG) of the Return and Reintegration Working Group (RRWG), have been exploring practical ways to strengthen and better align their interventions in support of returnees and their communities, to ensure that these are strategic, effective, complementary and mutually-reinforcing, addressing immediate protection and humanitarian needs and enhancing the resilience of returnees and their communities to the multiple shocks of 10 years of crisis, including those linked to the current socio-economic downturn and Covid-19. Enabling an “area-based” approach is considered key to support sustainable reintegration and recovery while strengthening preparedness for potential larger-scale voluntary, safe and dignified returns in the future.
Within this framework, the Technical Working Group (TWG) of the RRWG in Syria (co-chaired by UNHCR and UNDP) seeks to implement a more comprehensive and holistic approach to build resilience at the local level. The RRWG is adopting an Area-Based Return Support (ABRS) approach to address the critical needs and concerns of returnees and their communities in areas of high return and high need while building on their capacities and assets to promote early recovery and self-reliance, social cohesion, and resilience.
Duties and Responsibilities
Under the overall leadership of the Resident Representative of UNDP and UNHCR Representative, and reporting directly to the UNHCR Assistance Representative for Protection and UNDP Deputy Resident Representative, the Area Based Return and Reintegration Support Specialist will continue the facilitation of the implementing the ABRS approach in the selected locations in phase I, working closely with the TWG co-chairs, the Area Humanitarian Country Teams, and the staff of UN agencies and NGOs who are designing and implementing ABRS interventions at the sub-national level (referred to below as the ‘ABRS champions’).
S/he will provide technical advice and support to the eight AHCTs in Syria and to ABRS champions to implement a complementary, sequenced package of interventions in agreed locations where large numbers of returns have recently taken place or are currently ongoing – helping ensure that these are designed and implemented in a participatory manner that engages relevant stakeholders, impacts positively on social cohesion, and contributes to sustainable reintegration.
While the rollout will be field-led, the Area Based Return and Reintegration Support specialist will help promote a coherent approach across the different locations, and promote the exchange of knowledge, experience and lessons. S/he will also play a key role in documenting the ABRS rollout and helping develop and improve the approach in future iterations.
Support and advise on the development and Implementation of Community Recovery Plans:
- Encourage the Formulation of Locally Owned Community Recovery Plans: Facilitate the development of community recovery plans that are locally owned and include support for returnees, working closely with local stakeholders such as returnees, host communities, the private sector, line departments, NGOs, faith-based organizations (FBOs), and other relevant actors.
- Technical Assistance: Provide technical support to AHCTs, ABRS technical coordinators, local partners, and community stakeholders to prepare and implement community recovery plans in a manner that is participatory, inclusive, and aligned with local priorities.
- Capacity Building: Facilitate capacity-building activities for local stakeholders, ensuring they can effectively contribute to and lead the implementation of recovery initiatives.
Harmonization of Multi-Sectoral Needs and Resilience Assessment Tools:
- Social Impact Monitoring: Collaborate with relevant stakeholders to harmonize and refine tools for multi-sectoral needs assessments, ensuring they effectively capture social impacts and resilience factors.
- Nexus Approach Monitoring: Develop and implement a monitoring framework that integrates humanitarian, development, and peacebuilding (Nexus approach) considerations to ensure a holistic understanding of community resilience.
Providing technical Support to AHCT Sectoral and Inter-Sectoral Alignment Strategy to ABRS
- Strategic Alignment: Work with AHCTs to develop and implement a sectoral and inter-sectoral alignment strategy that ensures all activities are in line with the overarching Community Recovery Plans for 2024-2025.
- Stakeholder Coordination: Facilitate coordination among various sectors and stakeholders to ensure that all interventions are complementary, avoid duplication, and maximize impact.
- Policy Integration: Support the integration of community recovery plans into broader policy frameworks and ensure alignment with UNDP and UNHCR priorities.
Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Strategy and Knowledge Management:
- M&E Strategy Development: Lead the development of a comprehensive M&E strategy that tracks the progress of community recovery plans, assesses the impact of multi-sectoral interventions, and informs ongoing and future programming.
- Knowledge Management: Establish a robust knowledge management system that captures lessons learned, best practices, and innovative approaches from the ABRS implementation. Facilitate the sharing of this knowledge across AHCTs, UN agencies, NGOs, and other stakeholders.
- Mutual Learning Platforms: Create and manage platforms for mutual learning and exchange of experiences among the AHCTs and other partners, promoting a culture of continuous improvement and innovation in resilience programming.
- Contribute to knowledge management and knowledge sharing across the different AHCTs and agencies/NGOs applying the ABRS approach, the RRWG and TWG, and with external stakeholders:
- Lead in analyzing, consolidating and disseminating and exchanging lessons learned and best practices directly linked to the ABRS programme.
- Establish a mutual-learning process between the AHCT, teams involved and TWG members in the design and implementation of the ABRS pilots
- Promote a collaborative working relationships among key local stakeholders, TWG members through establishing effective internal and external communication mechanisms.
- Work with AHCTs, ABRS Champions, the RRWG and TWG to consolidate progress reports and other updates on ABRS and ensure the visibility of the initiative
Cross-Cutting Issues
- Gender Equality and Social Inclusion: Ensure that all activities are designed and implemented in a manner that promotes gender equality, social inclusion, and resilience and that the voices of women, youth, elderly, and persons with disabilities are integrated into all stages of the project.
- Context sensitivity, protection risk considerations and “Do No Harm Principle”: Ensure context sensitivity and protection mainstreaming, incorporating the “do no harm” principle into all assessments, planning, and implementation processes, ensuring that interventions do not exacerbate existing tensions or create new risks for vulnerable populations.
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 Area Based Return and Reintegration Support Specialist will operate under the overall leadership of the Resident Representative of UNDP and the UNHCR Representative. S/he will report directly to the UNHCR Assistance Representative for Protection and the UNDP Deputy Resident Representative.
Competencies
| 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 (insert up to 7 competencies) | Thematic Area | Name | Definition | | Business Development | Human-centred Design | - Ability to develop solutions to problems by involving the human perspective in all steps of the problem-solving process
| | 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 direction and strategy | System 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 and strategy | Negotiation and Influence | - Ability to reach an understanding, persuade others, resolve points of difference, gain advantage in the outcome of dialogue, negotiates mutually acceptable solutions through compromise and creates ‘win-win’ situations.
| | Business Development | Knowledge Generation | - Ability to research and turn information into useful knowledge, relevant for context, or responsive to a stated need
| | Partnership management | Multi-stakeholder engagement and funding | - Knowledge and ability to forge multi-stakeholder partnerships, and remove any obstacles to resource mobilization and multi-stakeholder funding platforms
| | Business direction and strategy | Effective Decision Making | - Ability to take decisions in a timely and efficient manner in line with one’s authority, area of expertise and resources
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Required Skills and Experience
| Min. Education requirements | - Advanced university degree (master’s degree or equivalent) in social sciences, political science, international development, public administration, business administration, or related field is required, or
- A first-level university degree (bachelor’s degree) in combination with an additional two years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree.
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| Min. years of relevant work experience | At least 7 years (with master’s degree) or 9 years (with bachelor’s degree) of progressively responsible of relevant professional work experience at the national and/or international level (of which at least two years in field operations) in area-based/territorial development, local governance, local development, peacebuilding; |
| Required skills | - Proven ability to provide project and programme management support.
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| Desired skills | - Experience working in an international organization, preferably UNDP or UNHCR, and familiarity with Crisis Prevention and Recovery issues; and familiarity with refugees and return support.
- Experience working with IDPs, refugees and/or returnees, preferably in the context of return and reintegration;
- Proven knowledge of UNDP/UNHCR/UN regulations, rules, policies, procedures, and practices
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| Required Language(s) | Fluency in English is required |
Disclaimer
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
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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.
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