Date of last update: 19/05/2021 2021-05-19
UNDP is the UN Development Programme and works in some 170 countries and territories, helping to achieve the eradication of poverty, and the reduction of inequalities and exclusion. UNDP helps countries to develop policies, leadership skills, partnering abilities, institutional capabilities and build resilience in order to sustain development results. UNDP supports the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 17 new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as they help shape global sustainable development for the next 10 years.
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Background
Peace and Development Specialists (hereafter PDA) work with national stakeholders to build, strengthen, and sustain nationally owned and driven efforts to prevent violent conflict and build just and peaceful societies. The range of countries to which PDAs are deployed vary considerably, with some deployed to countries emerging from conflict, others where violence is escalating, and others to countries where there is no violent conflict but underlying structural causes of conflict are present. PDAs are also deployed in countries where political and developmental challenges exist around issues related to elections and constitutional processes, exclusion and inequality, environment, climate change and natural resource management. PDAs are deployed through a partnership between the UN Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), under the Joint UNDP-DPPA Programme on Building National Capacities for Conflict Prevention. PDAs support Resident Coordinators (RC) and UN Country Teams (UNCTs) in their efforts to work with national partners on conflict prevention and sustaining peace. They support early warning and risk management measures, and ensure that UN assessments, frameworks (mainly UN Cooperation Frameworks), strategies and programmes are conflict-sensitive and informed by high quality analysis. They are located in the Resident Coordinators' office, with a direct reporting line to the RC, and a secondary reporting line to the UNDP Resident Representative and DPPA-DPO regional divisions.
In 2021, PDAs are deployed to more than 50 countries through the Joint Programme. While most PDAs are deployed at country-level, there are a number of PDAs who cover multiple countries. In some contexts, PDAs are part of a small Peace and Development Advisory team composed of a PDA and a substantive national or international officer/analyst. PDAs also receive additional support from a Joint Programme secretariat based at UN Headquarters in New York, from UNDP and DPPA technical advisors/specialists globally, and from a cadre of regional programme specialists supporting their regions from Amman, Addis Ababa, Bangkok, Dakar, Istanbul and Panama.
Given the broad range of skills and experience required by PDAs, the Joint Programme encourages applications from individuals with a combination of expertise spanning sustainable development, political affairs, peacebuilding, sustaining peace, conflict prevention/resolution, community engagement, justice, reconciliation, dialogue, mediation, and humanitarian-development-peace nexus among other relevant areas. While UN experience is a major asset, it is not a requirement for this position. Moreover, the skills of diplomacy, dialogue and facilitation, analysis, advocacy, networking, capacity development and coordination are critical elements of a PDA's work. - UN PDDA.
Moldova's context
The Republic of Moldova is a small landlocked country of an estimated 2.61 million people that lies between Romania and Ukraine, at the cultural, geographical, and economic crossroads between Europe's East and West. Moldova's population consists of 51.8 per cent women and 48.2 per cent men, and almost 11 per cent of the whole population are people aged over 65. Moldova is a diverse and multi-ethnic country: at least 25 per cent of its population belong to mostly Russian-speaking minorities. Moldova is one of the poorest countries in Eastern Europe. Overall social cohesion in the country is fragile, according to the UN Moldova Social Cohesion and Reconciliation Index (SCORE). High rates of migration and resultant brain drain, repressive attitudes towards women, and poor social tolerance continue to impact on overall social cohesion, as does the protracted Transnistria Region conflict.
Prior to 2009, political power in Moldova was concentrated in the hands of the Communist Party, which fluctuated between seeking stronger ties with Russia to prioritizing European integration. In 2009, pro-European political forces came to power and Moldova made significant progress towards integration with the EU. In 2014, the European Union and Moldova signed an Association Agreement, which, among other things, created a ‘Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area', opening the European market to Moldovan goods. During the same period, an oligarchy developed into a powerful political and economic force, controlling most levels of state power behind the scenes, under the façade of promoting closer ties with the West. In late 2014, an unprecedented large-scale financial theft was organized by these actors involving over $1 billion (equivalent to 14 per cent of Moldova's GDP) from three banks, that undermined Moldova's efforts towards European Integration and severely compromised its national development objectives and exposed severe governance and rule of law challenges.
The most recent Presidential Election took place on Sunday, November 15, 2020 and Maia Sandu, former Prime Minister and former head of the PAS party, was declared the winner with 57.75% of the vote compared to 42.25% for Igor Dodon, the former president and current head of the Socialist Party. The overall turnout in the elections was 52.78% or 1,650,131 participating voters.
The conflict in the Transnistria Region took place from March 1992 and lasted until an uneasy, yet lasting ceasefire was established on July 22, 1992. As part of that agreement, a three-party Joint Control Commission was created to supervise the security arrangements in the demilitarized zone, comprising twenty localities on both sides of the river. Since 2005, the OSCE has been chairing the negotiation process between the sides in a 5+2 format that includes the OSCE, Russia, Ukraine, the European Union, and the United States as mediators and observers. The UN does not have a political or formalized role in the Transnistria Settlement Process but seeks to support the wider enabling environment around the OSCE-facilitated Process. The UN seeks to support the OSCE, the sides, and the other key actors by focusing on confidence-building measures between the sides and in the strengthening of human rights on the two banks.
There continues to be a genuine risk that the depth and breadth of the compound political crisis, coupled with the impact of the pandemic, will have deep and lasting effects on Moldova. Given the UN's position and mandate, the organization is well placed to continue to strongly support the country in its complex recovery and development process. Managing the manifold risks of this process as well as navigating political complexities at all levels will require the continued presence of a Peace and Development Advisor (PDA) - to provide an on-going analysis of the prevailing political and socio-economic situation and an objective eye as to programmatic exposure and mitigation opportunities.
There are strategic opportunities for the UN to work with the Republic of Moldova on the strengthening of social cohesion and on continuing the support to confidence building between people and communities on both banks of the Nistru River. The PDA would also be supporting efforts to ensure that UN programme design and implementation in Moldova is undertaken in a conflict-sensitive and context-cognizant manner. The PDA would also ensure that analysis and conflict-sensitivity inform the development of future strategic planning for the country.
Duties and Responsibilities
There are three broad functions of the position:
1. Undertake conflict and context analysis and provide strategic advice to the Resident Coordinator (and where appropriate and necessary the UNCT Heads of Agency) in their engagement with high-level government officials, academia, civil society, including youth and women's networks, UN Country Teams, OSCE, HQ, and other relevant stakeholders. Submit the analysis and reporting to the RC, UNDP RR and DPPA-DPO Regional Division and other UNCT Heads of Agency.
2. Support the strengthening of UN and national capacities for conflict sensitivity, strengthening social cohesion and conflict prevention and identify and support areas of strategic, programmatic and policy engagement with national stakeholders, and support the RC and the UNCT action in areas of conflict prevention, peacebuilding, human rights, humanitarian-development-peace (HDP) nexus, Women, Peace and Security (WPS) and Youth, Peace and Security (YPS) among others.
3. Establish and strengthen strategic partnerships with key national stakeholders, regional and international actors and development partners on issues related to Sustaining Peace and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
In line with the trilateral agreement, PDAs have a primary reporting line to the Resident Coordinator, and secondary reporting lines to the DPPA-DPO regional division and the UNDP Resident Representative. Under their guidance and agreed workplan, and in close collaboration with the country team, the PDA will:
1. Undertake conflict and context analysis and provide strategic advice to the Resident Coordinator (and where appropriate and necessary the UNCT Heads of Agency) in his/her engagement with high-level government officials, academia, civil society, including youth and women's networks, UN Country Teams, OSCE, HQ, and other relevant stakeholders. Submit the analysis and reporting to the RC, UNDP RR and DPPA-DPO Regional Division and other UNCT Heads of Agency.
2. Support the strengthening of UN and national capacities for conflict sensitivity, strengthening social cohesion and conflict prevention and identify and support areas of strategic, programmatic and policy engagement with national stakeholders, and support the RC and the UNCT action in areas of conflict prevention, peacebuilding, human rights, humanitarian-development-peace (HDP) nexus, Women, Peace and Security (WPS) and Youth, Peace and Security (YPS) among others.
3. Establish and strengthen strategic partnerships with key national stakeholders, regional and international actors and development partners on issues related to Sustaining Peace and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Establish and maintain networks and strategic partnerships for sustaining peace related strategies and initiatives and the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and national SDG plans;
Competencies
Core Competencies
Innovation
Ability to make new and useful ideas work
Level 5: Creates new and relevant ideas and leads others to implement them.
Leadership
Ability to persuade others to follow.
Level 5: Plans and acts transparently, actively works to remove barriers.
People Management
Ability to improve performance and satisfaction
Level 4: Models independent thinking and action.
Communication
Ability to listen, adapt, persuade and transform
Level 5: Gains trust of peers, partners, clients by presenting complex concepts in practical terms to others
Delivery
Ability to get things done while exercising good judgement
Level 5: Critically assesses value and relevance of existing policy / practice and contributes to enhanced delivery of products, services, and innovative solutions
Technical/Functional Competencies:
Social Cohesion
Knowledge of methods and experience of supporting communities to achieve greater inclusiveness, more civic participation and creating opportunities for upward mobility
Level 5: Originate: Catalyzes new ideas, methods, and applications to pave a path for innovation and continuous improvement in professional area of expertise
Peacebuilding and Reconciliation
Ability to support peace processes to facilitate recovery and development
Level 5: Originate: Catalyzes new ideas, methods, and applications to pave a path for innovation and continuous improvement in professional area of expertise
Conflict-Sensitive Programming
Ability to use methods and tools to monitor conflict triggers and determine impact of various dynamics in conflcit-prone situations
Level 5:Originate: Catalyzes new ideas, methods, and applications to pave a path for innovation and continuous improvement in professional area of expertise.
Conflict and Political Economy Analysis
Knowledge of the interaction of political, social and economic processes in a society; including distribution of power and wealth between groups and individuals, and the processes that create, sustain and transform these relationships over time, and how these dynamics both affect, and are affected by, UN's development support
Level 5: Originate: Catalyzes new ideas, methods, and applications to pave a path for innovation and continuous improvement in professional area of expertise
Knowledge Management
Ability to efficiently handle and share information and knowledge
Level 5: Originate: Catalyzes new ideas, methods, and applications to pave a path for innovation and continuous improvement in professional area of expertise
Relationship Management
Ability to engage with other parties and forge productive working relationships
Level 5: Originate: Catalyzes new ideas, methods, and applications to pave a path for innovation and continuous improvement in professional area of expertise
Gender
Knowledge of gender issues and the ability to apply to strategic and/or practical situations, including analysis of projects from a gender perspective
Level 5: Originate: Catalyzes new ideas, methods, and applications to pave a path for innovation and continuous improvement in professional area of expertise
Required Skills and Experience
Education:
Experience:
Language Requirements:
Other:
Qualified female candidates are especially encouraged to apply.
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Type of contract: Staff (Permanent and Fixed Term)
Macro-area: Eastern Europe and Central Asia
Level of experience: Senior Professional, more than 5 years
Area of work Definition: Political Affairs, Conflict and Peacekeeping
Type of organisation: Multilateral Organisations