Programme Specialist - Local Governance and Peacebuilding (Semera)

Office/Unit/Project Description

The two-year conflict in Northern Ethiopia has triggered a major humanitarian crisis in the Afar, Amhara and Tigray regions with profound adverse effects on Ethiopias ambitious economic and governance reforms. The conflict resulted in significant loss of lives; displacement of millions needing humanitarian assistance; and large-scale damage to infrastructure and services. On 2^nd of November 2022, an agreement for lasting peace through a Permanent Cessation of Hostilities was signed between the Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (GoE) and the TPLF. Led by the AU, the Peace Agreement has ended active combat in Northern Ethiopia and raised hope for a gradual restoration of services and humanitarian operations in the region. This wide-ranging agreement committed, among other things, to an immediate and permanent cessation of hostilities, the creation of an interim administration in Tigray region pending regional elections, disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) of ex-combatants (XCs), resumption of unhindered humanitarian access, the restoration of essential services, reintegration of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and returning refugees, transitional justice, social cohesion and reconciliation, and recovery and reconstruction. The peace agreement also paves the way for the restoration of peace, security, and stability in the Afar, Amhara and Tigray Regions.

It is in this context that UNDP has developed a Peace Support Programme/Facility (PSP/F) nested within the Federal Governments Resilient Recovery and Reconstruction Framework (3RF) but focused on urgent actions over a period of 24 months to stabilize conditions, restore a sense of normalcy, and deliver a first peace dividend to conflict-impacted populations. The approach is to fill the gap that is likely to open between the urgency of addressing a wide range of priority needs quickly to consolidate peace and stabilize conditions and the time it will take for the larger, longer-term, and more comprehensive 3R Framework to kick-in meaningfully, possibly in late-2024, at the earliest. Moreover, the PSP/F is designed flexibly, so that it could potentially be scaled-up to become the foundation of a larger UN-wide effort in the same direction. In line with this approach, the PSP/F is being implemented already in Afar, Amhara and Tigray regions.

The strategic goal of the PSP/F is to contribute toward an irreversible peace process in Northern Ethiopia. This will be pursued through an actionable set of measures that can build trust between communities and legitimate regional government authorities and lay the foundations for recovery, peacebuilding, and sustainable development, founded upon country leadership and ownership.

Working within the broader framework of 3RF, the PSP/F will focus on the following windows:

• Window 1: Local Governance, Human Rights and Social Cohesion
• Window 2: Basic Social Services (health, nutrition, education, WASH, protection)
• Window 3: Economic Revival (enterprises and agriculture, demining livelihoods)
• Window 4: Demobilization and Reintegration of Ex-Combatants
• Window 5: Solutions to Internal Displacement

Geographic Focus: Afar, Amhara and Tigray (Northern Ethiopia); Window 4 Demobilization and Reintegration of Ex-Combatants (8 regions)

Target conflict-impacted populations: 10 million

Timelines for implementation: June 2023 - May 2025

In view of this, UNDP would like to recruit a competent Local Governance and Peacebuilding Programme Specialist who would join the Peace Support Project Offices in Afar, Amhara and Tigray to effectively deliver the goals and objectives of the Peace Support Programme.

3. Scope of Work (5 to 7 items only)

Summary of Key Functions:

• Facilitate implementation of UNDP corporate and UNDP Ethiopias strategies in alignment with the current CPD, the results framework of UNDP Peace Support Programmes Local Governance, Peacebuilding, Social cohesion, reconciliation, and Human Rights in the areas assigned.
• Provision of technical advice and services internally within the UNDP Peace Support programme team, Governance and Peacebuilding Unit, and externally to regional government and non-governmental counterparts on implementation of the Local Governance, Peacebuilding and Social Cohesion activities in alignment with the PS/F project objectives
• Regular monitoring and evaluation of Peace Support activities as per the project M&E framework and plan, analysis of programme data for promotion of data use for decision making.
• Establish and strengthen the provision of support for strategic partnerships with stakeholders, regional/ national actors, and development partners, and support and resource mobilization efforts of the Country Office
• Facilitation of knowledge building, management, communication, and outreach.

For more and detailed information, please use the document linked below:

TOR_Local Governance PB and SC-6-2-2024