Chad: Programme Specialist (Climate and Security Risk - Lake Chad Basin Commission)

Aug 5, 2022 | United Nations Development Programme
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UNDP is the knowledge frontier organization for sustainable development in the UN Development System and serves as the integrator for collective 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 supporting the signature solutions and organizational capabilities envisioned in the Strategic Plan.

Within the GPN, the Crisis Bureau guides UNDP’s corporate crisis and fragility-related strategies and vision for crisis prevention, response, and recovery. The Bureau is responsible for support to prevention, crisis response, resilience, recovery, and peacebuilding work under the auspices of UNDP’s Strategic Plan. Crisis Bureau staff provide global strategic advice to UNDP management and technical advice to Regional Hubs and Country Offices; advocate for UNDP corporate messages, represent UNDP at multi-stakeholder fora, and engage in UN inter-agency coordination in specific thematic areas. As part of the Global Policy Network (GPN), the Crisis Bureau works in an integrated manner with UNDP’s Bureau for Policy and Programme Support (BPPS), ensuring that issues are fully integrated into UNDP’s development programmes. Peace outcomes are delivered in a coherent manner, working across the GPN that includes the Governance team in Bureau of Policy and Programme Support.

Conflict Prevention, Peacebuilding and Responsive Institutions

The Conflict Prevention, Peacebuilding and Responsive Institutions (CPPRI) Team covers the following thematic/programming areas as part of the GPN:

  • Conflict prevention and peacebuilding;
  • Preventing Violent Extremism (PVE);
  • Core government functions, including local governance in transition, conflict, and fragile settings
  • Climate security

UNDP Stabilization Facility - Lake Chad Basin Commission

The Regional Stabilization Facility (RSF) for Lake Chad aims to stabilize the Boko Haram affected areas of the Lake Chad Basin. The Facility consists of a multiscale multi-country mechanism with activities covering stabilization and recovery, security, development, and institutional support.

The RSF, through the Secretariat of the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC) aims to: enhance civil-military cooperation to design and implement Joint Action Plans for the immediate stabilization of specific target areas; to increase security and the rule of law as well as provide infrastructure, basic services, and livelihood opportunities as a rapid-response package. The LCBC and the African Union implementation of the LCBC Regional Stabilization Strategy, further seeks to strengthen coherence and coordination of response to the Lake Chad crisis, and establish the mechanism and process required to operationalise the New Way of Working and transition from provision of humanitarian assistance to development and resilience.

Position Purpose:

Provide a brief, one paragraph summary of the position’s key objectives, contributions and scope of responsibilities to serve as an introduction to the Key Duties and Accountabilities.

As a member of the Conflict Prevention, Peacebuilding and Responsive Institutions Team (CPPRI) and the Stabilization Team - Lake Chad Basin Commission, the Programme Specialist – Climate and Security Risk will provide technical guidance on climate, environment, peace, and security. They will work with teams in the Crisis Bureau and as part of the Regional Bureau for Africa as well as across UNDP’s Global Policy Network (GPN) particularly with NCE, the Regional Hubs, Country Offices and Global Policy Centers, supporting the development of substantive approaches, products and tools on responsive, accountable, and effective institutions to support policy and programming services to UNDP Country Offices.

The Programme Specialist – Climate and Security Risk will be seconded to the LCBC to ensure accurate, credible and timely information flow and reporting, especially policy and programme support tasks and support the mainstreaming of climate security into the Regional Stabilisation Strategy (RSS), expansion of the Knowledge Hub, Crisis Risk Dashboard and Conflict Analysis Monitoring Systems in the area of climate security and convening of local level Partnership Platforms. They will have dual reporting lines, respectively, to the Stabilization Team - Lake Chad Basin Commission and Conflict Prevention, Peacebuilding & Responsive Institutions/ Climate Security Team (CPPRI/CS).

Duties and Responsibilities

1. Focus on understanding climate security related issues in the region and providing advisory to LCBC through the Secretariat (30%)

  • Enhance the capacity of the LCBC to address climate security into stabilization efforts in the region through the platforms provided by the LCBC;
  • Work in close coordination with the LCBC to support their efforts in establishing a clear position on climate security, articulating linkages to global debates, including the Climate Security Mechanism, relevant Security Council Resolutions, and others as appropriate, while making use of and localizing the UN Climate Security Mechanism Toolbox and conceptual approach;
  • Based on specific demands, and at the request of the LCBC, provide technical advice and assistance to the Member States who are interested in addressing the climate security nexus at the country level;
  • Lead information collection and provide analytical inputs and context-specific updates to the UNDP representative in the CSM and support CSM-led knowledge management activities;
  • Identify and map key processes, stakeholders (including regional actors such as the African Union and African Development Bank), Special Political Missions, Private Sector, NGOs and audiences that need to be engaged (including Government, NGOs/Community-led organizations inclusive of women and youth groups), to address climate security issues that would promote a ‘New Way of Working’ in the Lake Chad Basin;
  • Provide strategic policy advise and analysis on climate security to the LCB countries, and regional hubs;
  • Provide oversight on mainstreaming climate security approaches into national and local policy, strategy, and planning processes of the LCB countries;

2. Support LCBC’s partnerships and programming on climate security (30%)

Lead the climate security thematic area and:

  • Act as a focal point between the LCBC and other partners to establish synergies and enhance interlinkages between the outputs of those organizations on climate security;
  • Coordinate the organization of specific policy dialogues and other Member-States driven events through the LCBC platforms to ensure they are informed by ongoing regional research and other initiatives that address the climate security nexus in the region;
  • Support the identification of potential programmatic entry points that can be considered by different actors to support the LCBC and its Member States’ strengthen climate security initiatives at the country level;
  • Identify areas of collaboration, project opportunities, capacity development and gaps on climate security and RSS Pillar 6 and develop concept notes and Project Implementation Plans (PIPs) that would enhance systemic engagements with UN initiatives, AU and other regional entities;
  • Document best practices and lessons learnt on climate security policy and programming, tools, institutional arrangements, and mechanisms, including integrated climate security and early warning and prevention mechanisms in the Lake Chad Basin;
  • Mobilize, foster, and strengthen partnerships with Member States, including the Group of Friends on Climate Security, the informal experts’ group to members of the Security Council on climate security, the Climate Security Experts Group and Network, the research community and civil society in the region.

3. Support the LCBC’s resource mobilization efforts on climate security (20%)

  • Analyzes trends and identifies opportunities for resource mobilization in the region, conduct donor mapping and contributes to resource mobilization strategies and ensures alignment with corporate and regional goals
  • Supports the preparation and submission of concept notes and project proposals on climate security and advises on regional and country pipelines;
  • Ensures compliance with partner’s requirements, including monitoring, narrative and financial reporting, and evaluation;
  • Prepares presentations, updates, and project briefs for as per donor’s requirements;
  • Prepare reporting, monitoring and evaluation on climate security-related programmatic activities according to the donor’s requirements;

4. Contributes to UNDP and CSM’s knowledge management, advocacy, and communication (20%)

  • Engages in cross-regional exchange of knowledge by collaborating with the Climate Security Mechanism, the P4 Climate and Security Risk Programme Specialist in Dakar, the Climate and Security Risk Policy Expert in the Liptako Gourma Authority and policy teams in the Regional Hub;
  • Contribute to knowledge-based tools and guidance to help influence/advance policy dialogue in the thematic area and present such material at various fora;
  • Supports UNDP knowledge generation, lessons, innovations, policy developments, programmatic offers, and practice experiences on climate security in the LCB region;
  • Contributes to drafts notes, background papers, talking points, speeches, and other correspondence for senior UN officials;
  • Provides up-to-date information to senior officials regarding substantive political matters and country or regional issues with a focus on climate-related security risks. Engage in building and strengthening of knowledge, understanding, and importance of UNDP’s climate security and peace-building work and value to a wide range of partners;
  • disseminate study findings/ report of the sub-regional climate related security risks and risk strategy of the LCB among partners
  • Update LCB regional offices, CO’s and CSM HQ with regular climate security information on changing development priorities for input into UNDP's communication, advocacy, policy making and strategy setting including informing CSM’s/HQ on communication/ outreach approaches and types of information products on climate security needed to respond to LCBC
  • Support the coordination of a sub-regional study on climate-related security risks/ country level climate security assessments considering country-specific climate-related security risks and solutions/ recommendations

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

  • Advanced university degree (Master’s Degree) in political science, conflict studies, political economy, climate, environment, or other related social sciences; 
  • In lieu of an advanced degree, a Bachelor university degree with additional two years of experience will be given due consideration 

Experience, Knowledge, and Skills:

  • Minimum  seven years (with Masters) or 9 years (with Bachelor) of progressively responsible experience in the areas of climate security, climate change, environment, conflict prevention and/or peacebuilding; candidates in possession of only a first level university degree (Bachelor’s or equivalent) require a minimum of nine years relevant work experience. 
  • Experience working with the UN/UNDP and/or other international institutions on climate security, climate change, environment, conflict prevention and/or peacebuilding is required;
  • Experience of climate change, environment, conflict prevention and/or peacebuilding programmes in is desired;
  • Experience in conflict and political analysis, and strategy development required;
  • Programme design and management, and results monitoring experience within United Nations system in climate security, climate change, conflict prevention, peacebuilding will be considered an asset;
  • Proven policy, advisory and advocacy experience, and track record of engagement with senior officials in the UN, government and external partners is desired.

Language:

  • Fluent written and spoken English or French is required;
  • Knowledge of other UN languages is a plus.