Head of Stabilization at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

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We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Head of Stabilization

Job ID: 23734
Location: Abuja, Nigeria
Grade: P5
Contract Duration: 1 Year with possibility for extension
Practice Area – Job Family: Management – LEADERSHIP, Management – STABILIZATION

Background
The nexus of security-humanitarian-development issues around Lake Chad has given rise to an intractable extremist insurgency that has left tens of thousands of people dead, approximately 2.5 million displaced, and more than 10 million people in the region affected and in need. While robust national and multi-national military operations have re-taken territory previously controlled by Boko Haram, UNDP recognizes that a new approach is required to consolidate these gains and establish the conditions necessary to transition from military to civilian responsibility for security, and from the provision of humanitarian assistance to the resumption of stalled development processes. In this context, the UNDP Regional Stabilization Facility is intended to provide a new approach, calibrated to respond to the need for a step-change in the scale and nature of intervention, improvement in speed of response, increased territorial coverage, and improved regional cooperation.

The UNDP Stabilization Facility 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 Facility will underwrite the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC) and the African Union implementation of the LCBC Regional Stabilization Strategy, strengthening coherence and coordination of response to the Lake Chad crisis, and establishing the mechanism and process required to operationalise the New Way of Working and a transition from provision of humanitarian assistance to development and resilience.

The Stabilization Facility Service Centre in Nigeria, established under the UNDP Regional Stabilization Facility aims to ensure that the immediate national stabilization effort are well targeted, calibrated and fully owned by relevant stakeholders; and is set-up to provide the dedicated operational support necessary for timely Facility implementation.

Reporting Structure and Partners

The Head of Stabilization will lead a team of national and international staff responsible for the programmatic development and implementation of the UNDP Regional Stabilization Facility in Nigeria.
The Head of Stabilization will report to the UNDP Nigeria Resident Representative and collaborate closely with the Head of the Sub Office, Deputy Resident Representative (Operations), the Operations Manager and other stakeholders relevant to the implementation and attainment of the objectives of the UNDP Stabilization Facility.

Duties and Responsibilities
The Head of Stabilization will be responsible and contribute directly to the effective and efficient achievement of planned objectives of the Nigeria window of the UNDP Regional Stabilization Facility. To this extend the Head of Stabilization will be responsible for the following functions:

Policy Advice on Stabilization;
Partnership Building and Resource Mobilization
Programmatic / Technical, direction and Overall Management;
Knowledge Management.

Policy Advice on Stabilization:

Promotes early stabilization approaches and provides policy advice to UNDP Senior Management, government counterparts, donors and other partners on issues related to stabilization;
Conducts thorough analysis of political/social and economic situation in the country and in relation to Lake Chad Basin and identifies strategic areas of support for UNDP in areas of stabilization and transition to recovery; provides high level policy advisory services to Government officials in the areas of stabilization and transition to resilience and recovery;
Ensures the integration of cross-cutting issues, such as gender, peace building, human rights and resilience into stabilization and post crisis response;
Liaises closely with other UNDP projects especially in the N.E Sub Office and ensure smooth transition of stabilization to longer term development programs under the Territorial Action Planning process of the LCBC Regional Stabilization Strategy;
Ensures systematic and effective analysis, project monitoring, including but not limited to regular field visits, as appropriate, and participation in Partner Platform and./or Regional Steering Committee meetings;
Proposes and guides on new innovative methodologies on Stabilization-related planning and financing;
Ensures strategic communications on Stabilization-related areas in accordance with communication standards of UNDP.

Partnership Building and Resource Mobilization:

Builds solid relationships with key State level partners at high level and identifies institutional development and capacity development opportunities and priorities, where relevant;
Leads the coordination, planning, documentation, monitoring and implementation processes of the Stabilization facility relating to management of partnerships with regional organizations, COs of neighbouring Lake Chad countries, UN Agency Partners, and other humanitarian and development actors;
Ensures sufficient resource mobilization for the UNDP Regional Stabilization Facility in Nigeria in close consultation with Senior Management and is responsible for reaching the annual resource mobilization targets;
Advocates for UNDP’s work and represents UNDP with national authorities, the donor community at the State level, and international financial institutions, where requested;
Liaises regularly and forges close linkages with other UN programmes, funds, agencies and entities, as well as other international and national stakeholders concerned with or providing assistance on extended stabilization process in Nigeria;
Ensures high-quality and timely reporting through the Country Office Senior Management to government partners and donors involved in the project;
Contributes to the harnessing of effective partnerships and competitive selection of partners for implementation of UNDP projects;
Promotes joint programming and UN reform, and collaborates effectively in established frameworks for UN and other international coordination.
Represents UNDP as requested by the Resident Representative.

Programmatic Direction and Overall Management:

Provides strategic direction to the overall Stabilization portfolio and leads the project teams. Works closely with a wide array of partners to ensure that the UNDP Regional Stabilization Facility in Nigeria work responds to the UNDP Country Programme strategy and the vision of wider stabilization;
Ensures linkages of Stabilization with other relevant projects of the Nigeria Country Office;
Ensures coordination with regional-level work of the UNDP Regional Stabilization Facility, as well as delivery of Facility regional components in Nigeria;
Oversees overall work plans and budgets for all activities of the UNDP Regional Stabilization Facility in Nigeria and ensures that overall delivery is on track;
Ensures timely and adequate reporting against plans, including timely and articulate progress reports;
Identifies risks and challenges to the program and provides advice to Senior Management of the UNDP Nigeria Country Office on mitigation strategies;
Ensures appropriate levels of visibility and public awareness on results and ongoing activities;
Ensures that appropriate environmental and safety standards as well as due diligence are applied to the relevant activities in the program;
Supervises all programme staff of the UNDP Regional Stabilization Facility in Nigeria, provides coaching to staff and effective leadership and direction;
Ensures strict and consistent application of UNDP rules and regulations and the implementation of clear accountability mechanisms;
Participates in internal control mechanisms for adherence to UNDP rules and regulations in contracts, assets, procurement, recruitment, etc., as required;
Ensures systematic and effective analysis, monitoring, including but not limited to regular field visits, as appropriate, and participation in Project Board and/or Steering Committee meetings.

Knowledge Management:

Promotes identification and synthesis of good practices and lessons learned from the UNDP Regional Stabilization Facility for organizational sharing and learning as well as external information;
Actively participates in UNDP knowledge networks and takes advantage of good practices and lessons learned that are available in the region and globally, and encourages Regional Stabilization Facility staff to do so by creating a culture of knowledge sharing and learning;
Ensures the guidance and coordination of stabilization-related exchange of knowledge to help influence/ advance policy dialogue and present such material at regional and other forums; including support to South-South exchanges;
Uses and promotes the use of the UNDP Regional Service Center for Africa (RSCA);
Promotes the participation of the Country Office in regional projects and regional activities related to the project area as appropriate;
Supports capacity and knowledge building of national counterparts.

Other tasks:

Provide support to staff capacity building as requested;
Participate in Task Forces and other ad-hoc internal working groups on cross-cutting themes as requested;
Perform any other tasks as required by the UNDP Nigeria RR.

Required Skills and Experience

Education: Master’s degree in Economics, Business or Public Administration, Social Sciences, International Relations, Political Science, or other relevant fields
Experience: At least 10 years of relevant experience in program management at international level;
At least 5 years of senior managerial experience in managing large projects, preferably in UN agency;
Experience/expertise in stabilization is an advantage
Proven experience in Resource Mobilization;
Proven track record in high level advisory services to Government counterparts for post conflict situations and programs;
Sound knowledge of UNDP or other UN agency is required;
Leadership and policy advisory skills;
Task management skills to plan and prioritize work activities to meet organizational goals and organizes and oversees work processes efficiently to achieve quality results;
Knowledge of Results Based Management methodologies would be an asset.

Competencies:

The Head of Stabilization will have a direct impact on the success of the programme by managing UNDP stabilization interventions in the North East of Nigeria successfully, leading to a reduction of violence and facilitating conditions necessary to ensure smooth transition from humanitarian assistance to longer-term processes of resilience and development.

Core Innovation – Ability to make new and useful ideas work:

Scales up innovation for greater impact;
Expands understanding of the subject by clients an inspires action
Facilitates learning by failure and measured risk taking through pilots
Level 6: Exercises stakeholder-centered design approaches for office / programme / division Leadership
Ability to persuade others to follow
Builds strong relationships with clients, focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback;
Excellent analytical and organizational skills required;
Ability to plan own work, manage conflicting priorities, report on work progress and delivery outputs in a punctual manner;
Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities;
Sets clear performance goals and standards; executes responsibilities accordingly. Level 6: Ensures teams are resourced for success and empowered to deliver

People Management – Ability to improve performance and satisfaction:

Identifies and nurtures collaborations between diverse professions
Creates environment of excellence, collaboration and engagement
Takes appropriate and timely people management decisions
Resolves complex conflicts, makes difficult people management choices
Takes an active interest in coaching others Level 6: Guides substantive specialists / teams and expands credibility and innovation capacity

Communication – Ability to listen, adapt, persuade and transform:

Effectively represents division /team / programme / project in formal settings
Communicates new ideas and approaches for the division / team / programme / project in a convincing manner
Articulates a compelling summary of UNDP’s value added in dynamic operating contexts / partnership dialogues
Combines the capacity to identify opportunities, establish frameworks for interaction and maintain and grow relationships Level 6: Creates confidence among stakeholders by delivering authoritative positions, compelling analysis, and contextual acumen

Delivery – Ability to get things done:

Creates new and better services
Creates an environment that fosters excitement for work
Uses substantive mastery to model excellence and motivate performance
Role models sound judgement and solution-orientation in delivering results in complex conditions
Responds to demands and pressure with a command of situational leadership and judgement Level 6: Creates confidence among stakeholders by delivering authoritative positions, compelling analysis, and contextual acumen

Technical/Functional Primary Stabilization:

Demonstrating and applying professional and/or technical expertise/knowledge of the post or discipline.
Possesses expert knowledge of advanced concepts in stabilization, a broad knowledge of related disciplines, as well as an in-depth knowledge of relevant organizational policies and procedures
Applies knowledge to support the unit/branch’s objectives and to further the mandate of the UNDP
Keeps abreast of new developments in area of professional discipline and job knowledge and seeks to develop him/herself personally
Demonstrates expert knowledge of the current programme guidelines and project management tools and manages the use of these regularly in work assignments Level 6: Integrate & Empower: Leads integral work of teams utilizing expertise, vision, problem-solving capability, and collaborative energy in professional area of expertise

Results-based Management – Effectively managing core and non-core resources to achieve organizational results:

Identifies country needs and strategies using a fact-based approach
Sets performance standards, monitors progress and intervenes at an early stage to ensure results are in accordance with agreed-upon quality and timeframes and reports on it
Makes use of a variety of resources within UNDP to achieve results, such as cross-functional teams, secondments and developmental assignments, and collaborative funding approaches
Ensures the integration of UNDP’s strategic concern in interagency, other multilateral initiatives and multi-sectoral development frameworks Level 6: Integrate & Empower: Leads integral work of teams utilizing expertise, vision, problem-solving capability, and collaborative energy in professional area of expertise

Partnership Management – Ability to engage with other agencies and forge productive working relationships:

Demonstrates excellent inter-personal skills;
Possesses the ability to motivate staff and mobilize colleagues and partners in the best interest of achieving results. Level 6: Integrate & Empower: Leads integral work of teams utilizing expertise, vision, problem-solving capability, and collaborative energy in professional area of expertise

Resource Mobilization:

Serves as an advocate for UNDP’s work;
Ensures application of relevant strategies in the best interest of mobilizing sufficient resources for the Project and achievement of sustainable results. Level 6: Integrate & Empower: Leads integral work of teams utilizing expertise, vision, problem-solving capability, and collaborative energy in professional area of expertise

Secondary (Knowledge Management) – Ability to efficiently handle and share information and knowledge:

Demonstrates substantive and technical knowledge to meet responsibilities and job requirements with excellence;
Uses ICT and web-based management systems effectively as tools and resources;
Demonstrates motivation and capacity to pursue personal developments and learn Level 6: Integrate & Empower: Leads integral work of teams utilizing expertise, vision, problem-solving capability, and collaborative energy in professional area of expertise

Representation and advocacy – Ability to productively share UNDP knowledge and activities (at UN and other venues):

Advocates for the inclusion of UNDP’s focus areas in the public policy agenda
Brings visibility and sensitizes decision makers to relevant emerging issues
Builds consensus concerning UNDP’s strategic agenda with partners on joint initiatives
Leverages UNDP’s multidisciplinary expertise to influence the shape of policies and programmes
Demonstrates political/cultural acumen in proposing technically sound, fact based approaches/solutions
Dialogues with national counterparts and other stakeholders to strengthen advocacy efforts, incorporating country, regional and global perspectives
Demonstrates cultural sensitivity, political savvy and intellectual capacity in handling disagreements with UNDP’s policy agenda in order to promote and position UNDP in complex environments Level 6: Integrate & Empower: Leads integral work of teams utilizing expertise, vision, problem-solving capability, and collaborative energy in professional area of expertise

Stress Management – Maintaining a professional profile while under stress:

Able to work under pressure and coordinate multiple activities and processes simultaneously;
Maintains a respectful and responsible work style;
Manages emotions. Level 6: Integrate & Empower: Leads integral work of teams utilizing expertise, vision, problem-solving capability, and collaborative energy in professional area of expertise

Important Information

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.

Workforce diversity:

UNDP is committed to achieving diversity within its workforce, and encourages all qualified applicants, irrespective of gender, nationality, disabilities, sexual orientation, culture, religious and ethnic backgrounds to apply. All applications will be treated in the strictest confidence.

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Disclaimer: Important information for US Permanent Residents (‘Green Card’ holders)

Application Closing Date
7th June, 2019. (Midnight New York, USA)

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