Programme Management Advisor (Retainer, Home-Based) At UNOPS

UNOPS – Somalia Country Office (SOCO) is recruiting this position through an Emergency Recruitment Process (EPP)

This is an exciting and rewarding opportunity to help shape UNOPS’ efforts to support the expansion of affordable, accountable, and effective policing in Somalia.

Background Information: Somalia

Somalia is amid major new political and security developments that will offer a greater possibility for peace and security than the country has seen in over 20 years. The Federal Government of Somalia (FGS), established in 2012, and international community have driven a process of rebuilding of functioning government institutions and processes through Somalia’s peacebuilding and state-building priorities under the Somali Compact (2013-2016), based on the Busan “New Deal for Engagement in Fragile States” agreement. The Somalia National Development Plan (2017-2019), builds on this foundation laid by the Compact and sets the priorities for national recovery and development in full collaboration with national and regional governments. A landmark electoral process in late 2016 and early 2017 resulted in a peaceful transfer of power to a new President and government, in place since February and March 2017 respectively. The government has set out an ambitious agenda for its term (the period to 2021). At the London Somalia Conference in May 2017, a Security Pact was agreed by Somalia and the international community, which will allow for sustainable, long-term security based on mutual accountability.

The functional objective of UNOPS in Somalia is to deliver projects in an efficient and effective manner, to achieve the development outcomes sought by the Government of Somalia and the donor community. The aim of UNOPS in Somalia is to provide implementation services to the Government of Somalia, the donor community, and partner agencies in the reconstruction and development of the country. In doing so, UNOPS aims to exceed client expectations in the delivery of quality services throughout the country.

Background Information: Somalia Country Office (SOCO)

Located in Mogadishu, Somalia, the Somalia Country Office manages a growing portfolio of engagements. SOCO works with multiple partners including the Governments of Somalia, bilateral and multilateral donors, United Nations agencies, funds, and programmes.

SOCO is largely focused on assisting partners with the implementation of physical infrastructure projects including construction and rehabilitation of rule-of-law infrastructure, transport infrastructure (roads, airports), and public administration infrastructure.

Job Specific- Technical Assistance to Somalia Crisis Recovery Project (TA-SCRP)

Somalia is frequently beset by and continues to be at high risk of natural hazards linked to climate change. Most notable is the degrading impact of persistent cycles of drought, desertification, flooding, and locust infestation on the country’s resources and people, all within the context of emerging state institutions following three decades of conflict and political instability. Experts predict the frequency and intensity of these cyclical natural disasters will increase in the future. In recent years, such climate-related disasters have occurred almost annually: the drought and near-famine of 2016-2017; flooding of the Shabelle and Juba rivers in 2018 and again in 2019, followed by locust outbreaks in 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic in Somalia has taken place within this context and further strains the population’s already weakened resilience and capacities to cope with recurrent disaster.

Against this background, and following the flooding of the Shabelle and Juba rivers in October and November 2019, the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) with support from the World Bank conducted a joint exercise to assess the losses and damages caused by the floods and to develop a strategy for immediate recovery and longer-term resilience building. The result was the Somalia Crisis Recovery Project (SCRP), which focused on the recovery challenges of flood-affected areas while seeking to support national disaster management and resilience building more generally. The project, which is the Government of Somalia’s largest such investment, was initially financed in April 2020 through a World Bank/IDA grant of US$ 137.5 million, while additional IDA financing of US$ 50 million was obtained in June 2021 to address food insecurity.

The SCRP has six components:

Component 1: Immediate basic services and livelihood support for early recovery to the flood affected 3 states and locust-affected areas nationally.

Component 2: Medium-term flood recovery to rehabilitate critical public and community infrastructure

Component 3: Longer-term disaster risk management and preparedness to strengthen the institutional capacity and preparedness of government to respond to flood and drought related emergencies.

Component 4: Project Management

Component 5: Contingency Emergency Response Component.

Component 6: Anticipatory and Recovery Support for Addressing Food Insecurity:

The SCRP is implemented by the Project Implementation Unit (PIU) embedded in the Ministry of Finance and co-managed and co-staffed by Ministry of Finance (MoF) and Ministry of Planning, Investment, and Economic Development (MoPIED) personnel. In addition to project management and operations, a key responsibility of the PIU is implementation support to the Federal Member States (FMS) and coordination between federal line ministries and FMS governments around needs for prioritization, sequencing, investment planning, and execution. UNOPS is engaged in providing technical assistance to the PIU in the planning and implementation of the SCRP activities. As part of UNOPS service scope, UNOPS seeks to engage a Programme Management Advisor to support planning of the specific project components.

Purpose and Scope of Assignment

The purpose of the assignment is to provide technical advice and support to the PIU in its support to the federal and FMS ministries, agencies, and departments (government MDAs) in the implementation of Components 3 and 6a activities of the SCRP. The focus of the Retainer’s input will be providing advice and support on the institutional processes, coordination, and capacities required by federal and FMS governments to effectively and coherently program funds available through Component 3 (C3) and Sub-Component 6 (C6a) of the SCRP. S/he specific tasks responsible shall include:

Prepare a methodology that describes a clear but adaptable implementation process, applicable to all C3 and C6 activities, to be followed by government MDAs seeking support from the SCRP for longer-term Disaster Risks Management/preparedness and food security, and by the PIU in its SCRP management and oversight capacity. The methodology should include tools, templates, and procedures for (a) activity prioritization, proposal, and budget preparation, and work planning by requesting MDAs, and (b) proposal review and results monitoring and reporting by the PIU. In doing so, the process will reference, inter alia, wider institutional and policy contexts; activity implementation modalities and their consistency with available capacities; potential partner synergies/redundancies arising; environmental and social safeguards requirements; security; SCRP budget allocations; and coordination with Components 1 and 2 of the SCRP.
Advise PIU in its communication and socialization of the implementation process to/with government MDAs.
With input from PIU, provide advice and technical support to government MDAs in their execution of the C3 and C6 implementation process; as appropriate elaborate critical capacity gaps and further technical assistance needs.
Advise the PIU on its execution and oversight of the C3 and C6 implementation process; this should include capacity building in the review and analysis of government MDA submissions and the preparation of a data collection tool for the tracking and management by the PIU of C3 and C6 results.
Advise the PIU on management processes including rollout of the staff performance evaluation process to manage and report on staff performances.
Advise the PIU on the strengthening of interaction between the PIU and the Project Steering Committee, proposing standard operating procedures, reporting templates, and other documentation as appropriate.
Prepare an end-of-assignment report outlining achievements, challenges encountered, and recommendations for future interventions that will strengthen disaster management efforts in the future.
Technical advice on tasks relevant to other components implementation, if requested by the PIU.

Deliverables

The deliverables expected during the assignment period (up to 31 August 2021) are;

An adaptable implementation process for C3 and C6, including all required tools, templates, and procedures.
Presentations and briefs for the communication of the implementation process to government stakeholders.
Training guides/materials to support government MDA execution of the C3 and C6 implementation process as well as the PIU on C4.
Vetted government MDA proposals, budgets, and work plans for C3 and C6 activities to be supported by the SCRP.
Terms of reference for additional support/capacity needed by government MDAs in the implementation of C3 and C6 activities.
A tool for reviewing and analyzing C3 and C6 submissions by government MDAs.
A data collection tool for the tracking and management by the PIU of C3 and C6 results.
Documentation to strengthen the interaction between the PIU and the Project Steering Committee.
An end of assignment report.

Qualifications and Experience

A: Education

A Master’s Degree in Development Studies, Disaster Management, Humanities, Public Administration, Political Studies, or other related areas relevant to the position profile is required.
A Bachelor Degree in Development Studies, Disaster Management, Humanities, Public Administration, Political Studies combined with an additional two (2) years of relevant professional experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

**
B: Work Experience**

Minimum of seven (7) years or more of programming experience in disaster risks preparedness/resilience building / institutional capacity support in providing emergency assistance or related areas is required.
Experience in working with the National Government / Partners is desirable.
Stakeholder management experience in multi-sectoral projects/programs is desirable.
Experience in working in post-conflict countries is desirable.
Previous experience in World Bank funded projects/programs is desirable.
Experience in research, analytical, and report writing skills is desirable.

**
C: Language Requirements:**

Fluency in English Language (i.e writing, speaking, and reading) is required. D: Contract type, level, and duration

Contract type: International Individual Contract Agreement (IICA)
Contract level: IICA 3 /ICS 11 (Retainer, Home-Based)
Contract duration: 10 months with possibility of extension

E. Additional Considerations

Please note that the closing date is October 8, 2021, at 5:00 pm East Africa Time
Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.
Only those candidates that are short-listed for the Desk Review Process will be notified.
Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
Work-Life Harmonization – UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands. We have a progressive policy on work-life harmonization and offer several flexible working options. This policy applies to UNOPS personnel on all contract types.
Home-Based (Retainer) Assignment
UNOPS seeks to reasonably accommodate candidates with special needs, upon request.
UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post
The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans, and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS.

It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential recruits/interns. Recruitment/internship in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.