Background
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The Enabling Community Recovery and Resilience project, ENCORE, aims to empower the most vulnerable communities in rural areas to shift from crisis to recovery. The project incorporates short, intermediate, and long-term interventions. ENCORE works in 52 Townships in 11 States and Regions across Myanmar, targeting beneficiaries to improve their resilience to economic, security, health, and climate-related shocks”.
Working closely with highly vulnerable communities, ENCORE aims to:
- Address the most fundamental and critical needs
- Restore livelihoods and rehabilitate basic community infrastructure.
- Build social cohesion and community preparedness to sustain project gains and manage future shocks
All three project components, (i) Community capacity building and mobilization, (ii) Community-led undertakings to address basic needs and promote recovery and resilience, and (iii) Improved governance and service delivery in contested territories are underpinned by the inclusive and principled multi-stakeholder engagement process, in which the selection of partners is done in collaboration with the UNDP’s enabling units and informed by the Human rights due diligence (HRDD) and conflict-sensitive considerations.
ENCORE envisages providing hands-on capacity development to improve dialogue/facilitation, problem-solving, gender and conflict sensitivity, participatory planning, insider mediation, and negotiation skills. The project activities are designed so that they will not in any way contribute to any existing conflict or tension within the community or create new sources of conflict but, instead, should contribute to peacebuilding and promote social cohesion among community members. The capacity development component will include strengthening awareness, skills, and methods to engage in more participatory, transparent, inclusive, human rights-based, gender, conflict-sensitive, and accountable service delivery and governance processes.
The ENCORE Project is designed to deliver interlinked interventions covering the whole crisis to recovery to resilience continuum. The emphasis on building community resilience and increasing sustainability is therefore central to its overall strategy. The phasing of ENCORE includes (i) household-level basic needs responses (Phase 1), (ii) intermediate-term community-level crisis response interventions (Phase 2), and (iii) medium-term community-led recovery and resilience-building initiatives (Phase 3). The gradual progression of community support enables the project to adapt carefully to the complex and widely varying operational conditions across project sites while gradually building trust and social cohesion, thus promoting community ownership and social cohesion.
The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) is one of the key partners of UNDP in responding to the current crisis in Myanmar and implementing ENCORE and other UNDP interventions in the country. In line with the partnership agreement between KOICA and UNDP, the Country Office will engage an international specialist (Korean national) through an International Personnel Services Agreement (IPSA) 10 contract to support the liaison, communication, and reporting activities under ENCORE.
Duties and Responsibilities
The Communication and Reporting Specialist (project personnel) will be the main liaison between UNDP, KOICA, and other relevant partners. He/she will also be responsible for ensuring that proper reporting and communication protocols are established and effectively operationalized in accordance with the requirements of the donor and UNDP. The Communication and Reporting Specialist will directly report to the ENCORE Project Manager on a day-to-day basis and, through technical guidance from the CDD CTA, will be carrying out the following tasks:
- Interagency Liaison – Coordinate and manage the partnership between UNDP and KOICA and with other partners.
- Project Communication – Provide technical leadership in designing and implementing the ENCORE communication strategy, including developing and disseminating communication materials and impact stories for UNDP’s and KOICA’s purposes.
Knowledge Management—Support the development of the ENCORE monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) system, ensure timely and proper progress report preparation and
- submission, and lead the drafting of knowledge products extracted from project implementation experiences and small studies.
- Resource Mobilization – Provide support to UNDP’s resource mobilization efforts to broaden and deepen ENCORE’s impacts on target vulnerable populations through inputs in the development of proposals and concept notes and representations with potential partners and donors.
Interagency Liaison
- Serve as the main communication link between the ENCORE PMU and the technical counterparts at the KOICA country office on technical and financial matters pertinent to ENCORE implementation.
- Liaise regularly with the donor to ensure good understanding of project actions and progress and to respond quickly to any concerns raised by the donor about implementation of the support and achievement of results.
- Make recommendations to project management and UNDP to ensure smooth communication and working relationships between the project unit, UNDP, and the donor.
- Liaise with the donor about translating documents to the Korean language so that they can be brought to the attention of UNDP, project board members, and other stakeholders.
Project Communication
- Working in collaboration with the UNDP communications personnel and relevant units, lead the design and implementation of a communications strategy for the project.
- Respond to communications needs as they arise, publicising significant developments in project approaches and achievements.
- Liaise with the donor to ensure their involvement in project communications and to enable visibility and the dissemination of key messages in project activities and achievements.
- Undertake field visits and liaise with relevant field staff and stakeholders, the donor, and other partners to monitor project progress and results.
- Support project staff in organizing and managing seminars, workshops, press conferences, and field visits as necessary.
- Produce, disseminate, and update communication materials (i.e. brochure, reports, giveaways, radio advertisement), making use of the most popular and effective platforms within the current context.
Knowledge Management
- Support the development of the ENCORE monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) system and ensure timely and proper progress report preparation and submission to the donor.
- Prepare periodic and ad hoc reports for the donor as requested, including any in addition to the standard UNDP reporting cycle.
- In collaboration with the PMU, CDD CTA and relevant units, facilitate timely delivery of mid- and end-of-the-project evaluation reports by leading the drafting terms of reference for recruiting evaluation experts, managing their work, and assuring quality reporting and dissemination of findings.
- Follow up on implementation of evaluation recommendations and provide suggestion in preparation of timely management response.
- Ensure that reports are sent to the donor and implementing partners in a timely manner and that any responses are noted and integrated in management actions.
- Document project experience and decisions as basis for ensuring comprehensive records of the approach adopted and the reasons for deviations from, or amendments to, the original approach.
- Disseminate, and outline responses to project evaluation findings.
Resource Mobilization
- Provide support to UNDP’s resource mobilization efforts to broaden and deepen ENCORE’s impacts on target vulnerable populations through inputs in the development of proposals and concept notes and representations with potential partners and donors.
- Make use of project communication materials to enhance and broaden donor support to UNDP’s project interventions under ENCORE.
- Explore opportunities for partnerships (and mobilizing and leveraging resources) from emerging donors, foundations and private sector.
- Conduct a comprehensive analysis of potential global and local donors & partners to map the feasibility of securing multi-year and thematic funding. Map donors’ strategic areas of interest, funds available, grantees, funding windows, requirements and guidelines and interest in funding ENCORE key result areas.
Competencies
Core competencies:
- Achieve Results: LEVEL 3: Set and align challenging, achievable objectives for multiple projects, have lasting impact
- Think Innovatively: LEVEL 3: Proactively mitigate potential risks, develop new ideas to solve complex problems
- Learn Continuously: LEVEL 3: Create and act on opportunities to expand horizons, diversify experiences
- Adapt with Agility: LEVEL 3: Proactively initiate and champion change, manage multiple competing demands
- Act with Determination: LEVEL 3: Think beyond immediate task/barriers and take action to achieve greater results
- Engage and Partner: LEVEL 3: Political savvy, navigate complex landscape, champion inter-agency collaboration
- Enable Diversity and Inclusion: LEVEL 3: Appreciate benefits of diverse workforce and champion inclusivity
Cross-Functional & Technical competencies:
Business Direction & Strategy
- System Thinking: Ability to use objective problem analysis and judgement to understand how interrelated elements coexist within an overall process or system, and to consider how altering one element can impact on other parts of the system
Business Development
- Knowledge Generation: Ability to research and turn information into useful knowledge, relevant for context, or responsive to a stated need
Digital & Innovation
- Innovation capacity building: Ability to define and create the conditions for trying out new ways of working or introducing new problem solving approaches to an organisation; Ability to develop, manage and evaluate a learning curriculum that raises awareness, builds confidence, strengthens innovation capabilities around a certain method, tool or technique; or helps develop an innovation mindset; Ability to create the authorizing environment (mandate, incentives) to embed and spread new ways of working; In-depth knowledge of one or more innovation methods, broad knowledge of innovation processes and innovation management; Ability to align a learning and development strategy with broader innovation strategy.
- Data Storytelling and communications – Skilled in building a narrative around a set of data and its accompanying visualizations to help convey the meaning of that data in a powerful and compelling fashion.
General
- Public relations – Ability to build and maintain an overall positive public image for the organization, its mandate and its brand, while ensuring that individual campaigns and other communications and advocacy initiatives are supported in reaching the public
Communications
- Crisis and reputational risk: Ability to prepare for and respond to potential issues that may negatively impact UNDP’s reputation
Partnership management
- Resource mobilization -Ability to identify funding sources, match funding needs (programmes/projects/initiatives) with funding opportunities, and establish a plan to meet funding requirements
Required Skills and Experience
Education:
- Advanced University degree (master’s degree or equivalent) in development communication, rural development, political science, peace process, human rights, or other relevant field is required or
- A first-level university degree (Bachelor’s degree) in development communication, rural development, political science, peace process, human rights or other relevant fields in combination with additional 2 years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration in lieu of Master´s degree.
Experience:
- Minimum 5 years (with Master´s degree) or 7 years (with Bachelor´s degree) of relevant work experience in crisis and development settings, preferably in Asia.
- Relevant experience with KOICA-funded projects
- Experience in the developing and implementing communication strategies and materials
- Past experience with UN is a strong advantage.
- Demonstrated experience in working in multi-cultural teams, proven political acumen.
- Good verbal and written communication skills in both English and Korean.
- Past experience in liaising with donors and involvement in project communication is an advantage.
Required Languages:
- Fluency in English and Korean is required.
- Knowledge of locally spoken languages is a distinct advantage.
Disclaimer
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.
Non-discrimination
UNDP has a zero-tolerance policy towards sexual exploitation and misconduct, sexual harassment, and abuse of authority. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles.
UNDP is an equal opportunity and inclusive employer that does not discriminate based on race, sex, gender identity, religion, nationality, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy, age, language, social origin or other status.
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