Programme Manager (Team Leader Peacebuilding)

The ongoing conflict in Sudan has led to significant loss of lives and livelihoods, and the displacement of millions both internally and externally. Fifteen months into the conflict, Sudan faces one of the fastest growing crises globally, with unprecedented humanitarian needs. According to the 2024 revised Sudan Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (HNRP), approximately 25 million people require humanitarian assistance, including over 14 million children.

The influx of internally displaced persons (IDPs) into already fragile communities is increasing their vulnerabilities, putting pressure on scarce basic services and natural resources, and threatening community resilience. According to the International Organization for Migration’s (IOM) Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM), more than 11 million people have been displaced internally, with 7.3 million displaced since April 2023. The UNDP/IFPRI assessment highlights an accelerating food insecurity crisis, with up to 59% of rural households facing moderate or severe food insecurity, disproportionately affecting female-headed households.

The conflict has also led to the destruction of productive assets, agricultural land, and the disruption of markets and trade routes. Over 70% of respondents to a UNDP/IFPRI survey indicated they did not cultivate any land during the 2023 summer season. Urban and rural household incomes have been severely disrupted, and the cost of food and production inputs has soared, with staples such as sorghum, wheat, and millet becoming unaffordable for many. The devaluation of the currency has further exacerbated the situation, making it difficult for Sudan to import sufficient food stocks. The situation is critical, with significant unemployment challenges, particularly among youth and university graduates, and a striking 73% of people fleeing the war not gathering in camps but finding refuge within host communities, placing additional pressure on these communities and threatening social cohesion.

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

Within UNDP Sudan, the Governance and Peacebuilding Pillar aims to address governance deficits and strengthen the effectiveness of key institutions to deliver people-centred services. It aims to build the space, capacity and trust for excluded and vulnerable groups to inform policy- and decision-making, so that it meets their specific needs. The restoration and strengthening of state institutional capacity in Sudan requires equal attention at both national and local levels of governance, engaging communities to strengthen the social contract via the effective performance of governance structures, utilizing the capacity of the affected population as an active force for building a peaceful future. 

The Programme Manager (Team Leader) provides strategic guidance and oversees projects aimed at enhancing capacities of key stakeholders to deliver on their mandates. S/he provides strategic guidance and leadership to the programme and project teams and builds smooth relationships with partners at the national, sub-national and local levels. S/he will supervise the work of a team of international and national staff in the areas of Governance and Peacebuilding. The position will require regular travel throughout the country to provide technical advisory support to national counterparts and ensure results-based management of the programme team. Under the overall leadership of the Resident Representative, and direct guidance and line management of the Deputy Resident Representative Programme, the Programme Specialist (Team Leader) has the overall management and decision-making responsibility for UNDP activities within the framework of governance and peacebuilding programming in Sudan. 

UNDP adopts a portfolio approach to accommodate changing business needs and leverage linkages across interventions to achieve its strategic goals. Therefore, UNDP personnel are expected to work across units, functions, teams, and projects in multidisciplinary teams in order to enhance and enable horizontal collaboration.

Key duties and accountabilities include:

Ensures effective programme management:

• Provide overall management and supervision of implementation of the programme in line with UNDP’s and local partners’ priorities and approved agreements, and as per UNDP operational policies and guidelines. This includes management and coordination of a larger team of project staff based in the Port Sudan and field deployments.
• Ensure technical coherence, quality and standard throughout the programme and its project components.
• Maintain close working relations with national and local partners to ensure optimum programme impact as well as participation and ownership by national stakeholders, including civil society.
• Lead and direct programme work planning in all its aspects, including forecasting of programme requirements timing and priorities, budgeting, work distribution and tasking to ensure satisfactory progress and timely completion of the overall portfolio programming and its constituent project components.
• Oversee the planning and coordination of, as well as participate in, Project Board meetings and other relevant coordination processes including producing relevant reporting.
• Supervise and manage the work of project staff in Port Sudan and field offices and conduct performance assessments as per agreed TORs and workplans. Promote and implement adaptive management practices in programme and project management.
• Adhere to UNDP’s rules and regulations and internal control mechanisms in the areas of contracting, assets, procurement, recruitment etc., as required. Serve as approval authority for financial transactions in the system up to designate level, as required.
• Ensure the effective and efficient utilization of all financial and human resources with a view to maximizing programme performance and impact. Ensure operational and financial closure of projects with the operations team.
• Establish an effective monitoring and evaluation system and ensure quality and timely reporting according to country office and donor reporting schedules. This includes ensuring continuous data collection, including field level data collection and analysis.
• Ensure timely and accurate input to the Country Office for compliance with programme-related UNDP and donor reporting obligations and requirements. This includes drafting of annual progress reports. Support/facilitate external evaluation, audits and donor assessments.
• Encourage and find opportunities for cross-pillar synergies, identify cross-cutting issues and work to advance enablers such as digital and innovation.
• Ensure periodic collection of case studies, human interest stories, new partnerships and best practices for inclusion in donor reports, the UNDP newsletter and UNDP website.
• Advance communications and visibility of results in close collaboration with the Communications Team.

Ensures partnership building and resource mobilization:

• Develop, strengthen and maintain constructive working relations, networks and partnerships with relevant key counterparts at different levels, including government, civil society organizations, implementing partners, the private sector, other development partners, UN entities and the donor community.
• Advise and support the country office in strengthening partnership and donor relationship management including visibility and strategic engagement and advise senior management on resource mobilisation efforts.
• Lead the country office to meet resource mobilization targets including by leading development of donor proposals and maintaining a responsive partnership liaison system.
• Guide and oversee implementation of an effective communication strategy to promote and foster awareness about the projects among its multiple stakeholders and the public at large.
• Guide and support ongoing coordination efforts of the UN in Sudan’s Common Approach, UN-internal and external coordination structures and platforms.
• Work closely with Resident Coordinator’s Office, the Peace and Development Advisor, and the Office of the Special Envoy in the design and initiation of peace-promoting initiatives, including connecting local and national level conflict prevention and peacebuilding efforts, as appropriate.

Ensures innovations, advocacy and knowledge building:

• Provide thorough analysis of the political, social and economic situation in Sudan and preparation of substantive inputs to strategic documents.
• Identify ideas and opportunities for the development of new interventions in the thematic area of Governance and Peacebuilding.
• Facilitate the alignment of the Governance and Peacebuilding work with emerging priorities in the light of ongoing ceasefire negotiations and possible renewed political transition negotiations in Sudan.
• Identify capacity building needs and opportunities. Ensure appropriate trainings, workshops and other relevant activities are organized in a consultative manner, involving technical experts and stakeholders that may include the government, private sector, civil society, donors, and/or academia.
• Facilitate knowledge and capacity building, knowledge sharing, and advocacy relevant to the assigned thematic areas.
• Identify opportunities for bringing on board context-relevant global and regional experiences and best practice to the programme.
• Ensure programme reports capture results, lessons learned and good practices for possible wider application. Identify and synthesize best practices and lessons learned from the programme for organizational learning.
• Participate in and ensure sound contributions to knowledge management networks and communities of practice. Facilitate innovative mechanisms for dissemination of knowledge emerging from the projects.
• Provide leadership on Governance and Peacebuilding issues within the framework of various coordination structures and documents.
• Promote advocacy for UNDP’s work in addressing development challenges. Develop knowledge resources and products to share with programme partners.

Ensures provision of advisory services and technical expertise:

• Provide strategic guidance and technical leadership to the Project Teams and the UN-CT in areas of governance and peacebuilding, with a thematic focus on:
• Conflict prevention and peacebuilding: enhancing national infrastructures for peace, trust, inclusion and social cohesion; supporting national dialogue processes; strengthening conflict analysis and prevention capacities including conflict mitigation and transformation mechanisms.
• Inclusive political processes: promoting institutionalization of open and representative state-society negotiation and accountability processes, including participatory and inclusive constitution-drafting processes.
• Responsive and accountable institutions: strengthening government responsiveness for the delivery of social services and economic development at central and local levels and enhancing local governance and decentralization for state- and peacebuilding, democratic representation.
• Rule of Law, justice, security and human rights: supporting rule of law, accountability, and dealing with the past; enhancing legal empowerment and access to justice for all; fostering justice and security at national and local levels, including through work with formal and informal actors; promoting respect of human rights and gender justice including gender-based violence and CRSV.
• Ensure the integration of cross-cutting issues, such as gender, a human rights-based approach to programming, and conflict sensitivity considerations into the overall design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of projects.
• As required, represent the programme in national and international fora and discussions on governance and peacebuilding.
• Provide substantive inputs to the preparation of policy notes, briefings, statements, and events.
• Proactively identifies risks and challenges to on-going operations of the Governance and Peacebuilding projects and provides mitigation strategies.

Other Duties: 

• The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.

Supervisory/Managerial Responsibilities: 

• The Programme Manager (Team Leader) supervises and manage a team composed of professional and general service staff both at portfolio and project level. S/he will be supported by an operations team including M&E and financial experts.

QUALIFICATIONS

Education:

• Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in Peace and Conflict Studies, Peace Mediation, Law, Political Science, International Development, or a related field is required, or
• A first-level university degree (bachelor´s degree) in the areas mentioned above in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience, Knowledge, and Skills:

• Minimum ten (10) years (with master´s degree) or twelve (12) years (with bachelor’s degree) of progressively responsible experience in designing, planning, implementing, and monitoring policies, frameworks and programmes related to governance and peacebuilding is required.
• At least five years’ experience working in an international context is required.
• Experience in a conflict/post conflict setting is required.
• Experience in managing a big portfolio for governance, peacebuilding and rule of law is highly desired
• Experiences on networking and strengthening capacity of Community Based organizations (CBOs) / Civil Society Organization (CSOs) is a strong asset
• Extensive experience in research, innovation and programme/project development is desired
• A proven policy, advisory and advocacy experience and track record of engagement with senior levels of government, United Nations, and donors is desired
• Experience working in Africa, and in Sudan in particular, are an asset.

Languages: 

• Fluency in written and oral English is required.
• Fluency in another UN language is an asset.

Source: https://estm.fa.em2.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/CandidateExperience/en/sites/CX_1/requisitions/job/20725