Projects Analyst

Since the end of the regime of Omar al-Bashir in April 2019, Sudan has been in an important yet tumultuous stage in its peacebuilding trajectory. On 17th August 2019, the Transitional Military Council and the Forces for Freedom and Change signed a Constitutional Declaration agreeing on arrangements for a proposed 39-month transitional period. This was followed by the landmark launching of a broader Sudanese peace process with the signature, on 3 October 2020, of the Juba Peace Agreement. However, on 25 October 2021, these and other significant peacebuilding gains were significantly threatened when security forces detained the Prime Minister and several civilian ministers, declared a state of emergency, and suspended key articles of the 2019 Constitutional Declaration. 2022 saw an alarming escalation of violence, including sexual violence against women, particularly in Darfur but also in South Kordofan and in the Blue Nile. Deadly conflict broke out between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces on 15 April 2023, which has inflicted unimaginable suffering on the Sudanese people, caused a nationwide humanitarian catastrophe and has dramatically worsened Sudan’s human development outlook. 

In September 2019, then-Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok requested that Sudan be declared eligible for the UN Secretary-General’s Peacebuilding Fund. On 16th October, the Secretary-General in his response declared Sudan eligible to the PBF for a period of five years. As of 2022, the PBF has approved over $45 million in peacebuilding funding in Sudan across 15 projects. 

In January 2021, a Peacebuilding Fund Secretariat was established under the auspices of the DSRSG/RC/HC to provide assistance to the coordination, monitoring, evaluation, and communications of PBF-funded projects. In 2017, a Multi Partner Trust Fund Secretariat was also established under the auspices of the DSRSG/RC/HC to provide assistance to the MPTF project. To improve coherence and complementarity, as well as increase impact, coordination and cost efficiency, a decision was taken to merge the two secretariats into one Joint PBF-MPTF Secretariat. With drawdown and closure of UNITAMS as of 29 February, 2024 both funds will function under the oversight of the Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan. 

These terms of reference are to support the recruitment of an IPSA Project Analyst in recognition of the increased demands for robust capacities to support the new Joint PBF-MPTF Secretariat as part of the Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator’s Office in Sudan. 

Institutional Arrangement

Under the overall supervision of the United Nations Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary General/Resident Coordinator/Humanitarian Coordinator (DSRSG/RC/HC) for Sudan and reporting directly to the Head of the Joint MPTF-PBF Secretariat, the Projects Analyst of the Joint MPTF-PBF Secretariat will oversee the development and implementation of comprehensive monitoring, evaluation, reporting, and communications system for all projects funded by the Joint MPTF-PBF Secretariat in Sudan.
 

Project design and strategic planning duties: 

• Conduct research and analysis to inform strategic priority setting and programmatic approaches;
• Support the design and roll-out of MPTF-PBF annual calls for proposals to ensure new projects are informed by rigorous data and evidence, and aligned with the overall strategic vision articulated by the MPTF-PBF Strategic Results Framework;
• Support the development of a pilot PBF project to establish a micro-grants facility for direct funding to small Sudanese CSOs;
• Review and provide feedback on project concept notes and proposals submitted to MPTF-PBF Secretariat, with a focus on project M&E plans, theories of change, results frameworks, and outcome and output level indicators, including with a view to ensuring joint implementation of activities;
• Act as Gender and Youth Focal Point for the PBF and MPTF portfolios, support RUNOs and NUNOs to develop gender mainstreaming strategies, and participate in the Integrated Youth Working Group.

Project monitoring duties: 

• Support RUNOs and NUNOs to develop project-level monitoring plans that align with the SRF, including appropriate outcome/output-level indicators and data collection plans;
• Conduct routine follow-ups of project M&E plans to ensure continued feasibility and evaluability of project results, working with relevant colleagues to adjust and revise plans as necessary; 
• Participate in field visits and joint monitoring missions to project implementation sites, preparing detailed mission reports after each visit; 
• Support RUNOs and NUNOs to collect project-level data, including overseeing baseline and end-line surveys, ongoing project monitoring, and other data collection activities;
• Explore piloting community-based monitoring (CBM) systems in MPTF-PBF-funded projects in Sudan
• Develop mechanisms to aggregate, analyze and communicate project data from across the MPTF- PBF portfolio, including through data visualizations and reports; 
• Lead coordination and submission of MPTF-PBF bi-annual reporting processes, including reviewing and providing quality control on reports submitted from fund recipients, as well as development of consolidated annual reports;
• Support RUNOs and NUNOs to develop and continuously update inter-agency workplans, to be updated bi-annually as part of PBF project reporting process. 

Project evaluation duties: 

• Oversee all project-level and portfolio-level evaluations of PBF investments in Sudan;
• Provide oversight and guidance to all phases of independent final evaluation processes, including drafting terms of reference, recruiting consultants, developing research methodologies and questionnaires, coordinating field missions, and reviewing final reports;
• Participate in and chair, where necessary, evaluation reference groups to review all submitted evaluation deliverables;
• Ensure dissemination of key findings and recommendations from evaluations and support fund recipients to draft management responses.

Communications and external relations duties

• Develop a communications/external relations strategy to maximize engagement with impact of PBF and MPTF investments among a range of national and international stakeholders; 
• Foster partnerships with existing and prospective national and international donors and partners and assist in collecting their input and feedback;
• Assist with organisation of MPTF Steering Committee Meetings and documentation of minutes;
• Design and produce information and visibility products (human interest stories, short videos, infographics etc.) capturing MPTF and PBF impact and results, working with graphic designers where necessary;
• Coordinate with project/ technical teams to develop communications updating stakeholders on impact of investments, and work with focal points to develop communications plans for each project;
• Ensure that project teams adhere to content guidelines and requirements, including timely submissions of human interest stories to be shared with HQ; 
• Participate in UN Integrated Communication Group to coordinate with implementing partners.

Capacity building and knowledge management duties:

• Provide training and workshops to RUNOs, NUNOs, and implementing partners on best practices in M&E, project reporting, and communications; 
• Prepare summaries and briefs on key knowledge products (ex. Final evaluations, research studies) to enhance the dissemination of lessons learned and best practices; 
• As possible, prepare thematic briefs on key PBF priority areas based on information from PBF progress reports, research studies, and final evaluations; 

Perform other duties that may be required to support the Head of the Joint MPTF-PBF Secretariat with the day-to-day management, administration and financial management of the Funds.

• Achieve Results:  LEVEL 1: Plans and monitors own work, pays attention to details, delivers quality work by deadline
• Think Innovatively:  LEVEL 1: Open to creative ideas/known risks, is pragmatic problem solver, makes improvements 
• Learn Continuously:  LEVEL 1: Open minded and curious, shares knowledge, learns from mistakes, asks for feedback
• Adapt with Agility:  LEVEL 1: Adapts to change, constructively handles ambiguity/uncertainty, is flexible 
• Act with Determination:  LEVEL 1: Shows drive and motivation, able to deliver calmly in face of adversity, confident
• Engage and Partner:  LEVEL 1: Demonstrates compassion/understanding towards others, forms positive relationships
• Enable Diversity and Inclusion: LEVEL 1: Appreciate/respect differences, aware of unconscious bias, confront discrimination 

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies

Business management: 

• Monitoring: 
  • Ability to provide managers and key stakeholders with regular feedback on the consistency or discrepancy between planned and actual activities and programme performance and results
• Evaluation: 
  • Ability to anticipate client’s upcoming needs and concerns
  • Ability to make an independent judgment based on set criteria and benchmarks
• Communication 
  • Ability to communicate in a clear, concise, and unambiguous manner both through written and verbal communication; to tailor messages and choose communication methods depending on the audience – Ability to manage communications internally and externally, through media, social media, and other appropriate channels. – Ability to creatively communicate concepts in an engaging and simple way.

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

Partnership management: 

• Relationship Management :
  • Ability to engage with a wide range of public and private partners, build, sustain and/or strengthen working relations, trust and mutual understanding.