Livelihood Analyst (NOB) at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the United Nations’ global development network. It advocates for change and connects countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life for themselves. It provides expert advice, training and grants support to developing countries, with increasing emphasis on assistance to the least developed countries. It promotes technical and investment cooperation among nations.

Headquartered in New York City, the status of UNDP is that of an executive board within the United Nations General Assembly. The UNDP is funded entirely by voluntary contributions from UN member states. The organization operates in 177 countries, where it works with local governments to meet development challenges and develop local capacity.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Livelihood Analyst (NOB)

Job Identification: 8698
Location: Abuja
Job Schedule: Full time
Contract Duration: 1 Year
Vacancy Type: Fixed Term
Practice Area: Inclusive Growth
Bureau: Regional Bureau for Africa
Grade: NOB

Job Description

• Insecurity in the North West region of Nigeria – especially Katsina, Zamfara and Sokoto is characterized by a complex blend of communal conflicts, farmer-herder conflict, armed banditry and organized crime.
• These conflict drivers are further amplified by demographic pressure, relative deprivation, perceptions of economic exclusion and climate-induced risks. While numerous peace agreements and amnesties including in Sokoto and Zamfara provided some short-term stability, violence that resurged in the North West, especially in 2020 poses a significant stability risk to the region and country as a whole. In Katsina and Kaduna States for example, organized communal violence and banditry attacks tripled from April to June 2021 and at least 80,150 and 67,192 people respectively are now in IDP camps with many more urbanely displaced.
• The conflict – and especially the bandit phenomenon in the Northwest is also rooted in the degraded socio-economic and political context that they occur. Bandit groups are understood to be materially motivated, and not ideologically driven – leading to an emerging “banditry economic system” that is locally embedded.
• This has had a dramatic impact on the lives and livelihoods of populations in the region. Over 12,000 people have lost their lives since 2016; livelihoods mostly agricultural activities have been significantly affected. In addition, the violence has led to the forcible displacement of over 1,000,0000 people, who, in the absence of dedicated humanitarian support, have been forced to seek refuge with already burdened host communities who have continued to suffer mental health impacts by protracted conflict.
• The adverse effects of climate change on natural resource availability and scarcity have been identified among the root causes of the conflict.
• The violent conflict has altered the local coping capacities of the rural communities to deal with climatic risks affecting their livelihoods, creating a vicious cycle where natural disasters hit harder, aggravating existing tensions and leading to new conflicts.
• Environmental degradation has increased in urban centres as the people cannot go to forested areas to get wood for cooking and heating because these areas are now inhabited by bandits.
• To support the Federal and State Governments in addressing these issues, UNDP has played a key role in mobilizing and catalyzing key partnerships around a prevention agenda to find lasting solutions to the NW Security challenge to prevent a deterioration into a full-blown humanitarian crisis.
• The violence in the southeast has a distinct uniqueness and peculiarity in comparison to the conflicts affecting other regions in Nigeria and therefore must be approached differently.
• Of recent the region has seen sustained episodes of secessionist-linked violence that have turned increasingly fatal.
• The increasing frequency of confrontations between the state and the pro-Biafra secessionist group is cause for concern for Nigeria and partners. In response to these challenges – the Anambra State Government has inaugurated a 15 person Committee On Truth, Justice, And Peace with a mandate to seek a restorative justice approach for truth-telling or real facts, to initiate healing of the victims of the violence, accounting for responsibility and accountability of the actors, and conditional mercy for the repentant perpetrators, restitution for certain losses and rehabilitation of the perpetrators, for the overall aim of restoration of peace and justice as well as the promotion of development in the State, and the region/Nigeria. UNDP together with the Anambra State Government are exploring collaborative ways of expanding on this peace agenda.
• In the middle-belt, the Farmer-Herder Conflict remains one of the most challenging threats to peace, security, and development. The violence has exacted a heavy toll on thousands of people and frayed many inter-ethnic and inter-religious connectors at the local level.
• The socio-economic and developmental implications of the conflict are far reaching – affecting the food basket of the country.
• The Strategic Conflict Assessment of Nigeria, carried out by the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR) in 2016, identified the conflict between herders and farmers in Nigeria as the single most widely spread peace and security threat in the country.
• Although the conflict has evolved into other forms of violence in other parts of the country since then, in the middle belt – the farmer – herder conflict remains the same with inherent livelihood differences still at the core of the problem.
• Livelihood development therefore is a significant part of the overall Country Office’s conflict prevention and peacebuilding offer to Nigeria. Particularly, promoting emergency income-generation, jump-starting local businesses, exploring seed financing for green micro-businesses led by young people, catalyzing investments that will focus on businesses that foster ecological restoration, digital enabled systems and renewable energies.

Position Purpose
Under the direct supervision of the Conflict & Political Economy Specialist, the Livelihood Analyst will support implementation of livelihood interventions in peace and security contexts in the North West Region of Nigeria and other parts of the country including the South East, to:

• Support the development of programme strategies and project activities with strong technical soundness to enhance livelihoods and local economic recovery.
• Support the field office in implementing day-to-day activities on livelihoods, climate-smart agriculture and local economy recovery of the NW interventions, including monitoring the livelihood interventions
• Provide technical inputs to the respective stakeholders for ensuring effective emergency income-earning support, livelihood enhancement and economic recovery.
• Support knowledge management and information sharing, including M&E, Reporting and Communications around the livelihood interventions in the NW, and other regions including the SE

Impact of Results:

• The key results have an impact on the success of the NW programme and other livelihood and economic recovery projects to undertake effective crisis response and promote resilience in the communities to on-going crises in the NW Region of Nigeria through high-quality of design, operation and programming of activities with strong technical inputs.

Duties and Responsibilities
Support development and implementation of programme strategies focusing on achievement of enhancement of livelihoods and local economic recovery:

• Identify the appropriate modality of implementation and partnerships for various livelihoods interventions for the livelihood and integrated recovery projects, including short-term employment creation; entrepreneurship development; vocational training and other thematic-focused interventions (micro and small enterprise development; business development services, economic empowerment of women and youth, based on the assessment and facilitate the procurement and agreement process;
• Design and formulate activity plans for livelihood support activities for the livelihood and economic recovery projects;
• Maintain the quality assurance and the validation of livelihoods and economic recovery portfolio data (indicators, targets, results) in the established information management system for measuring the qualitative and quantitative impact, and report on the progress;
• Conduct analysis of data, case evidence and research findings to distill relevant lessons from projects and programmes to support strategy and project development and innovation on livelihoods, and community economic revitalization;
• Support implementation of livelihoods activities to ensure the quality delivery on time on the livelihood and economic recovery projects, including short-term employment creation (Cash for work, asset distribution); entrepreneurship and business development; Study different modalities of active labour market interventions and conduct assessments; and establish innovative programmes to target women, youth, and other vulnerable groups;
• Oversee and monitor day-to-day project activities, providing technical support to ensure the project activities are implemented in line with the planned timeline and results. Promptly report to Conflict & Political Economy Specialist, Senior Management in UNDP, and relevant actors whenever the issues that require their attention arise.

Provision technical inputs to the respective stakeholders for ensuring effective emergency income-earning support, livelihood enhancement and economic recovery:

• Identify the latest trends in local socio-political/economic market situations and other relevant areas that can have an impact on the delivery of the results of livelihood interventions;
• Provide technical support and inputs to the relevant coordination mechanisms, such as Early Recovery and Livelihood Sector and Cash Working Group, to leverage UNDP’s stance and strategic policies and promote coordination with other partners;
• Outreach and coordinate with UN agencies and other actors, such as the governments, the private sector, and NGOs/CSOs, to create synergies and collaboration for greater positive impacts of the UNDP interventions in the area of livelihood and economic recovery;
• Identify and synthesize best practices and lessons learned directly linked to livelihood support projects.

Ensures facilitation of knowledge building and knowledge sharing in the area of livelihoods enhancement:

• Disseminate analyses of the relevant data and research documents in a regular basis to relevant stakeholders;
• In addition to regular reporting to the Sub Office, regularly contribute to donors’ reporting and briefings;
• Facilitate and document human interest stories of beneficiaries and develop various communication materials linked to livelihood and economic recovery;
• Make sound contributions to knowledge networks and communities of practice in livelihoods.

Support the field office in implementing day-to-day activities on livelihoods, climate-smart agriculture and local economy recovery of the NW interventions, including monitoring the livelihood interventions:

• Ensure that female-headed households are specifically targeted to participate in cash for work and other livelihood activities. These interventions should incorporate measures that address women’s additional needs such as childcare responsibilities, clean domestic energy and time poverty;
• Identify and implement livelihood interventions specifically targeted to women, including increase of their access to and control over financial, social, human and political assets; strengthening of their ability to participate in community and leadership structures; and provision of resources to mitigate women’s disproportionate care-giving responsibilities;
• Support regular monitoring of the implementation of the livelihood and economic recovery activities in UNDP’s project location.

Required Skills and Experience
Education:

• Master’s Degree in Economics, International Development/Relations, Economics, Business Management, Political Science, or other relevant fields.

Experience, Knowledge and Skills:

• Minimum of 2 years of relevant experience in economic development, livelihood enhancement, or poverty reduction;
• Experience in post conflict environment with knowledge of socio-economic, culture, and community development issues in complex crisis situation is a strong advantage;
• Strong knowledge on employment creation, emergency livelihoods interventions, cash-for-work activities, economic recovery;
• Experience with diverse projects in complex environments, involving multi-disciplinary teams, broad ranges of stakeholders, and within volatile security situations is strongly preferred.
• Previous working experience with UNDP and other UN agencies strongly preferred.

Language:

• Fluency in written and spoken English is required.
• Ability to communicate effectively in, Hausa, or any other local language spoken in the NW region is an asset.

Core Competencies:

• 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

Application Closing Date
9th March, 2023 (05:59 AM).

Method of Application

Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online

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.
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