Peace Development Advisor Full Time

• PDAs are deployed through a partnership between the UN Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) under the Joint UNDP-DPPA Programme on Building National Capacities for Conflict Prevention.
• PDAs support Resident Coordinators (RC) and UN Country Teams (UNCTs) in their efforts to work with national partners on conflict prevention and sustaining peace. They support early warning and risk management measures and ensure that UN assessments, frameworks (mainly UN Cooperation Frameworks), strategies, and programmes are conflict-sensitive and informed by high-quality analysis. They are located in the Resident Coordinators’ office, with a direct reporting line to the RC and a secondary reporting line to the UNDP Resident Representative and DPPA-DPO regional divisions.

In 2023, PDAs will have been deployed into more than 70 countries through the Joint Programme. While most PDAs are deployed at the country level, there are a number of PDAs who cover multiple countries.

• In some contexts, PDAs are part of a small Peace and Development Advisory team composed of a PDA and a substantive national or international officer/analyst.
• PDAs also receive additional support from a Joint Programme secretariat based at UN Headquarters in New York, from UNDP and DPPA technical advisors/specialists globally, and from a cadre of regional programme specialists supporting their regions from Amman, Bangkok, Dakar, Istanbul, Nairobi, and Panama.

Given the broad range of skills and experience required by PDAs, the Joint Programme encourages applications from individuals with a combination of expertise spanning sustainable development, political affairs, peacebuilding, sustaining peace, conflict prevention/resolution, community engagement, justice, reconciliation, dialogue, mediation, and humanitarian-development-peace nexus among other relevant areas. While UN experience is a major asset, it is not a requirement for this position. Moreover, the skills of diplomacy, dialogue and facilitation, analysis, advocacy, networking, capacity development and coordination are critical elements of a PDA’s work.

PDAs at the P5 level will be deployed in a) particularly complex political, conflict, and security settings as determined by the Joint Programme criticality assessment and analysis carried out by DPPA and UNDP b) in contexts of UN mission/mission transition settings or with other political presences, c) when regional/sub-regional functions are required, or d) when engagement with high-level officials is expected.

Mali’s Country Context

In 2012, rival northern rebel groups seized control of northern Mali, following the collapse of the Libyan regime. This led in turn to a coup d’état in Bamako by the military, which was then replaced by a civilian transitional government; an international military intervention to halt the rebels; and then a UN political office, subsequently replaced by a UN peacekeeping mission, to support the peace process. Underlying contributing factors to the conflict included: political exclusion and instability; weak governance; human rights issues; socio-economic underdevelopment; and environmental degradation, including desertification. Institutions lacked resilience and were unable to address and contain the shocks. The multi-dimensional crisis has broadened and deepened over the past decade.

Political and Security Developments: The Government and two coalitions of armed movements in the North signed the 2015 peace agreement, increasing stability, though some non-state armed actors did not participate. While most actors focused on the North following the peace agreement, violent conflict broke out in the Centre and has worsened in the absence of a peace process and dialogue for that region. Politico-military entrepreneurs have used communal identity and religion as mobilising factors. In 2020, allegations of electoral irregularities and socio-economic and governance grievances led to three months of protests, and President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita dissolved his government. During the upheaval, a group of five army colonels, calling themselves the National Committee for Public Safety (CNSP), seized power in a coup d’état and established a transitional government led by a former colonel and a civilian prime minister. In May 2021, the military led a second coup d’état to remove the civilian heads of state and government. Disagreements with ECOWAS over the transition calendar led to the imposition of sanctions by ECOWAS and UEMOA from January to July 2022. Following disagreements with the transitional authorities, European military missions withdrew from Mali, at the authorities’ request. The country also withdrew from the Group of Five Sahel alliance. In June 2022, the regime agreed to a transition calendar with ECOWAS intended to return to democratic constitutional order by 2024. On 16 June 2023, the transitional authorities requested to end the mandate of MINUSMA, and the UN Security Council granted their request through the adoption of Resolution 2690 (2023) on 30 June.

Socio-economic Situation and Developments: The population is 80% dependent upon agriculture. This makes them highly sensitive to increasingly unpredictable climatic fluctuations. Past policies favouring sedentary agriculture over pastoralism exacerbated horizontal inequalities and contributed to conflicts based on land-use and ethno-linguistic identity. Agriculture intensification is increasing the pressure upon land and water.

Poverty and inequality are high and growing, particularly among the youth: 60% of the population is under 25. Population growth is among the world’s highest. The literacy rate is 35%.

Shocks such as COVID-19, the ECOWAS/UEMOA sanctions, the Ukraine war and armed conflicts have reduced economic growth.

Humanitarian: conflicts have displaced many people, and increased humanitarian needs and people’s vulnerability.

Transition: to complete the transition, the electoral authorities have to hold six key elections (four polling days): the municipal and regional elections; two legislative rounds; and two presidential rounds. The organising institutions require technical and operational support, and the political and institutional reforms require new laws. The adoption of the new constitution opens the political way for the creation and establishment of a second legislative chamber, agreed in the 2015 peace accord. It will require inter alia new electoral constituencies, addressing the participation of the refugees, minorities, and citizens abroad, and ensuring the preparation of an inclusive and reliable electoral register.

There are three broad functions of the position:

1. Undertake conflict analysis and provide strategic advice to the Resident/Humanitarian Coordinator in their engagement with high-level government officials, academia, civil society, including youth and women’s networks, UN Country Teams, HQ, and other relevant stakeholders. Submit the analysis and reporting to the RC/HC, UNDP RR and DPPA.

2. Identify opportunities to build national capacities for conflict prevention, including areas of strategic, programmatic, and policy engagement with national stakeholders, and support the RC/HC and the UNCT action in areas of conflict prevention, peacebuilding, human rights, humanitarian-development-peace (HDP) nexus, Women, Peace and Security (WPS) and Youth, Peace, and Security (YPS) among others.

3. Establish and strengthen strategic partnerships with key national stakeholders, regional and international actors, and development partners on issues related to Sustaining Peace and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, in support of the political transition to return Mali to a democratic constitutional order in 2024.

• Provide strategic political advice on the political transition, the electoral and reform process, and other issues related to the transition to a democratic constitutional order.
• Provide risk-informed analysis to the RC/HC and the broader UNCT, and the Humanitarian Country Team, and the UN Headquarters (and regional level as relevant) about political and conflict dynamics, and socio-economic developments. This should include particularly the peace process, the transition, requisite elections and reforms, and inclusive consultations of parties, civil society, regions, communities, by gender, and the youth. This includes identifying appropriate ‘entry points’ for conflict prevention and sustaining peace, and proposing concrete, and timely recommendations to the UN leadership.
• Strengthen and support the capacity of the UNCT, including through training, to undertake conflict, context and political economy analysis, ensuring that gender, multi-sectional, and human rights dimensions are reflected in both analysis and programming; and inform early warning and response mechanisms.
• Provide updates to the UN Headquarters (and regional level as relevant) in line with the Joint Programme’s reporting guidelines with advice on political and socio-economic developments and conflict dynamics.
• Support the regular update of the Common Country Assessment (CCA), which informs the design and implementation of the UN Cooperation Framework, including leading the conflict analysis part of the CCA;
• Support UNDP governance, peace, and security portfolio, and provide requisite analysis and advice to UNDP as required.
• Participate on behalf of the RC/HC in relevant national fora and represent the UN system where necessary, including engagement with high-level government officials.
• Facilitate the linking of political economy considerations, conflict and political analysis and strategies as well as risk-informed approaches to the UN’s programmatic and policy engagement at the country-level; and
• Regularly brief the UNCT on political developments and provide strategic advice on integrated approaches across the UNCT in the context of SDG 16 – Peace Justice and Strong Institutions.
• Engage with academia and think tanks in research and analyses on peace and conflict-related themes, including areas such as climate-related security risk.

• Provide strategic and technical advice, and support the design and initiation of initiatives or engagements to prevent conflicts; promote and sustain peace; create inclusive, broad-based  democratic mechanisms to support the building of peace; encourage and support inclusive, open dialogue processes; facilitate the introduction of measures to build confidence between belligerent parties or different sides in a conflict, prevent electoral violence; help reinforce social cohesion and reconciliation; and support greater stability and the respect of rights;
• Support the design and facilitation of national multi-stakeholder processes, building national and local capacity for negotiation, mediation and dialogue; and strengthening networks of mediators and facilitators (including female mediators) at national and local levels;
• Identify opportunities and options for UN preventive diplomacy engagement as required;
• Support connecting local and national level conflict prevention and peacebuilding efforts, as well as regional and/or cross-border initiatives as appropriate;
• Identify and engage civil society actors in the peace and development agenda supported by the UN and work with other UN entities, including OHCHR and UN Women, to protect human rights and expand civic space;
• Support the UNCT in their efforts on Women, Peace and Security (WPS) and gender dimensions of peacebuilding and SCR 1325 (and related resolutions) as well as Youth, Peace and Security (YPS) and SCR 2250;
• Support the design and implementation of strategies for identifying entry points for mainstreaming of conflict prevention and conflict sensitivity in the work of the UNCT (including within the CCA, Cooperation Framework, Country Programme Documents (CPD), etc.); and support UN’s resource mobilization efforts for conflict prevention;
• Support the members of the UN Integrated Electoral Team (UNIET), including providing advice and proposing action plans for immediate and long-range solutions to electoral problems, and identifying emerging challenges pertaining to the electoral process.
• Provide strategic guidance and quality assurance to the design and implementation of programmes funded by the UN Peacebuilding Fund (PBF), where applicable, and engage closely with PBF governance mechanisms; as well as with DPPA regional divisions and UNDP Country Offices and HQ on the implementation; and
• In contexts of a UN Mission transition, work closely with relevant stakeholders to ensure that the activities of the UNCT incorporate a conflict prevention dimension to sustain the peacebuilding gains achieved during the mission’s presence.

Establish and strengthen strategic partnerships with key national stakeholders, regional and international actors, and development partners on issues related to Sustaining Peace and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, in support of the political transition to return Mali to a democratic constitutional order in 2024:

• Establish and maintain networks and strategic partnerships for sustaining peace-related strategies and initiatives and the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and national SDG plans;
• Liaise closely with national, regional, and local stakeholders, including civil society, academia, think tanks, women’s and youth networks and key international actors (including International Financial Institutions and regional organizations) to identify entry points, foster dialogue and strengthen strategic alliances and partnerships on conflict prevention, trust- and confidence-building, and reconciliation initiatives, particularly with stakeholders in the electoral and institutional reform processes at a senior level (AIGE, MATD, political parties, civil society, as well as with different communities, regions, by gender and with youth engagement);
• Maintain close liaison with relevant development partners, the diplomatic corps, regional organizations and other actors supporting the UN conflict prevention, democratic governance (including elections and institutional reform), and peacebuilding efforts;
• Maintain contact with staff in UN Headquarters and at the regional level, including relevant focal points at UNDP, DPPA-DPO, DCO, OCHA, UNOWAS, and work with the programme specialists in the region;
• Maintain close contact with Special Envoys, Special Representatives of the Secretary-General, political missions and offices where relevant;
• Liaise with the DPPA-Peacebuilding Support Office together with the respective DPPA-DPO regional division in countries where PBF activities are being developed and/or implemented; and
• Contribute to the results-based management efforts of the Joint UNDP-DPPA Programme, including through setting up mechanisms to assess and measure the impact of peace and development initiatives and providing the Joint Programme secretariat with inputs on progress at the country level.

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

Tagged as: Mali, UNDP