Community Mobilization Senior Associate

Contract

This is a LICA-7 contract. This kind of contract is known as Local Individual Contractor Agreements. It is normally only for nationals. It's an external contract. It usually requires 7 years of experience, depending on education. More about LICA-7 contracts.

Background Information - Afghanistan

Afghanistan Established in 1995, UNOPS has been working in Afghanistan to build better lives for girls, boys, men and women living in the country. By offering efficient, professional, and agile services, UNOPS Afghanistan Country Office (AFCO) supports partners' contribution to the humanitarian response and development of the country.

Prior to August 2021, UNOPS AFCO was implementing projects in a range of sectors, including infrastructure, procurement, capacity building to ministries, and environmental protection, among others, on behalf of the Government of Afghanistan and the donor community.

Today, in response to the increased humanitarian needs and partner requests, the UNOPS AFCO portfolio supports humanitarian initiatives and basic human needs, including managing cash for work projects, supporting humanitarian actors, procuring emergency supplies, and administering inter-agency communications and accountability centre for all humanitarian actors in the country.

Background Information - Job-specific

Project Information

The project was established due to the significant, ongoing drought exacerbating water access issues which has created an emergency situation in rural areas across southern and central Afghanistan. Inadequate availability of efficient irrigation contributes to the food insecurity crisis. The project objective is to improve access to the quality of water supply and surface water irrigation services in selected rural and drought affected areas and regions.

The project will finance the provision of off-grid solar systems and, where applicable, emergency energy efficient equipment to support surface water irrigation in the selected areas. This will include installation of solar pump systems, and battery systems in high priority areas. These solar water pump systems will be installed to supply for irrigation to meet the needs of farmers pumping the surface water in identified rural areas. Solar pumps used for irrigation purposes will only pump surface water from rivers that have permanent water bodies and not from seasonal rivers.

Job-Specific Information

Under the direct supervision of the Senior Project Manager, the Community Mobilization Senior Associate coordinates the day-to-day community liaison activities across all projects under the engagement, in coordination with relevant team members. The Community Liaison Senior Associate will support the project team in liaising with the local community and implementation partners to ensure the project can be implemented in line with the agreement and as per schedule and scope, addressing the day-to-day concerns of the community, updating on project’s progress, project’s plans, etc. The Community Mobilization Senior Associate is expected to travel across all project sites, as required.

Functional Responsibilities

1. Facilitate community engagement and management

- Collect field data and information required to conduct community initiatives. - Support Senior Project Manager & Deputy Project Manager in facilitating Focus Group discussions (FDGs) with the community male and female Shuras, regarding community participation in the project activities. - Engage local communities, especially female community members to increase women’s participation in the project activities such as road maintenance. - Interact with members of communities and encourage women to take part in income generation activities in the target provinces of the project. - Coordinate with the relevant stakeholders including provincial departments, local community organizations, NGOs etc. to encourage the women participation in project activities. - Assist to collect gender specific data from internal and external sources. - Support the project gender mainstreaming initiatives. - Conduct other relevant project tasks assigned by the PM and DPM.

2. Monitoring and reporting

- Maintain detailed and accurate record of meetings including agendas, meeting minutes, follow-up/action points. Details of meetings held or canceled should also be maintained. - Deliver documents to all the interested parties and similarly receive documents from both external and internal parties. - Ensure that follow up of document approvals by concerned authorities is done consistently, in a timely manner, and ensure that the Project Team is updated as required. - Ensure that communities at construction sites are kept abreast of the project developments and communication channels remain open with the communities. - Respond to community concerns by ensuring that they are brought to the attention of the Implementation Partners and UNOPS project management team and facilitate the process of resolving the issue. - Keep and maintain the record of labor force utilization. - Assist UNOPS in the identification of potential implementation problems and bottlenecks. - Report to the Project Team on a daily and weekly basis on community issues and the project’s performance in relation to those issues. - Keep up with the weekly and daily developments of the project. - Mediate issues between the community members and the project staff. - Forward questions about the project from community leaders and residents to appropriate government authorities and the Project Management Team.

Education/Experience/Language requirements

a. Education

• Completion of secondary school is required.
• A first-level university degree (e.g. Bachelor) in Sociology, Development Studies or other related areas, is desirable but not required.

b. Work Experience

• A minimum of seven (7) years of experience in communication and liaison, community mobilization or other relevant fields is required.
• Experience working with national and international organizations that are contributing to the reconstruction and development of Afghanistan is a significant advantage.

C. Language Requirements:

• Fluency (oral and written) in English is required.
• Pashto and Dari languages are desired.

Competencies

Treats all individuals with respect; responds sensitively to differences and encourages others to do the same. Upholds organizational and ethical norms. Maintains high standards of trustworthiness. Role model for diversity and inclusion.

Acts as a positive role model contributing to the team spirit. Collaborates and supports the development of others. For people managers only: Acts as positive leadership role model, motivates, directs and inspires others to succeed, utilizing appropriate leadership styles. Demonstrates understanding of the impact of own role on all partners and always puts the end beneficiary first. Builds and maintains strong external relationships and is a competent partner for others (if relevant to the role). Efficiently establishes an appropriate course of action for self and/or others to accomplish a goal. Actions lead to total task accomplishment through concern for quality in all areas. Sees opportunities and takes the initiative to act on them. Understands that responsible use of resources maximizes our impact on our beneficiaries. Open to change and flexible in a fast paced environment. Effectively adapts own approach to suit changing circumstances or requirements. Reflects on experiences and modifies own behavior. Performance is consistent, even under pressure. Always pursues continuous improvements. Evaluates data and courses of action to reach logical, pragmatic decisions. Takes an unbiased, rational approach with calculated risks. Applies innovation and creativity to problem-solving. Expresses ideas or facts in a clear, concise and open manner. Communication indicates a consideration for the feelings and needs of others. Actively listens and proactively shares knowledge. Handles conflict effectively, by overcoming differences of opinion and finding common ground.

Contract type, level and duration

This VA is open only for Afghan nationals under CTG contract modality not UNOPS ICA.

Additional Information

• Please note that UNOPS does not accept unsolicited resumes.
• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.
• Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process, which involves various assessments.
• UNOPS embraces diversity and is committed to equal employment opportunity. Our workforce consists of many diverse nationalities, cultures, languages, races, gender identities, sexual orientations, and abilities. UNOPS seeks to sustain and strengthen this diversity to ensure equal opportunities as well as an inclusive working environment for its entire workforce.
• Qualified women and candidates from groups which are underrepresented in the UNOPS workforce are encouraged to apply. These include in particular candidates from racialized and/or indigenous groups, members of minority gender identities and sexual orientations, and people with disabilities.
• We would like to ensure all candidates perform at their best during the assessment process. If you are shortlisted and require additional assistance to complete any assessment, including reasonable accommodation, please inform our human resources team when you receive an invitation.

Terms and Conditions

• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post.
• For retainer contracts, you must complete a few Mandatory Courses (they take around 4 hours to complete) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS. For more information on a retainer contract here.
• All UNOPS personnel are responsible for performing their duties in accordance with the UN Charter and UNOPS Policies and Instructions, as well as other relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, all personnel must demonstrate an understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a manner consistent with UN core values and the UN Common Agenda.
• It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential personnel. Recruitment in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.