Somalia: Resilience Pillar Working Group Advisor

The Resilience Pillar Working Group (PWG) is the operational arm of the Somalia Development Reconstruction Facility (SDRF) on the issues of Recovery and Resilience. The Somalia Development and Reconstruction Facility (SDRF) serves as the centrepiece for the partnership between the government and international community. It functions as both a coordination framework and a financing architecture for implementing the Somalia National Development Plan (NDP), in line with the principles of the New Partnership for Somalia (NPS). The coordination structure for the SDRF comprises nine Pillar Working Groups (WGs) corresponding to each of the nine pillars of the NDP. Under the Somalia Development and Reconstruction Facility (SDRF), the Pillar Working Groups are responsible for sectoral and programmatic coordination within the pillars of the National Development Plan (NDP). Development partners use these groups to present programs at an early stage of development to discuss alignment with NDP priorities, coordinate with key actors, and avoid duplication. The groups will also be responsible for tracking and reporting on progress within their pillars, which will then be compiled by the Secretariat and inform discussions of the Steering Committee.

The Resilience PWG is responsible for:

• Sectoral / programmatic coordination

o Develop & maintain an annual work plan

o Promote coordinated planning, consulting on new programs during planning and design phase

o Facilitate coordination between political, development and humanitarian actors

• Promote knowledge sharing and policy coherence aligned to the achievement of the pillar’s objectives and milestones

• Prepare progress reports, contributing to NDP monitoring and reporting

• Review projects for approval of financing through the SDRF Funds

A scoping study was conducted end of 2018 to better understand the gaps and key finding of this scoping study is the emphasis on the need for the Resilience PWG to strengthen actors’ collaboration especially in their planning and joint implementation of resilience programs in Somalia. There was a strong consensus on the responsibility of the Resilience PWG in ensuring information sharing among implementing partners as well as increased coordination and collaboration, and an improved alignment of financing to government resilience priorities as laid out in the RRF. While there is consensus on the need for joint programming through the resilience PWG, there was emphasized need for development of the government’s capacity to monitor resilience programmes outcomes and impact on targeted beneficiaries in the short and medium term.

Objectives of the Assignment

The consultant will support the co-chairs of the Resilience PWG, the ACU, and relevant government institutions with the following:

• Provide advisory and technical support to the co-chairs (EU, MOPIED, MOHaDM) and the core group of the Resilience PWG (Pillar 7)
• Keep the PWG Core Members informed of all relevant projects, programmes and identification of critical gaps in support of the PWG
• Assist with the development of a learning agenda with participation of government and relevant agencies, ministries and federal and regional states
• Establish and maintain a knowledge platform for PWG 7 including best practice information gained through comparable fragile state initiatives and key Somalia specific information sources e.g. census and survey data, donor mappings, key reports, etc.;
• Participate in PWG 7 and the different sub working group (SWG) meetings in agreement with the co-chairs and advise on steps to promote increased coherence between SWG-level activities, including measures to ensure an appropriate level of information sharing and the cross-fertilization of information and ideas;
• Ensure effective knowledge sharing between PWGs (1-9) and between PWG 7 SWGs, including mechanisms to ensure increased ‘coherence’ and effectiveness in PWG 7 programming specifically in regards to the implementation to the Recovery Resilience Framework (RRF). Current PWG 7 priorities, to be reflected in the SWG structure, are highly inter-related and need to be managed in a way that maximizes potential synergies. In addition, there is an important need to ensure that policies promoted through the PWG are consistent, both ‘internally’ - i.e. within the substantive priority areas embraced by PWG 7 - and ‘externally’; i.e. with approaches adopted by other PWGs
• Map resilience building actors at different levels in Somalia and use this information to assist government develop an integrated and joint resilience programming approach

· Support in the designing of the monitoring and evaluation mechanism to monitor the implementation of the resilience strategy as well as aid in the implementation of the Monitoring and Evaluation System.

Deliverables

• An inception report that includes a methodology and work plan.
• Monthly reports format to be agreed by the contracting agency
• Final report to be approved by contracting agency

Competencies

Functional Competencies:

The consultant should possess the functional competencies consistent with a high- level strategic assignment of this kind including:

· A strong client / results orientation;

· The ability to build strategic partnerships;

· A demonstrable ability to adopt and apply knowledge in different contexts;

· Excellent communication, organization and facilitation skills.

· Strong writing skills

Core Competencies:

· Research analytical skills;

· Conceptual Innovation

Required Skills and Experience

Academic Qualifications:

· Advanced degree (Masters or higher) in international development, public policy, or related social or political science discipline or a Bachelor’s degree with the equivalent coursework and two+ years of related experience,

Experience and Skills:

· A minimum of 5 years’ relevant work experience in the field of international development cooperation, public policy and/or resilience programming

· Experience in resilience programming a considerable advantage

· Experience in aid coordination, Somalia and / or other fragile states would be a considerable advantage.

· Experience working on or managing large and complex programmes, in coordination with Government authorities

· Excellent interpersonal and communication skills including oral, written and skills;

· Ability to translate strategic thinking and innovative ideas into practical operational recommendations;

· Excellent analytical skills, ability to synthesize and clearly present complex processes and issues;

· Ability to meet tight deadlines and work independently without supervision;

Language Requirements:

· Fluency in written and spoken English;

· Proficiency in Somali language is an asset but not a requirement.

Please apply through below link:

https://recruitmentctg.force.com/xcdrecruit__Site_ExternalPositionDetails?id=a111o00000GSYr1