Peace Direct is looking for a dynamic and experienced individual to advise Peace Direct and its partners on the relevance and sensitivity of its programmes on the conflict in Somalia. In particular, the consultant will directly oversee the development of peacebuilding strategies, including necessary research, for an EU funded project in Kismayo, Somalia.
The ideal candidate will have prior experience in field research and in high quality writing for publication. Experience of peacebuilding and of the Somalia context, are highly desirable. We are looking for someone who has excellent relationship building and facilitation skills with a wide range of people, can speak fluent Somali and will be able to travel and work effectively in Somalia, particularly in and around Kismayo.
This post is based in Nairobi.
Job Description
Job Purpose: The Conflict Advisor is responsible for advising Peace Direct and its partners on the relevance and sensitivity of its programmes on the conflict in Somali. He/she will directly oversee the development of peacebuilding strategies, including necessary research, for an EU funded project in Kismayo, Somalia. The role will have a specific focus on women in peacebuilding.
Responsible to: International Programme Manager
Responsible for: No line management responsibility
Main Responsibilities
This post will provide advice and guidance to Peace Direct staff and our local partner in Somalia to ensure that local activities are conflict sensitive, do no harm, and build the foundations for long term peace. The work focuses on an EU-funded livelihoods and peacebuilding project in Kismayo, which is being implemented in collaboration with the Life and Peace Institute in Kenya. Working with LPI, the postholder will, amongst other things, conduct collaborative research focusing on women in peacebuilding in Kismayo and surrounding areas. While the post will report to Peace Direct, it will be based in the LPI office in Nairobi. Therefore, the postholder will be an integrated member of the LPI team with a co-management arrangement between Peace Direct and LPI. Key responsibilities include:
· Conflict sensitive research and programming: Providing Peace Direct and its partners with advice on how to maintain a programme sensitive to the dimensions of the conflict in Kismayo and ensure the relevance of the work to achieve the stated peacebuilding objectives.
· Research the role of women in peacebuilding: Focusing on Kismayo and surrounding areas, contribute to a piece of research in collaboration with the Life and Peace Institute (LPI). The research will focus on how to strengthen the role of women in peacebuilding and the Conflict Advisor will be expected to contribute substantially to the field research and write up of its findings into a high quality publication.
· Develop a local peacebuilding strategy: Working with SADO, Peace Direct the Kismayo Peace Committee and other local stakeholders, develop a peacebuilding strategy which accompanies the vocational training of the EU funded programme.
· Capacity building: Develop and implement a capacity building plan for local peace actors, in particular, a Kismayo Peace Committee. Through direct support/training, or through the use of consultants, implement the plan to increase the organisational capacity and peacebuilding quality of the committee and other local stakeholders as appropriate.
Additional responsibilities:
· Advocacy: Build relationships with key influencers in Kismayo including religious leaders and clan elders
- Liaison with other international actors: The post will work closely with LPI and the Conflict Advisor must ensure that high quality working relationships are maintained.
· Field monitoring. Conduct regular field monitoring visits to Kismayo and other locations in order to track the progress of the peacebuilding strategy and any other Peace Direct activities, as appropriate.
· Representation: Represent Peace Direct at relevant events, as directed by the Head of International Programmes. Ensure good relations are maintained with the EU and other key donors in Nairobi.
· Internal and external communication: Provide regular updates on the progress of the project to SMT and to external audiences as necessary.
Specific tasks:
Conflict sensitivity:
· Collaborate with Peace Direct in periodic reviews of the work of our partner, SADO, and feedback on the sensitivity of their work to the conflict
· Highlight any concerns or opportunities that ensure that the EU-funded programme in Kismayo meets best practice as a peacebuilding intervention
· Pro-actively engage with other stakeholders and read the current literature to ensure that knowledge of the context and conflict in Kismayo and the region more broadly is up to date
· Use own networks to keep abreast of the latest conflict developments and inform peace Direct of any substantial changes or points of interest
Research the role of women in peacebuilding
· In collaboration with LPI, design research which will help understand how best women in Kismayo can contribute to peacebuilding
· Contribute as Peace Direct’s primary researcher to a joint Peace Direct LPI team and conduct research in the field
· In collaboration with LPI, ensure that the research can be published as a high quality report.
Develop a peacebuilding strategy:
· In collaboration with the Kismayo Peace Committee and other key local stakeholders, facilitate through a series of workshops and consultations a local peacebuilding strategy for Kismayo
· Informed by this strategy, develop more detailed action plans specifically for the Kismayo Peace Committee
· Work with the Somali Programme Manager to identify concrete project activities to be supported and implemented
· Engage other stakeholders within the international community to share the strategy and foster collaborative relationships
Capacity building:
· Assess the capacity of the Kismayo Peace Committee and develop a capacity building plan
· In discussion with the Somali Programme Manager, provide direct training and support to increase the capacity of the Peace Committee; identify consultants where needed to provide additional capacity support
Person specification
Essential
· Fluent Somali speaker
· Able to visit and work effectively in Somalia, bearing in mind local conflict dynamics, and to travel for up to 2 weeks at a time
· Excellent relationship building and facilitation skills
· Ability to relate effectively to all manner of people from unskilled young adults to senior politicians
· Proven ability to successfully deliver credible field research
· Proven ability to successfully contribute high quality writing for publication
· Relevant first degree
Desirable
· Prior experience of peacebuilding
· Relevant Master’s degree
About Peace Direct
Peace Direct finds and funds outstanding local peacebuilders in conflict areas and promotes their work to people with power and resources. Our long term vision is of a world where local people lead in the peaceful resolution of their own conflicts.
Peace Direct was founded in 2004 and won Best New Charity in 2005. Since then we have twice won top place in the Keystone Accountability survey of how 62 European and US charities are viewed by their partners. We work with incredibly inspiring and committed people, some of whom are risking their lives to carry out work that they believe in passionately. For more on Peace Direct, visit our two websites www.peacedirect.org andwww.insightonconflict.org.
Our top ranking in Keystone reflects the value that we add to our partners, including helping them to develop their financial and M&E systems to support the growth of their peacebuilding work.
In exchange we expect from you a high degree of commitment to Peace Direct, and a willingness to take on a wide range of tasks. We look forward to benefiting from your experience, wherever and however it has been gained.
This project is part funded by the European Union
HOW TO APPLY:
For more information, please go to www.peacedirect.org and click on the 'Work with us' section to access the job description, person specification and application form. Only completed application forms will be accepted. The deadline for applications is 9am on Monday 4th July (UK time). Applications should be sent to recruitment@peacedirect.org.
