UNDP Social Cohesion Specialist | Paid Internship at Iraq

The UNDP Social Cohesion Specialist Internship will provide technical assistance and support the Social Cohesion Portfolio to conceptualize and execute activities to promote social cohesion in Iraq, research for assessments and knowledge products, developed and maintaining partnerships with national and local partners, and lead the relevant taskforces and technical working groups. She/he will work closely with the UNDP Iraq’s Operations and Finance units, the Programme Management and Support Unit (PMSU), and the Procurement Unit/Service Center. He/she is also expected to ensure mainstreaming of gender equality and inclusion of women and people with disabilities throughout all projects.

UNDP adopts a portfolio approach to accommodate changing business needs and leverage linkages across interventions to achieve its strategic goals. Therefore, UNDP personnel are expected to work across units, functions, teams, and projects in multidisciplinary teams in order to enhance and enable horizontal collaboration.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Build capacity of the local peace mechanisms (Women, youth, tribal leaders, religious leaders etc) and local governmental and non-governmental partners around conflict analysis and conflict sensitivity.
• Support mainstreaming conflict sensitivity and conflict analysis within the programme and through all projects and initiatives.
• Provide technical inputs to the design and development of concept notes and proposal to promote social cohesion, conflict management and prevention.
• Lead social cohesion substantive work, community engagements and dialogues to sustain peace, prevent conflict and address drivers of conflicts in communities.
• Coordinate with and completement other Component of the Social Cohesion Portfolio- PVE and Displacement and Reintegration.

• In partnership with the Communication Teams, conceptualize and produce knowledge management and comms/visibility products for the Social Cohesion Component.
• Contract local and international research partners to conduct additional field research and literature review.
• Capture and adequately communicate lessons learned on social cohesion and peacebuilding.
• Undertake conflict analysis and assessment on needs basis to keep abreast to the changing context in areas of implementation of the Social Cohesion Portfolio.

Mainstream youth and gender and support women empowerment in the social cohesion address them in a timely manner;

• Support the women and your peace and security officer to identify entry points to strengthen women and youth engagement and inclusion all areas of work in social cohesion portfolio.
• Conduct gender sensitive conflict assessment to inform social cohesion programming.
• Build capacities of youth, women, and community-based groups in social cohesion to ensure greater impact of their work.

Contribute to facilitating partnerships with key actors for policy advocacy and resource mobilization;

• Analyze donor priorities to identify resource mobilization opportunities for social cohesion and peacebuilding and prepare substantive concept notes and project proposals as required.
• Participate in inter-agency programming processes, including joint needs assessments.
• Participate in UN-wide task forces and working groups and represent UNDP when appropriate.

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

Check: (Fully Funded) ADB Paid Internship Program 2024 at Asian Development Bank