UNDP Pakistan’s Decentralization, Human Rights and Local Governance (DHL) project is a multi-sector project aimed at strengthening federal, provincial and local governance in Pakistan. The core objective of the project is to ensure inclusive service delivery in all 4 provinces of Pakistan by providing capacity development support to relevant federal ministries and provincial line departments with an aim to create an enabling environment for effective local governance and rights-based development. At the policy level, the project focuses on supporting provincial governments in preparing inclusive policies; at the institutional level the project emphasizes on digitization of existing government systems and at the community level the project works towards social inclusion of vulnerable populations, especially women in coordination with provincial human rights, local government and social welfare departments. The project incorporates gender equity and gender equality as a cross-cutting theme, with specific focus on enhancing capacities and accountability on gender equal and disaggregated approach. This means developing and implementing specific measures to ensure the effective inclusion and voice of women, girls and persons with non-binary gender identities – specifically from the most marginalized and disenfranchised groups. The project has three main components: (1) human rights; (2) social inclusion and gender equality; (3) community stabilization.

In light of this, UNDP is seeking to hire a Communications and Reporting Officer who will service the relevant reporting and communications needs of the Project.

The Incumbent will be based in Islamabad and work under the overall supervision and guidance of the Chief Technical Advisor and direct supervision of the Senior National Technical Advisor and will be working in close collaboration with the project team members.

Under the overall supervision of the Chief Technical Advisor and direct supervision of the Senior National Technical Advisor the “Communications and Reporting Officer” is expected to achieve the afore mentioned deliverables, working in close collaboration with the team members in projects.

Summary of Key Functions:

• Coordinate effective project planning and implementation.
• Establish partnerships and open channels of communication.
• Monitor and report on progress in implementing project activities and achieving the targets set.
• Facilitate knowledge and capacity building, knowledge sharing and advocacy relevant to the assigned thematic area(s).

Coordinate effective project planning and implementation.

• Support the Senior National Technical Advisor in the development of a comprehensive project planning process, ensuring that the work plan is designed based on thorough capacity assessments and adheres to UNDP’s Gender Equality Strategy. Incorporate ideas to promote gender equality, women empowerment, and the inclusion of women in leadership positions throughout the project.
• Lead planning, monitoring, and optimizing the utilization of resources to ensure the successful achievement of project objectives and results outlined in the project document, with a particular focus on advancing gender equality, women empowerment. Provide subject matter technical advice and support to the team on Project-Documents, Annual Work Plans, and all internal and external reporting, ensuring timely delivery of outputs within budgetary and quality standards.
• Facilitate the establishment of inclusive platforms: Foster the creation of interactive and inclusive platforms for project implementation, specifically designed to advance gender equality, promote women empowerment, access to gender and environmental justice, and encourage the meaningful participation of women in leadership positions. Collaborate with other program units and project teams to integrate critical development issues, including gender equality and women’s empowerment, into project activities and expected outputs.
• Ensure compliance with UNDP policy and program management procedures: Ensure that all implementation activities align with UNDP policies and program management procedures, with a particular emphasis on incorporating a gender equality perspective, promoting women’s empowerment, and facilitating women’s leadership in line with the local context.
• Manage operational aspects: Oversee the operational management of the assigned portfolio, including timely procurement of goods, services, and infrastructure (if applicable), effective management of human resources, technical resources, and financial resources, with a specific focus on promoting gender equality, women’s empowerment, and facilitating the inclusion of women in leadership positions.

Establish partnerships and open channels of communication.

• Develop and maintain strong relationships and strategic linkages: Establish and nurture strong relationships and strategic linkages with the National Commission on the Status of Women, Access to Justice Institutions in Pakistan, Environmental Tribunals, and Women-Led Organizations. Engage with government officials, businesses, NGOs, and other stakeholders to support key objectives and ensure inclusive implementation and meaningful participation of these key stakeholders in the assigned portfolio.
• Develop and maintain stakeholder mapping and analysis: Conduct stakeholder mapping and analysis to identify the needs of the environmental defenders. Determine the best approaches to leverage their participation and strengthen their engagement. Prepare substantive briefs on possible areas of cooperation and opportunities for joint initiatives. Make recommendations to the management team on activities with the potential for scale-up, replicability, and synergies in collaboration with these stakeholders.
• Provide technical support to implementing partners: Offer technical support and guidance to the National Commission on the Status of Women, National Commission for Human Rights, Access to Justice Institutions in Pakistan, Environmental Tribunals, and Women-Led Organizations. Act as a liaison between UNDP and these partners, facilitating effective communication and collaboration to ensure the successful implementation of project activities and the achievement of project objectives.
• Support resource mobilization efforts and project development: Contribute to resource mobilization efforts by identifying potential funding sources, developing project proposals, and assisting in the formulation of strategic partnerships on GEN 3 initiatives. Collaborate with relevant stakeholders to align project development with their priorities, needs, and expertise in gender equality, women’s empowerment, and access to justice and environmental justice.

Monitor and report on progress in implementing project activities and achieving the targets set.

• Review and update the results framework: Review the results framework of the assigned portfolio and update indicators, baselines, and targets, taking into consideration the specific needs and priorities of NGOs (working on gender equality), women empowerment civil society organizations, and private sector women led groups. Develop clear strategies and an effective system for data collection, means of verification, and information sharing and reporting, ensuring alignment with UNDP guidelines.
• Monitor implementation and progress: Monitor the implementation of activities and progress in achieving goals and targets, with a particular focus on access to gender justice and access to environmental justice.
• Prepare reports: Prepare corporate, donor, and government reports in line the reporting schedule and requirements set by UNDP, and other relevant donors. Ensure that the reports accurately reflect the contributions and achievements of project partners, civil society organizations, private sector stakeholders (BHR Team) and ‘women in leadership positions’ networks. Coordinate with UN Women in reporting and sharing relevant information to foster collaboration and synergy between the two organizations.
• Coordinate closely with the Operations team to support the financial management of NGOs, civil society organizations, and women led organisations involved in the project.

Facilitate knowledge and capacity building, knowledge sharing and advocacy relevant to the assigned thematic area(s).

• Organize training, workshops, and capacity building activities: Organize training sessions, workshops, and capacity building activities in a consultative manner, involving technical experts and stakeholders from the government, private sector, NGOs, donors, academia, and other relevant partners. Ensure that these activities specifically address women empowerment, access to gender justice, environmental justice, environmental defenders, and the rule of law.
• Identify, synthesize, and document best practices and lessons learned: Identify and document best practices and lessons learned generated from the project and its implementing partners in the areas of women empowerment, access to gender justice, environmental justice, environmental defenders, and the rule of law. Synthesize this knowledge and share it with stakeholders, enabling wider dissemination and replication of successful approaches.
• Participate in knowledge networks and communities of practice: Actively participate in knowledge networks and communities of practice related to project issues, such as women empowerment, access to gender justice, environmental justice, environmental defenders, and the rule of law. Share insights and contribute to discussions, drawing on project experiences. Support the establishment of knowledge platforms for the project, facilitate innovative mechanisms for knowledge dissemination, and develop knowledge resources and products to share with project partners and support UNDP’s engagement in these areas.
• Promote advocacy on development trends and collaboration opportunities: Promote advocacy on development trends and opportunities to collaborate in the areas of women empowerment, access to gender justice, environmental justice, environmental defenders, and the rule of law. Collaborate with project partners, stakeholders, and UNDP communications staff to raise awareness, engage in policy dialogues, and advocate for meaningful change. Utilize communication channels and platforms to amplify the project’s impact and influence.
• Perform other duties within the functional profile: Fulfill other duties within the functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization, specifically focusing on women empowerment, access to gender justice, environmental justice, environmental defenders, and the rule of law. This may include providing support in related project activities, contributing to policy development, and addressing emerging issues and challenges in the field.

The incumbent of the position will uphold the non-discriminatory behaviour and ensure that:

• Human rights and gender equality is prioritized as an ethical principle within all actions.
• Activities are designed and implemented by “Social and Environmental Standards of UN”;
• All forms of diversities based on ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, disability, religion, class, and gender are respected within all implementations including data production.
• Differentiated needs of women, men, and persons with non-binary gender identities are considered.
• An inclusive approach is reflected within all actions and implementations, in that sense an enabling and accessible setup in various senses such as disability gender language barrier is created.
• Necessary arrangements to provide gender parity within all committees, meetings, trainings, etc.

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

• Achieve Results: LEVEL 1: Plans and monitors own work, pays attention to details, delivers quality work by deadline.
• Think Innovatively: LEVEL 1: Open to creative ideas/known risks, is pragmatic problem solver, makes improvements.
• Learn Continuously: LEVEL 1: Open minded and curious, shares knowledge, learns from mistakes, asks for feedback.
• Adapt with Agility: LEVEL 1: Adapts to change, constructively handles ambiguity/uncertainty, is flexible.
• Act with Determination: LEVEL 1: Shows drive and motivation, able to deliver calmly in face of adversity, confident.
• Engage and Partner: LEVEL 1: Demonstrates compassion/understanding towards others, forms positive relationships.
• Enable Diversity and Inclusion: LEVEL 1: Appreciate/respect differences, aware of unconscious bias, confront discrimination.

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies:

Business Direction & Strategy

• System Thinking: Ability to use objective problem analysis and judgement to understand how interrelated elements coexist within an overall process or system, and to consider how altering one element can impact on other parts of the system.

Business Development

• Knowledge Facilitation: Ability to animate individuals and communities of contributors to participate and share, particularly externally.

Business Management

• Project Management: Ability to plan, organize, prioritize and control resources, procedures and protocols to achieve specific goals.
• Partnerships Management: Ability to build and maintain partnerships with wide networks of stakeholders, Governments, civil society and private sector partners, experts and others in line with UNDP strategy and policies.
• Communication: Ability to communicate in a clear, concise and unambiguous manner both through written and verbal communication; to tailor messages and choose communication methods depending on the audience; Ability to manage communications internally and externally, through media, social media and other appropriate channels
• Monitoring: Ability to provide managers and key stakeholders with regular feedback on the consistency or discrepancy between planned and actual activities and programme performance and results

Partnership management

• Multi-stakeholder engagement and Funding: Knowledge and ability to forge multi-stakeholder partnerships, and remove any obstacles to resource mobilization and multi-stakeholder funding platforms.