The political and governance landscape in Lesotho is characterized by fluidity and instability, requiring ongoing attention. Between June and December 2023, the political situation witnessed a fragile stability resulting in to new coalition partnerships. High political tensions have persisted since the government took office in October 2022, exacerbated by positional bargaining that hinders the national reform process. This environment necessitates identifying mediation and conflict prevention opportunities to navigate these challenges effectively. Despite Lesotho’s commitment to democratic governance principles before the 2022 general elections, persistent instability and unrest have undermined progress. The Southern African Development Community (SADC) intervened to mitigate tensions, leading to a comprehensive national reforms process endorsed internationally. However, the derailment of the National Reform Process remains a significant political risk, potentially setting back the country’s progress and exacerbating political and security turbulence.

In recent years, Lesotho has experienced a significant rise in community-level crime, particularly violent crime. Police reports indicate an alarming increase in homicides and robberies, with 759 homicides and 641 robberies reported between January and October 2022 alone. According to the Global Study on Homicide, Lesotho ranks tenth globally and sixth in Africa for its murder rate, with a homicide rate of 46.5 per 100,000 people. Gender-based violence (GBV) is also rampant, significantly impacting women both developmentally and economically. For instance, GBV costs the country 5.5% of its GDP in lost income and expenses related to medical, legal, and police support. This violence prevents women from contributing to society and accessing necessary services, further entrenching their vulnerability and powerlessness.

Gang violence, driven by illegal mining activities in South Africa and the associated Famo music factions, is a primary driver of community-level conflict in Lesotho. Young men, migrating illegally to South Africa due to economic hardships, often join these gangs, resulting in violent turf wars spilling over into Lesotho’s communities. Women and children are disproportionately affected, facing physical abuse, poor service delivery, and high rates of early marriage and school dropouts. The violence exacerbates economic constraints, forcing many orphans into illegal mining or early marriage, thereby perpetuating a cycle of poverty and violence. GBV, intertwined with these conflicts, significantly contributes to the nation’s high HIV prevalence rate and leads to severe psychological trauma and increasing suicide rates.

Lesotho’s political system, characterized by personality-driven politics and patronage distribution, fuels community conflicts. Politicization of state institutions, including the security sector, leads to weak oversight, limited accountability, and intra-party conflicts, further destabilizing the country. Economic challenges, such as high unemployment, slow economic growth, and dependency on government contracts, exacerbate the situation. Corruption and unequal distribution of resources widen inequalities and fuel further conflicts. The Lesotho Mounted Police Service (LMPS) faces significant capacity challenges, with insufficient resources to effectively prevent and detect crime. This has led to the army intervening in civilian matters, indicating a declining state capacity to protect its citizens.

In response to the above challenges and address the rising insecurity, interventions UNDP, UN Women and UN OHCHR in collaboration with the Government, Civil Society, Faith-Based Organizations and stakeholders with funding from the UN Peace Building Fund have formulated the S Supporting Community-driven Violence Reduction and Sustainable Peace in Lesotho project. The Project targets the districts of Maseru, Mafeteng, and Mokhotlong, which are epicentres of violence. These districts face various forms of violence, from urban crime in Maseru to gang-related violence in Mafeteng and livestock theft in Mokhotlong. The project’s primary goal is to reduce violence in Lesotho’s communities by strengthening existing community infrastructures for peace and enhancing women’s leadership and participation in peacebuilding. The project addresses rising community violence by improving conflict mitigation, prevention, and peacebuilding efforts, creating a foundation for sustained peace. Key strategies include:

• Strengthening Community Responses: Reinforce community-level responses to conflict and insecurity, facilitate inclusive dialogues, and protect women, children, and youth from violence;
• Building Trust: Establish partnerships with security sector institutions, local administrations, and traditional leaders to build trust between communities and security sectors, fostering a gender-sensitive and resilient society;
• Enhancing Women’s Participation: Promote meaningful and safe participation of women in violence reduction and peace processes by addressing gender inequality and social norms that hinder women’s involvement;
• Supporting Community Policing: Enhance the capacities of the Lesotho Mounted Police’s Community Policing Division to deal with changing conflict landscapes and coordinate inclusive responses, including the utilization of the Lehokela mobile application for confidential reporting of conflicts or crimes;
• Livelihood Support: Provide micro-grants for community-based livelihood alternatives to prevent violence and support conflict prevention structures, local mediators, and dialogue facilitators, targeting vulnerable groups like unemployed youth and school leaver;
• Engaging Gang Members: Strengthen the capacity of Community Policing Forums to engage in dialogue with gang leaders and members and create linkages with initiatives addressing illegal migration and border control;
• Creating Feedback Platforms: Develop structured engagement and feedback platforms to facilitate community involvement in peace efforts;
• Building Human Rights Systems: Strengthen national human rights systems to provide effective complaint-handling mechanisms for the public.

UNDP is seeking to recruit a Project Analyst (Learning and Document) to support the implementation of the Project. The Project Analyst (Learning and Documentation) will be responsible for systematically capturing, analyzing, and disseminating information and lessons learned from the project. This role will ensure that the knowledge generated contributes to the project’s continuous improvement and informs future peacebuilding and violence reduction initiatives. Under the overall direction of the UNDP Deputy Resident Representative, the Project Analyst (Learning and Document) will report directly to the Project Manager.

Coordinate effective project planning and implementation.

• Develop project planning process and ensure the work plan and a fully costed budget are prepared based on sound capacity assessments and in accordance with UNDP POPP/PPM Guidelines;
• Coordinate / manage the day-to-day activities of the assigned portfolio and the overall implementation process, including planning and monitoring in order to optimize the use of resources and to ensure the successful achievement of project objectives and results specified in project document. Provide subject matter technical advice and support and ensure outputs are delivered on time, within the set budget and specified constraints, and to high-quality standards;
• Facilitate establishment of interactive and inclusive platforms for project implementation and collaborate with other programme units and project teams to ensure integration of critical development issues in the project activities and expected project outputs;
• Ensure implementation activities are in alignment with UNDP policy and programme management procedures and all project interventions integrate a gender equality perspective/gender equality mainstreaming to the extent local context allow;
• Ensure operational management of assigned portfolio including through timely procurement of goods, services and/or infrastructure (as relevant), effective management of human, technical and financial resources, etc.

Documentation and Reporting

• Develop and implement a comprehensive documentation plan for the project;
• Prepare high-quality reports, case studies, and success stories that capture the project’s progress, challenges, and impacts;
• Ensure timely submission of all project reports to donors, partners, and stakeholders;
• Collaborate with the Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) team including UN PBF to collect and analyze data on project activities and outcomes;
• Contribute to the development of M&E frameworks, tools, and indicators;
• Track progress against project objectives and provide recommendations for adjustments as needed.

Establish partnerships and open channels of communication.

• Develop and maintain strong relationships and strategic linkages with implementing and development partners, government officials, businesses, NGOs, other national stakeholders, and beneficiaries to support key objectives and ensure inclusive implementation and participation of key stakeholders in assigned portfolio;
• Develop and maintain stakeholder mapping and analysis to identify stakeholder needs and how best to leverage their participation and/or 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 potential for scale-up, replicability and synergies;
• Engage with community members, local authorities, civil society organizations, and other stakeholders to gather insights and feedback on project activities;
• Ensure that community voices and perspectives are captured and reflected in project documentation;
• Support the establishment of a network of micro-grantees as peace ambassadors.

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

• Review the results framework and update the indicators, baselines, and targets of the assigned portfolio. Develop clear strategies and an effective system for data collection, means of verification, and information sharing and reporting;
• Monitor implementation and progress in achieving goals and targets in accordance with the established quality criteria and UNDP rules, regulations, and standards. Identify, analyze, and take adequate measures to manage emerging issues, problems, and risks. Conduct field visits to project location sites;
• Liaise with the Finance team to ensure administrative requirements, budgets and use of financial resources are managed and executed in a timely and appropriate manner and within UNDP and donor rules and regulation;
• Prepare corporate, donor and government reports in line with the reporting schedule and UNDP and donor requirements;
• Ensure proper operational and financial closure of 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 in a consultative manner, involving technical experts and stakeholders that may include the government, private sector, NGOs, donors, and/or academia;
• Regularly engage with The Peacebuilding Impact Hub to foster a deeper understanding of the effects and impact of peacebuilding interventions and practice by generating and enhancing evidence-based operational, political and strategic insights for peacebuilding practitioners and for decision-makers;
• Identify, synthesize and document best practices and lessons learned that are generated from the project and implementing partners;
• Participate in and ensure sound contributions to knowledge networks and communities of practice on project related issues. Support establishment of knowledge platforms for the project, facilitate innovative mechanisms for dissemination of knowledge from the project, and develop knowledge resources and products to share with project partners and to support UNDP’s engagement in this area;
• Promote advocacy on development trends and opportunities to collaborate in coordination with the project partners, stakeholders, and UNDP communications staff;
• The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.

Institutional Arrangement

The Project Analyst works under the general supervision of Programme Manager.

• 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

• Fluency in English and Sesotho  is required.