Cordaid works to end poverty and exclusion. We do this in the world’s most fragile and conflict-affected areas. We engage communities to rebuild trust and resilience and increase people’s self-reliance. Where poverty, conflict and exclusion divide societies, we connect people and communities. Cordaid is one of the leading Civil Society Organizations in the Netherlands, working in fragile contexts on Health, Resilience, Private Sector Development, Humanitarian Aid and Security & Justice. Cordaid has over 700 staff, working at Global Office in the Netherlands and in offices across the most fragile countries in the world. Within Cordaid we work on the basis of trust, accountability, cooperation and solution orientation. Cordaid recently merged with ICCO and thereby expanded its operations to more countries, themes and added over 300 additional staff.

For the Cordaid Country office in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cordaid is looking for aPeacebuilding Expert for the Secretariat of the INGO Forum

Introduction

The DRC INGO Forum gathers 115 INGO member implementing emergency and development aid projects for the benefit of Congolese population. The Forum is supported by a Secretariat which gathers a Team of six people, providing expert support and advice to its members. More specifically, the role of the Forum is to:

• Support to INGOs members and advocacy for solving common issues;

• Improve communication between INGOs and other stakeholders (government, UNOCHA, UN, etc.);

• Strengthen the voices of INGOs in the humanitarian architecture and the development community in DRC;

• Act as a focal point for INGOs and for external stakeholders;

• Ensure a national cohesion of INGOs (linking Kinshasa and the other Provinces).

Cordaid is currently the host of the INGO forum. We are looking for a Peacebuilding Expert who will be responsible for supporting the INGO members of the Forum engaged in the peacebuilding sector. This is a new position which will be primarily supported by FCDO and SIDA.

Position and responsibility

The Peacebuilding Expert will work under the responsibility of the Director of the Secretariat of the DRC INGO Forum and in close collaboration with other members of the Secretariat team of the DRC INGO Forum. He / she will work in close collaboration with the members of the Peace and Stabilization Working Group within the INGO Forum.

She/he will be based in Goma but will have to carry out numerous missions in other areas of the country, such as South Kivu, Ituri, Tanganyika, Kasai and Kinshasa for the execution of her/his tasks.

The position holder will report to the Director of the Secretariat of the INGO Forum and will have to work in close relationship with other members of the Secretariat Team.

She/he will also have close working relationships with INGO heads of mission and/or Area Coordinators; INGOs administrative and financial coordinators; advocacy officers of member INGOs; as well as with UN agencies including OCHA; donors; and politico-administrative authorities in the North Kivu and South Kivu Provinces (Goma and Bukavu) and potentially other provinces such as Ituri or Tanganyika.

General objective of the posting

Under the hierarchical responsibility of the Director of the Secretariat of the DRC INGO Forum and in close collaboration with the members of the Peace and Stabilization Working Group within the INGO Forum, the Peacebuilding Expert will be in charge of the facilitation and the coordination of activities related to the theme of peace and stabilization (peacebuilding). She / he will ensure that these activities do not operate in silos but are well coordinated with the other members of the Secretariat Team and that she / he facilitates and encourages collaboration and coordination between actors active in the field of Peacebuilding. This position will also coordinate by working on the themes of emergency humanitarian aid and development aid, with the final objective of operationalizing this "nexus" link between the three disciplines.

Specific objectives

The above will be ensured through, but not limited to, the following tasks:

1. Coordination and information sharing

2. Ensure the updating of the mapping of Forum members, in particular peace actors in the DRC, in complementarity with other existing initiatives, such as ISSSS;

3. Create, facilitate and energize a working and exchange group with peacebuilding actors;

4. Develop and implement, in partnership with the INGOs involved in the working group, a strategy and a clear action plan regarding the Forum's support to these actors;
5. Organize and facilitate the sharing of information and experience between peace actors, and with operational actors in other sectors;
6. Maintain a watch on funding opportunities, share these opportunities and support the initiatives of partnerships and consortia of member INGOs;
7. In close coordination and collaboration with the other members of the Forum Secretariat, work with external stakeholders (ministries and state agencies, donors, diplomatic representations, civil society actors and United Nations agencies) to accomplish these tasks. ;

8. Work closely with other members of the DRC INGO Forum Secretariat team.

9. Advocacy and representation

10. Develop, with INGO members and the Forum’s Advocacy Expert, an advocacy strategy relating to peacebuilding issues, which should ensure links and synergies with other intervention sectors, whether they are urgent or longer term;

11. Identify advocacy opportunities and support member INGOs in the implementation of joint advocacy, in collaboration with the Forum’s Advocacy Expert;

12. Work towards a good coordination of advocacy between humanitarian, development and peace actors;

13. In coordination with the Forum’s Advocacy Expert, facilitate the development of advocacy tools and initiatives on issues identified as priority by INGO members.

14. Technical support to member INGOs

15. Develop technical expertise within the Forum (by developing technical notes on, for example, dialogue or lessons learned) in the peacebuilding sector in order to be able to better support the mediation and peace activities of specialized INGOs;

16. Monitor training opportunities for INGOs and their partners, as needed;

17. Ensure a link with other themes and sectors within the Forum, and in particular with the Nexus and Development Aid Expert, as well as with the Deputy Director of the Secretariat on emergency humanitarian actions in eastern DRC.

18. General

19. Comply with Cordaid's (Code of Conduct, Conflict of Interest, Anti-corruption; Whistle blower Policy) and International Alert’s Policies;

20. Ensure the optimal implementation of these Policies in all aspects of her/his work.

21. Is available / flexible to perform any other ad hoc task deemed useful by her/ his direct superior or representative.

Qualifications

A. Education and professional experience

· Have a Bachelor's or Master's degree in social sciences, political science, development aid, international cooperation, management of Organizations and / or any other sector related to the position;

· At least 5 years of experience in the fields of peacebuilding, with a preference for experience in Africa and in NGOs;

· Proven experience in advocacy in an African country;

· Proven knowledge of the context of the DRC, in particular in the East of the country and/or the situation in the Kasai provinces;

· Proven experience in the management of humanitarian, development and / or peace projects;

· Proven experience of working with multidisciplinary and multicultural teams and ability to build the capacities of other team members.

B. Personal skills

· Ability to create networks and sensitivity to the existence of other actors in the sector;

· Dynamic, motivated, proactive, open to the outside world, coaching ability, team worker;

· Have judgment skills, maturity and the ability to work in a team and in difficult and unstable conditions;

· Be able to express ideas and concepts orally and in writing in a clear and concise manner;

· Have good skills as a designer, trainer, communicator, analysis and negotiator;

· Ability to write and communicate in French (required). Fluency in English is a great asset;

· Have mastery of basic management software (Windows, Excel, Word, Internet and other computer applications (required);

· Have good organizational skills and be able to keep a global perspective;

· Know how to work well under stress and be able to manage several tasks at the same time;

· Being punctual, knowing how to respect deadlines and planning;

· Be dynamic, flexible and have a capacity for rapid and structured adaptation;

· Be of good character;

· Be results and solution-oriented.

Specifics of station

Duty station is Goma, DRC. This is an accompanied posting.**

Contract information

The contract period is for 11 months starting as soon as possible, with the intention to extend for a longer period. We offer a competitive, fair and comprehensive salary and benefits package that is justifiable to our donors. A Cordaid contract which includes R&R, a comprehensive insurance cover, social security and pension contribution, a holiday allowance, 13th month, hardship allowance and cost of living allowance.