PBF Regional Peacebldg Officer

At the request of the Liberian Government, Liberia was officially placed on the Peacebuilding Commission Agenda on 27 May 2010 making the country eligible as a recipient of UN Peacebuilding Fund’s Peace and Recovery Facility (PRF). Since then the PBC has been engaged with Liberia supporting programs to strengthen rule of law, security sector and legal reforms, gender equality and women empowerment as well as national reconciliation through national and local peace infrastructures. These supportive initiatives are aligned to the Government Pro-poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development (PAPD) and SDGs 1, 5, 8,  16 as well as the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperative Framework. 

Liberia has undergone multiple transitions while needing to continue to consolidate the hard-won peacebuilding gains. The Security Council resolution 2333 (Dec 2016) ended UNMIL’s mandate on 30 March 2018 and the complete closure of the peacekeeping mission by 30 June 2018. The results of the UN’s Capacity Mapping Exercise, completed in May 2017, indicated that UNMIL’s withdrawal and departure will result in a severe reduction in resources, capacities and expertise in consolidating peace building gains. The PBF leveraged its financing to support a smooth transition as well as sustain the peace gains within the context of addressing pre-existed and emerging peacebuilding challenges including a poor economy where root causes and conflict drivers remain unresolved.

To address this, the S-G approved the Executive Committee Decision 2017/88 (Liberia) (September 2017) to strengthen and expand the Resident Coordinator’s Office, establish the OHCHR office and a pooled fund (the Liberia Multi Partner Trust Fund) to support peace 

consolidation, human rights, rule of law, reconciliation and the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Liberia. The Liberia Multi-Partner Trust Fund (LMPTF) was anchored on a vision of realizing less dependency on the international community assistance for peace and security and placing the country on a stable trajectory to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The LMPTF was designed to support Sustaining Peace and peace consolidation in Liberia through the implementation of the Liberia Peacebuilding Plan priorities and the delivery of the United Nation’s Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) in support of implementing the Government’s Pro-Poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development. The new government has prioritized peace consolidation by establishing a stand-along pillar on ‘sustaining peace’.

Since 2018, the LMPTF has been supported by the Peacebuilding Fund as the only donor, whose financing modality is premised on catalytic support. Further financing of the LMPTF has been reconsidered by the PBF, reverting to its traditional financing of peacebuilding initiatives through its Peacebuilding and Recovery Facility (PRF)and Immediate Response Facility (IRF) windows. 

Under the current PBF portfolio, a secretariat exists, operating under the auspices of the RC whose responsibility is to ensure overall coordination, monitoring and reporting of  peacebuilding programming in Liberia, working closely with the UNCT, the Government and CSOs involved in peacebuilding programmes.  The PBF Secretariat brings efficiencies and effectiveness in overall coordination of peacebuilding programming in Liberia. The PBF Secretariat helps to coordinate monitoring approaches between projects, and monitor progress against the peacebuilding context, the risks and the high-level peacebuilding priorities supported by PBF. 

PBF Programming Support to Mano River Union Countries (MRU

The Mano River Union region comprises Côte d'Ivoire, Guinéa, Liberia and Sierra Leone. The region underwent several decades of conflict and has now returned to stability. Tensions remain however, particularly in border areas, despite strong historical and cultural ties, and reconciliation is a work in progress. People who returned to or remained in border communities often have relatively fewer opportunities for education, skills development, training, employment and indeed mobility. Environmental pressures and land disputes are adding to these challenges. Opportunities to build community resilience and social cohesion, often based on traditional systems, include cross-border and sub-regional cooperation in areas such as dialogue, citizen engagement, economic integration, youth and women productivity and enhanced security.

The position of Peacebuilding Officer is based in Monrovia, Liberia, and is located in the Office of the Resident Coordinator for Liberia, working closely with the PBF Secretariat in Monrovia. 

The incumbent will report to the Resident Coordinator for Liberia and will, as required, provide guidance to the RCs and UN Country Teams in the four countries of the Mano River Union region in identifying entry points for cross-border and sub-regional peacebuilding initiatives, supporting programme design and elaboration, providing analysis on sub-regional challenges and priorities and building support among partners for current and new cross-border and sub-regional peace and development initiatives. The Peacebuilding Officer will also have an indirect reporting line to the UN Peacebuilding Support Office (PBSO) in New York.

The Peacebuilding Officer will regularly travel to Côte d'Ivoire, Guinée, and Sierra Leone, as advised by the RCs for those countries, to explore programmatic and partnership opportunities for peacebuilding.

Within the limits of delegated authority and in close cooperation with Peace and Development Advisors (PDAs) and the PBF Secretariat/PBF Coordinator in Monrovia, the Peacebuilding Officer will be responsible for performing the following duties.

• Identify opportunities to coordinate and support the development of proposals for cross-border and sub-regional collaboration and programmatic interventions to promote peacebuilding in the four countries of the Manu River Union region, in close collaboration with the Resident Coordinators and the United Nations Country Teams; 
• Develop and implement methodologies for tracking peacebuilding issues and progress with regards to cross-border and regional peacebuilding priorities in the four countries of the Mano River Union region, in collaboration with the Resident Coordinators, United Nations Country Teams and other partners;
• Identify opportunities for and, in full cooperation with the RCs and the UNCTs, support the development of a strategic approach to partnerships between the UNCT and regional stakeholders contributing to UN objectives and peacebuilding processes in the Mano River Union region including with IFIs, UNOWAS, ECOWAS and the Mano River Union Secretariat;
• Produce, as appropriate and required, analytical and situational notes on relevant sub-regional cross-border issues to inform decision-making and advocacy for PBF and other donor support;
• Based on guidance provided by the RCs, UNCTs and the PDAs, exchange with UNOWAS on strategic and programmatic areas pertaining to cross-border and sub-regional peacebuilding within the Mano River Union;
• In collaboration with the PBF Coordinator in Monrovia, provide technical peacebuilding design expertise for the elaboration of Peacebuilding Fund (PBF) projects in Liberia for initiatives including, but not limited to, social cohesion, women empowerment and participation, youth engagement, peaceful electoral environment, security sector cooperation, climate security, land conflict, in accordance with the PBF Strategic Result Framework and emerging peacebuilding priorities;
• In collaboration with the PBF Coordinator in Monrovia, support more effective collaboration across the humanitarian–development–peace nexus (HDPN), results-focus and programme sustainability, catalytic results within PBF programming and project design based on existing good practice and support resource mobilisation;
• Provide updates to PBSO on PBF programs in Liberia and on the regional initiatives from time to time, as needed.