Field support assistant (2 open positions. One for West and one for South) 31 views2 applications

Location: West and South of Libya (Local Position, remotely based)

Type of position: L2

Application closing: 20 December, 2020

Job start date: January, 2020

Contract Type and Duration: One-year renewable

Background

Interpeace is an international organisation for peacebuilding that strengthens the ability of societies to manage conflict themselves in sustainable and non-violent ways. Interpeace designs and delivers its work tailored to each situation in partnership with local partners and communities, based on extensive consultation and research. Interpeace also ensures that the processes of conflict management and change that it supports are integrated at all levels of society including local communities, civil society, government and the international community (we call it a ‘Track 6’ approach).

Interpeace was originally established by the United Nations and remains its strategic partner. Beyond field-based peacebuilding, Interpeace also assists the international community – particularly the UN – to be more effective in supporting peacebuilding efforts worldwide. This includes contributing innovative thought leadership on peacebuilding policies and practices.

Interpeace is headquartered in Geneva and has offices around the world.

For more information about Interpeace, please visit www.interpeace.org

Interpeace in Libya

Interpeace undertook its very first mission to Libya in September of 2011. In 2012 it conducted an in-depth actor and issue mapping across the country to better assess conditions and response to an Interpeace approach engagement. As a direct result of that mapping Interpeace developed a programme aimed at establishing an infrastructure for peace in Libya with a pilot phase in the South West based in and around Sebha. The pilot aimed at helping communities from across the South identify impediments to peace in the region.

By mid-2014, the programme had been able to make significant progress with 500 Libyans consulted capturing a broad array of perspectives on impediments to peace and opportunities for stability in the South. With the eruption of civil war late 2014 that phase was paused temporarily. In 2015 Interpeace initiated a peacemapping project which sought to highlight the numerous but less visible resilient communities that have remained relatively stable despite the conflict. The project’s key belief was that understanding the conditions and coping mechanisms these communities developed to deal with conflict and extracting lessons learned from them could compliment national and international dialogue initiatives in the country and contribute to the overall peacebuilding and reconciliation agenda for Libya.

The lessons learned from the peacemapping initiative formed the foundation for the “Community Resilience and Cohesion: A Bottom-up Approach to Peacebuilding in Libya” project from June 2017 through August 2019. This first phase of the program targeted Eighteen communities across Libya through a series of capacity building workshops on conflict management and analysis, and community facilitation skills for a selected groups of change agents with the goal of strengthening intra- and intercommunity cohesion in the country. The new phase of the project: “Strengthening Local Cohesion in Libya: A Pathway to Lasting Peace” will continue its work on supporting Libyan local communities to build up lasting peace through strengthening their capacities and providing them with the needed tools and technics enabling them to manage internal challenges, build consensus on priority areas with other communities, and connect these processes with the national level dialogue agenda.

Position within the organization

The Field Support Assistant is a member of the Program Management Unit, which supports the design, implementation and monitoring of all Interpeace programs around the world. The Program Management Unit is headed by the Unit Director in Geneva. The team members are based in different parts of the world, including Switzerland, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Libya, and Tunisia. The Field assistant will operate in Libya under the regular supervision of the Programme Officer, in coordination with different Libya program team members.

Purpose and general overview

Under the supervision of the Programme Officer, the Field Support Assistant will provide field level guidance on implementation, coordination, logistical, administrative support to the change agents in the communities within her/his geographical coverage area under the Libya Programme. This post is a local position remotely based and involves some travel to the filed inside Libya and to Tripoli/Benghazi Interpeace offices as well as Tunis when necessary.

Planning and implementation

• Develops a solid understanding of the programme’s overall philosophy and strategy
• Develops clear goals that are consistent with agreed strategies
• Identifies priority activities and assignments; adjusts priorities as required; allocates appropriate amount of time and resources for completing work
• Foresees risks and allows for contingencies when planning
• Monitors and adjusts plans and actions as necessary

Specific duties and responsibilities

• Supports in the identification of new change agents in the targeted communities within her/his geographical coverage area;
• Maintains robust communication with existing change agents, stakeholders and targeted communities;
• Supports logistics arrangements of community-based activities, workshops, focus group discussions, trainings, research and other program activities;
• Maintains programmatic accountability for field program activities including data collection for evaluation, record keeping of activities;
• Collects and documents community-based activity reports, photos, attendance lists, and monitors program social and other media mentions;
• Supports travel arrangements of activities participants through providing name lists, passport copies, and participation/confirmation lists to Program Assistant to make hotel and flight bookings in a timely manner, circulating follow-up documents to activities participants, and distributing road costs and DSA;
• Assists Operations staff in providing advances to change agents for community-based activity implementation, collecting and compiling invoices and finance related documents from the field.

The Field Support Assistant is to remain flexible and perform other duties as required for the effective running of the program. The Program Field Assistant will also demonstrate a commitment to the values and working principles of Interpeace both within the Interpeace team and in the broader regional and international community.

Requirements

• Tertiary degree required
• Previous experience in Local NGO or an INGO desirable and in a similar position would be considered an asset
• Good knowledge of spoken and written English – Desirable
• Good command of Microsoft Excel, Word and Outlook – Required
• Good analytical and practical problem-solving skills
• Strong cross-communal networking skills and ability to remain neutral
• Ability to organize work efficiently and deliver assignments in a timely manner often under time constraints
• Ability to work effectively remotely as a team member and with minimal supervision

Interpeace competencies

• Collaboration and Weaving
• Communication
• Drive for results
• Adaptability and Continuous Learning
• Respect for Diversity