Job Purpose:

Conflict is an unparalleled hazard in terms of its destructive impact on humanity. It keeps one fifth of the world’s population under the threat of large-scale organised violence, traps populations in situations of protracted disaster, and increases the global number of extremely poor and deepens their levels of suffering. The last decade saw the highest-ever number of people internally displaced by conflict and violence, with 79 million people displaced between 2010 and 2019, many of whom are locked in a state of protracted displacement. Hunger is on the rise, with conflict the main driver of acute hunger for 77 million people in 22 countries. Conflicts also drives 80% of all humanitarian needs.

The Humanitarian Policy Adviser (HPA) is responsible for leading on Concern’s approach to conflict management, implementing the Strategy on Violent Conflict, as well as the Approach to Conflict Sensitivity, and providing technical support to assist country programmes to enhance their approach to working in and on conflict. The HPA will also ensure the realisation of the work plan of this strategy and act as the organisational focal point for armed conflict. Considerable work has been done in disseminating the strategy and approach to our country programmes. In the coming period, the key area of focus for the HPA will be to support comprehensive conflict analysis and the design and delivery of responses to this in a select number of country programmes. This may require the HPA to spend extended periods of time in each of the target countries on a regular basis.

Key Responsibilities:

• Coordinate the implementation of Concern’s Strategy on Violent Conflict

1. 1. Lead on the implementation of the strategy’s five areas: the integration of conflict sensitivity into programming; technical support and guidance to country programmes’ development and design of conflict management tools; support on the design of conflict-related programmes, conflict sensitivity measures, and monitoring of these; and input into advocacy and thought leadership activities.

• Analyse the policy implications of conflict as it affects Concern’s target groups and programmes, and provide technical input into policy and advocacy positions related to this.

• Monitor and report on the implementation of the strategy annually at the Emergency Directorate meeting and other fora as required.

• Support programme design, implementation, monitoring and the evaluation of peacebuilding programming and conflict sensitivity across Concern’s programmes and countries of operation

1. Support the mapping of capacity, needs and strategic partnership opportunities in relation to conflict-sensitive and peacebuilding programming in Concern country programmes.
2. Provide technical support to country programmes through field visits, remote support, and the capacity building of the staff of Concern and its partners in conflict sensitivity and good practice in integrated peacebuilding programming.
3. Support conflict analysis and conflict sensitivity analysis through the further roll out and development of the Integrated Risk Framework Analysis (IRFA) which was developed as part of the ECHO-funded Enhanced Responses to Nutrition Emergencies (ERNE) project.
4. Develop monitoring and evaluation tools, including standard indicators, for peacebuilding programming and conflict sensitivity.
5. Engage with donors as needed and support the development of new proposals on peacebuilding programmes as required.

1. Act as the organisational focal point for armed conflict

1. Lead on conflict research projects, as required. This may entail designing and completing field-based research or engaging and managing consultants to do so. In addition, capture and disseminate good practice in conflict programming by other organisations.
2. Support IPD and SAL to include good practice in conflict sensitivity, peacebuilding, social cohesion and conflict prevention, management and resolution in organisational strategies, policies, approaches, and tools, also involving Concern UK and Concern US on conflict as a cross-organisational issue where appropriate.
3. Participate in internal country working groups for conflict-affected countries and input into coordination between existing and emerging advocacy initiatives, including leading on regular meetings, workshops, presentations or other tasks within the conflict portfolio to a variety of internal and external stakeholders.
4. Represent Concern on the issue of conflict at external meetings and events as required. This may include engagement with the Irish government, other NGOs and academics working in the area of conflict management.
5. Support the recruitment of country programme staff on peacebuilding programmes and the development and delivery of inductions as required.

1. Additional responsibilities

1. 1. As needed, develop work plans and manage the day-to-day work of interns, volunteers and research students working on conflict-related projects in the Emergency Directorate.
   2. Develop or input into public documents such as Concern policies, public messaging, speeches, etc. as required.
   3. Be able to travel to the field/overseas, as required, to generate information about contexts or good practice in emergency response, or to support sudden onset emergencies.
   4. Conduct desktop reviews of potential countries of operation, as required.
   5. Maintain the ‘Armed Conflict’ section of the Emergency Directorate’s intranet site as well as a library of good practice resources drawn from external sources as well as documentation and learning from Concern’s own programming for peacebuilding and conflict sensitivity.