Civil Society Coordinator

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Somalia is undergoing a critical phase of state-building underpinned by complex and interwoven processes of reconciliation, federalization, constitutional development, and collaborative governance requiring negotiated settlement on the allocation of power and distribution of resources coupled with the urgency of preventive and mitigatory measures for recurrent political and communal conflicts. Responding to these contextual needs/dynamics and building on the key achievements, lessons learned, and institutional partnerships secured through recently concluded Reconciliation and Federalism Support (ReFS) program, a multiyear- successor project has been launched under the title of SOOMAALIYA LOO DHANYAHAY (Inclusive Somalia) aimed at deepening the organic processes of state-building with focus on (a) federal framework, (b) political and social reconciliation and (c) collaborative governance in Somalia. The State-building and Reconciliation Support Program (SRSP) is primarily an intergovernmental support project engaging FGS and FMS line ministries, departments, and institutions and forging strong interlinkages with civil society, women, youth, minority groups, and conflict-prone communities by pursuing the principles of adaptive and iterative state-building, peace-building and collaborative governance in Somalia. The Project will do so by supporting institutional development and strengthening policy, planning, and programmatic linkages in a strategic and catalytic manner, complementary to other ongoing or planned efforts, shaping the structure and scope of core government functions and context-sensitive service delivery model(s) in a dynamic environment.

Under the overall guidance of the Inclusive Politics Portfolio, the Project will be implemented jointly with the UN Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) and UNDP under the leadership of the OSRSG to leverage its Good Offices role and convening power to mediate political agreements and build on the National Consultative Council (NCC) insights/agreements and new Government’s strategic directions on state-building, reconciliation, and collaborative governance. The Project has been designed to deepen the strategic, technical, and institutional support to the FGS, FMSes, and civil society actors with the following four integrated thematic Outputs:

Output 1: Improved policy, planning, and programmatic linkages for the effective implementation of national reconciliation and collaborative governance at FGS, FMS, and District levels

Output 2: Processes of consensus building on federal framework and mechanism(s) for intergovernmental relations between and within FGS and FMSes are strengthened, and the capacity of civil society for policy advocacy and public accountability is enhanced

Output 3: Operationalization of allocation of power is supported and institutional capacity enhanced on ‘functional unbundling’ and development of sector-specific governance frameworks at FGS, FMS, and District levels 

 Output 4: Operationalization/outreach  of an inclusive legal identification eco-system sensitive to the social contract is enhanced, and national/regional counterparts are operationally equipped to deliver their institutional mandates effectively and efficiently

The counterparts for the SRSP include the Federal Ministry of Interior, Federal Affairs & Reconciliation (MOIFAR) as the co-signatory from the Federal Government of Somalia. The core responsible parties (RPs) comprise the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), Federal Ministry of Interior Federal Affairs & Reconciliation (MOIFAR), National Identity and Registration Authority (NIRA), Banadir Regional Administration (BRA), Galmudug Ministry of Interior & Federal Affairs and Reconciliation (MOIFAR-GSS), Jubbaland Ministry of Interior Federalism and Reconciliation (MOIFR-JSS), Southwest State Office of the President (OOP-SWS), Hirshabelle State Office of the President (OOP-HSS), Puntland Ministry of Interior Federal Affairs and Democratization (MOIFAD-PL), and the civil society, including NGOs and INGOs.

Reporting to the Project Manager, the Civil Society Coordinator will execute assigned tasks to ensure the achievement of key results. S/he will oversee the implementation of Low-Value Grant agreements in compliance with LVGs and RPA requirements. Additionally, the coordinator will manage necessary process documentation, reporting, and internal/external communication with efficiency.

Duties and Responsibilities
Scope of Work 

Summary of key functions:

1. Take a lead in the development of call for proposals, selection process, and contract/grant management of LVGs/RPs initiative under SRSP.
2. Undertake technical reviews of the LVG proposals and provide overall technical support to the NGOs/CSOs, strengthening civil society engagement under the thematic areas of SRSP.
3. Supervise, track, and monitor the activities of CSOs and NGOs and provide necessary technical inputs and capacity-building support for the effective implementation of activities.
4. Contribute to effective knowledge-building, knowledge-sharing, knowledge management, monitoring,  reporting, and communication of project learning.

Detailed functions and duties:

Take a lead in the development of call for proposals, selection process, and contract/grant management of LVGs/RPs initiative under SRSP:

• Develop a comprehensive call for proposals document outlining project requirements and expectations as required using UNDP standard tools and templates.
• Design and implement a transparent selection process for potential grantees, ensuring fairness and impartiality.
• Manage the contract and grant processes, including drafting agreements, overseeing compliance, and addressing any contractual issues.
• Collaborate with POQA and relevant stakeholders to gather input and insights for improving the call for proposals, selection, and management processes.
• Ensure clear communication channels are in place to provide guidance to potential applicants throughout the application and selection phases.
• Develop and implement a monitoring and evaluation framework for ongoing contract and grant management.
• Collaborate with POQA and procurement units to ensure that all contracts and grants adhere to organizational policies and legal requirements.
• Provide regular updates and reports to the Project Manager on the progress of the call for proposals and grant management activities.
• Contribute to quality planning and programming by the selected CSOs/NGOs, formulating the results to be achieved by each LV grantee and establishing baselines and subsequent monitoring of progress and consolidation of results.
• Coordinate with the selected CSOs/NGOs and ensure the methodology design and delivery plan of their interventions align with the LVG agreements and agreed-upon outputs.
• Provide inputs on the NGOs’/CSOs’ documents/proposals/concept notes related to the implementation of the LVG agreements.
• Ensure the quality assurance of the activities implemented by the grantees through technical review of their concept notes, work plans, reports, spot checks and field visits, financial and substantive monitoring and evaluation of the grants, and identification and reporting of operational and financial problems.
• Closely track and monitor the activities of Law-Value Grantees to ensure the activities related to the LVG agreements are in line with agreed-upon standards.
• Prepare a Low-Value Grant  Roll-out plan.
• Provide feedback to the Law-Value Grantees, as appropriate, on reviews and monitoring undertaken in relation to LVG agreement issues.
• Facilitate strengthening civil society engagement in reconciliation and stabilization and support to develop the capacity of selected CSOs/NGOs in close collaboration with the project team.
• Coordinate LVG agreement delivery.
• Monitor the work of selected CSOs/NGOs to ensure timely and budget-compliant implementation across regions.
• Ensure timely implementation of the Low-Value Grant mechanism per approved budgets and work plans.
• Ensure that the Low-Value Grant mechanism is implemented timely per the performance indicators agreed upon within the scope of approved budgets and work plans.
• Proactively engage and facilitate all required activities to ensure timely selection, implementation, and oversight of the grant agreements.
• Engage proactively in grantee selection, implementation, and oversight activities.
• Work closely with the National Project Coordinator to ensure timely submission of reports following UNDP guidelines.
• Prepare and submit concise monthly progress reports.
• Submit quarterly reports regarding LVG agreement implementation and impact.
• Synthesize best practices and lessons learned from the project and activities for sharing among partners and stakeholders.
• Develop briefs on achievements and documents, including lessons learned.
• Make sound contributions to knowledge networks and communities of practice.
• Actively participate in the knowledge networks and take advantage of best practices and lessons learned that are available at the national, regional, and global levels.
• Support capacity-building of low-value guarantees.
• Perform other tasks as assigned by the Supervisor.

Undertake technical reviews of the LVG proposals and provide overall technical support to the NGOs/CSOs, strengthening civil society engagement under the thematic areas of SRSP.

• Contribute to quality planning and programming by the selected CSOs/NGOs, formulating the results to be achieved by each LV grantee and establishing baselines and subsequent monitoring of progress and consolidation of results.
• Coordinate with the selected CSOs/NGOs and ensure the methodology design and delivery plan of their interventions align with the LVG agreements and agreed-upon outputs.
• Provide inputs on the NGOs’/CSOs’ documents/proposals/concept notes related to the implementation of the LVG agreements.
• Ensure the quality assurance of the activities implemented by the grantees through technical review of their concept notes, work plans, reports, spot checks and field visits, financial and substantive monitoring and evaluation of the grants, and identification and reporting of operational and financial problems.
• Closely track and monitor the activities of Law-Value Grantees to ensure the activities related to the LVG agreements are in line with agreed-upon standards.
• Prepare a Low-Value Grant  Roll-out plan.

Supervise,  track, and monitor the activities of CSOs and NGOs and provide necessary technical inputs and capacity-building support for the effective implementation of activities:

• Provide feedback to the Law-Value Grantees, as appropriate, on reviews and monitoring undertaken in relation to LVG agreement issues.
• Facilitate strengthening civil society engagement in reconciliation and stabilization and support to develop the capacity of selected CSOs/NGOs in close collaboration with the project team.
• Coordinate LVG agreement delivery.
• Monitor the work of selected CSOs/NGOs to ensure timely and budget-compliant implementation across regions.
• Ensure timely implementation of the Low-Value Grant mechanism per approved budgets and work plans.
• Ensure that the Low-Value Grant mechanism is implemented timely per the performance indicators agreed upon within the scope of approved budgets and work plans.
• Proactively engage and facilitate all required activities to ensure timely selection, implementation, and oversight of the grant agreements.
• Engage proactively in grantee selection, implementation, and oversight activities.
• Work closely with the National Project Coordinator to ensure timely submission of reports following UNDP guidelines.
• Prepare and submit concise monthly progress reports.
• Submit quarterly reports regarding LVG agreement implementation and impact.

Contribute to effective knowledge-building, knowledge-sharing, knowledge management, monitoring,  reporting, and communication of project learning:

• Synthesize best practices and lessons learned from the project and activities for sharing among partners and stakeholders.
• Develop briefs on achievements and documents, including lessons learned.
• Make sound contributions to knowledge networks and communities of practice.
• Actively participate in the knowledge networks and take advantage of best practices and lessons learned that are available at the national, regional, and global levels.
• Support capacity-building of low-value guarantees.
• Perform other tasks as assigned by the Supervisor.

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  Civil Society Coordinator will work under the overall guidance and direct supervision of the Chief Technical Specialist of the State-building and Reconciliation Support Program (SRSP) and will work in close collaboration with the UNDP Programme Oversight and Quality Assurance Unit (POQA) in the country office, IP Portfolio Operations specialist and Project team, and UNDP counterparts. Additionally, s/he will work with staff of other UN agencies to exchange information and ensure consistent service delivery.