Land Acquisition Senior Analyst (Retainer)

“UNOPS plays a critical role in providing management services for our life-saving, peace-building, humanitarian and development operations. I have seen many examples of how these activities help suffering people in troubled parts of the world.”
 -Ban Ki-moon, former United Nations Secretary-General

The United Nations Office for Project Services’ (UNOPS) mission is to expand the capacity of the UN system and its partners to implement peace building, humanitarian and development operations that matter for people in need. UNOPS mandate is to act as a project delivery platform for UN system agencies, funds and programmes, international and regional financial institutions, intergovernmental organizations, donor and recipient governments, and non-profit non-governmental organizations. As a self-financing entity within the UN system, UNOPS must ensure that the projects it delivers meet client expectations in terms of cost, quality and time, while at the same time ensuring that these projects collectively meet a broader array of success criteria.

Kenya Multi-Country Office (KEMCO) and Mozambique Country Office

UNOPS KEMCO helps partners achieve their project goals in sectors including: governance, education, health, the environment, grant management and rural development. UNOPS KEMC has over twenty years of experience working in Africa, including on large scale infrastructure projects. With a flexible and responsive presence throughout the region, UNOPS is able to scale up rapidly, through various mechanisms into high risk areas which have proven to be beneficial to partners.

As part of the IDP crisis response, the Republic of Mozambique has prepared the Mozambique Northern Crisis Recovery Project (NCRP), which is financed by the International Development Association (IDA) in the amount of US$100 million. The Project Development Objective is to improve access to basic services and economic opportunities for internally displaced persons and host communities in targeted areas of Northern Mozambique. The Project is implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MADER) through the National Sustainable Development Fund (FNDS). The Project will retain and make use of existing Financial Management (FM) capacities and project oversight systems at FNDS. 

The Government has contracted UNOPS to provide overall technical support to Project implementation, including through the preparation of Environmental and Social Safeguards instruments, based on the World Bank’s Environmental and Social Frameworks (ESF); as well as support in M&E. UNOPS is further tasked with the implementation of the three project components.

• Component 1 – Building social cohesion and resilience to conflict;
• Component 2 – Provision of livelihoods and economic opportunities for IDPs and host communities; Component 3 –Rehabilitation of public infrastructure and Component
• Component 4 – Project management and oversight. 

Project implementation will cover 17 relocation sites of IDPs in Cabo Delgado.

UNOPS is looking for a Land Acquisition Senior Analyst- Retainer that will support the Project in implementing a land screening exercise to retroactively assess how the land acquisition for the 17 relocation sites  has taken place. 

The purpose of the assignment is to retroactively assess how the land acquisition of the 17 relocation sites for the NCRP has taken place and whether it took place in compliance with the World Bank Environmental and Social Standards (especially ESS5) and Mozambican laws. Where non-compliance is determined, retroactive Resettlement Action Plans or other relevant plans have to be prepared and implemented within the next two years. The screening will be based on the NCRP’s Resettlement Policy Framework (RPF) and the Government’s MozLand Project’s RPF. The MozLand Project has already undertaken similar land screening exercises in other areas, as well as on agricultural land in the respective 17 relocation sites. The screening of the remaining land in the 17 relocation sites will be undertaken in close collaboration and coordination with the MozLand Project. The consultant will be embedded in the MozLand Screening Team to undertake the screening. 

• Participate in the land screening exercise of land in 17 relocation sites of the NCRP 
• Monitor and report whether the land acquisition of the 17 relocation sites has taken place in compliance with the MozLand and NCRP RPFs, World Bank ESF and Mozambican laws. 
• Apply the screening tools of the respective RPFs and comply with the processes described in the instruments
• Ensure that appropriate E&S instruments and tools have been applied in all acquisition processes;
• Compile a final report on the land screening exercise; 
• Where land acquisition has not complied with the respective RPFs and safeguards regimes, prepare the respective plans to retroactively ensure compliance 
• Prepare Resettlement Action Plans, Livelihood Restoration Plans and other tools required – where necessary. 
• Lay out the retroactive implementation of the respective plans. Assist in developing and delivering a series of spot checks to ensure mitigation measures are properly implemented in line with the guideline;
• Contribute to general project reporting requirements; Handle additional assignments as directed by Project Managers; 

•  Advice government partners on land and resettlement issues

• All land required for NCRP project activities has been successfully screened
• In all cases where land acquisition was not in compliance with the NCRP and MozLand policy frameworks, addition instruments have been prepared to ensure appropriate compensation can take place.

• Master’s degree in Social Science, Social Development, or other related fields is required;
• A combination of a Bachelor's degree with an additional 2 years of relevant work experience may be accepted in lieu of the education requirements outlined above.

• Minimum 2 years of relevant experience in social development and/or land management or resettlement issues,is required
• At least 2 year of experience with the design or implementation of land and resettlement safeguards tools or mitigation measures, is required
• Experience with stakeholder consultations and grievance redress systems are an asset
• Research, report writing, evidence based data and information and analytical skills will be an added advantage
• Candidates with experience working on rural infrastructure projects will be preferred.

• Fluency in both  English and Portuguese Language (i.e. writing, reading and speaking) is required

• Please note that the closing date is midnight Copenhagen time
• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.
• Only those candidates that are short-listed for interviews will be notified.
• Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
• UNOPS seeks to reasonably accommodate candidates with special needs, upon request.
• Work life harmonization - UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands. We have a progressive policy on work-life harmonization and offer several flexible working options. This policy applies to UNOPS personnel on all contract types
• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post
• For retainer contracts, you must complete a few Mandatory Courses (around 4 hours) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS.
• The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS. 
• This is an Emergency Recruitment process (EPP)

It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential recruits/interns.
Recruitment/internship in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.

• Contract type: Local Individual Contractor Agreement- LICA
• Contract level: ICS 9/ LICA Specialist-9
• Contract duration: One year initially, renewable subject to satisfactory performance and funding availability'

UNOPS is an operational arm of the United Nations, supporting the successful implementation of its partners’ peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world. Our mission is to help people build better lives and countries achieve sustainable development.

UNOPS areas of expertise cover infrastructure, procurement, project management, financial management and human resources.

Working with us

UNOPS offers short- and long-term work opportunities in diverse and challenging environments across the globe. We are looking for creative, results-focused professionals with skills in a range of disciplines.

Diversity

With over 4,000 UNOPS personnel and approximately 7,000 personnel recruited on behalf of UNOPS partners spread across 80 countries, our workforce represents a wide range of nationalities and cultures. We promote a balanced, diverse workforce — a strength that helps us better understand and address our partners’ needs, and continually strive to improve our gender balance through initiatives and policies that encourage recruitment of qualified female candidates.

Work life harmonization

UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands.