As the United Nations lead agency on international development, UNDP works in 170 countries and territories to eradicate poverty and reduce inequality. We help countries to develop policies, leadership skills, partnering abilities, institutional capabilities, and to build resilience to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Our work is concentrated in three focus areas; sustainable development, democratic governance and peacebuilding, and climate and disaster resilience.

UNDP’s mandate is to end poverty, build democratic governance, rule of law, and inclusive institutions. We advocate for change and connect countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life.

This project aims to strengthen social cohesion and prevent conflict in Timor-Leste by empowering excluded groups, particularly youth and women, to claim their rights through participation in inclusive community engagement, civic education, and dialogue-based activities. This approach generates deeper insights into conflict dynamics and promotes community resilience through inclusive governance and peacebuilding, contributing to a safer, more cohesive, and inclusive society.
Building on the lessons learned from the pilot initiative in Vila Verde, this new project aims to refine and consolidate the tested methodology through its replication in selected rural communities. The pilot initiative in Vila Verde provided joint problem-solving workshops that integrated state institutions with communities to enhance cooperation and reduce intra-community conflict, attended by 580 community members (47% women) from the target community and additional neighbouring communities of Madohi, Manleuana, and Camea. Additionally, the initiative empowered 160 youths (58% women) through capacity-building programs that provided specific economic and market-relevant skills, thereby reducing their likelihood of engaging in violence due to their new employable skills. By adapting the approach to diverse local realities, the project will generate deeper insights into the social fabric and conflict dynamics of more remote communities, where exclusion and mistrust in institutions persist.
Through inclusive community engagement, civic education, and dialogue-based activities, the initiative addresses the root causes of violence and weak state-community relations. It aims to strengthen trust between communities and government institutions, promote peace and social cohesion, and enhance youth participation in civic processes. These efforts will reinforce ongoing work by the Ministry of Interior and the G7+ to promote active citizenship, accountable, and gender-responsive governance.
The project will also validate a practical, context-specific toolkit that will streamline the implementation of a locally grounded methodology for peace consolidation. This will enable more effective, community-led approaches to conflict prevention and resilience building, while also providing a scalable framework for national use

Social Cohesion, Peace Consolidation and Conflict Prevention Assistant is a professional facilitator who will helps groups and communities build constructive relationships, resolve disputes peacefully, and prevent future violence by addressing root causes of conflict. Key responsibilities include creating safe spaces for dialogue, assisting in dispute resolution processes like mediation, building trust across different social groups, and strengthening the capacity of communities and governments to manage conflict. The goal is to establish the foundations for sustainable peace and development by addressing underlying injustices through nonviolent means.

Under the direct supervision of Social Cohesion National Project Manager, the UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks:

• Facilitate dialogue: Facilitate Community Dialogues focused on critical thematic is-sues related to peace and social cohesion.
• Social cohesion building: Develop and nurture relationships across different ethnic, religious, or boundaries to build trust and a shared sense of community.
• Conflict prevention: Assisting to Identify and address the structural and root causes of conflict to prevent violence from reoccurring.
• Capacity building: Implement a civic education outreach campaign targeting youth in the target communities.
• Promote peace: Replicate the peace consolidation initiative in selected target communities to expand its impact and actively work to transform the conditions that generate conflict and promote sustainable peace and development.