Associate Civil Affairs Officer

MONUSCO/MONUC was established in 1999 under the auspices of the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO). SCR 2277 (2016) requests MONUSCO to support efforts of the Government of DRC towards the protection of civilians, through a comprehensive approach involving all components of MONUSCO, including through reduction of the threat posed by Congolese and foreign armed groups and of violence against civilians, including sexual and gender-based violence and violence against children to a level that can be effectively managed by the Congolese justice and security institutions; and to support Stabilization through the establishment of functional, professional, and accountable state institutions, including security and judicial institutions. The project aims at a better understanding of the most serious violations of human rights law and international humanitarian law in DRC and supports the leadership of the Mission through informed policy and decision making on future vetting of security forces through risk assessment and mitigation, joint planning for MONUSCO operations, as well as advocacy efforts.

MONUSCO/MONUC was established in 1999 under the auspices of the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO); subsequently, MONUSCO mandate has been renewed through resolution 2556 (2020).

Reporting to the Civil Affairs Team Leader/Coordinator at the field office level, the UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks:
• Maintaining contact with local government authorities, political leaders, traditional leaders, religious leaders, civil society actors, as well as with representatives of local and international organisations, and briefing them on the mandate and activities of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO ) and Civil Affairs Section (CAS ) mandate if so required;
• Providing analysis on potential threats against civilians and community conflicts including related political, security, social, and economic developments, youth and gender-related issues, or any other significant developments to identify trends within the area of responsibility (AOR), and in support of the Mission’s overall protection of civilians’ mandate;
• Providing technical support and assistance to the CAS team, particularly Civil Liaison Assistants (CLAs ), in strengthening early warning and existing protection mechanisms at the local level.
• Participating in Joint Assessment Missions and Joint Protection Team Missions in support of protection of civilians and stabilization activities.
• Fostering confidence-building, dialogue, understanding, and cooperation between parties and assisting local authorities and relevant actors with conflict management and protection of civilians;
• Engaging with and providing technical assistance and advice to civil society groups or institutions that promote a culture of peace and reconciliation, in support of the Mission’s protection priorities;
• Collaborating and coordinating relevant activities with other UN agencies and other bodies and institutions, including local and international Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) operating at the state/county level at all levels;
• Supporting the organization of CAS mandated activities; providing support to initiatives that build the capacity of local authorities and civil servants;
• Providing accurate, timely, factual daily and edited consolidated monthly, weekly, and daily reports on conflict management, protection of civilians, and stabilization activities within the area of responsibility based on inputs received from the field bases and CAS Field Office (FO ) Headquarters (HQ ) office; reporting to adhere to the key aspects of the MONUSCO Civil Affairs mandate, guided by United Nations Security Council (UNSC ) Resolutions 2559 to assist the protection of civilians and support the stabilization and strengthening of State institutions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC ) and key governance and security reforms with emphasis on conflict management and protection of civilians including early warning and interventions at the local and provincial levels;
• Maintaining a mechanism to track the use of Result Based Budgeting (RBB) tools and maintenance of the RBB database; establishing and maintaining a CAS partners/contacts database;
• Producing briefs and other analytical reports as required on political developments, peace processes, conflict, and insecurity.
• Working with designated information technology staff to manage Civil Affairs information and produce summary reports; consolidating alerts and information received and incorporating them into a database that produces trends and other summary information;
• Providing support to the Joint Operations Centre and ensuring the link with Civil Affairs on Early Warning and Response issues.
• Participating in meetings on behalf of CAS with other UN agencies, civil society organisations, and other partners, both local and international;
• When working with (including supervising) national personnel, governmental or non-governmental counterparts, setting aside dedicated time for capacity development through coaching, mentoring, and formal and on-the-job training;
• Undertaking other related tasks as directed by the Team Leader and/or the Director/Deputy Head of the Civil Affairs Section.