Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus Specialist

The Office of the Resident Coordinator is the main support structure for UN Country Team activities for the strengthening of the joint activities of the United Nations system in Cameroon. It coordinates UN operational activities for development so that United Nations assistance is aligned with national development priorities and the demand for capacity-building following international treaties and development goals. The Resident Coordinator is the leader of the United Nations Country Team (UNCT), and his role is to bring together the various UN agencies to improve the coherence and effectiveness of their work for the development of Cameroon.

The institutionalisation of the HDP Nexus originates from the World Summit held in Istanbul in 2016. The key takeaway of the summit was the recommendation to create more synergies and collaborative partnerships across the Humanitarian-Peace-Development pillars. The triple nexus is also defined in the 2019 recommendations of the Development Assistance Committee of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD-DAC) as the interlinkages between humanitarian, development and peace actions. Performing in contexts of high level of vulnerabilities resulting from protracted conflicts and other shocks exacerbated by poverty and social inequalities requires a collective approach. Humanitarian relief, development assistance and peacebuilding efforts to maintain social cohesion among community members are needed at the same time.

Cameroon is among first pilot countries which volunteered to operationalise the HDP nexus. In that regard, the triple nexus was endorsed in October 2019 by the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) and the United Nations Country Team (UNCT). A National Taskforce was put in place to oversee the overall implementation of the HDP nexus at the community level in selected convergence areas. The national taskforce provides support and guidance to regional taskforces. A related roadmap was developed by a dedicated working group in November 2021 with the aim to help involved stakeholders in the operationalisation of the HDP Nexus approach. To achieve this goal, a thorough facilitation of synergies between humanitarian assistance, development cooperation, and peacebuilding interventions at the community level to achieve collective results will be required from the Taskforces.

The overall coordination of the HDP Nexus is embedded within the United Nations Resident Coordinator’s Office. A HDP Nexus capacity has been established, and with the support of OCHA’s HDP Regional Advisor, it provides required guidance to the national and regional taskforces on the aspects pertaining to the operationalisation of this triple nexus in Cameroon. The HDP Nexus Specialist will be part of that capacity and will closely work with the HDP Nexus Coordinator on regular basis. The incumbent is expected to provide technical support to the national and regional taskforces, and this may involve occasional field visits in the Far North and the Eastern regions to support joint analysis, joint action planning and monitoring exercises. The HDP nexus specialist is also expected to contribute to the advancement of the SDG localisation agenda in Cameroon.

Under the direct supervision of the HDP Nexus Coordinator and under close guidance of the Head of United Nations Resident Coordinator Office, the UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks:

Contribution to the advancement of the HDP nexus approach in Cameroun

-Provide support to the overall coordination functions of the triple nexus with a particular emphasis on enhancing inclusive synergies and participation of government institutions and the private sector.
-Take part in the context analysis to timely document any risks, opportunities and good
practices that could hamper or enable the operationalisation of the triple nexus.
-Contribute to the integration of the Peace element and other crosscutting aspects in the overall HDP nexus programming cycles.
-Support field operational teams on the activity monitoring in convergence areas. This may include assistance in the conception or update of tools to track among others, the level of community accountability and engagement across HDP nexus cycles.

Advocacy, Outreach and Resource mobilisation
-Assist the HDP nexus team in the mobilisation efforts of required resources for the
operationalisation of HDP nexus in Cameroon. This may include but not limited to
contributing to the finalisation of a Trust Fund proposal while also keeping an eye on any potential funding opportunities.
-Contribute to the acceleration of the SDG Localization Agenda in Cameroon by support the process of mainstreaming HDP nexus principles into local development plans.
-Assist the HDP nexus Coordinator and the RCO team on any other functional aspects deemed necessary.