| Overview : UNDP Lesotho, in partnership with the Government of Lesotho and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) recently secured funding from the UN Peacebuilding Fund (PBF) to implement the Lesotho National Dialogue and Stabilisation Project (LNDSP). The LNDSP is a response to Lesotho’s cyclic political instability and a first step towards the implementation of comprehensive national reforms aimed at long-term stability and sustained peace and development. The support by the PBF through its Immediate Response Facility (IRF) enables UNDP and other UN agencies (specifically, UN Women, the Department of Political Affairs and the Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights), the Government, SADC and non-governmental groups (Lesotho Council of NGOs and the Christian Council of Lesotho) to work collaboratively to catalyse positive change. In this regard, LNDSP aims at creating a conducive environment, unity and commitment among Basotho to implement political reforms that address the causes of recurrent crises and build sustainable peace and stability. Specifically, the project seeks to deliver three key outcomes: - By 2019, there is a national agreement on the content and processes of comprehensive political reforms and national reconciliation in Lesotho with increased public and donor support;
- By 2019, tensions and divisions within and amongst security services are reduced thereby enhancing the participation of the sector in the national dialogue and reform processes and enhancing public trust.
- By 2019, a more informed Lesotho constituency is actively participating in political reforms and reconciliation efforts due to greater access to timely and accurate information on the national dialogue and reform processes.
The LNDSP provides a unique opportunity for UNDP to go beyond its regular programming to support the Government and collaborate with SADC and civil society groups to tackle and mitigate risks by, foremost, initiating a national political dialogue that will bring all stakeholders together to agree on the reform content and processes of the national reform. The recently concluded dialogue process was inclusive, participatory and generated political and societal consensus on the reforms content for future stability, reconciliation and peaceful co-existence in Lesotho. Secondly, the project is also preparing the security sector for a constructive engagement in the national dialogue and reforms, through analysis and assessment of the security sector policy environment. As part of interim stabilisation and human rights mainstreaming measures in the security sector, the Project supports capacity building interventions geared towards professionalising the security sector and enhancing inter-agency coordination including formulating a national security sector strategy and policy. Thirdly, the project is supporting the development of a coherent and professional communication strategy to ensure that stakeholders have the correct information, enhance participation and reduce anxiety among those who may feel targeted by the reforms. Communication training is intended to be provided to existing intra- government communication teams, key stakeholders involved in the national dialogue and reform process, and local media houses and outlet to ensure a comprehensive operationalisation and roll out of the communication strategy. UNDP-Lesotho is therefore seeking to recruit a Communications Specialist/Consultant to support implementation of the communication component aimed at attaining a more informed Lesotho constituency actively participating in the implementation of reforms and reconciliation efforts with a greater access to timely and accurate information on the national dialogue and reform processes. The assignment will also entail supporting UNDP Country Office Communication initiatives. | 
