The Standby Team is composed of world-leading mediation experts who can be rapidly deployed to provide advice on a wide range of issues that tend to arise in mediation and preventive diplomacy efforts, including: the design and management of dialogue processes, gender and inclusion, constitutional issues, ceasefire and security arrangements, transitional justice, power-sharing and natural resources. The Team’s services are available, without cost, to United Nations envoys, peace operations and Country Teams, as well as to regional organizations, member states and civil society partners with whom the United Nations works closely in conflict mediation, dialogue facilitation, and good offices worldwide.
Members of DPPA’s SBT are available to deploy within 72 hours to support United Nations envoys, mediators and other non-UN partners at key junctures in peace processes. The SBT offers targeted support across a range of issues, through different modalities from direct mediation assistance, to training and coaching (including of parties to a conflict).
Experts for the Standby Team are selected based on a rigorous identification process administered on a yearly basis by the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS). The exact composition of the team is defined depending on the requirements of the United Nations at the time of recruitment.
They are able to provide both in-person and remote assistance. Demand for SBT support has increased significantly over time, with the exception of a drop in engagements in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Number of SBT Engagements
The Standby Team is funded through earmarked and unearmarked voluntary contributions to the United Nations Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA) from the European Union and UN Member States including Germany, the United Kingdom, and Norway, channeled via the DPPA Multi-Year Appeal.
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Identification Process
Each year, the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), in partnership with the United Nations Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA), conducts a recruitment drive to identify qualified experts for the Standby Team of Senior Mediation Advisers (SBT).
The SBT consists of full-time experienced mediation practitioners who can provide remote assistance or deploy on very short notice to support the good offices, preventive diplomacy, and mediation efforts of senior envoys and representatives of the UN and its partners. The full-time team is supplemented by a pool of part-time experts that can be drawn upon for specific assignments in cases where support requests cannot be met from the full-time SBT.
This mechanism complements the existing capacities of the DPPA Mediation Support Unit (MSU) which provides support to senior UN envoys and partners engaged in mediation and peace-making efforts and serves as a repository for expertise and knowledge.
The vacancy announcement for the 2023-2024 recruitment drive is now closed. Future openings will be posted on this website as well as the UNOPS recruitment portal.