Organization: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Country: United States of America
Closing date: 06 Jul 2015
Special Notice
The recruitment of this position, as well as, the extension of the appointment is subject to the availability of the funds and/or the extension of the mandate.
Org. Setting and Reporting
This position is located in the Funding Coordination Section of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Under the overall supervision of the Chief of Section, the incumbent will report to the Head of Programs & Operations Unit, (Humanitarian Affairs Officer, P4).
Responsibilities
Within delegated authority, the Humanitarian Affairs Officer will be responsible for the following duties:
• Monitors, analyzes and reports on developments within humanitarian financing in disaster relief or emergency situations in assigned country/area.
• Provides support and technical assistance to country based pooled funds teams of assigned countries e.g. prepares for and participates in field trips to undertake in-depth reviews of specific country coordination mechanisms in coordination with relevant staff
• Reviews and provides policy advice related to humanitarian financing; promote policy compliance organizes follow-up work, including review meetings to support policy development.
• Contributes to the development of monitoring, reporting and evaluation policies for country based pooled funds (CBPF).
• Contributes to the development of risk management systems for CBPF.
• Prepares or contributes to the preparation of guidelines related to country based pooled funds and drafts various written reports, documents and communications (e.g. drafts sections of studies, background papers, policy guidelines, parliamentary documents, briefings, case studies, presentations, correspondence, etc.)
• Partners with other humanitarian agencies to plan and evaluate humanitarian and emergency assistance programmes and help ensure that relevant findings, lessons learned, policy guidelines, etc. are incorporated into CBPF, including gender-related considerations.
• Assists in the establishment of country based pooled funds as required.
• Participates in large, complex projects, to include disaster assessment or other missions; assists in the coordination of international humanitarian/emergency assistance for complex emergency/disaster situations and in ensuring the necessary support (e.g. staff, funding, specialized equipment, supplies, etc.); drafts situation reports to the international community, apprising of situation to date and specifying unmet requirements of stricken countries.
• Assists humanitarian community in capacity-building and organizes training in relation to humanitarian financing broadly and country based humanitarian pooled funds in particular.
• Establishes and maintains contacts with government officials, other UN agencies, non-governmental organizations, diplomatic missions, media.
• Manages the production of appeals for international assistance; ensures the proper use and spending of donor contributions channeled through OCHA.
• Under the guidance of the Chief of Section serves as the primary focal point on specific topics or policy-related issues within humanitarian financing; keeps abreast of latest developments, liaises with other humanitarian organizations, donors, etc.,
• Ensures appropriate monitoring and reporting mechanisms; provides information and advice on a range of related issues.
• Reviews and provides advice on policy issues related to safeguarding humanitarian principles and ensuring the effective delivery of humanitarian assistance within humanitarian financing.
• Organizes and participates in work groups, meetings, conferences, consultations with other agencies and partners on humanitarian financing and related matters.
• Provides guidance to, and may supervise, new/junior staff.
• Performs other duties as required.
COMPETENCIES
Professionalism: Knowledge of a range of humanitarian assistance, emergency relief and related human rights issues, including approaches and techniques to address difficult Problems. Knowledge on issues related to humanitarian financing and humanitarian pooled funds at programmatic and/or policy level. Knowledge of risk management and experience in monitoring and evaluation. Analytical capacity and in particular the ability to analyze and articulate the humanitarian dimension of issues which require a coordinated UN response. Ability to identify issues and judgment in applying technical expertise to resolve a wide range of problems. Ability to conduct research, including ability to evaluate and integrate information from a variety of sources and assess impact on the humanitarian rights situation in assigned country/area. Ability to work under extreme pressure, on occasion in a highly stressful environment (e.g. civil strife, natural disasters and human misery); ability to provide guidance to new/junior staff. Shows pride in work and in achievements; demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter; is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results; is motivated by professional rather than personal concerns; shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges; remains calm in stressful situations. Takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work.
• Planning& Organizing: Develops clear goals that are consistent with agreed strategies; identifies priority activities and assignments; adjusts priorities as required; allocates appropriate amount of time and resources for completing work; foresees risks and allows for contingencies when planning; monitors and adjusts plans and actions as necessary; uses time efficiently.
• Client Orientation: Considers all those to whom services are provided to be "clients" and seeks to see things from clients" point of view; establishes and maintains productive partnerships with clients by gaining their trust and respect; identifies clients" needs and matches them to appropriate solutions; monitors ongoing developments inside and outside the clients" environment to keep informed and anticipate problems; keeps clients informed of progress or setbacks in projects; meets timeline for delivery of products or services to client.
QUALIFICATIONS
Experience: A minimum of five years of progressively responsible experience in humanitarian affairs, emergency preparedness, crisis/emergency relief management, rehabilitation, development, or other related area. Experience in humanitarian financing is desirable. Experience in monitoring and evaluation is desirable. Experience in risk management related area is desirable. Humanitarian field experience is desirable.
Education: Advanced university degree (Master"s degree or equivalent) in political science, social science, public administration, international studies, economics or a related field. A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
Languages: English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the post advertised, fluency in English is required. Knowledge of French is desirable.
Notes:
- A current staff member who holds a fixed-term, permanent or continuing appointment may apply for temporary positions no more than one level above his or her current grade. However, a current staff member who holds an appointment at the G-6 or G-7 level may also apply to temporary positions in the Professional category up to and including the P-3 level, subject to meeting all eligibility and other requirements for the position. A staff member holding a temporary appointment shall be regarded as an external candidate when applying for other positions, and may apply for other temporary positions at any level, subject to staff rule 4.16 (b) (ii). Therefore, a staff member holding a temporary appointment in the General Service or related categories may only apply to positions within those categories. For full information on eligibility requirements, please refer to section 5 of ST/AI/2010/4/Rev.1 on Temporary Appointments. In its resolution 66/234, the General Assembly further “stressed that the Secretary-General should not recur to the practice of temporarily filling posts in the Professional and higher categories with General Service staff members who have not passed the General Service to Professional category examination other than on an exceptional basis, and requests the Secretary-General to ensure that temporary occupation of such posts by the General Service staff shall not exceed a period of one year, effective 1 January 2013…” Consequently, eligible candidates in the General Service or related categories for temporary job openings in the Professional category that have not passed the competitive examination may be selected only on an exceptional basis endorsed by the Office of Human Resources Management where no other suitable candidate could be identified.
- Subject to the funding source of the position, this temporary job opening may be limited to candidates based at the duty station.
- While this temporary assignment may provide the successful applicant with an opportunity to gain new work experience, the selection for this position is for a limited period and has no bearing on the future incumbency of the post. An external candidate selected for this position is bound by the prevailing condition of the staff selection system under ST/AI/2010/3, as amended, and ST/AI/2010/4/Rev.1. A staff member holding a temporary appointment who is recruited in the Professional and above categories on a temporary appointment, and placed on a position authorized for one year or longer may not apply for or be reappointed to his/her current position within six months of the end of his/her current service. This provision does not apply to staff members holding temporary appointments and placed on positions authorized for one year or more in duty stations authorized for peacekeeping operations or special political missions.
- The expression “Internal candidates”, shall mean staff members who have been recruited after a competitive examination under staff rule 4.16 or after the advice of a central review body under staff rule 4.15.
- Please note that candidates will be required to meet the requirements of Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter as well as the requirements of the position. The United Nations is committed to the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity for all its human resources, including but not limited to respect for international human rights and humanitarian law. Candidates may be subject to screening against these standards, including but not limited to whether they have committed, or are alleged to have committed criminal offences and/or violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law.
- For information on special post allowance, please refer to ST/AI/1999/17. For more details on the administration of temporary appointments please refer to ST/AI/2010/4/Rev.1.
- The Staff Regulations, Staff Rules and administrative issuances governing staff appointments can be viewed at: http://www.un.org/hr_handbook/English.
How to apply:
DOCUMENTS REQUIRED:
- Cover Letter
- Personal History Profile (visit https://inspira.un.org to generate a PHP)
- Proof of required academic credentials (for external applicants)
- Employment verification letter from most recent employer (for external applicants)
- Last two completed Performance Appraisal or two Reference Letters for external applicants
ALL SUBMISSIONS TO BE SENT TO:
Contact Name: George Petropoulos Email Address: gpetropoulos@un.org
Copy (cc): Corazon dela Pena Email Address: penac@un.org
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