Jobs - 55340- National Humanitarian Affairs Officer / OCHA

National Humanitarian Affairs Officer / OCHA

Location :

Monrovia, LIBERIA

Type of Contract :

Service Contract

Starting Date :

01-May-2015

Application Deadline :

07-Apr-15 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

SC-9

Duration of Initial Contract :

6 months Initial

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

6 months Initial

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

The Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is a Department of the United Nations Secretariat. Its mission is to mobilize and coordinate humanitarian effectively in partnership with national and international actors to intervene consistently in emergency situations, to alleviate human suffering, advocacy for rights of people in need, promote preparedness and prevention of disasters and facilitate the development of sustainable solutions.

The Regional Office for West and Central, OCHA ROWCA, is based in Dakar, Senegal and supports twenty five countries in total.

In March 2014, Liberia became the third country to contract Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) from neighboring Guinea. Since then, Liberia has registered the second highest cases of EVD. Experts warn that the outbreak of Ebola virus disease in parts of West Africa is now the largest, longest, most severe and most complex in nearly four-decade history of this disease.

Ebola crisis has had a negative and unprecedented impact on the social, economic and political situation in Liberia: the health service is under tremendous strain with serious consequences to delivery of other essential services; livelihoods are lost with closure of companies, agricultural fields have been abandoned - people have fallen deeper into poverty; closure and/or controls at border points disrupted local markets due to interruptions in trade flows affecting prices of commodities. The EVD outbreak has also a) strained government finances, b) increased the national deficit and resulted in substanThe National Humanitarian Affairs Officer is therefore needed to supplement the work of the office in ensuring a seamless and coordinated action.tial shortfalls in domestic revenue, c) highlighted the countries’ weaknesses in terms of infrastructure generally, such as lack of access to health facilities; improved sources of water, sanitation and electricity and d) poor roads and bridges with limited maintenance. It has also revealed low levels of trust between the government authorities and the population.

In this context of humanitarian emergency, OCHA ROWCA has set up a team to Monrovia to lead activities from response to recovery require coordinated efforts through continued engagement of needs analysis to identify priorities

Duties and Responsibilities

The National Humanitarian Affairs Officer will work under the supervision of the Head of Team OCHA-Liberia.

Related functions will include:

Provide support to and participate in relevant coordination meetings;
Ensure timely acknowledgement of communications from all stakeholders, follow-up on issues, consulting as appropriate with the Head of Team, colleagues and other actors;
Participate in field missions at the request of the Head of Team;
Attend and follow-up Incident Management sub-committees’ or cluster meetings at the request and under guidance and of the Inter-cluster Coordinator;
Collect, review and analyze available information to better assist OCHA analysis and decision-making processes;
Keep the management informed of all issues that could impact on the humanitarian situation in the country;
Participate in drafting or updating of reports or response plans;
Support all advocacy initiatives;
Consolidate available information on needs assessments and support the gap analysis;
Support the preparation and follow-up of inter-cluster meetings;
Support the preparation and follow-up of OCHA-NGOs safety and security meetings;
Participate in the financial tracking and funding analysis;
Provide weekly inputs to the Liberia public sitrep and OCHA internal report;
Maintain and update the network of contacts with the humanitarian and disaster management community;
Liaise with the IMO to identify country data/information gaps for preparedness and response.

Competencies

Functional Competencies:

Professionalism:

Proven analytical skills: ability to conduct independent research and analysis, identify issues, and recommend appropriate solutions;
Ability to relate humanitarian issues and perspectives, including gender to political, economic, social and human rights developments in the country;
Strong negotiation skills: ability to lead and gain assistance of others in a team endeavor, and to articulate coherent arguments to reach agreement;
Ability to work under extreme pressure, on occasion in a highly stressful environment (e.g. armed conflict, civil strife, natural disasters, human suffering and long work hours when situation demands);
Understanding of institutional mandates, policies and guidelines pertaining to humanitarian affairs and sound knowledge of the institutions and mandates of the UN system;
Good drafting and report writing skills are required;
Presentation skills.

Planning and Organizing:

Proven ability to plan and organize, establish priorities, manage and monitor work plans, coordinate competing demands, and work to tight deadlines.

Communication:

Proven ability to write in a clear and concise manner and to communicate effectively, including ability to prepare reports and conduct presentations, articulating options concisely, conveying maximum information, making and defending recommendations

Teamwork:

Strong interpersonal skills, including ability to operate effectively across organizational boundaries; ability to establish and maintain effective working relations with people in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master’s Degree preferably in Political or Social Science, Law;
Sociology, Humanitarian Law, International studies, Public Administration, or other relevant science is required.

Experience:

2 years of relevant progressively professional responsible experience in humanitarian affairs, emergency preparedness, crisis/emergency relief management or other related areas, preferably with a UN organization or an NGO will be given a priority
A first-level university degree in combination with 2 additional of relevant and qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree;
Excellent command of Office suite applications (Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint);
Familiarity and good knowledge of social, political and economic conditions in the region;
Proven abilities in data collection, compilation, analysis and reporting with ability to write in a clear and concise manner and effective oral communication;
Proven skills in facilitating meetings and reporting;
Experience of working in International agencies is an advantage, including the field of humanitarian action, protection of civilians in armed conflict, and civil-military coordination;
Experience in use of computers and office software (Word, Excel, PowerPoint).

Language:

Strong written and spoken English skills;
Knowledge of additional UN languages is desirable.

Interested and qualified female applicants are encouraged to apply.