Historique

The UN Resident Coordinator (RC) is the senior most UN official and the representative of the UN Secretary-General in Sri Lanka. In Sri Lanka, where humanitarian assistance is provided by the UN and other partners, the Resident Coordinator also assumes the role of Humanitarian Coordinator (HC). A central task of the RC/HC is to coordinate the operational activities of the UN and humanitarian actors. This is done in consultation with Country Representatives of UN agencies and members of the humanitarian community, in conformity with the objectives and priorities of the Government of Sri Lanka.  

During the peak of the humanitarian phase, the UN had an extensive system of coordination on the ground in the Northern and Eastern provinces. This included a UN Focal Point in each District, operational IASC Clusters, and humanitarian and early recovery coordination colleagues working with OCHA and UNDP.

However, over the last couple of years, these coordination structures have gradually reduced and disbanded as needs have declined and agencies have scaled back their presence. The IASC clusters formally disbanded in 2012, and there is now one UN Focal Point covering both the Northern Province and Eastern Province.

With further reductions in staff, programmes and presence expected over the next two years, the UN Country Team (UNCT) is looking to maintain a minimal footprint for coordination that aims to bridge expected gaps in information sharing, partner liaison, joint planning and advocacy.

The UNCT is therefore looking to recruit three Coordination Officers to support the UN Focal Point for the Eastern and Northern provinces. The Coordination Officers will maintain a reporting line to the UN Coordination and Transition Specialist in the RC Office, but be managed on a day to day basis by the UN Focal Point. Two Coordination Officers will be based in Killinochchi and one in Batticaloa.

Devoirs et responsabilités

Summary of Key Functions

• Supports the UN Focal Point with the Coordination of UN assistance and interventions;
• Supports the UN Focal Point to maintain up to date information on needs and opportunities for support in the region;
• Facilitates the organization of UN, donor and embassy missions.

Supports the UN Focal Point with the Coordination of UN assistance and interventions:

• Provides secretariat support to coordination meetings chaired by the UN Focal Point, for example District Team meetings;
• Prepares inputs for coordination meetings, and monitors the follow up to agreed action points;
• Promotes and supports government led coordination mechanisms, including through supporting the mobilization of UN, NGO and other civil society partners for meetings;
• Works with the chairs of UN led sectoral coordination groups, to bring in greater government participation and eventual transition to national leadership; and
• Supports the UN Focal Point with planning (for example, Contingency Planning for Natural Disasters).

Supports the UN Focal Point to maintain up to date information on needs and opportunities for support in the region:

• Liaises with government, UN and civil society partners to maintain up to date information on key vulnerable groups in the region;
• Undertakes regular visits to the field to monitor UN project delivery and the targeting of assistance to meet the needs of vulnerable groups;
• Prepares briefing notes and updates for sharing with the UN Focal Point, RC Office and UNCT; and
• Supports issues to be addressed through referral of cases to relevant government, UN and NGO partners.

Facilitates the organization of UN, donor and embassy missions:

• Prepares itineraries for different missions in consultation with local partners;
• Takes cares of administrative arrangements such as accommodation, food and meeting venues etc. and liaises with UNDSS to confirm security arrangements;
• Liaises with partners to secure meeting times;
• Prepares briefing materials; and
• Facilitates the holding of the UNCT meetings at field level.

Impact of Results

The support will contribute towards ensuring that the UN maintains a minimal footprint for Coordination in the Northern and Eastern province, and hence promote an efficient and effective targeting of UN assistance towards the needs of the most vulnerable.  

Compétences

Corporate Competencies:

• Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
• Advocates and promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of the UN;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Treats all people fairly without favoritism.

Functional Competencies:

Partnership Building

• Is able to work well with partners at all levels and builds and sustains lasting relationships;
• Identifies key strategic partnerships;
• Facilitates partnership building amongst third parties;
• Adopts a constructive and long term approach to managing partnerships.

Coordination Effectiveness

• Positive and energetic attitude, able to work well individually with minimal supervision;
• Demonstrated ability to manage information and communicate effectively;
• Familiarity with the mandates of the UN agencies and coordination tools;
• Promotes national ownership and approaches that encourage sustainable solutions;
• Communicates clearly;
• Strong team player who follows instructions and adheres to timelines.

Knowledge and Learning Management

• Shares knowledge and experience from previous experiences;
• Develops a strong understanding of the local context;
• Encourages UN staff to share knowledge.

Qualifications et expériences requises

Education:

• Bachelors degree in law, social studies or a related area;
• A Masters degree is desirable but not essential.

Experience:

• Minimum of three years relevant experience at the national or international level in the coordination or delivery of humanitarian and development assistance programmes;
• Skills in information management and analysis, coordination, report writing and partnership building;
• Knowledge of the UN would be an advantage.

Language Requirements:

• Excellent written and oral communications skills in English are essential;
• Fluency in Tamil and Sinhala with strong reading and oral communications skills is required.