Senior Humanitarian Affairs Officer/Head of Office, P-5

UN OCHA - United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Org. Setting and Reporting

This position is located in the Partnerships and Resource Mobilization Branch (PRMB), Financing and Partnerships Division (FPD), Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. OCHA is part of the United Nations Secretariat responsible for bringing together humanitarian actors to ensure a coherent response to emergencies. OCHA also ensures there is a framework within which each actor can contribute to the overall response efforts. OCHA's mission is to mobilize and coordinate effective and principled humanitarian action in partnership with national and international actors in order to alleviate human suffering in disasters and emergencies; advocate the rights of people in need; promote preparedness and prevention and facilitate sustainable solutions. This position-specific job opening is being advertised for the position of Senior Humanitarian Affairs Officer/Head of Office in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The incumbent reports to the Chief of PRMB, in close day-to-day collaboration with the Chief of External Relations and Partnerships Section in PRMB.

Responsibilities

Within delegated authority, the Senior Humanitarian Affairs Officer/Head of Office will be responsible for the following duties:

Represents and promotes OCHA's priorities for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf region through leading and developing strategic partnerships and outreach with a broad range of stakeholders from governments, regional organizations, foundations, NGOs, private sector, and international financing institutions for financial and non-financial support;
Serves as a senior policy advisor to senior management in OCHA on partnerships, programmes, funding and issues of significant impact on humanitarian, emergency relief and disaster response/management efforts;
Guides and supports other offices in the region on OCHA's humanitarian mandate; influences the development and evolution of the UN approach to humanitarian affairs with partners; designs and implements significant policy and programme changes to address country, regional, global humanitarian affairs issues, including gender considerations;
Establishes and nurtures high-level contacts and proactively disseminates relevant information to partners, peers and other agencies in the UN system;
Conceptualizes, formulates and manages major projects; ensures necessary support (e.g. staff, funding, specialized equipment, supplies, etc.); prepares situation reports and analysis reports, apprising of situation to date and specifying unmet requirements of stricken countries;
Leads regional advocacy efforts to mobilize resources for OCHA, the pooled funds and the broader Humanitarian Response Plans;
Leads capacity building initiatives; organizes and participates as trainer/resource person in national and international training seminars;
Serves as primary liaison with non-UN entities, including senior host government officials, donor representatives, NGO officials, the media, etc., in emergency situations.
Establishes and manages implementation of the overall work plan and budget;
Leads and directs a team of staff in Riyadh, provides strategic guidance and oversight to other offices in the region; plans and reviews work plans; coaches, mentors and evaluates staff; participates in recruitment, selection and training of new staff and in the development of training programs;
Organizes and/or chairs inter-agency and other international meetings, conferences, task forces; presents views and policies of the unit/institution;
Initiates, supervises and finalizes position papers and related submissions; prepares diverse reports, papers, policy guidelines, parliamentary documents, statements, presentations, etc. for senior management;
Performs other duties as required.

Competencies

PROFESSIONALISM: Knowledge of full range of humanitarian and emergency relief assistance and related human rights issues. Ability to advise senior management and other senior officials on approaches and techniques to address highly complex/sensitive issues. Demonstrated capacity for intellectual leadership; conceptual and strategic analytical capacity and ability to thoroughly analyze and evaluate critical matters pertaining to a broad spectrum of humanitarian and emergency relief issues/problems. Demonstrated capacity for original and creative thinking, independent judgment and discretion in advising on and handling major policy, project and other issues/problems. Ability to negotiate and ability to influence others to reach agreement on difficult issues. Ability to work under extreme pressure, on occasion in a highly stressful environment (e.g. civil strife, natural disasters and human misery). Knowledge of institutional mandates, policies and guidelines related to humanitarian affairs and seasoned knowledge of the institutions of the UN system. 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;
COMMUNICATION: Speaks and writes clearly and effectively; listens to others, correctly interprets messages from others and responds appropriately; asks questions to clarify and exhibits interest in having two-way communication; tailors language, tone, style and format to match audience; demonstrates openness in sharing information and keeping people informed;
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;
LEADERSHIP: Serves as a role model that other people want to follow: empowers others to translate vision into results; is proactive in developing strategies to accomplish objectives; establishes and maintains relationships with a broad range of people to understand needs and gain support; anticipates and resolves conflicts by pursuing mutually agreeable solutions; drives for change and improvements; does not accept the status quo; shows the courage to take unpopular stands. Provides leadership and takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work; demonstrates knowledge of strategies and commitment to the goal of gender balance in staffing;
JUDGEMENT/DECISION-MAKING: Identifies the key issues in a complex situation, and comes to the heart of the problem quickly; gathers relevant information before making a decision; considers positive and negative impacts of decisions prior to making them; takes decisions with an eye to the impact on others and on the Organization; proposes a course of action or makes a recommendation based on all available information; checks assumptions against facts; determines the actions proposed will satisfy the expressed and underlying needs for the decision; makes tough decisions when necessary.

Education

Advanced university degree (Master's degree or equivalent) in political science, social science, public administration, international studies, economics, engineering, earth sciences or a related field is required. A first-level university degree in combination with two (2) additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Work Experience

A minimum of ten (10) years of progressively responsible experience in humanitarian affairs, emergency preparedness, crisis/emergency relief management, rehabilitation, development, or other related area is required. Relevant experience in the Middle East region is required. At least four (4) years in the past ten (10) years of international field experience (actual setting where a mission or project is being implemented) in aid operations (complex emergency or natural disaster) is desirable. Experience in external relationship management or building partnerships and development of engagement and resource mobilisation strategies for humanitarian purposes is desirable. Relevant management experience is desirable. At least five (5) years of experience in mobilizing financial resources/fundraising is desirable. Experience in a humanitarian context within the UN Common System or other comparable international organization is desirable.

Languages

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the post advertised, fluency in English is required. Fluency in Arabic is desirable. Knowledge of another United Nations official language is desirable.

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