Senior Humanitarian Affairs Officer/Deputy Head Of Office, P-5

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

Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo

Org. Setting and Reporting

The position is located in the Operations and Advocacy Division (OAD), Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). OCHA is the 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/Deputy Head of Office in Goma, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The incumbent reports to the Head of Office (HoO) OCHA, the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Responsibilities

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

Serves as a senior policy officer; advise on overall policy direction on specific issues; and, more generally, reviews and provides advice on a diverse range of policy issues related to safeguarding humanitarian principles and ensuring the effective delivery of humanitarian assistance and the linkages with other related areas (e.g. human rights).
Prepares policy position papers for review.
Monitors, analyzes and reports on humanitarian developments, disaster relief/management programmes or emergency situations in assigned country/area
Leads and/or participates in large, complex projects, to include disaster assessment or other missions; coordinates humanitarian/emergency assistance in DRC; ensures necessary support (e.g. staff, funding, specialized equipment, supplies, etc.); prepares situation reports , apprising of situation to date and specifying unmet requirements in DRC.
Assists in the production of appeals for international assistance and emergency response plans; ensures the proper use and spending of donor contributions channeled through OCHA.
Assists the relevant Congolese authorities in capacity-building for handling emergency situations; develops country-specific indicators in collaboration with area experts and ensures the subsequent monitoring of these indicators; recommends actions based on the analysis of pertinent information.
Organizes and prepares studies on humanitarian, emergency relief and related issues; organizes follows-up work, including interagency technical review meetings to support policy development work and decision-making on important issues; and ensures the implementation of recommendations emanating from relevant studies.
Assists or leads, as appropriate, in the preparation of OCHA reports, studies, background papers, policy guidelines, correspondence, presentations, background papers, policy guidelines,
Partners with other humanitarian agencies to plan and evaluate complex humanitarian and emergency assistance programmes; helps ensure that latest findings, lessons learned, policy guidelines, etc. are incorporated into these activities, including gender-related considerations.
Establishes and maintains contacts with government officials, other UN agencies, non-governmental organizations, diplomatic missions, media, etc.; ensures appropriate mechanisms to facilitate collaboration and exchange of information both in and outside the UN system, including on early warning and contingency planning, etc.
Serves as focal point on specific topics or policy-related issues; 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.
Organizes and participates in work groups, meetings, conferences, consultations with other agencies and partners humanitarian and emergency relief-related matters.
May participate in planning and preparation of unit budget and work program.
Provides leadership and work direction to assigned work team, and/or mentors and supervises the work of new/junior officers.
Performs other duties as requested by OCHA Head of Office.

Competencies

PROFESSIONALISM: Knowledge and understanding of humanitarian, emergency relief assistance and related humanitarian issues. Ability to identify issues, analyze and participate in the resolution of issues/problems. Ability to develop sources for data collection. Conceptual analytical and evaluative skills to conduct independent research and analysis, including familiarity with and experience in the use of various research sources, including electronic sources on the internet, intranet and other databases. Ability to apply judgment in the context of assignments given, work under pressure, on occasion in a highly stressful environment (e.g., civil strife, natural disasters, and human misery). 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.
PLANNING and 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.
ACCOUNTABILITY: Takes ownership of all responsibilities and honours commitments; delivers outputs for which one has responsibility within prescribed time, cost and quality standards; operates in compliance with organizational regulations and rules; supports subordinates, provides oversight and takes responsibility for delegated assignments; takes personal responsibility for his/her own shortcomings and those of the work unit, where applicable.
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

An advanced university degree (Master's degree or equivalent) in political science, social science, international studies, public administration, economics, engineering, earth sciences or a related field is required. A first-level university degree in combination with an additional two (2) 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. Management experience at a senior level is required. Experience in the coordination of humanitarian assistance and humanitarian access is required. Humanitarian experience in the field (actual setting where a mission and/or project is being implemented) in aid operations (complex emergency or natural disaster) is desirable. Experience in a humanitarian context within the UN Common System or other comparable international organization is desirable. Experience in the West and Central Africa region is desirable.

Languages

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

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