Senior Project Assistant –Durable Solutions

Context:

Under overall guidance of the head of the division TRD , under direct supervision of Durable Solutions National Officer in close coordination with the Ninewa Durable Solutions National Liaison Officer and in correspondence with Team leaders and Field Officers in the governorates, the Durable Solutions Area Coordinator is responsible for supporting the implementation on the ground of all activities related to the durable solutions interventions in areas of displacement and in areas of return or relocation.

The Transition and Recovery Division (TRD) within IOM Iraq works to remove the initial obstacles to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) return and reintegration in Iraq’s post-conflict areas and lay the foundation for longer-term recovery, economic development, and reconstruction in general.

The position is based in Mosul office, with at least 60% of time spent roving across governorates based on operational needs.

Core Functions / Responsibilities:

IOM Operations

1. Work closely with all IOM divisions and programmes operating in the area of responsibility and maintain updated knowledge and information on all IOM activities in the area.
2. Liaise with authorities and security actors for Durable Solutions operations ahead of and during implementation in the area of responsibility in coordination with relevant Programme Coordinators and team leaders.
3. Assist programmes to manage any bottlenecks encountered with local communities, local authorities, or security, and identify opportunities to strengthen programme relevance; ensure that emerging issues or opportunities are flagged to the DS National officer, the DS Programme Coordinator, as well as to the Head of Office and Heads of Divisions and Units.
4. Liaise, along with relevant programmes and units, with local authorities, security actors and the community for the purpose of activity coordination and access; ensure an open line of communication with relevant KIs to stay abreast of changes in the operating environment.
5. Facilitate meetings with local authorities and key informants for all IOM divisions operating in the area. Ensure that IOM’s engagement with government partners is well-coordinated across programmes.
6. Keep all IOM TRD as well as other divisions working in Ninewa, particularly in Tel Afar, informed about context analysis and developments. Inform IOM on location selection and other approaches to ensure that assistance is delivered equitably across ethno-religious groups represented in the location, in line with needs assessments.
7. Support IOM Divisions and Units without existing programmes in Tel Afar to organize scoping missions to the area and meet with key counterparts to discuss needs on the ground.
8. Organize periodic team meetings with all staff working in Tel Afar to share information, new instructions and allow staff to give feedback and listen to any concerns.

DS Coordination and Liaise/on

9. Assist the Ninewa National Liaison Officer in coordinating with the government counterparts on durable solutions matters.
10. Support the effective information sharing between the Durable Solutions Coordination team and different government departments, local authorities, and area-based stakeholders to support the work of the Durable Solutions Technical Working Group and the Returns Working Group.
11. Provide support to advocacy efforts and messaging, and alert on issues related to durable solutions and obtain inputs from government departments local authorities and displacement affected communities.
12. Assist in collecting, analyse and use data and feedback to identify opportunities to improve the relationship with government, local authorities, and other relevant partners.
13. Assist the Ninewa National Liaison Officer to provide support to Ninewa ABC and surrounding non-ABC areas eg Tel-Afar.
14. Perform other duties as may be assigned.

Education

• University degree in Political or Social Sciences, Development Studies, Human Rights, International Relations, Law, or a related field from an accredited academic institution with five years of relevant professional experience; or
• School diploma with seven years of relevant professional experience.

Experience

• Experience in managing emergency operations in camps and other displacement settings.
• Proven experience in managing relations with authorities, including security actors for access and programming purposes.
• Experience in managing dialogues and negotiations in complex settings.
• Experience in interventions aimed at supporting return, relocation and post-conflict recovery.
• Experience in liaising and building effective partnerships with government authorities, other national and international counterparts, including UN agencies, national and international NGOs, coordination fora.
• Willing to conduct constant travel within the Area of Responsibility.

Skills

• Proven capacity to develop and provide technical guidance on programmatic dimensions, including through structured trainings, mentoring and other hand-on support.
• In depth knowledge of displacement and durable solutions frameworks, and of national and international legislation and policies related to internal displacement.
• Previous working experience in Iraq and/or Middle East and Northern Africa region working in emergency and recovery programming is advantageous.
• Proven ability to supervise, coach, and direct staff and manage operations in transitional or post-conflict contexts.

Languages

• Fluency in Arabic is required (oral and written), working knowledge of English is and asset.

Required Competencies

The incumbent is expected to demonstrate the following values and competencies:

Values

• Inclusion and respect for diversity respects and promotes individual and cultural differences; encourages diversity and inclusion wherever possible.
• Integrity and transparency: maintain high ethical standards and acts in a manner consistent with organizational principles/rules and standards of conduct.
• Professionalism: demonstrates ability to work in a composed, competent and committed manner and exercises careful judgment in meeting day-to-day challenges.

Core Competencies – behavioural indicators level 1

• Teamwork: develops and promotes effective collaboration within and across units to achieve shared goals and optimize results.
• Delivering results produces and delivers quality results in a service-oriented and timely manner; is action oriented and committed to achieving agreed outcomes.
• Managing and sharing knowledge continuously seeks to learn, share knowledge and innovate.
• Accountability: takes ownership for achieving the Organization’s priorities and assumes responsibility for own action and delegated work.
• Communication: encourages and contributes to clear and open communication; explains complex matters in an informative, inspiring and motivational way.

While this vacancy is open to both Internals and Externals, priority shall be given to qualified Internal applicants.

Interested candidates are invited to submit their applications via a link:

https://iraqdatacenter.iom.int/Vacancy/Apply/SVN2023IRQ299

For an application to be considered valid, IOM only accepts online profiles duly completed. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.