Chief Field Operations (and Emergency) – P5  

UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.

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Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

For every child, chance 

II. Organizational Context and Purpose for the job

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does ? in programmes, in advocacy and in operations. The equity strategy, emphasizing the most disadvantaged and excluded children and families, translates this commitment to children’s rights into action. For UNICEF, equity means that all children have an opportunity to survive, develop and reach their full potential, without discrimination, bias or favoritism. To the degree that any child has an unequal chance in life ? in its social, political, economic, civic and cultural dimensions ? her or his rights are violated. There is growing evidence that investing in the health, education and protection of a society’s most disadvantaged citizens ? addressing inequity ? not only will give all children the opportunity to fulfill their potential but also will lead to sustained growth and stability of countries. This is why the focus on equity is so vital. It accelerates progress towards realizing the human rights of all children, which is the universal mandate of UNICEF, as outlined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, while also supporting the equitable development of nations.

Sudan, surrounded by the Central African Republic, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Libya and South Sudan, has been confronted with a war which broke out in April 2023 with massive impacts in the country itself, as well as spillover affects to its neighboring countries and beyond. Sudan is by size the third biggest country in Africa, with a diverse population of around 48 million people. Sudan’s children make up half of the total population. Of these, 14 million children are in dire need of humanitarian support, 5 million are forcefully displaced (including 4 million internally displaced, and 1 million seeking refugee across borders), close to 4 million are acute malnourished, 17 million are not in school, and millions exposed to abuse, violence and exploitation. Find out more:

Job organizational context: 

Under the guidance of the UNICEF Representative, the Chief of Field Operations and Emergency is responsible for the provision of authoritative guidance, expert analysis, technical leadership and programme support for all aspects of UNICEF’s emergency preparedness, disaster risk reduction (DRR) and emergency response in Sudan. This includes emergency programme management, operational strategies, implementation, and evaluation.

Purpose for the job:

The Chief of Field Operations and Emergency is accountable for the overall management and administration of the Field Operations and Emergency Section and for oversight and support to ensure timely, effective and efficient programme delivery in the field through sound leadership, supervision and monitoring to achieve measurable results for emergency as well as regular programme response. The incumbent is also accountable to ensure UNICEF cluster leadership for the assigned sectors. The incumbent reports to the Representative and has a supervisory role of Field offices, Emergency preparedness, DRR and response and Cluster

III. Key function, accountabilities and related duties/tasks

Summary of key functions/accountabilities:

Within the delegated authority and under the given organizational set-up, the incumbent may be assigned the primary, shared, or contributory accountabilities for all or part of the following areas of major duties and key end-results.

• Ensure effective monitoring of the humanitarian situation, promptly identify key changes in context, access and vulnerabilities and trigger and coordinate prompt action and implementation of emergency assistance and response.
• Provide support and oversight of field offices in an area based structure in six locations and outposts in neighboring countries, for effective planning, implementation, and monitoring of programmes, delivery of emergency preparedness and response, office organization and management, operations and logistics. Work closely with the People and Culture team on maintaining a high level of staff welfare and well-being.
• Ensure effective technical leadership and guidance in the development and implementation of Disaster Risk Reductio (DRR) initiatives and Emergency Preparedness and Response measures, , including the Emergency Preparedness Plan (EPP), contingency plans, and thematic preparedness and prevention plans, ensuring their alignment with UNICEF global perspectives and experiences and the Core Commitment for Children..
• Participate in strategic interagency discussions on humanitarian issues.  Oversee regular internal emergency coordination meetings to identify bottlenecks and ensure timely solutions.
• Ensure the cluster approach is effectively formulated and implemented to meet UNICEF cluster leadership responsibility. Guide the UNICEF-led cluster coordination work in child protection, education, nutrition and WASH to ensure timely and quality information and action with the broader humanitarian partnership. Support in the development of the strategic direction of the interagency humanitarian planning cycle ? including the humanitarian response plan and humanitarian needs overview.  Guide the development of cluster information products.
• Support the Representative in performing his role in the UN Humanitarian Country Team and other humanitarian coordination fora. Interact with government, partner NGOs, UN and bilateral agencies in the different stages of emergency programme preparedness and response. Take a lead role for UNICEF in the interagency discussions on the humanitarian, development and peace nexus. Support the Representative in providing strategic inputs requested by the regional and HQ offices.
• Maintain an efficient and fluid coordination and communication with the two Deputy Representatives (Programme and Operations) and the Security manager on all matters related to the Field Offices.
• In the spirit of strengthening the field operations, ensure that all national level policies and strategies are developed in collaboration with the field teams, and that they are shared and implemented in a timely manner by the field offices.
• Prioritise, coordinate and support efforts to ensure UNICEF presence and provision of humanitarian support in hard to reach inaccessible areas, including through leadership on humanitarian access efforts, engagement with state and non-state actors, and deploying tailored, contextually relevant and innovative rapid response mechanisms.  
• Work closely with the PME team, the sector coordinators, the field offices and the programme team to influence the development of field-based mechanisms to implement situation, performance and results monitoring and to influence the development of methodologies to identify the most vulnerable communities for integrated programming. 
• Contribute to the mobilisation of financial resources for the implementation of emergency preparedness and response interventions. Participate in the resource allocation initiatives and in the development of strong donor contacts and relations, updating of emergency programme funding priorities and provide support to the Representative in fund raising activities.
• Monitor the developments of the situation at the international, national, regional and State levels. Participate in various international/national meetings and workshops. Engage with neighboring UNICEF offices on cross-border collaboration.
• Support overall management through participation in management meetings within the office, to review major office operations, human resources, programme and administrative budget management.

IV. Impact of Results

The contribution of the Chief Field Operations to the successful development, planning, implementation and monitoring of the Country Programme through the effective and efficient oversight of the management of Field Offices is essential for the achievement of concrete and sustainable results and directly impacts on the realization and protection of the rights of the most marginalized and vulnerable women and children in the country. This in turn contributes to maintaining/enhancing the credibility and ability of UNICEF to continue to provide programme services to promote the rights of children, greater social equality and enable children to survive, develop and reach their full potential.

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here: JD Chief Field Operations (and Emergency) FT P-5 Port Sudan Sudan_.docx

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have?

Minimum requirements:

Education:

An advanced university degree in any of the following: Social Sciences, Public Administration, International Relations, Business Administration, Public Health, Education, or other fields related to the work of UNICEF.

Experience:

• A minimum of ten years of progressively responsible professional work experience at the national and international levels in social development, management, monitoring and evaluation and other relevant professional fields.
• Experience working in emergency and developing country contexts combined with complex emergency response is required.
• Experience in managing partnerships, programmes and access in complex environments is required.
• Leadership experience in managing medium to large teams is required.
• Field experience, managing Field Offices is required.
• Specialized training/experience in emergency response management highly desirable.

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

The UNICEF competencies required for this post are?

V. UNICEF values and competency Required (based on the updated Framework)

Core Values

• Care
• Respect
• Integrity
• Trust
• Accountability
• Sustainability

Functional Competencies:

• Analyzing (III)
• Deciding and initiating action (III)
• Persuading and influencing (II)
• Planning and organizing (III)

Core competencies (For Staff with Supervisory Responsibilities)

• Nurtures, Leads and Manages People (2)
• Demonstrates Self Awareness and Ethical Awareness (3)
• Works Collaboratively with others (3)
• Builds and Maintains Partnerships (3)
• Innovates and Embraces Change (3)
• Thinks and Acts Strategically (3)
• Drives to achieve impactful results (3)
• Manages ambiguity and complexity (3)

Yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic background, and persons with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization. To create a more inclusive workplace, UNICEF offers paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks, and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements. Click here to learn more about flexible work arrangements, well-being, and benefits.

According to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), persons with disabilities include those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual, or sensory impairments which, in interaction with various barriers, may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others. In its Disability Inclusion Policy and Strategy 2022-2030, UNICEF has committed to increase the number of employees with disabilities by 2030. At UNICEF, we provide reasonable accommodation for work-related support requirements of candidates and employees with disabilities. Also, UNICEF has launched a Global Accessibility Helpdesk to strengthen physical and digital accessibility. If you are an applicant with a disability who needs digital accessibility support in completing the online application, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility tendersglobal.net UNICEF.

UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination based on gender, nationality, age, race, sexual orientation, religious or ethnic background or disabilities. UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check, and selected candidates with disabilities may be requested to submit supporting documentation in relation to their disability confidentially.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance.  Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station is required for IP positions and will be facilitated by UNICEF. Appointments may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Should you be selected for a position with UNICEF, you either must be inoculated as required or receive a medical exemption from the relevant department of the UN. Otherwise, the selection will be canceled.

Remarks:

For this position, eligible and suitable female are encouraged to apply.

Government employees who are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government positions before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason. 

UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants’ bank account information.

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. An internal candidate performing at the level of the post in the relevant functional area, or an internal/external candidate in the corresponding Talent Group, may be selected, if suitable for the post, without assessment of other candidates.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.

How cinfo Can Support You in the Application Process for This Position

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