Chief of Section, Programme Management

The position is based in Damascus and reports to the Director of the Mine Action Service (UNMAS), within the Office of Rule of Law and Security Institutions, Department of Peace Operations, following political and operational guidance from the United Nations Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator in Syria (RC/HC).  Established in 1997, UNMAS works to eliminate the threat posed by mines, explosive remnants of war and improvised explosive devices by coordinating United Nations mine action, leading operational responses at the country level, and supporting the development of standards, policies and norms. As a specialized service of the United Nations located within the Department of Peace Operations, UNMAS operates under UN legislative mandates of both the General Assembly and the Security Council. UNMAS also responds to specific requests for support from the UN Secretary-General or designated official.  In Syria, UNMAS delivers a Mine Action response to the problem of explosive ordnance contamination, targeting the populations most at risk, in line with the humanitarian principles and in coordination with the United Nations country team and the humanitarian country team. 

Responsibilities

Within delegated authority, the Chief of the Mine Action Programme (Syria) will be responsible for the following: · Provides guidance to the RC/HC and the Director of UNMAS on conceptual and operational strategy development of the Mine Action programme in Syria, in line with humanitarian principles.

• Leads, develops and maintains a Mine Action programme strategy and a work plan as well as a resource mobilization strategy; periodically reviews the programme design to ensure that structure and budget are fit for purpose and delivers value for money; leads strategic planning and conducts oversight of delivery of activities undertaken by the Mine Action programme, ensuring that substantive deliverables are carried out in a timely fashion and in liaison and coordination with other organizations of the United Nations System, including the humanitarian country team and other key humanitarian stakeholders.
• Serves as a key interlocutor with Government authorities on Mine Action matters and leads engagement with donors.
• Provides substantive input in the preparation of position papers and reports for presentation to the intergovernmental bodies such as the Security Council, the General Assembly and other policy-making organs, as appropriate.
• Contributes to the reporting to donors and intergovernmental bodies on budget/programme performance or on programmatic/ substantive issues, as appropriate.
• In line with agreed oversight mechanisms, ensures that the outputs produced by the Mine Action programme maintain required technical, safety and quality standards, mainstream gender and promote innovation; that reports are clear, objective and based on comprehensive data.
• Prepares inputs to the Humanitarian Needs Overview and the Humanitarian Response Plan, as well as other UN strategic planning documents at country level, determining priorities and resource allocation for the completion of outputs and their timely delivery. Considers the social, economic, political and security context of the external operating environment and responds to potential and/or unexpected risk for programme delivery.
• Carries out programmatic tasks necessary for the functioning of the Mine Action programme, including programmatic and substantive reviews of draft reports and documents related to budget and funding prepared by programme personnel, monitoring of budget and cash flows, monitoring of performance of the Mine Action programme and the performance of the implementing partner in line with agreed parameters and critical indicators in the workplan and budget.
• Fosters teamwork and communication across organizational boundaries and provides technical advice and guidance to other UN entities and partners when requested. · Represents UNMAS at inter-agency meetings, seminars, etc. on substantive-related issues.
• Participates in international, regional or national meetings and provides programmatic/substantive expertise on Mine Action issues.
• Performs other duties as requested.

Education

• Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in business or public administration, management, international relations, law or related area. A first-level university degree in combination with qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree

Job – Specific Qualification

Work Experience

• A minimum of ten years of progressively responsible experience in administration, budget, finance, human resources management or related field is required. 
• A minimum of seven years of experience in programme management in the area of mine action, security sector reform, stabilization or humanitarian in a conflict or post-conflict setting is required.   
• A minimum of five years of experience in a managerial role in a conflict or post-conflict setting is required.    A minimum of two years of managerial experience in a mine action field programme is required. 
• A minimum of two years of direct experience in engaging with senior government officials in a complex humanitarian or peacekeeping setting is required.    Experience in resource mobilization and fundraising is desirable.

Languages

• English and French are the working languages of the UN Secretariat. For this post fluency in both oral and written English is required. Knowledge of Arabic is desirable. Knowledge of another official United Nations language is an advantage.

Source: https://careers.un.org/jobSearchDescription/228555?language=en