Org. Setting and Reporting
The position is 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 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 Humanitarian Affairs Officer/Civil-Military Coordination in Gaza, occupied Palestinian territory. Under the overall supervision of the Head of the Sub-Office, Gaza, the incumbent reports to the CMCOORD/HAO Team Leader in Gaza.
Responsibilities
Within delegated authority, the Humanitarian Affairs Officer/Civil-Military Coordination will be responsible for the following duties:
1. Operational Focal Point:
Under the supervision of the OCHA Head of Office, Head of Sub-Office, UN-CMCoord Team Leader or Field Coordinator, serve as the operational focal point for the conduct of a UN-CMCoord assessment, formulation and implementation of a UN-CMCoord strategy and action plan, and related operations in the area of responsibility (AOR) in accordance with any higher level UN-CMCoord strategy as outlined by the RC/HC through the OCHA Head of Office.
• Development of Strategy: Conduct an assessment and analysis of the civil-military environment to formulate and implement a UN-CMCoord strategy and action plan, which should be fully integrated with the activities of the OCHA Office and include specific UN-CMCoord outputs in the OCHA Office work plan. Continually evaluate the implementation and effect of the plan and revise it as appropriate.
• Development of Guidance: Assist, advise and facilitate the development of country-specific guidance on civil-military relations and the use of Military and Civil Defense Assets (MCDA), based on the current “IASC Reference Paper on Civil-Military Relationship in Complex Emergencies”, “Guidelines on The Use of Military and Civil Defense Assets in Disaster Relief (Oslo Guidelines)”, “Guidelines on the Use of MCDA to Support UN Humanitarian Activities in Complex Emergencies” and the “Use of Military or Armed Escorts for Humanitarian Convoys”, and any applicable Security Council resolutions and other relevant instruments.
• Dissemination of Guidelines: Ensure that applicable civil-military coordination guidelines, country-specific or generic guidelines are properly disseminated and understood by both, humanitarian actors and the military and/or police forces present, as well as by local actors, as appropriate. Promote and advocate for adherence to the applicable guidelines within the entire humanitarian community and advise on potential consequences if the guidelines are compromised.
• Liaison with Humanitarian Organizations: Establish and maintain a contact network with other UN Agencies and mission-based personnel, who are responsible for civil-military relations, as well as NGO focal points responsible for civil-military coordination in the AOR.
• Support Humanitarian Coordination: Support the Humanitarian Coordination structure in the AOR, by advising on an appropriate mechanism to interface with military representatives. Advise both humanitarian actors and military representatives on the appropriateness of the use of military assets to support humanitarian activities. Support Cluster Leads and/or humanitarian organizations in requesting military support for humanitarian activities, ensuring the requests are appropriate and in line with applicable guidelines. Monitor activities by military forces in support of humanitarian organizations. As directed by line management, establish a Civil-Military Working Group with relevant civil-military stakeholders to raise civil-military coordination issues and report policy and strategic issues to the HCT through the Head of Office/Sub-Office and/or UN-CMCoord Team Leader. Participate in work groups, meetings, and consultations with other UN agencies and humanitarian partners; organize meetings with Heads of Agencies on UN-CMCoord matters.
• Military Liaison: Facilitate the establishment and maintenance of communication with the different military forces present in the AOR and establish mechanisms to resolve operational issues and ensure appropriate mutual exchange of information regarding ongoing relevant activities. Advise and educate the military and/or police forces in the AOR on the structures and dynamics of coordination with and within the international humanitarian community and the practicalities of implementation. Monitor the military presence in the AOR by communicating with incoming/outgoing international military forces.
• Reporting: Monitor, analyze, and report on the implementation of humanitarian civil-military coordination activities and identify difficulties and challenges in the interaction between the humanitarian and military communities. Provide periodic situation reports to the OCHA Head of Office, Head of Sub-Office, and/or the UN-CMCoord Team Leader on ongoing civil-military activities and the overall civil-military relations situation in the AOR. Upon concurrence with the OCHA Head of Office and/or UN-CMCoord Team Leader, these reports should be disseminated to the UNCT, HCT, UNOCHA/CMCS, CRD Desks, and Policy Development Studies Branch (PDSB) as appropriate. Reports may also be disseminated to other agencies if relevant and appropriate.
2. Advisory Role:
Serve as the adviser of the OCHA Head of Office or Head of Sub-Office for UN-CMCoord issues in the AOR; support the development of a CMCoord strategy in the AOR in line with the priorities of the RC/HC or OCHA Head of Office and international humanitarian community; advise humanitarian agencies on policy or specific civil-military coordination issues related to UN-CMCoord; undertake monitoring of Military support to Humanitarian organizations and assessment missions of civil-military coordination needs in the AOR regularly or as required by the UN-CMCoord Team Leader and/or the OCHA Head of Office/Sub-Office. Ensure coverage of CMCOORD Team Leader activities in Team Leader’s absence.
3. Humanitarian Affairs:
Assume more generalist coordination responsibilities, such as those associated with assessment; the planning and evaluation of humanitarian assistance programmes; assisting in the coordination of cluster activities and including the formulation of reports and interaction with donors.
• Monitors, analyzes, and reports on humanitarian developments, disaster relief/management, or emergency situations in assigned country/area.
• Organizes and prepares studies on humanitarian, emergency relief, and related issues; organizes follow-up work, including interagency technical review meetings to support policy development work and decision-making on important issues.
• Participates in large, complex projects, to include disaster assessment or other missions; assists in the coordination of international humanitarian/emergency assistance for complex emergency/disaster situations and in ensuring the necessary support (e.g. staff, funding, specialized equipment, supplies, etc.); drafts situation reports to the international community, apprising of the situation to date and specifying unmet requirements of stricken countries.
4. Preparedness:
Participate in humanitarian contingency planning to ensure that the possibility of foreign/national MCDA deployment is properly considered and that plans are developed for managing/monitoring MCDA deployment in support of relief operations; Establish and maintain close coordination with actors involved in military exercises or pre-deployment training and advise on which events should be monitored and/or supported. Support military simulation exercises, lesson-learned workshops/seminars, and training events, as appropriate.
5. Training:
Identify UN-CMCoord training needs of both humanitarian actors and military forces in the AOR and recommend/design a training strategy and materials to support identified requirements. Arrange and conduct such training events as required and agreed with the OCHA Head of Office, Deputy Head of Office, and/or UN-CMCoord Team Leader. Identify and coordinate with OCHA/CMCS regarding potential candidates for inclusion in the UN-CMCoord Training Programme.
6. Miscellaneous:
Perform other duties as may be requested by the OCHA Head of Office, the UN-CMCoord Team Leader, and the Head of Sub-Office Head as applicable.
Competencies
• PROFESSIONALISM: Knowledge of a range of humanitarian assistance, emergency relief, and related human rights issues, including approaches and techniques to address difficult problems. Solid understanding of Civil-Military Coordination issues. Knowledge and understanding of the UN Security Management System. Analytical capacity and in particular the ability to analyze and articulate the humanitarian dimension of issues that require a coordinated UN response. Ability to identify issues and judgment in applying technical expertise to resolve a wide range of problems. Ability to conduct research, including the ability to evaluate and integrate information from a variety of sources and assess the impact on the humanitarian rights situation in an assigned country/area. Ability to work under extreme pressure, on occasion in a highly stressful environment (e.g. civil strife, natural disasters, and human misery); ability to provide guidance to new/junior staff. Shows pride in work and 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. Takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work.
• 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.
Education
An advanced university degree (master’s degree or equivalent) in political science, social science, international studies, public administration, economics, engineering, earth sciences, or other fields related to civil-military coordination 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 five (5) years of progressively responsible experience in humanitarian affairs, emergency preparedness, crisis/emergency relief management, rehabilitation, development, or other related areas is required.
At least three (3) years of humanitarian experience in the field (actual setting where a mission and/or project is being implemented) in emergency situations (complex emergency or natural disaster) is required.
Experience in civil military coordination dealing with major humanitarian operations is required.
Experience in the Middle East region is desirable.
Languages
French and English are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the position advertised, fluency in English is required. Knowledge of Arabic is desirable.
Assessment
Evaluation of qualified candidates may include an assessment exercise which may be followed by a competency-based interview.
Special Notice
This position is funded for a finite period of one year. Extension of the appointment is subject to extension of the mandate and the availability of the funds. Staff members are subject to the authority of the Secretary-general and to assignment by him or her. In this context, all staff are expected to move periodically to new functions in their careers in accordance with established rules and procedures.
The United Nations Secretariat is committed to achieving 50/50 gender balance in its staff. Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply for this position. An impeccable record for integrity and professional ethical standards is essential.
External candidates (including OCHA temporary appointees and OCHA national field staff) who are selected for a position in field duty stations may be strategically placed on a fixed term appointment limited to a specific position or to a specific country office in accordance to the paragraph 2.2 (b) of administrative instruction ST/AI/2013/1 on the administration of fixed-term appointment which provides that an FTA may be granted to individuals who are “(b) Selected but not reviewed by a Secretariat review body for appointments limited to specific entities”.
United Nations Considerations
According to article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity. Candidates will not be considered for employment with the United Nations if they have committed violations of international human rights law, violations of international humanitarian law, sexual exploitation, sexual abuse, or sexual harassment, or if there are reasonable grounds to believe that they have been involved in the commission of any of these acts. The term “sexual exploitation” means any actual or attempted abuse of a position of vulnerability, differential power, or trust, for sexual purposes, including, but not limited to, profiting monetarily, socially or politically from the sexual exploitation of another. The term “sexual abuse” means the actual or threatened physical intrusion of a sexual nature, whether by force or under unequal or coercive conditions. The term “sexual harassment” means any unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature that might reasonably be expected or be perceived to cause offence or humiliation, when such conduct interferes with work, is made a condition of employment or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment, and when the gravity of the conduct warrants the termination of the perpetrator’s working relationship. Candidates who have committed crimes other than minor traffic offences may not be considered for employment.
Due regard will be paid to the importance of recruiting the staff on as wide a geographical basis as possible. The United Nations places no restrictions on the eligibility of men and women to participate in any capacity and under conditions of equality in its principal and subsidiary organs. The United Nations Secretariat is a non-smoking environment.
Reasonable accommodation may be provided to applicants with disabilities upon request, to support their participation in the recruitment process.
By accepting a letter of appointment, staff members are subject to the authority of the Secretary-General, who may assign them to any of the activities or offices of the United Nations in accordance with staff regulation 1.2 (c). Further, staff members in the Professional and higher category up to and including the D-2 level and the Field Service category are normally required to move periodically to discharge functions in different duty stations under conditions established in ST/AI/2023/3 on Mobility, as may be amended or revised. This condition of service applies to all position specific job openings and does not apply to temporary positions.
Applicants are urged to carefully follow all instructions available in the online recruitment platform, inspira, and to refer to the Applicant Guide by clicking on “Manuals” in the “Help” tile of the inspira account-holder homepage.
The evaluation of applicants will be conducted on the basis of the information submitted in the application according to the evaluation criteria of the job opening and the applicable internal legislations of the United Nations including the Charter of the United Nations, resolutions of the General Assembly, the Staff Regulations and Rules, administrative issuances and guidelines. Applicants must provide complete and accurate information pertaining to their personal profile and qualifications according to the instructions provided in inspira to be considered for the current job opening. No amendment, addition, deletion, revision or modification shall be made to applications that have been submitted. Candidates under serious consideration for selection will be subject to reference checks to verify the information provided in the application.
Job openings advertised on the Careers Portal will be removed at 11:59 p.m. (New York time) on the deadline date.
No Fee
THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.
How to apply
Apply here