Regional Access Officer

The Regional Access Officer ensures the smooth and effective management of UNFPA’s Afghanistan humanitarian access, focusing on maintaining continuity in UNFPA programming. The Regional Access Officer works closely with UNFPA Afghanistan central and regional security Heads of Field and Area offices, partners, and other key stakeholders. S/he will lead strategic guidance on regional access trend analysis and troubleshooting best local practices to optimize service delivery and program implementation while addressing and reporting barriers to safe access in alignment with the humanitarian principles. 

The Regional Access Officer will report directly to the Humanitarian Access Specialist and work in close coordination with the Humanitarian Coordinator. 

UNFPA Afghanistan is looking for a roving position with bases in Kabul traveling to Kandahar, Jalalabad and Herat covering the West, North, South and Southeast, East and Northeast regions upon request. The position requires frequent travel within assigned regions with occasional travel to other parts of the country when necessary.

You would be responsible for:

Humanitarian Access Framework: 

• Guiding, supporting and implementing UNFPA’s access framework, ensuring alignment with humanitarian principles, local context, and operational needs.

Stakeholder Engagement:

• Establishing and maintaining working relationships with de facto local authorities, implementing partners, and other stakeholders to ensure effective access.

Training & Dissemination:

• Assist in organizing UNFPA Afghanistan training events, meetings, seminars and workshops on humanitarian access and principled engagement.
• Contributing to the development of knowledge products in relation to humanitarian access in the country office.

Monitoring & Reporting:

Leading regional and local level trend analysis, synthesizing access reports, and presenting timely and relevant updates to the Head of Area Offices, Heads of Programme and the UNFPA Afghanistan Access Specialist.

Ensure reporting through the UNFPA Access Reporting Mechanism, Access Reporting Mechanism Framework (ARMF) and Regional Access Working Group (RAWG).

Mitigation & Problem-Solving:

• Identifying access barriers and participating in meetings with stakeholders to mitigate these challenges.

Risk Management:

• Collaborating with the UNFPA regional security to assess and mitigate security risks related to humanitarian access.

Coordination:

• Regularly convene coordination meetings with UNFPA Filed offices, implementing partners, and UNFPA Access Specialist to ensure consistent reporting and address troubleshooting needs.
• Participate in and backstop the Head of Area Offices in the Regional Humanitarian Access Working Groups (RAWG) to ensure alignment and coordination on access issues across the designated region.
• Liaise with regional staff and partners to resolve operational access issues and ensure smooth collaboration across all relevant actors.
• Perform any other duty or task as required by the Head of the Area Office or Humanitarian Access Specialist.

Qualifications and Experience: 

 Education:  

• Master’s degree in social science, International Studies, religious studies or a related field is required. In lieu of a Master’s degree, a Bachelor’s degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be considered.

Knowledge and Experience: 

• At least 2 years of relevant experience in humanitarian programming, crisis management, humanitarian access or other related fields. Experience in humanitarian coordination is highly desirable. Previous experience working with UN or INGOs is an asset.

Required Competencies:

• Humanitarian Access Knowledge: Understanding of international humanitarian law and principles (neutrality, impartiality, operational independence and do no harm) with experience in humanitarian access negotiations.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Ability to establish relationships with local authorities, community leaders, and other stakeholders to facilitate access in an Islamic religious discourse.

Source: https://estm.fa.em2.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/CandidateExperience/en/sites/CX_2003/job/24484