Regional Humanitarian Project Coordinator

The Position:

The Regional Humanitarian Project Coordinator will manage a regional humanitarian preparedness and response initiative funded by Australia. The Regional Prepositioning Initiative, Phase III (January 2021- December 2026) seeks to ensure women, girls and other marginalized groups such as people living with disabilities, who are affected by emergencies in disaster prone countries within the Asia Pacific region, have improved access to quality integrated Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) and Gender-Based Violence (GBV) information and services through the use of prepositioned supplies. 

You will report directly to the Regional Humanitarian Advisor.

How you can make a difference:

UNFPA is the lead UN agency for delivering a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person’s potential is fulfilled.  UNFPA’s strategic plan (2022-2025), reaffirms the relevance of the current strategic direction of UNFPA and focuses on three transformative results: to end preventable maternal deaths; end unmet need for family planning; and end gender-based violence and harmful practices. These results capture our strategic commitments on accelerating progress towards realizing the ICPD and SDGs in the Decade of Action leading up to 2030. Our strategic plan calls upon UN Member States, organizations and individuals to “build forward better”, while addressing the negative impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on women’s and girls’ access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights, recover lost gains and realize our goals.

In a world where fundamental human rights are at risk, we need principled and ethical staff, who embody these international norms and standards, and who will defend them courageously and with full conviction.

UNFPA is seeking candidates that transform, inspire and deliver high impact and sustained results; we need staff who are transparent, exceptional in how they manage the resources entrusted to them and who commit to deliver excellence in programme results.

Job Purpose:

The Asia Pacific region is the most disaster prone region in the world, affected by frequent and intense natural hazards and disasters and also by protracted crises and conflicts. UNFPA plays a critical role in supporting Governments to ensure that sexual and reproductive health and gender-based violence needs are supported in humanitarian response. A key component of this is strengthening humanitarian preparedness, including prepositioning of essential sexual and reproductive health and gender-based violence supplies for immediate distribution and use. 

The Regional Humanitarian Project Coordinator will manage Phase III of the Regional Prepositioning Initiative (2021-2026). This involves providing technical and programmatic support and oversight to 11 UNFPA Country Offices in the Asia Pacific region to implement the annual workplans; preparing progress updates, annual reports and workplans for the donor; undertaking budget monitoring, facilitating information sharing both internally and externally; supporting strategic capacity building and implementation of advocacy activities; facilitating strategic dialogues; and undertaking project monitoring and evaluation. The Regional Humanitarian Project Coordinator will also provide programmatic support to country offices experiencing humanitarian crises to contribute to the regional office’s work on emergency preparedness and response in the region.

You would be responsible for:

Programme management, coordination and implementation

• Develop and implement annual workplans in line with the results framework for Phase III of the Regional Prepositioning Initiative, providing technical and programmatic oversight and support to country offices on the implementation of the Regional Prepositioning Initiative and humanitarian preparedness and response.
• Monitor the programmatic aspects of the Regional Prepositioning Initiative, in collaboration with the Regional Supply Chain Team on the development and approval of procurement plans, prepositioning of supplies at the country and regional level, and customisation of supplies for vulnerable groups.
• Undertake budget monitoring and budget and workplan revisions to ensure full implementation in line with the approved annual workplans.
• Support country offices to strengthen advocacy for SRH and GBV in emergencies, particularly related to disability inclusion, accountability to affected populations and leaving no one behind.
• Design and facilitate strategic capacity building activities to strengthen capacities to respond to SRH and GBV needs during disasters in a sustainable way that is in line with UNFPA’s localisation commitments.
• Strengthen accountability to affected populations across the Regional Prepositioning Initiative, including by supporting country offices to establish effective feedback mechanisms, analyzing the feedback received, and using it to inform programming.
• Support the integration of cash and voucher assistance within   SRH and GBV preparedness and response strategies under the initiative.
• Identify operational and financial bottlenecks, liaise with UNFPA units and develop solutions.
• Uphold compliance with UNFPA corporate and donor guidelines and regulations and managing audit processes as necessary as well as preparing for project closure.

Knowledge management

• Document knowledge, good practices and lessons learned and contribute to global/regional discussions on preparedness and prepositioning.
• Strengthen internal communications to influence policy and programming, by contributing to the development of new UNFPA policies, procedures and guidelines leveraging lessons learned and achievements under the Regional Prepositioning Initiative.
• Strengthen external communications and visibility through developing and sharing good practices, human interest stories and updates of the Regional Prepositioning Initiative.
• Coordinate and facilitate strategic dialogues on emerging humanitarian issues related to UNFPA’s mandate, and strengthen inclusion across UNFPA’s humanitarian preparedness and response in the region.

Partnership and Resource Mobilization

• Uphold the strong relationship with the donor, drafting and sharing updates, reports and communication products for internal and external use.
• Lead monthly meetings with the donor and undertake regular and proactive communication with the donor.
• Prepare substantive briefs on possible areas of cooperation and identify opportunities for new projects.

Qualifications and Experience: 

Education:  

• Advanced University degree in public health, sociology, economics, international development, public administration, management or other related field.

Knowledge and Experience: 

• Five years of professional experience in development and/or humanitarian programme/project management and coordination.
• Well-developed organizational and coordination skills, an ability to handle multiple tasks simultaneously and within limited timeframes and being able to work independently is essential.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills are required.
• Experience in workplan development and results frameworks, monitoring and evaluation is highly desirable.
• Experience in working in humanitarian settings particularly with procurement and management of emergency supplies within the Asia Pacific regional context are strong assets.
• Familiarity with SRHR, GBV, gender equality and/or emergency preparedness and response is preferred.
• Familiarity with accountability to affected populations, disability inclusion and supply chain management is desirable.
• Experience in knowledge management and resource mobilization is desirable.
• Familiarity with UN procedures and working methods, particularly with UNFPA’s mandate, policies and procedures, is highly desirable.

Languages: 

• Fluency in English is required; Working knowledge of another official UN language is desirable.

Source: https://estm.fa.em2.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/CandidateExperience/en/sites/CX_2003/job/22133