Position description
Org. Setting and Reporting
This position is located in the Humanitarian Financing Strategy and Analysis (HFSA) Unit, Financing and Partnership Division (FPD), Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in New York. 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 in order to alleviate human suffering in disasters and emergencies; advocate the rights of people in need; promote preparedness and prevention and facilitate sustainable solutions. The Senior Humanitarian Affairs Officer heads the Humanitarian Financing Strategy and Analysis (HFSA) Unit, and reports to the Director of the Financing and Partnership Division.
Responsibilities
Within delegated authority, the Senior Humanitarian Affairs Officer will be responsible for the following duties:
- Provides authoritative technical and policy advice to senior management in OCHA and other agencies in the UN system, Member State officials, international and regional organizations on programmes, projects and issues of significant impact on humanitarian, emergency relief and disaster response/management efforts. Leads internal and external knowledge management services and partnerships, and fosters visionary policy, analysis, best practices and innovations in humanitarian financing that support the system’s ability to scale up the application of early action and anticipatory approaches in humanitarian response.
- Monitors the performance of the institution’s humanitarian mandate; influences the development and evolution of the UN approach to humanitarian affairs; designs and implements significant policy and programme changes to address country, regional, global humanitarian affairs issues, including gender considerations; conceptualizes the linkages with the political and peacekeeping functions in the Secretariat.
- Develops/ensures implementation of coherent humanitarian/disaster response strategies and procedures.
- Leads capacity building initiatives; identifies bottlenecks and gaps and develops proposals to improve response systems and mechanisms, to include technical assistance in the design of specific coordination and other systems/mechanisms; organizes and participates as trainer/resource person in national and international training seminars.
- Serves as primary liaison with non-UN entities, including senior host government officials, donor representatives, NGO officials, the media, etc., in emergency situations. Manages partnerships with UN agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), public donors, the World Bank Group (WBG) and other international financial institutions (IFIs), academia, and private sector actors involved in innovative financing and anticipatory approaches to crisis response.
- Establishes overall work plan and budget.
- Leads and directs a team of staff; may oversee activities for a discrete work section or equivalent; plans and allocates work assignments; coaches, mentors and evaluates staff; participates in recruitment, selection and training of new staff and in the development of training programs.
- Organizes and/or chairs inter-agency and other international meetings, conferences, task presents views and policies of the unit/institution. Encourages growth and higher frequency of experimentation and piloting in the humanitarian financing space, including more collaboration and strategic investments in the analytical capacity of the humanitarian sector to solve global challenges in crisis financing (i.e. efficient systems, sufficient funding, appropriate approaches and models, better us of technology, etc.).
- Initiates, supervises and finalizes position papers and related submissions; prepares diverse reports, papers, policy guidelines, parliamentary documents, statements, presentations, etc. for senior management.
Competencies
- Professionalism: Knowledge of full range of humanitarian and emergency relief assistance and related human rights issues. Ability to advise senior management and other senior officials on approaches and techniques to address highly complex/sensitive issues. Demonstrated capacity for intellectual leadership; conceptual and strategic analytical capacity and ability to thoroughly analyze and evaluate critical matters pertaining to a broad spectrum of humanitarian and emergency relief issues/problems. Demonstrated capacity for original and creative thinking, independent judgment and discretion in advising on and handling major policy, project and other issues/problems. Ability to negotiate and ability to influence others to reach agreement on difficult issues. Ability to work under extreme pressure, on occasion in a highly stressful environment (e.g. civil strife, natural disasters and human misery). Knowledge of institutional mandates, policies and guidelines related to humanitarian affairs and seasoned knowledge of the institutions of the UN system. Shows pride in work and in 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.
- Planning & Organizing: Develops clear goals that are consistent with agreed strategies; identifies priority activities and assignments; adjusts priorities as required; allocates appropriate amount of time and resources for completing work; foresees risks and allows for contingencies when planning; monitors and adjusts plans and actions as necessary; uses time efficiently.
- Leadership: Serves as a role model that other people want to follow: empowers others to translate vision into results; is proactive in developing strategies to accomplish objectives; establishes and maintains relationships with a broad range of people to understand needs and gain support; anticipates and resolves conflicts by pursuing mutually agreeable solutions; drives for change and improvements; does not accept the status quo; shows the courage to take unpopular stands. Provides leadership and takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work; demonstrates knowledge of strategies and commitment to the goal of gender balance in staffing.
- Vision: Identifies strategic issues, opportunities and risks; clearly communicates links between the Organization’s strategy and the work unit’s goals; generates and communicates broad and compelling organizational direction, inspiring others to pursue that same direction; conveys enthusiasm about future possibilities.
Education
- Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in political science, social science, public administration, international studies, economics, engineering, earth sciences or a related field is required. A first-level university degree in combination with qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
Work Experience
- A minimum of ten years of progressively responsible experience in humanitarian affairs, emergency preparedness, crisis/emergency relief management, rehabilitation, development, or other related area is required. Experience in issues related to humanitarian financing, especially finance, economics, statistics and social affairs is required. Experience in using predictive analytics to forecast humanitarian need is desirable. Experience in leading risk analyses and other complex analytical projects at field-level is desirable. Experience in engaging with International Financial Institutions (IFI) instruments is desirable. Four (4) years of relevant humanitarian field experience in the past ten years, with the United Nations common system or comparable international organization is desirable.
Languages
- English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the position advertised, fluency in English (both oral and written) is required.
Application instructions
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