Humanitarian Affairs Officer / Head of Strategy and Coordination Unit

The Humanitarian Affairs Officer / Head of Strategy and Coordination Unit is responsible for advising on policy direction, coordinating humanitarian assistance, monitoring humanitarian developments, and leading complex projects related to emergency response in Afghanistan. The role involves policy development, coordination with humanitarian actors, capacity-building, and leadership within the Crisis Response Division of OCHA.

Responsibilities

• Serves as a senior policy officer; advises on overall policy direction on specific issues; reviews and provides advice on a diverse range of policy issues related to safeguarding humanitarian principles and ensuring effective delivery of humanitarian assistance and linkages with other related areas.
• Prepares policy position papers for review.
• Monitors, analyzes and reports on humanitarian developments, disaster relief/management programmes or emergency situations in assigned country/area; develops and maintains a “watch list” of countries with potential for humanitarian crisis.
• Leads and/or participates in large, complex projects, including disaster assessment or other missions; coordinates international humanitarian/emergency assistance for complex emergency/disaster situations; ensures necessary support such as staff, funding, specialized equipment, supplies; prepares situation reports to the international community specifying unmet requirements.
• Assists in the production of appeals for international assistance; ensures proper use and spending of donor contributions channeled through OCHA.
• Assists member states in capacity-building for handling emergency situations; develops country-specific indicators for countries of concern in collaboration with area experts and ensures monitoring of these indicators; recommends actions based on analysis.
• Initiates and coordinates activities related to technical cooperation and technical assistance projects in disaster response and preparedness; formulates project proposals and relevant documents; provides technical support to field work; reviews and clears project reports for submission to governments.
• Analyzes and assists in introducing new technologies for disaster warning/management.
• Organizes and prepares studies on humanitarian, emergency relief and related issues; organizes follow-up work including interagency technical review meetings to support policy development and decision-making; ensures implementation of recommendations.
• Assists or leads in preparation of OCHA reports, studies, background papers, policy guidelines, correspondence, presentations, parliamentary documents; provides support and information to relevant councils or entities.
• Partners with other humanitarian agencies to plan and evaluate complex humanitarian and emergency assistance programmes; ensures incorporation of latest findings, lessons learned, policy guidelines including gender-related considerations.
• Establishes and maintains contacts with government officials, UN agencies, NGOs, diplomatic missions, media; ensures mechanisms to facilitate collaboration and information exchange including early warning and contingency planning.
• Serves as primary focal point on specific topics or policy-related issues; keeps abreast of developments; liaises with humanitarian organizations, donors; ensures monitoring and reporting mechanisms; provides information and advice.
• Organizes and participates in work groups, meetings, conferences, consultations with other agencies and partners on humanitarian and emergency relief matters.
• May participate in planning and preparation of unit budget and work program.
• Provides leadership and work direction to assigned work team; mentors and supervises new/junior officers.

Requirements

• 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.
• 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.
• A minimum of seven (7) years of progressively responsible experience in humanitarian affairs, emergency preparedness, crisis/emergency relief management, rehabilitation, development, or other related area is required.
• Direct experience working on the humanitarian programme cycle, including working on monitoring and reporting, in the field is required.
• Experience working on emergency response preparedness is required.
• 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 a humanitarian context within the UN Common System or other comparable international organization is desirable.
• Experience in Asia and the Pacific region is desirable.
• English is required at UN Level III for reading, writing, listening, and speaking.
• Either Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), French, Russian, or Spanish is desirable at UN Level II for reading, writing, listening, and speaking.

Skills

• Humanitarian Affairs
• Emergency Preparedness
• Crisis Relief Management
• Humanitarian Programme Cycle Management
• Monitoring and Reporting
• Emergency Response
• Humanitarian Experience
• Policy Development
• Humanitarian Coordination
• Capacity Building
• Project Leadership
• Humanitarian Assistance
• Emergency Situation Management
• Natural Disaster Response
• UN Common System Experience

Languages

English, Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), French, Russian, Spanish