Coordinator for the Access Support Unit (ASU)

Jerusalem Office – UNOPS Project Management and Infrastructure Centre of Excellence

Since the opening of the Jerusalem Office in 2006, UNOPS has significantly strengthened its operations in Palestine. Our expert knowledge, skills and management systems contribute to the sustainable development of public infrastructure in Gaza and the West Bank, including Area C and East Jerusalem.

The Occupied Palestinian Territory (oPt) is one of the most complex and challenging environments in which the United Nations operates. Access challenges, including movement restrictions, differ greatly across the oPt, primarily due to the range of political, administrative and security measures implemented by Israeli, Egyptian, Jordanian, and Palestinian authorities. Restrictions on the access of goods and  the movement of people are severe, widespread, costly, and difficult to overcome. These restrictions increase the impoverishment and vulnerability of Palestinians within the oPt, and directly impede humanitarian and development operations. 

Acces Support Unit (ASU)

The ASU is an inter-agency project under the overall leadership of the UN Deputy Special Coordinator (DSC) / Resident Coordinator (RC) / Humanitarian Coordinator (HC), working with UNSCO and UNOCHA, and administered by UNOPS. ASU provides services to UN, NGOs, and Diplomatic delegations with the objective to: “Ameliorate the delivery of humanitarian and development assistance and advance the protection of civilians, by developing a centralized, pro-active, and sustainable access strategy for the movement of humanitarian and development personnel and access of goods/materials/equipments, while providing hands-on facilitation, advice and support to goods access and people movement.” 

ASU’s key functions are:

• Supporting DSC/RC/HC advocacy efforts on movement of people and access of goods in OPT

Under the overall political leadership of UNSCO/OCHA, the ASU assists the DSC/RC/HC in preparation of the high-level political advocacy and discussions with the parties that contribute to an easing of restrictions on access and movement in the Gaza strip and the West Bank.

• Facilitating the movement of people

The ASU engages in and supports access negotiations and advocacy in relation to the movement of humanitarian and development personnel and coordinates the implementation of mechanisms agreed with the relevant parties. Hands on advice and support is provided to help navigate access and movement restrictions in the field.

Particularly, the ASU provides the support to the Movement of Humanitarian Personnel by facilitating staff rotations into and out of Gaza, (re-)entry into the country, supporting applications for crossing in and out of Gaza (both on the Israeli and the Palestinian side) and into East Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank, and intervening when issues arise at checkpoints, crossings (including in the West Bank) or international borders. 

• Facilitating the access of goods and materials

Prior to the outbreak of hostilities between Israel and Palestinian armed groups in Gaza in October 2023, the access of so-called “dual use” goods, materials and equipment for humanitarian, reconstruction and, development projects and the private sector was facilitated by the ASU through implementation of the Gaza Reconstruction Mechanism (GRM), a tripartite agreement between the Government of Israel, the Palestinian Authority and the UN established in 2014 in the aftermath of the Gaza conflict. 

Although, since October 2023, the GRM has been put on hold until the parameters for post-conflict reconstruction are known, the ASU team in Gaza adapted quickly to the emerging needs and has been supporting monitoring entry of fuel for the humanitarian response  and facilitating the entrance of Critical Humanitarian Items (CHIs) needed by different humanitarian clusters.

Under the overall guidance of Deputy Special Coordinator (DSC)/Resident Coordinator (RC)/Humanitarian Coordinator (HC) and direct supervision of the Chief of Coordination unit and Head of RCO (UNSCO) and the Head of CMCoord and Access (OCHA), the ASU Coordinator will be responsible for the operational aspects of the ASU.

The core ASU Coordinator tasks include supervision of the operations related to the ASU as follows: 

• Monitor movements of people and access of goods and engage with existing coordination mechanisms to support and facilitate that access and movement. 

• Supervise the operations related to the ASU in OPT. 

• Supervise and manage the staff of the ASU and their tasks in order to effectively meet the goals of the ASU.

• Engage with partners, in close coordination with UNSCO and OCHA as well as UN and INGOs, to ensure complementarity of efforts.

• Liaison with the Israeli Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), the Israeli Coordination and Liaison Administration to the Gaza Strip (CLA), the Palestinian Prime Minister’s Office, the Palestinian Ministry of Civil Affairs (MoCA), de facto authorities and other stakeholders, as relevant and appropriate, on the facilitation of access of goods and movement of people. 

• Oversee operation of  a 24/7 access hotline to conduct real-time interventions with relevant authorities to resolve access and movement impediments and incidents. 

• Support the transition of the current humanitarian notification system to the OCHA Humanitarian Notification System.

• Provide information (advisories) and support on the movement of personnel (website, emails, and ACU Live mobile app).

• Advise humanitarian and development partners on procedures for obtaining visas and permits.

• Provide direct support to the UN, international and Palestinian NGOs, as well as diplomatic missions, to obtain visas, permits, and special coordination.

• Support OCHA CMCoord negotiations to improve movements of humanitarian and development partners, including in response to new or ongoing measures that restrict access.

• Facilitate evacuation of dual nationals from Gaza during escalations.

• In consultation with OCHA CMCoord team, advise the UN Country Team (UNCT) and the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) on common positions with regard to movements of people and access of goods (UNCT, SMT, HCT, OMT, AIDA, Security Cell, and donor meetings). 

• Work with OCHA and Senior CMCORD Advisor to analyze the impact of movement and access restrictions and advise the DSC/RC/HC on appropriate bilateral advocacy.

• Advise the DSC/RC/HC, through OCHA, on the movement of national staff between East Jerusalem and the rest of the West Bank.

• Provide access information and analysis for reporting, internal working documents, policy papers, advocacy documents, and talking points, reporting to ASU board members and donors.

• Collaborate with the OCHA CMCoord team to provide updates on access trends and developments.

• Advise the DSC/RC/HC, UNSCO, OCHA, and member states on actions and points of advocacy for access of goods and movement of people. 

• Preparation of regular progress reporting for the Project Board and other relevant structures.

• Oversees the coordination, entry and monitoring of fuel and other essential humanitarian items, as appropriate. 

• Monitors and analyses trends and practices related to “dual use” materials, goods and equipment across all access mechanisms and advises the DSC/RC/HC, UNSCO and OCHA on possible approaches to easing restrictions on such items, in the context of humanitarian operations as well as in the recovery and reconstruction phase.  

• Under the guidance of UNOPS Head of Programme, ensure proper planning of ASU activities, delivery and performance monitoring, timely reporting, production of knowledge management tools, team management and performance reviews. 

• Identification of bottlenecks to implementation of the project which require

intervention and propose solutions.

The above responsibilities are subject to change depending on evolution of the situation and access picture on the ground

• Master’s degree (or equivalent) preferably in political/social science or international relations, Project Management, Business Administration, Political/Security/Development Studies, Public Administration, Anthropology, Law, Economics or other relevant discipline.

• Relevant Bachelor Degree in related studies, combined with relevant training and experience may be accepted in lieu of the Master degree.

• Other pertinent qualifications in other related skills such as negotiations are an advantage.  

• At least 7 years of progressively responsible experience in team management, preferably in a humanitarian/development and security context. 

• Five years in dealing with access issues (goods and people), preferably in the UN environment similar to Israel and the oPt is an added advantage. 

• Prior experience in access negotiations or civil military coordination that involves different parties in a similar context is required. 

• Excellent skills in project management, results monitoring as well as stakeholders and team management, preferably in a humanitarian/development context with  extensive security considerations is required. 

• Demonstrated experience and exposure in the international arena dealing with security-related issues is an added value. 

• Demonstrated knowledge of UN policies, procedures and operations is desirable

• Capacity of resources mobilization and financial management  is desirable

Other Skills:

Humanitarian access, negotiations, security management, operational planning, financial management, crisis management, humanitarian/ emergency or disaster planning are desirable skills.

• Fluency in spoken and written English. 
• Working knowledge of Arabic or Hebrew is an asset.

• Please note that UNOPS does not accept unsolicited resumes.

• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.

• Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process, which involves various assessments.

• UNOPS embraces diversity and is committed to equal employment opportunity. Our workforce consists of many diverse nationalities, cultures,  languages, races, gender identities, sexual orientations, and abilities. UNOPS seeks to sustain and strengthen this diversity to ensure equal opportunities as well as an inclusive working environment for its entire workforce. 

• Qualified women and candidates from groups which are underrepresented in the UNOPS workforce are encouraged to apply. These include in particular candidates from racialized and/or indigenous groups, members of minority gender identities and sexual orientations, and people with disabilities.

• We would like to ensure all candidates perform at their best during the assessment process.  If you are shortlisted and require additional assistance to complete any assessment, including reasonable accommodation, please inform our human resources team when you receive an invitation.

Terms and Conditions 

• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post. 

• All UNOPS personnel are responsible for performing their duties in accordance with the UN Charter and UNOPS Policies and Instructions, as well as other relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, all personnel must demonstrate an understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a manner consistent with UN core values and the UN Common Agenda.

• It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential personnel. Recruitment in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.