Humanitarian Affairs Officer , Multiple positions

The UNOPS Hub in Amman implements projects on behalf of UN agencies and bilateral donors and in close coordination with the Government and national authorities. With an established presence across the region, the office runs operations including large-scale procurement, project development and technical management, and provides financial, human resources and infrastructure-related services. The functional objective of UNOPS Hub in Amman is to deliver its projects in an efficient and effective manner and in line with the principles, rules and regulations of UNOPS, so as to achieve the outcomes sought by the clients.

The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS. 

UNOPS is committed to achieving a fully diverse workforce.

The HAO NOB reports to the  HAO P3 Head of Operations for the Mosul Office

Humanitarian planning and preparedness for the military efforts to bring Mosul city under control of the Government of Iraq began in mid- 2016. Upon the request of the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT), OCHA strengthened the existing L3 coordination structures to provide a single hub bringing together key humanitarian responders for the Mosul operations, through the Mosul Office. The Mosul area, for the purpose of humanitarian coordination, is divided into three geographical zones. Each zone is assigned an OCHA Zone Coordinator and the HOC team ensures interaction between the Zone Coordinator and humanitarian agencies and organizations. The Mosul Office also provides a liaison function with Government and local inter-cluster coordination structures.

The Mosul Office is pivotal to operational  humanitarian activities, The HAO will support the CMCoord team through information gathering and analysis to improve the understanding of the interface of national military and civilian stakeholders in the humanitarian context in Iraq, initially specifically in relation to Mosul. This will contribute to effective and efficient emergency response to address the impact of conflict, violence and displacement in Iraq.

OCHA established a Mosul Office to coordinate the humanitarian response.

OCHA coordination provides a liaison function with Government and local coordination structures and brings together Cluster Coordinators, Emergency Coordinators from UN agencies, NGO Coordination Committee of Iraq (NCCI); International NGO Safety Organisation (INSO);IOM DTM; Returns Working Group; Civil-Military Coordination cell; UN Mine Action Service; and UNDSS.

Humanitarian access is facilitated by the CMCoord Cell which has expanded the network of civil-military interlocutors and works through these contacts to open the way for aid to reach affected populations.

The HAO  will serve as a member of the Mosul Office created to ensure a cohesive humanitarian response to the Mosul crisis.  The post will assist in the coordination of the emergency response for the influx of displaced people from Mosul, as military operations for the city rapidly progress.

The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS. 

Under the supervision of  the HAO P3 the incumbent  will perform the following tasks:

1. Take the lead in establishing or strengthening partnerships with provincial and local  authorities
2. Coordinate humanitarian assistance by attending coordination and cluster meetings; support the humanitarian coordination structure for effective humanitarian response.
3. Maintain links with humanitarian actors to promote joint or collaborative emergency response and preparedness activities.
4. Organize and/or participate in inter-agency assessment missions and analyze information with a view to presenting the findings to humanitarian stakeholders.
5. Participate in  the development of contingency plans
6. Provide surge capacity to facilitate emergency response coordination outside of the designated duty station;
7. Assist in mapping humanitarian needs and activities ;identify humanitarian gaps and use judgment in applying technical expertise to resolve humanitarian issues.
8. Support in the compilation of  OCHA sitreps– developments in the situation, reported needs and humanitarian responses ;
9. Assist in strengthening local level information gathering  from the field, including from local communities and non-traditional partners;
10. Contribute to the development of briefing materials and presentations providing up-to-date analysis on trends and developments on the humanitarian situation in the governorate of responsibility ;
11. Track information to facilitate preparedness for potential humanitarian emergencies:
12. Collect and contribute information to update  OCHA products 
13. Support advocacy initiatives on humanitarian concerns and issues (protection of civilians, funding gaps, specific vulnerabilities)
14. Attend OCHA internal meetings and trainings as requested
15. Provide verbal and written translation assistance as needed (Arabic/ Kurdish  
16. Perform other related duties as requested by the HAO or OCHA senior management 

Drive with energy

- Ability to Learn: keeps abreast of new practices in his/her functional area; is able to apply past learning in current situations and get work done; constantly delivers on assignments that are challenging and require trying out new methods.

- Creativity and Innovation: develops multiple approaches to problems-solving; networks and explores variety of sources to deliver, solve problems; can create new, efficient processe and systems that are the best practices of the organization.

Focus and execute

- Ability to analyse: able to distribute time effectively and adhere to deadlines; able to match the scope of the project by optimal use of organization’s resources.

- Organizing and quality orientation: provides accurate information on a timely basis; has penchant for precise, quality-oriented and throrough work; translates ideas into specific tasks to improve operations & takes initiative.

- Results orientation: handles myultiple projects and delivers them; is persistent and shows tenacity to achieve results in a project or task; is efficient and successful in handling time-bound projects; identifies critical factors and focuses energy to achieve them.

Impact and energize

- Communication skills: consistently delivers accurate, clear and concise messages in written or oral form; shares information with colleagues.

- Networking skills: consciously extends oneself o building rapport with others; creates common ground for understanding at a inter-personal level.

-Teamwork skills: always works with others to accomplish goals/tasks; treats all members of team ina  professional manner and with respect; is open to different points of view.

- Situational sensitivity: remains calm in stressful situations; is open to working with people from diverse background and cultures.

Master’s Degree in social science, public administration, law, development studies, international affairs or other relevant disciplines with a minimum of two years professional experience in humanitarian affairs, emergency relief management, development affairs, or related areas, as well as good translation skills.

• Fluency in both English and Arabic is required.

• Please note that the closing date is midnight Copenhagen time
• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.
• Only those candidates that are short-listed for interviews will be notified.
• Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post
• The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS.  
• It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential recruits/interns. 
• Recruitment/internship in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.