Org. Setting and Reporting

These positions are located in the Operations and Advocacy Division (OAD), Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). OCHA is 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.

This position-specific job opening is being published for two (2) positions of Humanitarian Affairs Officer/ Programme in Dnipro and Kyiv, in Ukraine. Under the overall supervision of the Humanitarian Affairs Officer/Head of the Humanitarian Financing Unit (HFU) OCHA Ukraine, the incumbents will report to the Deputy Head of HFU.

Responsibilities

Within delegated authority, the Humanitarian Affairs Officer / Programme will be responsible for the following duties:

Fund Management and Coordination:
• Under the supervision of the PFM and Deputy FM, support OCHA Head of Office and HC on monitoring, reporting and communications for the Country Based Pooled Fund (CBPF) vis-à-vis the humanitarian context (i.e. priorities and critical needs);
• Support and implement standardized policy in line with HQ guidance and decisions;
• Manage and supervise Fund-related support staff (if any);
• Liaise with NGO, UN partners as well as clusters and OCHA field offices to follow-up on project progress and overall Fund progress;
• Conduct periodic field visits to collect stories, information and data for communications and reporting purposes;
• Ensure proper communication and support during the allocation process to all stakeholders;
• Liaise with and provide necessary support to recipient organizations of the Fund throughout the life-cycle of the projects, promoting coherence between humanitarian needs and response;
• Ensure coordination and information exchange with humanitarian donors aiming to promote coordinated and complementary use of funds.
• Assist in fund reporting and communication processes ensuring necessary coordination with relevant counterparts; humanitarian organizations; and OCHA;
• Research, analyze and present humanitarian financing information, in particular funding trends and requirements, gathered from diverse sources;
• Assist in policy development, including the review and analysis of humanitarian issues and funding trends at the country level:
• Liaise with OCHA field offices and recipient organizations in order to disseminate full information on Fund activities;
• Perform other duties as assigned by the PFM/Head of the Humanitarian Finance Unit.

Monitoring, Reporting and Evaluation:
• Ensure compliance with monitoring and reporting systems in place for the Fund;
• Systematically provide information on project status to the PFM, OCHA Head of Office, the Humanitarian Coordinator, donors, and relevant stakeholders of the Fund;
• Ensure timely overall project reporting, including acting as the lead for the pooled fund annual report exercise.
• Assist in the preparation of evaluations or other research activities and studies in consultation with relevant HQ sections.

Competencies

PROFESSIONALISM: Sound knowledge of a range of humanitarian assistance, emergency relief and related humanitarian issues, including approaches and techniques to address difficult problems. Strong analytical capacity and in particular the ability to analyze and articulate the humanitarian dimension of issues which require a coordinated UN response. Ability to identify issues and judgment in applying technical expertise to resolve a wide range of problems. Strong research skills, including ability to evaluate and integrate information from a variety of sources and assess impact on the humanitarian rights situation in assigned country/area. Ability to work under extreme pressure, on occasion in a highly stressful environment (e.g. civil strife, natural disasters and human misery). Ability to provide guidance to new/junior staff. 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.

ACCOUNTABILITY: Takes ownership of all responsibilities and honors commitments; Delivers outputs for which one has responsibility within prescribed time, cost and quality standards; Operates in compliance with organizational regulations and rules; Supports subordinates, provides oversight and takes responsibility for delegated assignments; Takes personal responsibility for his/her own shortcomings and those of the work unit, where applicable.

CLIENT ORIENTATION: Considers all those to whom services are provided to be “clients” and seeks to see things from clients’ point of view; establishes and maintains productive partnerships with clients by gaining their trust and respect; identifies clients’ needs and matches them to appropriate solutions; monitors ongoing developments inside and outside the clients’ environment to keep informed and anticipate problems; keeps clients informed of progress or setbacks in projects; meets timeline for delivery of products or services to client.

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. 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.

Work Experience

A minimum of five (5) years of progressively responsible experience in humanitarian affairs, emergency preparedness, crisis/emergency relief management, project management, budget management, or related area is required

Experience in humanitarian financing, e.g. grant/project management, fundraising, and donor relations for humanitarian programmes is desirable.

Experience working with a country-based pooled fund is desirable.

Experience in direct project management, monitoring and evaluation and project supervision is desirable.

Experience within UN common system or other comparable international organization is desirable.

Languages

English and French are the official working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the positions advertised, fluency in English is required.

Assessment

The evaluation of qualified candidates may include an assessment exercise which may be followed by competency-based interview.

Special Notice

These positions are funded for a finite period of one year. Extension of the appointment is subject to extension of the mandate and the availability of the funds. Staff members are subject to the authority of the Secretary-general and to assignment by him or her. In this context, all staff are expected to move periodically to new functions in their careers by established rules and procedures.

The United Nations Secretariat is committed to achieving a 50/50 gender balance in its staff. Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply for this position. An impeccable record of integrity and professional ethical standards is essential.

United Nations Considerations

According to article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity. Candidates will not be considered for employment with the United Nations if they have committed violations of international human rights law, violations of international humanitarian law, sexual exploitation, sexual abuse, or sexual harassment, or if there are reasonable grounds to believe that they have been involved in the commission of any of these acts. The term “sexual exploitation” means any actual or attempted abuse of a position of vulnerability, differential power, or trust, for sexual purposes, including, but not limited to, profiting monetarily, socially or politically from the sexual exploitation of another. The term “sexual abuse” means the actual or threatened physical intrusion of a sexual nature, whether by force or under unequal or coercive conditions. The term “sexual harassment” means any unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature that might reasonably be expected or be perceived to cause offence or humiliation, when such conduct interferes with work, is made a condition of employment or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment, and when the gravity of the conduct warrants the termination of the perpetrator’s working relationship. Candidates who have committed crimes other than minor traffic offences may not be considered for employment.

Due regard will be paid to the importance of recruiting the staff on as wide a geographical basis as possible. The United Nations places no restrictions on the eligibility of men and women to participate in any capacity and under conditions of equality in its principal and subsidiary organs. The United Nations Secretariat is a non-smoking environment.

Reasonable accommodation may be provided to applicants with disabilities upon request, to support their participation in the recruitment process.

By accepting a letter of appointment, staff members are subject to the authority of the Secretary-General, who may assign them to any of the activities or offices of the United Nations in accordance with staff regulation 1.2 (c). Further, staff members in the Professional and higher category up to and including the D-2 level and the Field Service category are normally required to move periodically to discharge functions in different duty stations under conditions established in ST/AI/2023/3 on Mobility, as may be amended or revised. This condition of service applies to all position specific job openings and does not apply to temporary positions.

Applicants are urged to carefully follow all instructions available in the online recruitment platform, inspira, and to refer to the Applicant Guide by clicking on “Manuals” in the “Help” tile of the inspira account-holder homepage.

The evaluation of applicants will be conducted on the basis of the information submitted in the application according to the evaluation criteria of the job opening and the applicable internal legislations of the United Nations including the Charter of the United Nations, resolutions of the General Assembly, the Staff Regulations and Rules, administrative issuances and guidelines. Applicants must provide complete and accurate information pertaining to their personal profile and qualifications according to the instructions provided in inspira to be considered for the current job opening. No amendment, addition, deletion, revision or modification shall be made to applications that have been submitted. Candidates under serious consideration for selection will be subject to reference checks to verify the information provided in the application.

Job openings advertised on the Careers Portal will be removed at 11:59 p.m. (New York time) on the deadline date.

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.