Org. Setting and Reporting
This position is located in the Operations and Advocacy Division (OAD), Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), which 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.
The Humanitarian Affairs Officer/UN-CMCoord (HAO/UN-CMCoord) is based in Gao, Mali. The HAO/UN-CMCoord reports to the Senior HAO/Access and UN-CMCoord Advisor, OCHA Mali
Responsibilities
UN-CMCoord is the essential dialogue and interaction between civilian and military actors in humanitarian emergencies necessary to protect and promote the humanitarian principles, avoid competition, minimize inconsistency and, when appropriate, pursue common goals; the key elements of UN-CMCoord are information sharing, task division and joint planning; basic strategies range from Cooperation to Co-existence.
Within the delegated authority, the HAO/UN-CMCoord will be responsible for the following duties:
1) Under the supervision of the Senior HAO/Access and UN-CMCoord Advisor, serves as the operational focal point for humanitarian civil-military coordination related matters in his/her area of responsibility (AOR): Gao, Kidal and Menaka regions;
2) Conducts an assessment and analysis of the civil-military operating environment in order to formulate and implement a UN-CMCoord strategy and action plan. Continually evaluates the implementation and effect of the plan and revise it as appropriate;
3) Assists, advises and facilitates the development of country-specific guidance on civil-military relations and use of Military and Civil Defence Assets (MCDA), based on applicable current global guidelines;
4) Ensures that applicable civil-military coordination guidelines, country-specific guidance or generic guidelines are properly disseminated and understood by both the humanitarian actors and the military and/or police forces present as well as by local actors, as appropriate;
5) Promotes and advocates for adherence to the applicable Guidelines within the entire humanitarian community and advises on potential consequences if the guidelines are compromised or not coherently followed;
6) Establishes and maintains a contact network with other UN Agencies or Mission-based personnel who are responsible for civil-military relations as well as NGO focal points for civil-military coordination in the AOR;
7) Supports the humanitarian coordination structure in the AOR by advising on an appropriate mechanism to interface with military representatives;
8) Advises both humanitarian actors and military representatives on the appropriateness of the use of military assets to support humanitarian activity. Supports Cluster Leads or humanitarian organizations in requesting military support for humanitarian activities, ensuring the requests are appropriate and in line with applicable guidelines;
9) Monitors activities by military forces to support humanitarian organizations by avoiding duplication and giving priority to identified needs;
10) As directed by line management, establishes a Civil-Military Working Group with relevant civil and military stakeholders to raise civil-military coordination operational issues and report policy and strategic issues to the Groupe Inter-Agences de Coordination (GIAC) and the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) through the Senior HAO/Access and UN-CMCoord Advisor and the Head of OCHA Sub-Office in Gao;
11) Participates in work groups, meetings and consultations with other UN agencies and humanitarian partners; organizes meetings with Heads of Agencies on UN-CMCoord matters and humanitarian access;
12) Facilitate the establishment and maintenance of communication with the military forces in the AOR and establish mechanisms to resolve operational issues and ensure appropriate mutual exchange of information regarding ongoing relevant activities;
13) Advise and educate the military and/or police forces in the AOR on the structures and dynamics of coordination with and within the international humanitarian community and the practicalities of implementation;
14) Monitors, analyses and reports on implementation of humanitarian civil-military coordination activities as well as identifies difficulties and challenges in the interaction between the humanitarian and military communities. Provides periodic situation reports on ongoing civil-military activities and the overall civil-military relations situation in the AOR;
15) Assumes more generalist coordination responsibilities, such as those associated with assessment; the planning and evaluation of humanitarian assistance programmes; assisting in the coordination of cluster activity and including the formulation of reports and interaction with donors;
16) Monitors, analyzes and reports on humanitarian developments, disaster relief/management or emergency situations in the AOR;
17) Organizes and prepares studies on humanitarian, emergency relief and related issues; organizes follow-up work, including interagency technical review meetings to support policy development work and decision-making on important issues;
18) Participates in disaster assessment or other missions; assists in the coordination of international humanitarian/emergency assistance for complex emergency/disaster situations and in ensuring the necessary support;
19) Identifies UN-CMCoord training needs of both humanitarian actors and military forces in the AOR and recommends/designs a training strategy and materials to support identified requirements. Arranges and conducts such training events as required;
20) Performs other duties as may be requested by the Senior HAO/Access and UN-CMCoord Advisor and the Head of OCHA Sub-Office in Gao.
Competencies
PROFESSIONALISM: Solid understanding of Civil Military Coordination issues. Knowledge of a range of humanitarian assistance, emergency relief and related humanitarian issues, including approaches and techniques to address difficult problems. 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. Ability to conduct research, 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.
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.
TEAMWORK: Works collaboratively with colleagues to achieve organizational goals; solicits input by genuinely valuing others’ ideas and expertise; is willing to learn from others; places team agenda before personal agenda; supports and acts in accordance with final group decision, even when such decisions may not entirely reflect own position; shares credit for team accomplishments and accepts joint responsibility for team shortcomings.
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.
Education
An advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in international relations, political science, law, management, or similar specific field of study is required. A first-level university degree or military academy degree, in combination with an additional two (2) years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
Work Experience
Required experience:
- A minimum of five (5) years of progressively responsible experience in humanitarian affairs, emergency preparedness, crisis/emergency relief management, military, or other related area is required.
Desired experience: - Previous experience with OCHA and/or in civil-military coordination.
- Previous experience in the military with relevant experience in major humanitarian operations.
- Previous experience in the Sahel region.
Languages
English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this post, fluency in oral and written English and French is required.
Assessment
Evaluation of qualified candidates may include an assessment exercise which may be followed by a competency-based interview.
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.
Applicants are urged to follow carefully all instructions available in the online recruitment platform, inspira. For more detailed guidance, applicants may refer to the Manual for the Applicant, which can be accessed by clicking on “Manuals” hyper-link on the upper right side 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.
More Information
- Job City Gao
