Head of Office, Humanitarian Affairs (TJO) at United Nations

Job Opening Number: 16-Humanitarian Affairs-OCHA-70768-J-Abuja (X)
Department/Office: Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Responsibilities

• Operating within the limits of delegated authority, and under the overall leadership and direction of the Director of the Coordination and Response Division (CRD) of OCHA and supporting the UN Resident/Humanitarian Coordinator, the Head of Office will discharge and be responsible for the following functions:
• Leads, formulates, supervises and carries out the work programme of the Office under his/her responsibility. Co-ordinates the work carried out by different work units under the Office and by other agencies and bodies of the United Nations system and the humanitarian community, NGOs, the government and the donor community on all appropriate aspects of the implementation and delivery of humanitarian activities, to ensure that that coordination structures at local, provincial and national levels operate in a coherent and cost-effective manner;
• Co-ordinates and oversees the development and preparation of reports, including Common Humanitarian Action Plan and agreed policies and principles of humanitarian actions for presentation to intergovernmental bodies such as the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budget Questions, Committee for Programme Coordination, Economic and Social Council, the General Assembly and other policy-making organs, as appropriate.
• Serves as senior policy advisor to the UN Resident/Humanitarian Coordinator, UN Country Team (UNCT) and the humanitarian country team and promotes and provides guidance on humanitarian principles/initiatives including humanitarian reform initiatives (cluster coordination, humanitarian financing etc.) and acts to strengthen cooperation among the humanitarian community on policy issues of inter-agency concern
• Promotes best practices in humanitarian planning, response and evaluation; facilitates inter-agency resource mobilization efforts, including the provision of specialized international assistance to respond to ongoing as well as new and/or emerging emergencies;
• Ensures that the outputs produced by the Office maintain high-quality standards; that reports are clear, objective and based on comprehensive data. Ensures that all outputs produced by the Sections under his/her supervision meet required standards before completion to ensure they comply with the relevant mandates.
• Undertakes or oversees the programmatic/administrative tasks necessary for the functioning of the Office, including preparation of budgets, reporting on budget/programme performance, evaluation of staff performance (PAS), interviews of candidates for job openings, evaluation of candidates and preparation of inputs for results-based budgeting.
• Recruits staff, taking due account of geographical balance.
• Manages, guides, develops and trains staff under his/her supervision.
• Fosters teamwork and communication among staff in the Office and across organizational boundaries.
• Leads and supervises the organization of meetings, seminars, etc. on substantive issues. Manages the substantive preparation and organization of such meetings or seminars.
• Participates in international, regional or national meetings and provides programmatic/substantive expertise on an issue, or holds programmatic/substantive and organizational discussions with representatives of other institutions.
• Represents the Office at international, regional or national meetings.

Competencies
Professionalism:

• Expert knowledge of complex, multi-faceted humanitarian issues with wide exposure to humanitarian and emergency relief operations;
• Ability to advise the UN Resident/Humanitarian Coordinator as well as OCHA’s senior management team on tactical approaches and techniques to address complex and sensitive humanitarian issues;
• Ability to produce reports and papers on technical issues and to review and edit the work of others.
• Excellent understanding of institutional mandates, policies and guidelines related to humanitarian affairs and of the institutions of the UN system, in particular, the mandate of OCHA as well as its core policies and guiding humanitarian principles.
• Knowledge of OCHA institutional mandate, its policies, and organizational procedures as well as understanding of the core UN policies and guiding principles pertaining to international humanitarian affairs.
• Ability to apply UN rules, regulations, policies and guidelines in work situations. 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.

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.

Accountabilities:

• Takes ownership of all responsibilities and honours 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.

Leadership:

• Serves as a role model that other people want to follow;
• Empowers others to translate vision into results;
• His proactive in developing strategies to accomplish objectives;
• Establishes and maintains relationships with a broad range of people to understand needs and gain support;
• Anticipates and resolves conflicts by pursuing mutually agreeable solutions;
• Drives for change and improvements; does not accept the status quo; shows the courage to take unpopular stands. Provides leadership and takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work; demonstrates knowledge of strategies and commitment to the goal of gender balance in staffing.

Judgement/Decision Making:

• Identifies the key issues in a complex situation, and comes to the heart of the problem quickly;
• Rathers relevant information before making a decision; considers positive and negative impacts of decisions prior to making them;
• Takes decisions with an eye to the impact on others and on the Organization; proposes a course of action or makes a recommendation based on all available information;
• Checks assumptions against facts; determines that the actions proposed will satisfy the expressed and underlying needs for the decision;
• Makes tough decisions when necessary.

Organisation Setting and Reporting

• The position is located in the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Abuja, Nigeria.
• The Head of Office supports the UN Resident/Humanitarian Coordinator under the overall leadership of the Director of the Coordination and Response Division (CRD) of OCHA.

Education

• Advanced university degree (Master's degree or equivalent) in Business or Public Administration, Finance, Accounting, Law, Social Sciences, International Affairs, Political Science or related area.
• A first-level university degree in combination with an additional two years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Work Experience

• A minimum of Fifteen years of progressively responsible experience in disaster relief coordination, humanitarian assistance, human resources management, administration, logistics, financial management, budget or related field.
• Experience in coordinating relief/humanitarian response in a complex emergency and/or natural disaster context is required.
• Experience in dealing with access negotiation in a humanitarian setting is highly desirable.
• Experience in addressing the protection concerns for the conflict/disaster affected population is highly desirable.

Languages:

• English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this position advertised, fluency in English is required.
• Knowledge of another UN official language is desirable.

Assessment:

• Evaluation of qualified candidates may include a desk review of the applications, an assessment exercise and/or a competency-based interview.