Responsibilities Within delegated authority, the Associate Humanitarian Affairs Officer will be responsible for the following duties:
- In consultation with a senior Humanitarian Affairs Officer, assists in the design and preparation of studies on humanitarian, disaster, emergency relief and related issues and in various follow-up activities.
- Researches, analyzes, and presents information gathered from diverse sources on assigned topics/issues.
- Contributes to the preparation of various written documents, e.g., drafts sections of studies, background papers, policy guidelines, parliamentary documents etc.
- Develops and maintains reference/resource information on specific topics or policy-related issues; responds to various inquiries and information requests internally and externally.
- Assists in the production of appeals for international assistance; ensures the proper use and spending of donor contributions channeled through OCHA.
- Assists in the organization of meetings, seminars, conferences, workshops, etc. with other agencies and partners to facilitate exchanges of professional expertise and views on specific humanitarian-related subjects/issues; serves as reporter to such events.
- Maintains awareness of current humanitarian affairs and related issues, to include relevant political, policy, gender considerations or other developments in specific subject area, country or region concerned.
- Participates in technical assistance, disaster assessment or other missions.
- Participates in project/programme formulation and mobilization of relevant resources.
- Performs other duties as required.
Desired Candidate Profile
- An advanced university degree (Master's degree or equivalent) in political science, social science, international studies, public administration, economics, engineering, earth sciences or a related field is required.
- 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.
- A first-level university degree and no experience will be accepted for candidates who have passed the Young Professionals Programme Examination/United Nations National Competitive Recruitment Examination (NCRE) or the General Service to Professional Examination (G to P).
- A minimum of two (2) years of progressively responsible experience in humanitarian affairs, emergency preparedness, crisis/emergency relief management, rehabilitation, development, or the successful completion of the Young Professionals Programme Examination (YPP)/United Nations National Competitive Recruitment Examination (NCRE) or the General Service to Professional Examination (G to P) is required.
- Experience in research, analytical work, and data management is desirable.
- Experience in a humanitarian context in the UN Common System or other comparable international organization is desirable.
- Experience in the Middle East and North Africa region is desirable.
- English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this job opening, English is required.
- Either Arabic or Chinese (Mandarin) or French or Russian or Spanish is desirable.