Area Suprt Officer

Contract

This is a P-3 contract. This kind of contract is known as Professional and Director staff. It is normally internationally recruited only. It's a staff contract. It usually requires 5 years of experience, depending on education.

Salary

The salary for this job should be between 93,162 USD and 121,988 USD.

Please keep in mind that the salary displayed here is an estimation by UN Talent based on the location and the type of contract. It may vary depending on the organization. The recruiter should be able to inform you about the exact salary range. In case the job description contains another salary information, please refer to this one.

Org. Setting and Reporting The Area Support Officer reports to the Senior Area Support Officer and receives technical guidance on neutrality and humanitarian principles from Neutrality Coordinator and on protection related matters from Chief, Protection Division, and other thematic leaders at HQs.

Responsibilities Advises on and supports protection mainstreaming activities on protection principles and standards in UNRWA service delivery and programmes including the implementation of protection audits and follow-up to their recommendations as well as support the coordination of area protection working groups and technical advice to programme colleagues on protection issues;

Plans, develops and oversees protection activities and interventions in support of programmes according to agreed priorities and procedures, providing technical support and guidance as required including in the areas of general protection, gender-based-violence, child protection and disabilities;

Undertakes protection monitoring of key protection threats and risks through regular field missions to gather information and data and documents on alleged violations of international humanitarian, human rights and refugee law and provides comprehensive and analytical reports with findings and recommendations to be used as a basis for informing programmatic and advocacy responses in line with UNRWA policies and procedures;

Undertakes advocacy on protection issues with a range of different stakeholders (authorities, donors, diplomats, etc.) including providing contextual and substantive briefings on UNRWA operations and protection issues, and highlights advocacy concerns as needed including civil-military coordination;

Substantively contributes to the coordination of protection activities in the field office both internally with programmes and other departments and also externally with other protection partners including UN agencies and NGOs;

In order to preserve UNRWA’s humanitarian operational space, follows up on the most serious neutrality issues, including by undertaking spot-checks, under the guidance of the Protection and Neutrality Team Leader and according to standard operating procedures in coordination with senior programme and other staff (including schools principals, heads of health centres, chiefs of area offices and other installations managers) that will conduct the routine installations’ inspections, providing support as required;

Supervises, mentors and assesses the performance of supervised staff as assigned and develops and delivers trainings to UNRWA staff on protection and humanitarian principles (particularly neutrality) as required.

Competencies UN Core Values of Professionalism, Integrity and Respect for Diversity and Core Competencies of Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results apply by default. Default managerial competencies may apply.

- Planning and Organizing - Persuading and Influencing - Applying Technical Expertise - Leading and Supervising - Analyzing

For guidance on how to prepare for competency-based interviews: https://careers.un.org/lbw/home.aspx?viewtype=AYI

Education A university degree from an accredited educational institution in social science, political affairs, international relations, law or a related field.

Work Experience At least six years of progressively responsible experience in the field support of refugees/IDPs in emergency settings, with familiarity in Human Rights, Humanitarian International Advocacy, preferably with international or non-governmental organizations, with understanding of humanitarian protection and neutrality policies and approaches. A minimum of 2 continuous years of relevant international experience outside UNRWA, and outside the country(s) of which the candidate is a national or holds citizenship, a passport or a national identity number. Knowledge and understanding of the middle east societies and cultural issues.

Languages Excellent command of spoken and written English.

Ability to communicate in Arabic language (Desirable).

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

Special Notice Additional Information:

- The incumbent will be required to reside at the duty station, where s/he is assigned.

- The incumbent may be required to travel/drive by him/herself an UNRWA vehicle throughout the field of operations in the course of his/her duties.

Type of Contract and duration: Temporary Appointment for 9 months or until 31 December 2021. Renewal subject to funds availability.

UNRWA is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions from UN member states, regional bodies, business foundations and individual contributions. The mission of UNRWA is to help Palestine refugees achieve their full potential in human development under the difficult circumstances in which they live.

For more details on UNRWA, please visit: https://www.unrwa.org/

United Nations Considerations Staff members are subject to the authority of the Commissioner-General of UNRWA and to assignment by him or her.

UNRWA is committed to achieving gender parity at all levels of staffing under the current UN-wide gender agenda and strongly encourages applications from qualified applicants from under-represented groups.

At UNRWA, the paramount consideration in the recruitment and employment of staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity, with due regard to geographic diversity. All employment decisions are made on the basis of qualifications and organizational needs. UNRWA is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. Reasonable accommodation for applicants with disabilities may be provided to support participation in the recruitment process when requested and indicated in the application.

UNRWA Considerations UNRWA staff are expected to uphold the highest standards of efficiency, competence, neutrality, impartiality and integrity. This includes respect for and commitment to human rights, diversity and non-violent means of dealing with all kinds of conflict. Only persons who fully and unconditionally commit to these values should consider applying for UNRWA jobs. Candidates will not be considered for employment with UNRWA 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. Candidates who have committed crimes other than minor traffic offences may not be considered for employment. The Agency may disqualify applicants who have separated for reason of misconduct, who left a UN Agency while misconduct processes were pending, or who appear on the UN Sanctions List. UNRWA is a non-smoking work 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.