Emergency Officer, P2, Diffa, Niger # 119162 (Temporary Appointment 6 months)

Contract

This is a P-2 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 2 years of experience, depending on education.

Salary

The salary for this job should be between 57,661 USD and 78,318 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.

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

And we never give up.

For every child, hope

According to the humanitarian response plan around 3.8 million people will need humanitarian assistance in Niger in 2021 people including 51% women and 55% children. Niger is in a situation of extreme vulnerability following a multitude of shocks linked to climate change, demographic growth and armed conflicts, contributing in fact to persistent poverty and recurring humanitarian crises. These crises have a significant impact on the vulnerability of populations, which are often affected simultaneously by multiple crises. Like the other countries of the Sahel, Niger continues to be affected by chronic food insecurity and malnutrition, seasonal epidemics to which has been added this year the epidemic of COVID-19, drought, floods as well as impact of armed groups in several regions of the country. The consequences are dramatic for the affected population, endangering the lives and livelihoods of civilians, increasing the need for protection and endangering social cohesion. Since 2015, the Diffa region has been affected by the humanitarian crisis in Lake Chad over the conflict between the non-state group (Boko Haram) and the countries of Lake Chad, which has caused significant population movements since 2015. According to the figures published by the OCHA in March 2021 and by the DREC in January 2021, there are 104,588 IDPs, 127,233 refugees and 35,659 returnees due to the conflict. In 2020 and 2021, the security situation deteriorated further with the recurrence of attacks in the villages, which led to the displacement of population. Moreover, within the stabilization program, return of IDPs to their original villages is being organized by the government. Floods also affected the region.

In 2016, UNICEF initiated a partnership with the international Rescue Committee (IRC), for the implementation of a Rapid Response Mechanism (RRM) project, with the objective to guarantee rapid response assessment of multi-sectorial vulnerabilities, as well as a capacity to response to immediate and urgent needs. In 2021, RRM is implemented through a consortium of 04 INGOs, 04 UN agencies (UNICEF, OCHA, WFP, OIM) and the Ministry of Humanitarian Action and Disaster Management. UNICEF in Niger ensures the technical leadership of the mechanism and supports the RRM response providing NFI kits and monitoring the quality of the interventions.

In Diffa, the Emergency Officer is in charge to ensure the role of UNICEF within the RRM, to support the internal coordination of the preparedness and response to emergency at regional level, including regional Emergency Task Force, to follow up the implementation of the other Emergency program (RapidPro, Cash, etc.) and to participate in the Nexus activities.

How can you make a difference

Within the delegated authority and under the given organizational set-up, the incumbent may be assigned the primary, shared, or contributory accountabilities for all or part of the following areas of major duties and key end-results.

Main responsibilities & Specific tasks include

• Provides professional assistance in risk analysis to identify emergency-prone conditions/situations and contribute to early warning and timely emergency preparedness, in close partnership with technical and local partners.
• Support UNICEF’s emergency preparedness, coordination and rapid response to deliver results for children. Assists in the formulation of plans of action in preparation and response to emergencies. Gathers information on best practices in emergency situations for the preparation of contingency plans. Monitors compliance of all sectors with emergency plans of action.
• Identifies formal and informal sources of information. Collects, interprets and analyses all available data on the evolving emergency situation and its implications to the emergency operation. Keeps the effective flow of information and communication crucial for the planning and implementation of emergency measures.
• Assists in organizing and conducting staff and partners training for the office and other stakeholders capacity building in emergencies preparedness and response. Provides briefing, as required. Participates in other emergency training workshops in the region and contributes to enhancement of the emergency preparedness and response capability of the office staff.
• Provide technical support to UNICEF and partners by contributing to the development of relevant standards, protocols, guidelines and training materials for the RRM and other emergency responses, in coordination with the zonal office, the Emergency unit and the sections in Niamey.
• Propose actions to improve preparedness in all sectors, in collaboration with the zonal office, the emergency unit and the sections, including regular risk analysis and contingency planning.

Emergency Response

• In the event of an emergency, promptly assists in implementing the initial operational tasks relating to emergency assistance. Immediately, participate in rapid needs assessments, collects reliable information to verify the nature and extent of the emergency with staff, government officials, other UN agencies or local organizations and media. Support the implementation of rapid response projects through the provision of technical support to partners, and coordination of the response.
• Assists supervisor with assessment of local emergency and security situation, in close collaboration with the security officer and the Chief of Field Office. Visits the location to conduct an initial rough assessment of the magnitude of the crisis and its implications for children, mothers and the community. Assists with the assessment of the validity of the emergency preparedness plan and ability of the office vis-à-vis the current crisis as well as immediate and additional needs. Provides input in and contributes toward determining priorities and an appropriate intervention by UNICEF. Coordinates with other partners to make a rapid assessment covering priority areas as defined by the Core Commitment for Children in Emergencies. Establishes contact with community groups, government, UN agencies, media and other partners to keep the country office abreast of emergency situations.
• Conduct joint field visits and evaluations with relevant sector/cluster partners and formulate recommendations for the zonal office, the emergency unit and other sections for the improvement of quality and rapidity of interventions
• Participates in implementing the emergency preparedness and response plan as necessary. Assists in identifying urgent staffing requirements and redeploying country office staff. Follows up with the timely delivery of assistance and procurement of supplies and monitors the appropriate and effective use of UNICEF resources. Identifies problems and constraints in project delivery. Sends daily situation reports to concerned parties. Make sure that data collection is timely and data and info are of the required quality for UNICEF information products.
• In close consultation with the Monitoring officer at Field Office and the Information Management Officer from Emergency Unit, contribute to the regular implementation of Humanitarian Performance Monitoring.
• Support the implementation of rapid response projects through the provision of technical support to partners, and coordination of the response
• Monitor the coverage and quality of interventions among the beneficiary population, in coordination with the zonal office, the emergency unit, the RRM coordinator and the sections (including clusters and working groups) and share information for internal communication and external coordination

• Assure regular follow-up on recommendations of field trips and Emergency Task Force meetings.

  Emergency Project

• Participates in the implementation of plans of action and workplans for emergency project. Undertakes field visits to emergency project areas, to assess local conditions and monitor project progress. Carries out project administration. Prepares inputs for appeals and updates related to emergencies. Coordinates with programme sections staff and others to mobilize donor response and recovery/rehabilitation-related funding, including humanitarian appeals and documents (e.g., pitch documents). Therefore, help draft funding appeals, donor reports and project proposals related to the response when required.

• Collects and analyses lessons learnt from UNICEF's emergency operations experience and contributes towards adoption of the best practices and standards for longer-term emergency interventions. Assists in identifying longer-term requirements of the emergency intervention/operations.
• Works with other colleagues to make sure that disaster prevention, mitigation, preparedness and response strategies are mainstreamed in the country office's workplans. Assists in the preparation of sectoral input for the country programme documents, plan of action, annual work plans, and other related documents of the office's Emergency Preparedness and Response. Provides technical input in the preparation of the Situation Analysis and the Country Programme document, as required.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

• University degree in one of the following fields: social sciences, public administration, law, public health, nutrition, WASH, international relations, business administration or other related disciplines.
• 2 years of progressively responsible work experience in planning, implementing and monitoring of emergency programmes with either the UN, IO, and/or NGO.
• Developing country work experience, training/experience in emergency response management highly desirable.
• Fluency in French. Working knowledge of English.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA).

Competences:

• Cultivate self-awareness and demonstrate a sense of ethics (1)
• Work collaboratively (1)
• Establish and maintain partnerships (1)
• Innovate and embrace change (1)
• Think and act strategically (1)
• Focus on achieving tangible results (1)
• Manage ambiguity and complexity (1)

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.