Individual Contract - Emergency Specialist (84 Days), EMOPS - NYHQ, USA

Contract

This is a Consultancy contract. More about Consultancy contracts.

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, a Champion

Since 2016, UNICEF has made preparedness planning mandatory and adopted new and more systemic ways of working through the UNICEF Procedure on Preparedness for Emergency Response and the online Emergency Preparedness Platform (EPP). Preparedness, once only an issue for specialists, increasingly features in the daily work of more staff across more functions and offices. The EPP is central to this new preparedness architecture. Launched in January 2018, this practical tool is enabling country offices (COs) – in concert with regional offices (ROs) and headquarters (HQ) - to systematically analyse risks, develop response plans and identify capacity gaps, from where they launch specific steps to strengthen their preparedness. To date, all COs have uploaded their preparedness plans to the platform. The EPP and the new preparedness architecture have already led to real improvements in COs' preparedness, including the following: many COs have produced response plans that can be quickly used at the onset of emergencies, signed stand-by agreements with partners, established long-term agreements with vendors for supplies and logistics services, and strengthened sectoral coordination agreements with interagency partners and governments.

Notwithstanding the value of the progress to date, we still have much work to do – in 2021 and beyond – in order to achieve a high level of operational preparedness in UNICEF offices worldwide. We need to take further practical steps to support offices more effectively: increasing technical assistance and quality assurance; strengthening capacities of our staff and partners; producing evidence and sharing good practices; improving guidance and tools to respond to user demand; finding new sources of funding for preparedness; adapting preparedness to the different contexts where we work; and ensuring that CO, RO, and HQ teams enhance their dialogue and mutual support. And we need to embed preparedness increasingly firmly in our programme cycles and way of working, in support of linking humanitarian and development and risk-informed programming, with a focus on the ability of governments, the humanitarian community, and UNICEF to meet the CCCs in an emergency.

The EMOPS's Risk Analysis and Preparedness Section (RAPS) focuses on leading UNICEF in getting ready to meet CCCs in humanitarian emergencies. These goals and roles are situated in the larger objectives of UNICEF's efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change and reduce fragility and children's vulnerability around the world. For the year 2021, the section identified specific preparedness priorities that include enhancing guidance, systems, and tools to support preparedness functions; providing a quality assurance function for CO and RO risk analysis and preparedness outputs; supporting COs and ROs in managing their/UNICEF's operational readiness; and generating evidence that preparedness adds value and advocating for preparedness to increase funding, build a community of practice, and strengthen UNICEF's preparedness architecture.

How can you make a difference?

Under the general supervision of the Chief, Risk Analysis and Preparedness Section (RAPS) and working closely with other Specialists within EMOPS, other HQ Divisions, and RO emergency teams, the individual contractor will support the section's preparedness functions, including enhancing preparedness planning across UNICEF offices and providing technical support, capacity building, quality assurance, and other tasks as needed.

Responsibilities:

• Support RAPS' effort to provide effective coordination to other EMOPS Sections, relevant HQ Divisions, ROs and COs in pursuit of enhanced emergency preparedness globally
  • Coordinate RAPS/Preparedness initiatives with ROs and the wider Preparedness Reference Group.
  • Continue the rollout and adoption of the upgraded Emergency Preparedness Platform (EPP 2.0), and Preparedness Procedure, and related MPS benchmarks (primarily through webinars and calls) across country offices.
  • Support the review and revision process of the UNICEF Guidance Note on Preparedness for Emergency Response
  • Support global sharing of experiences on preparedness.
• Provide technical assistance to UNICEF country, regional, and HQ offices
  • Provide technical assistance on emergency preparedness to ROs, COs, EMOPS colleagues, and other HQ Divisions, in particular on preparedness actions and contingency planning for high and medium risk countries.
  • Provide technical assistance on EPP platform use and related issues
  • Coordinate the delivery of EPP user support through GSSC Customer care, and facilitate the development and integration of EPP knowledge articles into the GSSC Service Gateway platform
  • Contribute to EMOPS Horizon Scanning for contextual risks and provide follow-up in stepping up preparedness in high-risk countries.
• Support the EPP design and user engagement process
  • Support the revision of EPP helpfiles and on-platform captions for improved EPP navigation
  • Contribute to EPP design and development
  • Support EPP bug reporting, investigation, and resolution
  • Work with HQ technical leads to enhance user guidance for respective MPS and cross-cutting areas
  • Coordinate the EPP user engagement group and feedback gathering for improving EPP user experience

Duty Station:

New York, US - In light of COVID 19 related office physical presence restriction in New York city, it is expected that the selected incumbent will have the means to work remotely from home as long as required. As soon as the COVID19 restrictions will have been lifted, the consultant is expected to be physically present in our NY office. Specific circumstances will be discussed during the recruitment process.

Travel:

• Consultant is expected to travel to NYHQ. Travel plans to be pre-approved and agreed to by UNICEF EMOPS. Travel paid for by UNICEF shall be based on economy class travel, regardless of the length of travel. Costs for accommodation, meals and incidentals shall not exceed applicable daily subsistence allowance (DSA) rates, as promulgated by the International Civil Service Commission (ICSC). Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for assuming costs for obtaining visas and travel insurance.

Time Frame:

Estimated Start Date: 15 April 2021 through 15 August 2021

Duration: 84 days

Key Competencies, Technical Background and Required Experience:

Education

Advanced university degree (master's degree or equivalent) in education, social sciences, public policy or related. First-level university degree with relevant combination of academic qualifications and experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience

• Five years progressively responsible work experience in and high level of familiarity with emergency preparedness, in particular with the adoption of the UNICEF Preparedness Procedure using the Emergency Preparedness Platform (EPP)
• Proven experience in facilitating multi-stakeholder processes.
• Experience of work in emergency response with UNICEF is an asset.
• Experience of work at the RO or HQ level is an asset.
• Fluency in English

Call for Proposals:

Applications should include:

• Past experience (CV).
• 3 references with updated contact information.
• Sample of similar work undertaken.
• Daily/Monthly rate

Please indicate your ability, availability, financial request and suggested payment schedule to undertake the terms of reference above. Applications submitted without a financial proposal will not be considered.

Please note that only candidates who are under serious consideration will be contacted.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA) and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

View our competency framework at

http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/files/UNICEF_Competencies.pdf

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.

Remarks:

With the exception of US citizens, G4 visa and Green Card holders, should the selected candidate and his/her household members reside in the United States under a different visa, the consultant/individual contractor and his/her household members are required to change their visa status to G4, and the individual contractor/consultant's household members (spouse) will require an Employment Authorization Card (EAD) to be able to work, even if he/she was authorized to work under the visa held prior to switching to G4.

At the time the contract is awarded, the selected candidate must have in place current health insurance coverage.

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

In the selection of its staff, UNICEF is committed to gender balance and diversity without distinction as to race, sex or religion, and without discrimination of persons with disabilities: well-qualified candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.