Logistics Sector Coordinator (CST Level II, Cox's Bazar)

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TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Type of Contract: International Consultancy (CST Level II)

Position Title: Logistics Sector Coordinator

Unit: Logistics Sector

Duty Station: Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh

Duration: 11 months

ABOUT WFP

The United Nations World Food Programme is the world's largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide. The mission of WFP is to help the world achieve Zero Hunger in our lifetimes. Every day, WFP works worldwide to ensure that no child goes to bed hungry and that the poorest and most vulnerable, particularly women and children, can access the nutritious food they need.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT

Since 2018, more than 900,000 Undocumented Myanmar Nationals (UMNs) have been residing in camps and make-shift shelters in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh (ISCG, May 2018). The Government of Bangladesh, supported by the humanitarian community, has been providing life-saving support to the refugees. The “Logistics Sector” is a national sectorial coordination mechanism (ie: not an ISAC “activated” cluster) that facilitates coordination, information management amongst the logistics actors involved in the emergency response.

Where and when needed in Cox’s Bazar, the Logistics Sector has facilitated access to common logistics services, providing a platform that ensures service delivery was driven by the Humanitarian/Joint Response Plan and the recognized strategic priorities. In effect, the Logistics Sector has been supporting the logistics response to the Rohingya emergency since September 2017, and WFP now works in collaboration with Government bodies and NGOs, aiming at developing the local solutions for national coordination bodies and ensuring that an early recovery approach is aligned with national development objectives and that steps are taken to strengthen national preparedness and response capacity.

The cluster (named “Sector” in Cox’s Bazar) Coordinator is supported by a coordination team (logistics officer, IMO and GIS officers). The Cluster/Sector Coordinator provides leadership and works on behalf of the cluster/sector, facilitating all cluster/sector activities and developing and maintaining a strategic vision and operational response plan. He/she also ensures coordination with other clusters in relation to inter-cluster activities and cross-cutting issues. The Sector Coordinator generally reports directly to the WFP Country Director/Representative of the Cluster Lead Agency/s – Specifically, and for contextual/geographical reasons, the Sector Coordinator effectively reports to the Deputy Emergency Coordinator, also based in Cox’s Bazar.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive)

The Cluster Coordinator is responsible for facilitating a process at the sectoral level aimed at ensuring the following:

Establishment and maintenance of effective coordination mechanisms

• Ensure the appropriate coordination with national authorities to the extent the political situation allows. This will involve liaising and working with relevant government counterparts to support or complement existing coordination mechanisms, where they exist.
• Identify and establish contact with all other relevant sector stakeholders including national and international organizations, and representatives of affected populations. Invite these stakeholders to participate as partners in the work of the cluster as appropriate. Convene and facilitate meetings of the Logistics Sector (and/or joint meetings with another cluster), increasing or reducing their frequency as needed but being careful to avoid meeting overload.
• Facilitate agreements on an efficient division of labour and the assignment of responsibilities amongst the Logistics Sector partners taking account of their comparative advantages and complementarities, creating Technical Working Group to solve issues when needed (ie: Designate focal points or working groups for specific issues where necessary).
• Support ISCG (Inter Sector Coordination Group) to establish and maintain appropriate inter-sector coordination mechanisms and represent the Logistics Sector in inter-sector coordination fora as appropriate.

Preparedness and capacity-development (including, where possible, in the pre-emergency and post-emergency phase)

• Lead early warning, contingency planning, and emergency preparedness efforts for the Logistics Sector; ensure adequate (Logistics Sector) participation in inter-cluster early warning, contingency planning and emergency preparedness activities.
• Together with the Logistics Sector partners, undertake capacity mapping and gap identification exercises to maintain and further develop a capacity-development strategy for the sector.
• Identify the training needs of the Logistics Sector partners and communicate them to the WFP emergency coordination and country direction.

Gaps and Needs Analysis, evaluation/assessment prioritization and planning

• Ensure that the Logistics Sector covers all the identified and evolving sector needs of the affected population - The Logistics Sector coordinator will conduct the Gaps and Needs Analysis (GNA) on annual and ad-hoc basis (ie: GNA updates).
• Organize joint field missions, needs assessments and analysis among cluster partners and participate in joint inter-cluster needs assessment exercises as appropriate to ensure that identified needs, gaps and priorities are as evidence-based as possible in any given emergency context.
• Facilitate the development of an overall strategy and response plan for the Logistics Sector with linkages between disaster risk reduction, relief, recovery, and development. To the extent possible, ensure the strategy complements the government’s policies and plans.
• Ensure that the response plan of the Logistics Sector is updated regularly according to evolving needs and that it establishes indicators by which performance of the national coordination mechanism (ie: The Logistics Sector) can be measured.
• Ensure that the Logistics Sector strategy is adequately reflected in overall country strategies such as the Joint Response Plan (JRP) as well as in Flash and Consolidated Appeals.

Transition planning

• Lead on the design of appropriate transition strategies for the Logistics Sector to ensure continuity between the humanitarian response, the recovery and development phases and disaster risk reduction initiatives. Ideally this will involve working closely with national counterparts and development actors to ensure a resumption of national ownership of sector activities. It will also involve consideration of how coordination mechanisms and sector membership should change as the humanitarian emergency subsides.

Integration of cross-cutting issues

• Raise awareness of and promote the integration of agreed priority cross-cutting issues (e.g. age, environment, gender, HIV/AIDS and human rights) in sector/inter-sector needs assessments, analysis, planning, implementation and monitoring. Work with cross-cutting issue focal points (if they have been designated) or, if necessary, call upon global cross-cutting issue focal points to support the effective mainstreaming of these issues within the response.

Application of standards, guidelines, and good practice

• Facilitate discussion and agreement on the use of common standards and tools among the Logistics Sector partners. Promote awareness of and adherence to relevant policy guidelines, codes of conduct and examples of good practice by all the Logistics Sector partners, taking into consideration the possible need for local adaptation both in terms of language and content.

Information management, monitoring, evaluation and reporting

• Facilitate adequate reporting and information sharing, both within the Logistics Sector and with other clusters through inter-sector coordination mechanisms.
• Ensure that updated and relevant sector-specific information is included in general inter-sector reporting including common web platforms, Situation Reports and other reporting mechanisms.
• Facilitate the Logistics Sector agreement on what monitoring activities will be undertaken to review the impact of the sector’s humanitarian response and ensure they are implemented

Advocacy

• Together with the Logistics Sector partners, identify core advocacy concerns for the sector and contribute key messages to the broader advocacy initiatives, the WFP country direction and other relevant actors.

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED

Education:

Bachelor’s degree or higher in Logistics, Business Administration / Management, Supply Chain Management, Transports, Economics, Political Science or other relevant fields

Experience:

At least 6 years of professional experience in an international environments, including:

• At least 2 years in capacity strengthening and emergency preparedness activities in a humanitarian operation and
• At least 2 years in managing humanitarian logistics, including land, shipping or air transport and logistics/transport operations

Additional experience in the following areas would be considered advantageous:

• Good understanding / experience of the Humanitarian reform / Transformative Agenda / Cluster Approach
• Emergency logistics assessments and analysis
• Emergency preparedness and contingency planning
• Emergency Inter-agency coordination including managing Inter-agency meetings

Key Competencies:

• Proven cross-cultural competencies and ability to work effectively and respectively with people from diverse backgrounds
• Demonstrated ability to maximize resources
• Ability to prioritize tasks, make decisions in stressful situations and delegate responsibilities
• Ability to analyze data and market trends to translate them into useful Information Management products
• Demonstrated leadership skills and ability to engage and inspire confidence partners and stakeholders
• Willingness to work in challenging environments / field locations
• Demonstrated competency to negotiate with partners

Languages: Fluency in spoken and written English is required

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

Sunday, 19 December 2021 (Midnight Bangladesh time)

TO APPLY

Click ‘Apply’ link below to start the application process. Candidate are requested to create an account in WFP E-Recruitment system before applying.

Please also include your CV with a cover letter, highlighting your motivation and suitability for this vacancy, as part of an online application.

WFP offers an attractive compensation and benefits package including basic salary, Rest & Recuperation (R&R), and medical insurance.

Please visit https://www.wfp.org/countries/bangladesh to learn more about WFP’s operations in Bangladesh.

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

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All employment decisions are made on the basis of organizational needs, job requirements, merit, and individual qualifications. WFP is committed to providing an inclusive work environment free of sexual exploitation and abuse, all forms of discrimination, any kind of harassment, sexual harassment, and abuse of authority. Therefore, all selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

No appointment under any kind of contract will be offered to members of the UN Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), International Civil Service Commission (ICSC), FAO Finance Committee, WFP External Auditor, WFP Audit Committee, Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) and other similar bodies within the United Nations system with oversight responsibilities over WFP, both during their service and within three years of ceasing that service.