Standby Partnerships Officer

Contract

This is a UNV International Specialist contract. This kind of contract is known as International UN Volunteer. It is normally internationally recruited only. More about UNV International Specialist contracts.

UNICEF Standby Arrangements are partnerships with various external partners (31), including NGOs, Governments, inter-governmental organizations and private companies. They provide deployment of expertise for temporary additional support to UNICEF to enhance the capacity to respond to emergencies and humanitarian crisis.

To respond to emergencies, UNICEF’s standby partnership programme (SBP)is a key tool to enable UNICEF to mobilize to act, in complex protracted crises, sudden-onset or slow-onset disasters, public health emergencies, and large-scale refugee and migration crises. Standby partners deploy exceptional expertise and skills, in a rapid timeframe and for a limited yet effective duration, to allow UNICEF to rapidly scale up our response and sustain it in protracted crisis.

The war in Ukraine continues to escalate and intensification of the armed conflict is posing severe human costs, causing a growing number of civilian and children casualties, interrupting livelihoods and damaging critical civilian infrastructure, including hundreds of homes, water and sanitation infrastructure, schools and health facilities. Hundreds of thousands of children and their families have been internally displaced and, to-date, over four million forced to flee into neighbouring countries.

The situation remains very fluid, movement of population from Ukraine continue to evolve at an unprecedented scale and humanitarian needs are rapidly multiplying both inside Ukraine and in refugee hosting countries. In this context UNICEF activated its L3 Corporate Emergency Activation Procedure (CEAP) in Ukraine and neighbouring refugees overflow countries, (recently extended to Hungary) for a period of six (6) months until 4 September 2022. The Standby Partnership Programme is a key response mechanism for UNICEF to respond to emergency needs.

Within the delegated authority and under the supervision of Emergency Officer or his/her designated mandated representative(s) as well as under the matrix management of the Hungary Programme Operation Team in Budapest, the UN Volunteer Standby Partnerships Officer will:

Standby Deployment and Country Office Support:

1. Maintain effective communications with CO and RO (regional office) HR and Emergencies Teams in collaboration with the Emergency officer and Emergency Specialist, Standby Arrangements. While the UNV will support standby needs worldwide and the team based in Geneva, a special focus will be placed on supporting needs related to the Ukraine crisis;
2. Ensure strong record keeping including activation of files (i.e deployment requests) within the Standby Partner Online system (Salesforce).
3. In coordination with country offices (CO)- HR focal points and supervisors, ensures that deployees and receiving offices have completed the onboarding checklist (i.e. activation of e-mail, issuance of office equipment, security, and programming briefings etc.)
4. Review extension requests for compliance against key minimum factors and justifications (i.e. length of initial assignment; emergency rationale; exit plan; etc.)
5. In consultation with CO HR and security focal points and IAHP team, provide deploying agency appropriate and specific information as related to safety and security measures and procedures in duty stations, as required.
6. Follow-up on all deployments (in liaison with HQ focal points, supervisors and deployees) to ensure completed and filed performance evaluation reports, that offboarding actions are completed in a timely fashion, and ensure completion of the post-deployment survey upon end of deployment.

Networking and Special Projects:

1. Support the section with partner engagement for special projects and service packages for high-profile partners
2. Engage and represent UNICEF as required in the Standby Partner Network working groups, workshops, and annual/mid-annual consultations
3. Support the SBP Team in administrative and logistic aspects related to capacity building (trainings), bilateral partner meetings, special projects, and communication/advocacy initiatives as required.
4. Supports to the SBP Team in coordination and communication of partnership meetings and events (attendance of bilateral meetings, follow up of KPIs, PowerPoint presentations, infographics, and reports).

Data Analysis and Reporting: 1. Ensure KPIs and records within our main System (Salesforce and external PowerBI Dashboard), are up-to-date and maintained, run reports and prepare summary analysis against key indicators on a regular basis (for management meetings, in advance of partner meetings, etc.), and on ad hoc basis as required.

Furthermore, UN Volunteers are encouraged to integrate the UN Volunteers programme mandate within their assignment and promote voluntary action through engagement with communities in the course of their work. As such, UN Volunteers should dedicate a part of their working time to some of the following suggested activities:

• Strengthen their knowledge and understanding of the concept of volunteerism by reading relevant UNV and external publications and take active part in UNV activities (for instance in events that mark International Volunteer Day); • Be acquainted with and build on traditional and/or local forms of volunteerism in the host country; • Provide annual and end of assignment self- reports on UN Volunteer actions, results and opportunities.
• Contribute articles/write-ups on field experiences and submit them for UNV publications/websites, newsletters, press releases, etc.; • Assist with the UNV Buddy Programme for newly-arrived UN Volunteers; • Promote or advise local groups in the use of online volunteering, or encourage relevant local individuals and organizations to use the UNV Online Volunteering service whenever technically possible.

Results/expected outputs

• As an active UNICEF Standby Partner team member, efficient, timely, responsive, client-friendly and high-quality support rendered to UNICEF and its beneficiaries in the accomplishment of her/his functions, including: • Being a reliable source of information for the team and EMOPS. • Having a comprehensive understanding of surge mechanisms, especially related to external surge systems. • Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD) perspective is systematically applied, integrated and documented in all activities throughout the assignment • A final statement of achievements towards volunteerism for peace and development during the assignment, such as reporting on the number of volunteers mobilized, activities participated in and capacities developed

• Professionalism: demonstrated understanding of operations relevant to UNICEF; technical capabilities or knowledge relevant or transferrable to UNICEF procedures and rules; discretion, political sensitivity, diplomacy and tact to deal with clients; ability to apply good judgement; ability to liaise and coordinate with a range of different actors, especially in senior positions; where appropriate, high degree of autonomy, personal initiative and ability to take ownership; resourcefulness and willingness to accept wide responsibilities and ability to work independently under established procedures; ability to manage information objectively, accurately and confidentially; responsive and client-oriented; • Integrity: demonstrate the values and ethical standards of the UN and UNICEF in daily activities and behaviours while acting without consideration of personal gains; resist undue political pressure in decision-making; stand by decisions that are in the organization’s interest even if they are unpopular; take prompt action in cases of unprofessional or unethical behaviour; does not abuse power or authority; • Teamwork and respect for diversity: ability to operate effectively across organizational boundaries; excellent interpersonal skills; ability to establish and maintain effective partnerships and harmonious working relations in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, mixed-gender environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity; sensitivity and adaptability to culture, gender, religion, nationality and age; commitment to implementing the goal of gender equality by ensuring the equal participation and full involvement of women and men in all aspects of UN operations; ability to achieve common goals and provide guidance or training to colleagues; • Commitment to continuous learning: initiative and willingness to learn new skills and stay abreast of new developments in area of expertise; ability to adapt to changes in work environment. • Planning and organizing: effective organizational and problem-solving skills and ability to manage a large volume of work in an efficient and timely manner; ability to establish priorities and to plan, coordinate and monitor (own) work; ability to work under pressure, with conflicting deadlines, and to handle multiple concurrent projects/activities; • Communication: proven interpersonal skills; good spoken and written communication skills, including ability to prepare clear and concise reports; ability to conduct presentations, articulate options and positions concisely; ability to make and defend recommendations; ability to communicate and empathize with staff (including national staff), military personnel, volunteers, counterparts and local interlocutors coming from very diverse backgrounds; capacity to transfer information and knowledge to a wide range of different target groups; • Flexibility: adaptability and ability to live and work in potentially hazardous and remote conditions, involving physical hardship and little comfort; to operate independently in austere environments for protracted periods; willingness to travel within the area of operations and to transfer to other duty stations within the area of operations as necessary; • Genuine commitment towards the principles of voluntary engagement, which includes solidarity, compassion, reciprocity and self-reliance; and commitment towards UNICEF’s mission and vision, as well as to the UN Core Values.

human resources, information management and/or knowledge management - International experience in emergencies will be considered as an asset.
- Knowledge of Power BI and/or Salesforce systems will be considered as an asset. - UN or International NGOs experience will be considered as an asset. - Capable of perform in demanding contexts with minimum supervision. - Excellent oral and written skills; excellent drafting, formulation, reporting skills; - Accuracy and professionalism in document production and editing; - Excellent interpersonal skills; culturally and socially sensitive; ability to work inclusively and collaboratively with a range of partners, including grassroots community members, religious and youth organizations, and authorities at different levels; familiarity with tools and approaches of communications for development; - Ability to work and adapt professionally and effectively in a fast-paced work environment responding to UNICEF’s emergency surge needs globally; ability to work effectively in a multicultural team of international and national personnel; - Solid overall computer literacy, including proficiency in various MS Office applications (Excel, Word, etc.) and email/internet; familiarity with database management; and office technology equipment; - Self-motivated, ability to work with minimum supervision; ability to work with tight deadlines;

Turkey is an upper middle-income country, with highly-urbanized cities and well developed infrastructure systems. Most of Turkey is assessed to be at security level 1-Minimal. Security level 2 Low applies to Ankara and Istanbul.
Seismic activity remains one of the primary hazards in Turkey. Turkey’s population of nearly 81 million is almost entirely Muslim. Turkish is the official language. English predominates as the second language. The post will be located in Istanbul, which has a population of around 15M people, and straddles the European and Asian continents.
Istanbul is a UN Hub for the Europe and Central Asia Regional Offices of several UN agencies, including UNDP, UNFPA, UN Women among others. There is a lively and large group of international community. Istanbul International Airport and Sabiha Gokcen Airport have direct connections with all European, Central Asian and global cities. Istanbul provides modern services and entertainment opportunities and an elaborate medical services system. Healthcare is exceptionally good with various public and private hospitals with experienced doctors and medical staff, some of whom speak English. No specific vaccination is required to enter Turkey. Considering the rapidly changing pandemic situation in Istanbul, travellers should consult the receiving entity or the partner UN Agency, or UNDSS about the latest travel requirements/restrictions. The approximate monthly living allowance of this assignment is USD 2100 (excluding dependent allowances).