Humanitarian Coordination Officer

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

June 28, 2021July 13, 2021Port MoresbyPapua New Guinea

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UNDP works in nearly 170 countries and territories, helping to achieve the eradication of poverty, and the reduction of inequalities and exclusion. We help countries to develop policies, leadership skills, partnering abilities, institutional capabilities and build resilience in order to sustain development results.

Job Description

Papua New Guinea – home to 50% of the population of the Pacific region – faces a variety of challenges with humanitarian consequences as a result of regular natural disasters (earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, frost, drought, tsunamis), conflicts, civil strife and governance issues. The hazard profile of Papua New Guinea comprises frequent localized disasters affecting specific communities and regions although there have also been less frequent large-scale disasters such as the 2015/16 El Niño-induced drought and frost and the 2018 Highlands Earthquake. National and sub- national capacities for and investment in disaster risk management remain weak. There is broad variation in national, provincial and local capacities to plan for and effectively respond to humanitarian emergencies. The need to strengthen co-ordination and communication between national and provincial institutions responsible for humanitarian planning, preparedness, response and recovery, remains a priority.

Following the departure of UN OCHA from Papua New Guinea in June 2015, UNDP assumed the role of humanitarian response coordination in addition to its overall responsibility to conduct operational activities for disaster mitigation, prevention and preparedness. This humanitarian response coordination role includes contingency planning, managing information sharing and coordination of international humanitarian partners’ interventions. It is the focal point for emergencies within the UN System and provides secretariat support to the UN Resident Coordinator, UN Country Team, Disaster Management Team, Inter-Cluster Coordination Group and, as appropriate, the National Disaster Centre.

In this context, UNDP is recruiting a Humanitarian Coordination Officer to work under the supervision of the Humanitarian Coordination Specialist to support these activities. The position will support the project team with strategic programme coordination and broader harmonization with other UNDP, United Nations and development partner activities that support disaster preparedness and response in Papua New Guinea. The incumbent is responsible for overseeing all project administrative and financial matters including implementation of project activities.

Duties and Responsibilities

This position leads project-related coordination activities, including liaising with clusters, contingency planning, managing information sharing and coordination of international humanitarian partners’ interventions, and provides secretariat support to the UN Resident Coordinator, UN Country Team, Disaster Management Team, Inter-Cluster Coordination Group and, as appropriate, the National Disaster Centre.

While regular duties are expected to be performed within a 40-hour, 5-day work week, there will occasionally be a need to work on weekends and/or holidays related to emergency monitoring and response coordination. Specific responsibilities include:

In accordance with the annual work plan and related documents, lead the day-to-day functioning of the project and coordination of project staff including consultants recruited to support project activities.
Ensure monitoring of progress is against planned activities and inputs provided by the project. This includes preparing regular progress reports (progress against planned activities, update on risks and issues) for the Project Steering Committee, Director NDC and UNDP.
Develop and maintain working relationships with provincial, national and international partners (government, UN, NGOs, CSOs, churches, private sector) for humanitarian information sharing.
With the Humanitarian Coordination Assistant, monitor humanitarian emergencies in the country. Tasking include monitoring public and social media for reporting of all events that have or a likely to have humanitarian impacts and contacting provincial and national partners (government, UN, NGOs, CSOs, churches, private sector) to collect information on humanitarian impacts.
Lead the timely production and dissemination of internal and external reports on humanitarian emergencies and response actions. Tasks include collecting information from cluster focal points and government agencies on humanitarian response actions; drafting reports or portions of reports on humanitarian needs, response actions and gaps.
Lead the preparation of a range of core humanitarian documents, including internal and external reports, communications, background notes, talking points, and presentations on humanitarian topics.
Manage and update content on the Papua New Guinea country page of HumanitarianResponse.Info. Tasks include ensuring the content is organized to allow site visitors to easily access current information, common forms, and that older information is curated and tagged appropriately; manage page access and other administrative tasks.

Competencies

Core Competencies:

Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UN’s values and ethical standards.
Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP.
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.
Treats all people fairly without favouritism.
As strong understanding of political sensitivities and ability to work positively with all partners in a politically dynamic environment.

Functional Competencies:

Knowledge Management and Learning

Demonstrated capacity in knowledge sharing and knowledge management and ability to promote a learning environment in the office through leadership and personal example.
Ability to comprehend in-depth practical knowledge of interdisciplinary development issues.
Ability to assist lead strategic planning, results-based management and reporting.
Ability to support development of innovative approaches to design" style="border-bottom: 1px dotted #007bff !important;">program design, implementation, monitoring evaluation of development programmes and projects.
Ability to use resources in a cost-effective manner.
Ability to work with minimal supervision.
Development and Operational Effectiveness.
Ability to assist lead strategic planning, results-based management and reporting.
Ability to support development of innovative approaches to program design, implementation, monitoring evaluation of development programmes and projects.
Ability to use resources in a cost-effective manner.
Ability to work with minimal supervision.

Management and Leadership

Ability to build strong relationships with clients, focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to critical feedback; consensus-oriented.
Encourages risk-taking in the pursuit of creativity and innovation.
Assist lead teams effectively and shows conflict resolution skills.
Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude.
Demonstrates good oral and written communication skills.
Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities.
Proactive and can discuss openly with all senior and technical government staff.
Demonstrates results-orientation and efficiency in a multi-tasking environment.
Demonstrates capacity to perform effectively under pressure and hardship conditions.
Highly developed interpersonal, negotiation and teamwork skills, networking aptitude, ability to work in multi-cultural environment.

Required Skills and Experience

Minimum Academic Education

Bachelor’s degree in emergency management, environmental science, or related field with knowledge in humanitarian coordination, disaster risk reduction, and protection issues. A Master’s degree in a relevant field would be an advantage.

Minimum years of relevant Work experience

Minimum of 4 years (2 years with a Master’s degree), work experience in project management within the disciplines of emergency management, humanitarian coordination, disaster risk reduction, natural resource management or other related development field.

Required Skills and Experience

Experience in writing documents for different audiences, including situation reports, project reports, communications with external stakeholders, presentations.
Management experience, including supervision of staff and coordination of research teams in an multi-disciplinary and multicultural environment an asset.
Sound understanding of disaster risk management and humanitarian coordination issues in PNG. Basic knowledge of the international, regional and national Disaster Risk Management and Humanitarian Programme Cycle discourse is an asset.
Experience in building professional networks and partnerships with national and international partners involved in DRM and emergency management.
Experience in working in a multicultural team environment with sensitivity to local cultures and traditions.
Strong organizational skills, including ability to plan, monitor, coordinate and liaise with other project staff, external partners and stakeholders, respond to requests and deliver in a timely manner.
Strong interpersonal and communication skills.

Required Language(s)

Fluency in spoken English. Demonstrated advanced writing and editing skills in English.

Disclaimer

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