Hardship Level (not applicable for home-based)A (least hardship)
Family Type (not applicable for home-based)
Family
Staff Member / Affiliate TypeUNOPS IICA1
Target Start Date2024-01-01
Job Posting End DateDecember 2, 2023
Terms of ReferenceInternational individual contracts apply to a person who does not reside in the country where he or she is to perform the services.
Individuals cannot be hired under an international individual contract in the country of their nationality or permanent residence.
Selected candidate will be required to work from San Salvador, El Salvador
Only shortlisted candidates will be notified and may be required to sit for a test and will undertake a competency-based interview.
The evaluation of applicants will be conducted based on the information submitted during the application. Applicants must provide complete and accurate information pertaining to their personal profile and qualifications. No amendment, addition, deletion, revision, or modification shall be made to applications that have been submitted. Candidates under serious consideration for selection will be subject to reference checks to verify the information provided in the application.
UNHCR is committed to diversity and job inclusion, therefore, all people are encouraged to apply for this vacancy regardless of religion, age, sex, ethnicity, disability, gender identity or expression, or sexual orientation.
Remuneration:
A competitive compensation and benefits package is offered. For information on UN salaries, allowances and benefits, please visit the portal of the International Civil Service Commission at: http://icsc.un.org
UNOPS Contract - initially until 31 December 2024
1. General Background
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is the agency of the United Nations System with the mandate to provide international protection and seek durable solutions that respond to the needs of the refugee population, asylum seekers, internally displaced people and other people UNHCR care for.
El Salvador has a population of 6.3 million people, with at least 20% of El Salvador's population living abroad. The countryโs economy is heavily reliable on remittances, which constitute around 26% of its GDP. According to the 2021 Multipurpose Household Survey released in 2022, 24.6% of El Salvadorโs population lives below the poverty line, out of which 7.8% are extremely poor.
Between 2006 and 2016, 1.1% of families in El Salvador were forcibly displaced raising the estimated number of internally displaced people to 71,500. According to the profiling exercise published in 2018 by the Ministry of Justice and Public Security, most displaced people are socio-economically vulnerable young families.
El Salvador is committed to identifying and addressing protection and solutions for refugees, internally displaced people, returnees with protection needs, and stateless individuals. El Salvador is party to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, and to the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons. In 2020, El Salvador approved the Special Law for the Care and Integral Protection of Victims of Violence in Conditions of Forced Displacement.
Since July 2019, El Salvador is actively engaged in the Comprehensive Regional Protection and Solutions Framework (MIRPS in Spanish), a regional application of the Global Compact on Refugees. Growing mixed population flows across the countries in the north of Central America is a priority to be addressed in the regional agenda. The increasingly complex human mobility context demands additional efforts for coordinating protection-oriented responses.
UNHCR is active in the implementation, coordination, and monitoring of the 2022-2026 United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF), which prioritizes responses to the needs of internally displaced people and refugees. UNHCR is an active member of the Humanitarian Country Team. UNHCR leads the Protection Sector and co-leads the CCCM and Shelter sectors.
UNHCR seeks to meaningfully engage, empower, inform, and seek the views of people in decisions that affect their lives, as drivers for greater equality and social cohesion. UNHCR is currently present in over 40 communities and 17 Municipalities nationwide.
All UNHCR staff members are accountable to perform their duties as reflected in their job description. They do so within their delegated authorities, in line with the regulatory framework of UNHCR which includes the UN Charter, UN Staff Regulations and Rules, UNHCR Policies and Administrative Instructions as well as relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, staff members are required to discharge their responsibilities in a manner consistent with the core, functional, cross-functional and managerial competencies and UNHCRโs core values of professionalism, integrity and respect for diversity.
2. Purpose and Scope of Assignment
The Associate Livelihood and Economic Inclusion Officer will be key in operationalizing the strategic vision to align livelihoods and economic inclusion efforts with the Global Compact on Refugees (GCR), which underscores the need to mobilize additional actors and to adopt a whole-of-society approach to strengthen refugee self-reliance and help ease pressure on host countries. Promoting economic inclusion of refugees is a key development area that will enable the achievement of these objectives and contribute to the 2030 Agenda's Sustainable Development Goals.
Leveraging the growing global momentum, UNHCR is working to translate the objectives of the GCR into impactful results for persons of concern (POC). Contributing to this global roll-out of the GCR, the Associate Livelihood and Economic Inclusion Officer, with support from the Livelihoods and Economic Inclusion Unit in the Division of Resilience and Solutions (DRS), works towards the following objectives:
1. improve the enabling environment for refugees and IDPs to work through advocacy on the right to/at work, access to economic opportunities and service;
2. seek new and strengthen existing partnerships including with the private sector, development actors, government institutions and specialized agencies to advance economic inclusion of refugees; and
3. enhance ongoing livelihoods and economic inclusion programming through evidence-based and market-driven approaches to improve economic inclusion outcomes.
The Associate Livelihood and Economic Inclusion Officer should be proactive, always looking for new opportunities and persuasive in mobilizing donors and new partners around new models of economic and social integration.
The incumbent will interact with the government counterparts and other stakeholders with specific mandate in livelihood activities as well as with the refugee communities. Within UNHCR, the Associate Livelihood and Economic Inclusion Officer will work under the supervision of the head of livelihoods and closely with multi-functional teams on matters including but not limited to protection, education, cash, partnerships, research and analytics, GBV, solutions, complementary pathways and more. S/he will support the office's involvement with livelihoods and economic inclusion, working with relevant external stakeholders from government line ministries, development actors, private sector, UN agencies, international organisations, NGOs, research institutions and universities.
3. Monitoring and Progress Controls
- Maintain close contact and cooperation with partners to facilitate the economic inclusion of refugees, such as line ministries, private sector and development actors in accordance with UNHCR Global and Country level policies, priorities, and strategies, in particular the Global Compact on Refugees. This includes advocating with public and private sector services providers to include UNHCR POC in supporting services (business development, micro-finance, training, saving accounts, poverty alleviation and social protection, etc.).
- Work with the multi-functional team, more specifically with the Protection Unit, to assess the legal framework for the right to work and rights at work and recommend/implement advocacy initiatives and policy reforms to improve UNHCR POCโs economic inclusion, rights and access to work.
- Build on UNHCR databases to support regular information sharing and coordination among different humanitarian, developmental and governmental stakeholders. This includes supporting the implementation of socioeconomic and wealth ranking surveys utilising community-based strategies to inform targeting, monitoring and facilitation of development programmes.
- Conduct necessary assessments in collaboration with relevant private and public stakeholders, including impact assessments on local economies and surveys that help to identify investment and funding opportunities that enhance the economic inclusion of UNHCR POC.
- In case UNHCR is implementing specific livelihoods activities, strengthen, guide and monitor the livelihoods interventions to help ensure they are market-based, and that the role of UNHCR has been strategically determined in consideration of its comparative advantage vis-ร -vis other partners.
- Perform other related duties as required.
4. Qualifications and Experience
3 years relevant experience with Undergraduate degree; or 2 years relevant experience with Graduate degree; or 1 year relevant experience with Doctorate degree.
a. Education
Economics/International Economics/Political Economy; Business Management; Socio-Economics Development; Financial Management; Public Policy with Economic approach or other relevant field.
b. Work Experience
Essential
- Technical competencies in sub-sectors relevant to livelihoods programming e.g. financial inclusion, employment, entrepreneurship, private sector development, local economic development, poverty reduction, agriculture, livestock, vocational and technical education, and training, etc.
- Experience in facilitating the economic inclusion of vulnerable and marginalized groups in collaboration with internal and external stakeholders, ideally in varied field contexts.
- Experience in working with and developing partnerships with private sector, NGOs, UN organisations, development actors, and government authorities in sub-sectors relevant to livelihood programming e.g. financial inclusion, employment, entrepreneurship, private sector development, local economic development, poverty reduction, agriculture, livestock, vocational and technical education and training, etc.
- Experience conducting research on education, labour or financial inclusion for vulnerable groups using robust theoretical and empirical tools. Previous experience working with development actors.
Desirable
Knowledge about latest development in the livelihoods sector, including broader UN processes on the SDGs and the Global Compact on Refugees.
Strong background in econometrics, mathematics, and statistics.
Superb programming skills in Stata or R.
Experience working in international financial organizations including World Bank Group, IMF, IBD, among others.
c. Language
Fluency in English and Spanish.
d. Key Competencies
Functional Skills
โข Experience with Inter/Non-Governmental Organization (INGO/NGO);
โข Livelihoods & sub-sectors (value-chain upgrading, microfinance, cash assistance, etc.);
โข Field experience;
โข Project Management;
โข Strategic Planning;
โข Drafting, Documentation, Data Presentation;
โข Applied economic methods and analysis
โข Data collection/coordination on political, economic & social trends affecting solutions
โข Statistical and modelling software
Core Competencies
โข Accountability
โข Communication
โข Organizational Awareness
โข Teamwork & Collaboration
โข Commitment to Continuous Learning
โข Client & Result Orientation
Managerial Competencies
โข Managing Resources
โข Empowering and Building Trust
โข Judgement and Decision Making
Cross-Functional Competencies
โข Analytical Thinking
โข Technological Awareness
โข Stakeholder Management
Standard Job Description
Required Languages English
,Spanish
,
Desired Languages
,
,
Additional Qualifications
Skills
Education
Certifications
Work Experience
Other informationThis position doesn't require a functional clearance