Inter- Agency coordination Officer

Deadline for ApplicationsFebruary 24, 2026

Hardship Level (not applicable for home-based)E (most hardship)

Family Type (not applicable for home-based)

Non Family with Residential Location

Staff Member / Affiliate TypeUNOPS IICA2

Target Start Date2026-03-01

Terms of Reference1. General Background

South Sudan currently hosts over 600,000 refugees and more than 2.3 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) and has witnessed over 900,000 returns of South Sudanese in the past two years—predominantly from Sudan. With more than 75% of the population requiring humanitarian assistance, the conflict in Sudan continues to strain South Sudan’s socio economic stability, border areas, and already fragile markets. Despite these pressures and the limited national capacity to provide basic services after years of heavy reliance on humanitarian aid, the Government of South Sudan maintains a progressive and welcoming refugee policy. This policy environment presents meaningful opportunities for development partners to engage in medium to long term solutions, including rebuilding national systems, strengthening service delivery structures, and expanding resilience programming beyond what humanitarian actors alone can sustain.
While UNHCR and partners maintain a strong focus on emergency response, protection, and life saving assistance, the South Sudan operation is increasingly investing in partnerships that support solutions, stabilization, and sustainability. This includes joint efforts with government, development partners, and peacebuilding actors to promote social cohesion, enhance access to essential services, strengthen local capacities, and create pathways toward durable solutions for refugees, asylum seekers, IDPs, returnees, and host communities.
The inter agency context in South Sudan is complex and rapidly evolving. Significant developments include the restructuring of the Protection Cluster; the establishment of the new Shelter, Land and Site Coordination Cluster (SLSCC), which merges the previous Shelter/NFI and CCCM clusters along with the HLP component of the Protection Cluster; and the rollout of the Area Based Coordination (ABC) model.

2. Purpose and Scope of Assignment

The Inter Agency Coordination Officer position is intended to support the transition of the inter-agency system in South Sudan, ensuring that UNHCR maintains a central role in coordination. The incumbent will:

I. Lead inter agency coordination in the refugee and displacement context, particularly in areas where UNHCR seeks to strengthen the humanitarian development peace (HDP) nexus.

II. Support cluster coordination, including the Refugee Coordination Model (RCM), to ensure principled and coherent action, while updating the Protection Cluster lead and UNHCR management. The role will also support the SLSCC—where UNHCR will lead at sub national levels in several states—and the CCCM Technical Working Group.

III. Facilitate information sharing and joint planning to identify protection gaps, mobilize resources, and ensure the centrality of protection across all sectors. This includes following up on bilateral funds such as CERF and other joint or bilateral program funding.

IV. Promote accountability to affected populations (AAP) by mainstreaming community feedback to inform humanitarian priorities and strengthen the HDP nexus. The incumbent will support the strengthening of the ABC model in South Sudan, for which UNHCR has been assigned the lead in Upper Nile, Northern Bahr el Ghazal, and the Ruweng Administrative Area. They will ensure that protection principles are embedded in UNHCR’s area-based leadership (ABL) and relevant national frameworks.

3. Monitoring and Progress Controls

The Inter agency Coordination officer will provide critical support across the six core cluster functions during the transition and merger including but not limited to:
1. Streamlined approach to HPC 2026
The Inter agency Coordination officer supports the cluster's strategic positioning by:
• Promoting integration of the cluster strategy into the Humanitarian Country Team's (HCT) common humanitarian action plan
• Supporting alignment with cross-cutting priorities including HLP risk mitigation, protection mainstreaming, environmental protection, and disability inclusion
• Facilitating inter-cluster coordination with related sectors (Protection, WASH, Early Recovery, Health, Logistics, Food Security) particularly ensuring seamless linkage with the Protection Cluster on HLP matters
• Participating in cluster-wide consultative processes to ensure that shelter, CCCM, and HLP concerns are reflected in cluster strategy updates
2. Needs Assessment and Resource Mobilization
Supporting evidence-based cluster operations, the Inter agency Coordination officer:
• Contributes to transparent resource mobilization through development of common funding criteria and prioritization processes for inclusion in humanitarian appeals (HRP, CERF, CHF)
• Establishes mechanisms for accountable and transparent financial resource allocation within the integrated/merged cluster
3. Planning and Strategy Implementation
The Inter agency Coordination officer operationalizes cluster strategy through:
• Ensuring implementation of integrated approaches that eliminate duplication and create synergies between previously separate shelter and camp management operations
• Monitoring adherence to cluster standards and guidelines including SPHERE standards, UNHCR Emergency Handbook guidance, IASC HLP principles, and technical standards for shelter, site development, and environmental management
• Supporting linkages between humanitarian response and durable solutions (returns, local integration, relocation) ensuring shelter and site management investments strengthen rather than undermine durable solutions pathways
5. Advocacy and Representation/ Area Based Coordination Support
The Inter agency Coordination officer functions as a key advocacy focal point, engaging in:
• Representing the cluster in inter-cluster coordination forums and HCT meetings, presenting evidence-based advocacy positions on gaps and resource needs
• Ensure engagement with ABC mechanisms established in South Sudan and ensure Shelter/Land and Site Management issues are brought to fore including on policy issues affecting shelter, site management, and HLP (land governance, tenure security frameworks, eviction prevention mechanisms, host community integration policies)
• Donor advocacy regarding funding gaps, resource allocation, and evidence-based programming directions.
6. Accountability to Affected Populations
The officer supports robust Accountability to Affected People (AAP) systems by:
• Supporting establishment of community feedback and complaint resolution mechanisms within displacement sites and host communities
• Ensuring complaints regarding shelter quality, site management services, and HLP violations are systematically tracked and resolved
• Supporting participatory monitoring where affected populations contribute to assessment and evaluation of cluster performance
• Facilitating community consultations on cluster strategy, priorities, and operational approaches ensuring voices of IDPs, refugees, and host communities shape cluster direction
• Supporting disaggregated analysis of feedback to identify how cluster response affects different demographic groups (women vs. men, children, persons with disabilities, elderly)
• Ensuring transparency regarding how community feedback influences cluster decision-making and programming.

4. Qualifications and Experience

a. Education (Level and area of required and/or preferred education)

Advanced university degree in Law, Political Science, Economics, International Relations, Business Administration, Social Science or other relevant field.

b. Work Experience

6 years relevant experience with Undergraduate degree; or 5 years relevant experience with Graduate degree; or 4 years relevant experience with Doctorate degree.

Given the complexity and breadth of the role, the Inter Agency Coordination Officer must have strong protection and inter agency background, with demonstrated experience in complex field settings and in drafting resource mobilization documents. Experience as a cluster coordinator is desirable, as is technical expertise in at least one component of the SLSCC, noting that the incumbent will provide functional guidance to staff in Juba and the field. The candidate should bring a proactive and creative approach to problem solving, along with strong analytical, organizational, interpersonal, and drafting skills essential for this dynamic and demanding assignment.

c. Key Competencies

Core Competencies
Accountability
Communication
Organizational Awareness
Teamwork & Collaboration
Commitment to Continuous Learning
Client & Result Orientation

Managerial Competencies
Judgement and Decision Making

Cross-Functional Competencies
Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
Political Awareness
Stakeholder Management

Standard Job Description

Required Languages

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Desired Languages

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Additional Qualifications

Skills

Education

Certifications

Work Experience

Other informationThis position doesn't require a functional clearance

RemoteNo