Senior Humanitarian Affairs Officer

Org. Setting and ReportingUNRWA, the largest United Nations operation in the Middle East with over 30,000 staff working across five areas of operation, is looking for highly committed personnel wishing to make a change. If you are looking for a rewarding opportunity to make a tangible difference for one of the most vulnerable communities in the world, UNRWA would like to hear from you. The Senior Humanitarian Affairs Officer reports to the Director of Planning. ResponsibilitiesStrategic Leadership of Emergency Response • Leads the planning, coordination and management of UNRWA’s humanitarian responses to crises affecting Palestine refugees, ensuring timely, effective, accountable, and needs-based interventions. • Coordinates HQ emergency operations to address immediate humanitarian needs while ensuring the protection and dignity of affected populations. • Ensures alignment of emergency activities with UNRWA’s mandate, principles and international humanitarian standards. Preparedness and Risk Management • Leads in the development and implementation of emergency preparedness plans, including risk assessments, contingency planning and standard operating procedures to address potential crises. • Ensures the establishment of early warning systems, pre-positioning of supplies, anticipatory action and capacity-building of UNRWA personnel in support of rapid, coordinated responses to crises. • Collaborates with the UNRWA Executive Office to strengthen crisis related risk management strategies to enhance UNRWA’s operational readiness and resilience. Coordination and Organizational Strengthening • Enhances UNRWA’s engagement with the humanitarian coordination system, ensuring that the Agency is effectively represented in cluster and inter-agency coordination mechanisms at the national and regional levels. • Strengthens UNRWA’s capacity for effective engagement in humanitarian coordination through the development and provision of training, guidance and active participation in the humanitarian coordination system. Policy, Strategy and Guidance • Develops and implements evidence-based policies, strategies and guidance to enhance UNRWA’s emergency management efforts, ensuring the Agency remains responsive to evolving challenges • Advocates for Palestine refugees in international humanitarian forums, ensuring their needs are addressed and prioritized • Collaborates with key humanitarian actors to sustain and scale up support to UNRWA’s operations in critical areas. Capacity Building and Technical Assistance • Leads capacity-building initiatives for UNRWA personnel and partner organizations, focusing on emergency preparedness and response, ensuring that they are equipped to effectively manage emergencies. • Provides technical guidance to field staff, fostering a culture of excellence in humanitarian response. • Collaborates with UNRWA field offices, headquarters and relevant UN entities, civil society organisations and other stakeholders to integrate capacity building initiatives into regular programming. Monitoring, Reporting, and Resource Mobilization • Coordinates between UNRWA field offices and headquarters to optimize the use of financial, human, and logistical resources. • Oversees the monitoring, including through information management systems, of humanitarian operations, facilitating accountability, transparency and continuous improvement. • Leads the development of emergency and flash appeals, ensuring timely, accurate and comprehensive monitoring and reporting of same to maintain donor confidence. • Ensures the timely submission of progress / final reports, situation reports and other relevant information to keep stakeholders well-informed of UNRWA’s humanitarian efforts. CompetenciesUN Core Values of Integrity, Professionalism and Respect for Diversity, and Core Competencies of Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results apply by default. Managing Complexity and Change Delivering Results Deciding and Initiating Action Planning and Organizing Adapting and Responding to Change Actively seeks opportunities to introduce innovations that enhance organizational efficiency and effectiveness, while fostering a culture of creativity and adaptability. EducationAdvanced university degree (Masters’ or equivalent) from an accredited educational institution in humanitarian affairs, social sciences, development studies, public administration, international relations or related fields is required. Job - Specific QualificationNot available. Work ExperienceA minimum of ten years of progressively responsible and relevant professional experience in humanitarian affairs, emergency preparedness and response at the international level is required. Experience in managing emergency responses in complex operating environments (actual field settings where a mission and/or project is being implemented) is required. Experience with inter-agency coordination, including work with clusters, national authorities and international stakeholders is required. Unless already serving as an international staff member in the UN Common System, at least two continuous years of relevant international experience outside UNRWA and outside the country(s) of citizenship is required. Previous work in the Middle East with knowledge of the history and the issues affecting the region is desirable. Advanced university degree (Masters’ or equivalent) from an accredited educational institution in humanitarian affairs, social sciences, development studies, public administration, international relations or related fields is required. Outside activities include but not limited to employment, independent contractor/freelance consultant, board member (corporate, academic, etc), expert group, lobby, public speaking/writing (article, book, blog, social media etc), teaching, conferences, training, press statement, voluntary work, political activity, fundraising/donation for non-UNRWA entity, running for public office, role in political party or orgs., owning business, work for gov./NGO/private company/charity, UNRWA partner/vendor, full/part-time, paid or not. A “yes” answer doesn’t necessarily lead to exclusion from future work at UNRWA, yet misrepresentation in providing accurate/complete info can lead to disqualification/termination of appointment, if hired. Indicating current involvement in such activities is required. LanguagesExcellent command of written and spoken English is required. Knowledge of Arabic would be an advantage. AssessmentEvaluation of qualified candidates may include an assessment exercise which may be followed by competency-based interview. Special NoticeThis is a UN Regular Budget post. Type of Contract and duration: 2 years, with the possibility of further extension. The incumbent will be required to travel to all five fields of UNRWA operation. Only applications that have been fully completed in UNRWA's online e-recruitment system inspira will be considered and no late applications will be accepted. The Personal History Profile (PHP) should be completed with full work experience under the experience tabs as per the requirements in the Job Opening. All university degrees must also be stated, where applicable. UNRWA personnel must ensure adding their contract type and grade level. Given the large pool of applicants, only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for further assessment. Providing incorrect or misleading information on an application form will result in the immediate disqualification of the candidate. UNRWA welcomes applications from qualified candidates with disabilities. A roster may be created from the selection exercise, and successful candidates may become eligible for appointment to the same post or a similar post, when the need arises. Equivalency: A first level university degree in combination with additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of an advanced university degree. NB: work experience alone or formal qualifications with no relevant work experience are not considered an acceptable combination. Join our eco-friendly organization dedicated to environment sustainability and targeting to be plastic free by 2025. The Agency disqualifies applicants whose name appears on the UN Sanctions List or a UN database of staff separated for reason of misconduct or of staff who separated while a misconduct process was pending. UNRWA shares investigation and misconduct information with other UN Agencies, and past and prospective employers about staff members who have been separated for misconduct, or who have separated while an investigation and/or disciplinary process for misconduct is underway; and those individuals may be prohibited from employment with the United Nations. UNRWA is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions from UN member states, regional bodies, business foundations and individual contributions. The mission of UNRWA is to help Palestine refugees achieve their full potential in human development under the difficult circumstances in which they live. For more details on UNRWA, please visit: https://www.unrwa.org/ United Nations ConsiderationsStaff members are subject to the authority of the Commissioner-General of UNRWA and to assignment by him or her. UNRWA is committed to achieving gender parity at all levels of staffing under the current UN-wide gender agenda and strongly encourages applications from qualified applicants from under-represented groups. At UNRWA, the paramount consideration in the recruitment and employment of staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity, with due regard to geographic diversity. All employment decisions are made on the basis of qualifications and organizational needs. UNRWA is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. Reasonable accommodation for applicants with disabilities may be provided to support participation in the recruitment process when requested and indicated in the application. UNRWA Considerations UNRWA staff are expected to uphold the highest standards of efficiency, competence, neutrality, impartiality and integrity. This includes respect for and commitment to human rights, diversity and non-violent means of dealing with all kinds of conflict. Only persons who fully and unconditionally commit to these values should consider applying for UNRWA jobs. Candidates will not be considered for employment with UNRWA if they have committed violations of international human rights law, violations of international humanitarian law, sexual exploitation, sexual abuse, or sexual harassment, or if there are reasonable grounds to believe that they have been involved in the commission of any of these acts. Candidates who have committed crimes other than minor traffic offences may not be considered for employment. The Agency may disqualify applicants who have separated for reason of misconduct, who left a UN Agency while misconduct processes were pending, or who appear on the UN Sanctions List. UNRWA is a non-smoking work environment. Applicants are urged to follow carefully all instructions available in the online recruitment platform, inspira. For more detailed guidance, applicants may refer to the Manual for the Applicant, which can be accessed by clicking on “Manuals” hyper-link on the upper right side of the inspira account-holder homepage. The evaluation of applicants will be conducted on the basis of the information submitted in the application according to the evaluation criteria of the job opening and the applicable internal legislations of the United Nations including the Charter of the United Nations, resolutions of the General Assembly, the Staff Regulations and Rules, administrative issuances and guidelines. Applicants must provide complete and accurate information pertaining to their personal profile and qualifications according to the instructions provided in inspira to be considered for the current job opening. 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. Job openings advertised on the Careers Portal will be removed at 11:59 p.m. (New York time) on the deadline date. No FeeTHE UNITED NATIONS RELIEF AND WORKS AGENCY FOR PALESTINE REFUGEES IN THE NEAR EAST (UNRWA) DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE OR REQUEST MONEY FROM CANDIDATES AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT AND ONBOARDING PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING, ONBOARDING). UNRWA DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.