Livelihoods Officer

Before submitting an application, UNHCR staff members intending to apply to this Job Opening are requested to consult the IOM-FOM issued for this Compendium / Fast Track exercise, as well as the  Revised Policy and Procedures on Assignments (UNHCR/HCP/2015/2 refers). Livelihoods Officer

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT
The Livelihoods Officer has a key role in the implementation and consolidation of Refugee Livelihoods Strategy. S/he will be an important member of UNHCR office in the country that is involved in the implementation of livelihoods programmes and explore new livelihoods opportunities. S/he should be proactive, always looking for new opportunities, having economic and social sensibility; convincing in donor and partner mobilization, and able to take initiatives. The incumbent will provide much needed local knowledge to develop the local livelihoods strategies and social infrastructure to develop and sustain Refugee Livelihoods.

The Livelihoods Officer will receive guidance and direction from the Representative / Head of Office and normally report to the Assistant Representative (Programme) or a Senior Programme or Operations Officer.

FUNCTIONAL STATEMENT
Accountability
- UNHCR¿s country operation has sufficient support in the field of livelihoods thus better able to meet the needs of persons of concern.

Responsibility (process and functions undertaken to achieve results)
- Develop and implement UNHCR Livelihoods Strategy in the area of responsibility.
- Conduct, facilitate and support wealth ranking surveys for refugee population.
- Advocate with public and private services providers operating in the country to provide services to UNHCR persons of concerns i.e. business development services, micro-finance institutions, training institutes, banks, business incubators, poverty alleviation programmes etc.
- Support the regular sharing of livelihoods related information among different humanitarian, developmental and governmental stakeholders.
- Strengthen, guide and monitor the different livelihoods interventions under the UNHCR programme and ensure compliance with UNHCR Minimum Criteria for Livelihoods programming.
- Utilize efficient targeting techniques to graduate vulnerable refugees out of poverty.
- Design and implement, in cooperation with national government, implementing partners, and UNHCR representation office, a custom-made annual operation plan within the framework of the approved livelihoods strategy.
- Build a strong relationship with the relevant government stakeholders to enhance their ownership of the livelihoods programme initiated by UNHCR.
- Maintain close contacts with partners both in public, private and NGO sectors in order to harmonize activities relating to promotion of livelihoods activities.
- Perform any other related functions as required.

Authority
- Enforce livelihoods strategies and guidelines.
- Represent UNHCR in the meetings and for a related to the functions.

ESSENTIAL MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS AND PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE REQUIRED
- University degree in Economics, Business Administration, Socio-economic Development, rural Development, Financial Management or other related fields.
- Minimum 8 years (6 years with advanced university degree) of previous job experience relevant to the function.
- Technical competencies in sub-sectors relevant to livelihoods programming e.g. microfinance, employment, entrepreneurship, private sector development, local economic development, poverty reduction, agriculture, livestock, vocational and technical education and training, etc.
- Experience in working effectively with private sector, international and national NGOs and UN organisations, and with government authorities at national level.
- Excellent knowledge of English and working knowledge of another UN language.
(In offices where the working language is not English, excellent knowledge of working language of duty station and working knowledge of English.)

***For National Officer positions, very good knowledge of local language and local institutions is essential.

DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS & COMPETENCIES
- Completion of UNHCR Protection Learning Programme (PLP) and/or the Operations Management Learning Programme (OMLP).
- Experience with UNHCR standards and indicators, and/or projects related to the millennium development goals.
- UNHCR Field experience.
- Knowledge and exposure to the social and cultural values of the region concerned.
- Proficiency in local language(s). C001L3 - Accountability Level 3
C002L3 - Teamwork & Collaboration Level 3
C003L3 - Communication Level 3
C004L3 - Commitment to Continuous Learning Level 3
C005L3 - Client & Result Orientation Level 3
C006L3 - Organizational Awareness Level 3
M001L3 - Empowering and Building Trust Level 3
M003L3 - Judgement and Decision Making Level 3
M006L3 - Managing Resources Level 3
X001L3 - Analytical Thinking Level 3
X005L3 - Planning and Organizing Level 3
X008L3 - Stakeholder Management Level 3 The incumbent should be proactive, always looking for new opportunities, convincing in donor mobilization and able to take initiatives.

She/he will provide much needed local knowledge to develop the local livelihood assets and social infrastructure to develop and sustain refugee livelihoods.  Therefore, She/he must possess knowledge and exposure to the social and cultural valued of the region. Equateur Province is characterized by poor or non-existent infrastructure and highly challenging logistics, all of which make access to refugees quite difficult. 
Some 102,568 Central African refugees are registered in the Equateur province. Most of them arrived in 2013, after fleeing the deteriorating situation in their country of origin.  They continue to benefit from protection and multi-sectorial assistance in camps and host communities.  The current strategy applied for this group focuses mainly on reducing dependency on food aid (as WFP has already reduced rations and has announced further cuts), through promoting self-reliance and livelihood activities.
Sub-Office Gbadolite covers a large geographical area of 2 new Provinces, and 3 field offices/units (Libenge, Bili and Zongo), employing some 80 workforce. 
The livelihoods Officer reports directly to the Head of Sub-Office.
The incumbent plays a key role in the implementation and consolidation of the Livelihood Strategy in Equateur.

The position is instrumental in leading the expansion of livelihood support activities through increased investments in order to meet the needs of a significant number of refugees and set objectives for this important protection intervention.  In addition, the position will ensure that UNHCR prepares refugees for solutions to their socio-economic problems when they repatriate, resettle or integrate locally. Staff members may either live at UNHCR Guesthouse or in town where limited accommodation may be found.  Gbadolite has a population of about some 159,000 inhabitants (latest 2014 data) and is located 25 kilometers south from Mobayi which is a town established at the Ubangi River. The Ubangi is the border with the Central African Republic and Gbadolite is situated at some 1,150 kilometres northeast of Kinshasa.  Gbadolite was the ancestral home and residence of Joseph-Desire Mobutu (President of Zaire from 1965 to 1997) but also the area of Bemba. There is electricity thanks to the dam a t Mobayi but it happens the electricity supply breaks down for some days or weeks and generator back up is required. The quality of the water is poor and most of the time is not available at night time. Housing opportunities are also very poor and expensive for rather low quality. The climate for most of the year is characterized by humid and hot temperatures while the rainy season brings into surface crawling reptiles and insects.  There are very limited medical facilities in Gbadolite that are not equipped to deal with serious medical cases.  Evacuation opportunities are limited since there are only 2 flights per week. However, air ambulance evacuation can be organized for life threatening emergencies during day time.  Candidates with conditions requiring regular treatment or medical supervision should be appropriately advised. Malaria is the most common disease. As a general advice, applicants for the post should be psychologically prepared for the aforementioned context.  The Office is of the view that, all things being equal, the two year SAL should be upheld to avoid burnout. There is an R 7 R cycle of 8 weeks.
There are no good banking facilities at Gbadolite. Telephone network are  not very reliable but the Office has effective PAMA and Wifi 
Logistical challenges remain enormous for the operation. Gbadolite is a security level 2 duty station. Female candidates are encouraged to apply.

Please note that the closing date for all vacancies in the Add. 3 to March 2017 Compendium is Thursday, 3 August 2017 (midnight Geneva time).