Team Leader, Operational Protection and Neutrality

Vacancy Announcement

Team Leader, Operational Protection and Neutrality, P-4

West Bank

Deadline for Applications

3 September 2017

(20 August 2017 for internal applicants)

Duration

1 year, with the possibility of further extension, subject to the availability of funds, satisfactory performance and continuing need.

Vacancy Announcement Number

17-FO-WB-44

UNRWA encourages applications from qualified women and welcomes applications from qualified candidates with disabilities.

UNRWA, the largest United Nations operation in the Middle East with over 30,000 staff working across five areas of operation, is looking for professionals like you.

Protection for every Palestine refugee

Over 5 million registered Palestine refugees are covered under UNRWA’s protection mandate: to provide protection activities that aim to respond to the protection needs of Palestine refugees amidst increasing conflict and displacement in the region. For a wide range of reasons, Palestine refugees do not enjoy basic human rights, and the vulnerability of women and children to violence and abuse is also increasing. In recent years, UNRWA has significantly strengthened its capacity to provide protection to Palestine refugees through various initiatives. We apply a holistic approach to protection: an ‘internal’ dimension, focusing on realizing the rights of Palestine refugees in and through the Agency’s service delivery programmes, and an ‘external’ dimension involving engagement with relevant duty bearers to ensure respect for Palestine refugee rights.

In the West Bank, where approximately 800,000 Palestine refugees live, protection challenges include violence in refugee camps, detentions, restrictions on access and movement, displacement and property destructions. Children are particularly exposed to high levels of violence; UNRWA monitors closely protection concerns of Bedouin communities, engages in community mobilization to support resilience and self-protection, vulnerability-focused programing and the protection of children and youth, and works closely within the UN country team.

Do you want to make a lasting difference? 

If you are passionate about ensuring protection for Palestine refugees in the West Bank including East Jerusalem, UNRWA would like to hear from you. In this role, you will be responsible for the day-to-day management of Field level neutrality and protection operations and for ensuring that these reflect the Field and Agency’s policies, priorities and strategies and are undertaken within a framework that provides clear guidelines, common methodology and standardized reporting.

The main responsibilities include:

•         Under the direct supervision of the Senior Team Leader Protection and Neutrality, undertaking the daily management of the Protection and Neutrality Programme in accordance with the established objectives. Establishing operational plans and conducting daily briefings for OSOs to review the events of the preceding 24 hours; distributing daily operational tasks and discusses security matters considering possible approaches to resolve problems encountered in the course of work;

•         Planning and overseeing the execution of all Operations Support Officer (OSO) field objectives reacting to emerging trends and operational needs around protection, access and neutrality. This includes ensuring the link between the identification of protection problems and the protection programming and mainstreaming responses. Accompanying the OSOs on field visits to provide support and advice and evaluate their performance;

•         In close coordination with the Field Legal Officer, overseeing OSOs’ field documentation and monitoring of protection incidents involving the alleged violations of international law and developing advocacy and other protection interventions;

•         Coordinating field visits with the relevant programmes/departments in the WB Field Office for external actors (donors, diplomats, etc.) and other agencies;

•         Responsible for preparing and forwarding all reports related to OSO operations, including a daily summary of activities in the West Bank (including closures, curfews, etc, affecting UNRWA activities), specific incidents or operational issues researched or investigated by OSOs as well as inspections of UNRWA installations.

Conditions of service 

UNRWA offers an attractive compensation package including annual salary starting at $70,647 net tax free with post adjustment of 55.9% (subject to change without notice). All UNRWA duty stations (with the exception of Gaza and Syria) are family duty stations. Other benefits, subject to eligibility, include:

•  Dependency allowances

•  Rental subsidy

•  Education grant for children

•  Home leave travel

•  6 weeks (30 working days) annual leave

•  Pension fund entitlements under the

    UN Joint Staff Pension Fund

•  International health insurance; optional

    life insurance

•  Disability protection

To qualify for this position, you will need:

Education

Advanced university degree (Master’s or equivalent) from an accredited educational institution in political science, social sciences, international relations or a related field; a first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of an advanced university degree;

Work

experience

At least eight years of supervisory experience in international organisations, preferably in the humanitarian sector with field experience related to protection and humanitarian principles, including at least two years of international experience outside your home country;

Language(s)

Excellent command of written and spoken English.

Desirable qualifications:

Ability to speak Arabic and/or Hebrew

You will also need to demonstrate the following competencies:

•         Excellent leadership skills;

•         Good analytical and research skills;

•         Demonstratable knowledge and experience of humanitarian protection approaches from an operational perspective;

•         Excellent communication (spoken, written and presentational) skills;

•         Ability to establish priorities and to plan work assignments;

•         Proven interpersonal skills and ability to work in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic environment.

For guidance on how to prepare for competency-based interviews:

      https://careers.un.org/lbw/home.aspx?viewtype=AYI

How to apply

To start the application process, applicants are required to register at http://jobs.unrwa.org by creating a personal profile and completing UNRWA Personal History Form. Only applications received through http://jobs.unrwa.org will be considered. Due to the large number of applications received for UNRWA vacancies, only applicants short-listed for interview will be contacted. The United Nations does not charge fees at any stage of the recruitment process. The United Nations does not concern itself with information related to bank accounts.

General information

UNRWA staff are expected to uphold the highest standards of integrity, neutrality and impartiality at all times. 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. UNRWA is a non-smoking work environment.

The retirement age for staff entering or re-entering service in the UN Common System after 1 January 1990 is 62 and 65 after 1 January 2014. For external applicants, only those who are expected to complete a term of appointment will normally be considered.

The Agency reserves the right not to make an appointment, to make an appointment at a lower grade, or to make an appointment with a modified job description.

Date of issue: 7 August 2017/NH