Information Management Officer - Early Warning in Zimbabwe

Harare

Organization: UNV - United Nations Volunteers
Location: Harare
Grade: Mid level - International Volunteer - Internationally recruited Volunteer
Occupational Groups:
- Statistics
- Information Technology and Computer Science
- Documentation and Information Management
Closing Date: Closed

UN VOLUNTEER DESCRIPTION OF ASSIGNMENT ZWER000042--Information Management Officer - Early Warning The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme is the UN organization that promotes volunteerism to support peace and development worldwide. Volunteerism can transform the pace and nature of development and it benefits both society at large and the individual volunteer. UNV contributes to peace and development by advocating for volunteerism globally, encouraging partners to integrate volunteerism into development programming, and mobilizing volunteers.In most cultures volunteerism is deeply embedded in long- established, ancient traditions of sharing and support within the communities. In this context, UN Volunteers take part in various forms of volunteerism and play a role in development and peace together with co-workers, host agencies and local communities.In all assignments, UN Volunteers promote volunteerism through their action and conduct. Engaging in volunteer activity can effectively and positively enrich their understanding of local and social realities, as well as create a bridge between themselves and the people in their host community. This will make the time they spend as UN Volunteers even more rewarding and productive.

General Information

Country of Assignment Zimbabwe

Host Institute United Nations Development Programme

Volunteer Category International Specialist

Number of Volunteer 1

Duration 12 months

Expected Starting Date Immediate

Duty Station Harare [ZWE]

Assignment Place Family Duty Station

Assignment Place Remark

Living Conditions

Zimbabwe is located in Southern Africa and has three seasons, cool and dry from May-Aug, hot and dry from Sep-Nov, warm and wet from Dec-Apr. The capital Harare lies at an altitude of 1450m above sea level. The middle plateau is Malaria free and prophylaxis is highly recommended in low lying and hot areas. The currency in use is USD and all basic food and accessories are available. There are public and private health facilities as well as many social amenities available in Harare. Assignment Details

Assignment Title Information Management Officer - Early Warning

Organizational Context & Project Description

Over the last decade, Zimbabwe has experienced significant economic, environmental and social shocks and stresses, many of which will have long-lasting impacts. Poverty, food insecurity, malnutrition, and environmental degradation continue to be serious challenges in Zimbabwe, particularly in rural areas, and will continue to be exacerbated due to the effects of climate change. In 16 Oct 2017 Page 1 of 6 addition, there may be risks associated with the upcoming elections planned for 2018. Under the leadership of the RC, the UNCT has acknowledged the need to increase collective awareness of the evolving situation to

strengthen the preparedness of both individual agencies and the UN system as a whole in Zimbabwe. UN Heads of Agencies have

been meeting informally to discuss the changing situation in country. During its deliberations, they have identified the critical need to

consolidate and strengthen the political and human rights analysis capacities to undertake comprehensive and integrated analysis,

as well as to have a better common understanding of multi-faceted vulnerabilities. Key requirements to support comprehensive

contextual awareness include a variety of information sources to serve as an evidence base, and the tools and mechanisms to

facilitate analysis.

Within this context, the RC/UNCT have requested RCO and UNDP Zimbabwe to work in collaboration with UNDP’s Crisis Response

Unit (CRU) to develop and implement a risk tracking system for early warning. The risk tracking system for early warning will serve

as a tool inform UNCT’s collective strategic decision-making, including decisions that lead to early action. The risk tracking system

will also inform individual UN agencies’ programme design, development and adaptation in the face of crisis-related risks.

Accordingly, the risk tracking system will capture information, monitor and analyze crisis-related risks, and identify vulnerabilities and

trends directly associated with fragility, human security, and development. The early warning system will track and assess incidents

and risks related to development gains and UN’s priority areas in line with the Zimbabwe United Nations Development Assistance

Framework (ZUNDAF).

In May 2017, a CRU mission was undertaken to Zimbabwe, as part of CRU’s broader support. The CRU mission focused on (i)

understanding available and required information resources by conducting a preliminary mapping of data and analysis sources, and

(ii) establishing the foundations of a crisis risk dashboard (CRD), specifically by defining key requirements of the CRD, proposing an

implementation plan, and developing an early prototype.

Among the CRU mission recommendations was the need for additional and dedicated capacity for information gathering and

analysis, particularly ensuring the quality and consistency of data collection and integration. The mission recommended for a

designated information management capacity, given the scope and scale of information gathering, particularly the inter-agency

focus and integration of external data sources (e.g. from local organization, publically-available information and information from

social media analysis).

Sustainable Development Goals 16. Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

UNV Focus Area Peace building

Task description

Under the direct supervision of Head of UN Resident Coordinator’s Office, and guidance from UNDP Peace and Dialogue Advisor,

the UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks:

Data Capture, Management

Identify key data gaps for informed crisis risk tracking in Zimbabwe;

Propose a strategy and implementation plan for capturing required primary data;

Develop a process for primary data gathering (e.g. designing and conducting periodic perception surveys, facilitating expert

reference group information gathering, etc.);

Define processes for capturing and integrating data from various UN entities;

Design and facilitate the development of a database and information management process for data integration;

Identify and integrate additional primary and secondary data into the early warning system as required by evolving needs

including the development, implementation and management of new indicators and corresponding data that are associated

with the crisis risk model;

Propose revisions and improvements to the overall design framework and data requirements for the risk tracking system,

using as the key tool the Crisis Risk Dashboard (CRD) – a purpose-designed platform developed by CRU for online

information management and data visualization - and ensure content is current, comprehensive, and follows relevant

metadata standards;

Understand, document, and ensure the quality of high-value data for accuracy, consistency and comparability, and advise on

the applications of these;

Support the design, development and management of databases, spreadsheets and other data tools that comprise the CRD

and its operations.

16 Oct 2017 Page 2 of 6 Data Visualization, Reporting and Application Produce and update information products such as maps, charts, and infographics by turning data into graphical products to

convey messages and a storyline as well as support strategic and operational decision-making;

Explore ways of presenting crisis risk profiles and early warning more effectively through visual representations (charts,

graphs, tables and diagrams) through the early warning system;

Provide technical assistance to the UN users of the early warning information in translating data and other program

information into easy visual representations, in accordance with data visualization best practices.

Furthermore, UN Volunteers are required to:- Strengthen their knowledge and understanding of the concept of volunteerismby

reading relevant UNV and external publications and take active part in UNVactivities (for instance in events that mark International

Volunteer Day)- Be acquainted with and build on traditional and/or local forms ofvolunteerism in the host country- Reflect on the type

and quality of voluntary action that they areundertaking, including participation in ongoing reflection activities- Contribute

articles/write-ups on field experiences and submit them for UNVpublications/websites, newsletters, press releases, etc.- Assist with

the UNV Buddy Programme for newly-arrived UN Volunteers- Promote or advise local groups in the use of online volunteering,

orencourage relevant local individuals and organizations to use the UNV OnlineVolunteering service whenever technically possible.

Results/Expected Outputs

The crisis risk dashboard contains quality and up-to-date information and data to inform analysis;

Information products are produced using information and data in the crisis risk dashboard to facilitate dialogue, decision-

making and advocacy;

The development of capacity through coaching, mentoring and formal on-the-job training, when working with (including

supervising) national staff or (non-) governmental counterparts, including Implementing Partners (IPs);

Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD) perspective is systematically applied, integrated and documented in all activities throughout

the assignment;

A final statement of achievements towards volunteerism for peace and development during the assignment, such as reporting

on the number of volunteers mobilized, activities participated in and capacities developed.

Conditions of Service for International Specialist:

The contract lasts for the period indicated above with possibility of extensions subject to availability of funding, operational necessity

and satisfactory performance. However, there is no expectation of renewal of the assignment.

A UN Volunteer receives a Volunteer Living Allowance (VLA) which is composed of the Monthly Living Allowance (MLA) and a

Family Allowance (FA) for those with dependents (maximum three).

The Volunteer Living Allowance (VLA) is paid at the end of each month to cover housing, utilities, transportation, communications

and other basic needs. The VLA can be computed by applying the Post-Adjustment Multiplier (PAM) to the VLA base rate of US$

1,587. The VLA base rate is a global rate across the world, while the PAM is duty station/country-specific and fluctuates on a

monthly basis according to the cost of living. This method ensures that international UN Volunteers have comparable purchasing

power at all duty stations irrespective of varying costs of living. The PAM is established by the International Civil Service Commission

(ICSC) and is published at the beginning of every month on the ICSC website http://icsc.un.org.

For example, kindly enter the link Calculator

In non-family duty stations that belong to hardship categories D or E, as classified by the ICSC, international UN Volunteers receive

a Well-Being Differential (WBD) on a monthly basis.

Furthermore, UN Volunteers are provided a settling-in-grant (SIG) at the start of the assignment (if the volunteer did not reside in

the duty station for at least 6 months prior to taking up the assignment) and in the event of a permanent reassignment to another

duty station.

UNV provides life, health, permanent disability insurances as well as assignment travel, annual leave, full integration in the UN

security framework (including residential security reimbursements).

UN Volunteers are paid Daily Subsistence Allowance at the UN rate for official travels, flight tickets for periodic home visit and for the

final repatriation travel (if applicable). Resettlement allowance is paid for satisfactory service at the end of the assignment.

16 Oct 2017 Page 3 of 6 UNV will provide, together with the offer of assignment, a copy of the Conditions of Service, including Code of conduct, to the successful candidate.