Emergency Policy Officer

Before submitting an application, UNHCR staff members intending to apply to this Job Opening are requested to consult the Recruitment and Assignments Policy (RAP, UNHCR/HCP/2017/2 and the Recruitment and Assignments Administrative Instruction (RAAI), UNHCR/AI/2017/7 OF 15 August 2017.

Emergency Policy Officer

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT

This position is part of the Emergency Policy and Capacity Building Section, led by the Senior Policy and Capacity Building Advisor, P5 and under the overall supervision of DESS Director. This Section focuses on the areas of policy development and analysis, strategic planning and emergency preparedness and response capacity building in the Division of Emergency, Security and Supply. The Emergency Policy Officer will ensure consistency of application of UNHCR's policies in the area of emergency preparedness and response and that these are built-in in all emergency training programmes and materials. S/he will work in close coordination with the Global Learning Centre and have regular contact with partners, both within the inter-agency context and on a bilateral basis and represent UNHCR in related fora. The incumbent will also closely liaise with the DESS Emergency Teams for lessons learnt during deployment which could be incorporated into the emergency training programmes and materials.

FUNCTIONAL STATEMENT

Accountability
- Emergency policies are updated or developed.
- Cutting edge innovative tools are in place for emergency response. 
- Consistent and updated emergency response capacity building incorporated into policy development throughout the Organization, and vice-versa.
- Emergency training and capacity development concepts are in place.

Responsibility
- Support the development and updating of UNHCR (and, where appropriate, inter-agency) emergency policies and tools, in collaboration with UNHCR internal experts and external stakeholders.
- Support the maintenance and updating of UNHCR¿s new digital emergency handbook, including the system infrastructure and development of content.
- Through research and consultation with UNHCR internal and external experts, contribute expertise to emergency policy development; gather information and feedback on lessons learned from emergency operations.
- Draft a variety of documents ranging from inputs for emergency policies, project documents, reports, and partnership agreements.
- Liaise with external partners supporting emergency policy development.
- Support the development of ongoing and new emergency preparedness/response trainings and other capacity building initiatives.
- Support the implementation of emergency preparedness/response trainings and other capacity building initiatives.
- Contribute to developing materials and documents for emergency trainings.
- Support the management of external partnerships and support in relation to emergency training and capacity building.
- Undertake short missions in relation to training and capacity building.
- Possibly, deploy as a team member to humanitarian emergency field situations (max. 3-month field mission). 
- Undertake any other related tasks as required.  

Authority
- Decide on project management of assigned projects or components of projects.
- Review the content of emergency staff development modules, training, etc. and make recommendations.   

ESSENTIAL MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS AND PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE REQUIRED
- Undergraduate degree (equivalent of a BA/BS) in Law, Social / Political Science, or International Relations plus minimum 6 years relevant job experience at professional level in refugee, internal displacement and humanitarian emergency or complex operations, with at least 4 years in international capacity. Graduate degree (equivalent of a Master's) plus 5 years or Doctorate degree (equivalent of a PhD) plus 4 years of previous relevant work experience may also be accepted.
- Good grasp of current operational context in which UNHCR emergency operations are implemented, including knowledge of inter-agency processes and coordination structures and mechanisms.
- First-hand experience and solid knowledge of emergency UNHCR policies, programmes and humanitarian operations in a variety of geographical locations.
- Excellent analytical and drafting skills.
- Coordination and representation skills.
- Fluency in English.

DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS & COMPETENCIES
- Team building skills.
- Demonstrated management experience in complex or emergency operations.
- Knowledge of UNHCR planning tools (FOCUS and MSRP).
- UNHCR learning programmes including the Workshop on Emergency Management, Emergency Leadership Training Programme, the Security Management Learning Programme.
- Capacity building and training delivery experience.
- Knowledge of additional UN languages. 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
X001L3 - Analytical Thinking Level 3
X002L3 - Innovation and Creativity Level 3
X006L3 - Policy Development & Research Level 3

The UNHCR workforce consists of many diverse nationalities, cultures, languages and opinions. UNHCR seeks to sustain and strengthen this diversity to ensure equal opportunities as well as an inclusive working environment for its entire workforce. Applications are encouraged from all qualified candidates without distinction on grounds of race, colour, sex, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation and gender identity.

For those people applying for High Risk Duty Stations, we strongly encourage colleagues to read the country specific security and welfare profiles which can be found on the Intranet under Support Services - Duty of Care (https://intranet.unhcr.org/en/support-services/duty-of-care.html). These profiles have been specifically designed to answer some of the key questions (on security conditions, medical provisions, staff welfare, living and working conditions) potential applicants might have before deciding to apply. Ensuring staff are better informed is part of the increased attention UNHCR is paying to Duty of Care. This project is still in the pilot phase, and as such some of the information leaflets are being produced as we speak and might not be available yet. They will be soon, so keep checking. 

Please note that the closing date for all vacancies in the Add.4 to March 2018 Compendium is Wednesday 5 Septembe 2018 (midnight Geneva time).