Senior Development 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.

Senior Development Officer

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT
UNHCR's mandated responsibility for finding solutions to refugee situations has long required stronger cooperation with development partners and the inclusion of refugees within national development programmes. Notwithstanding the Office¿s efforts over many decades, the proportion of refugees and internally displaced persons in protracted displacement situations remains high. Moreover, the diminishing number of people who have found durable solutions constitutes a worrying trend that has persisted in recent years. In addition, the increasing scale of irregular migration, large scale refugee movements, and the costs of responding to humanitarian situations have also placed forced displacement high on the global agenda. These elements have further driven the realization that humanitarian support alone is insufficient to lift displaced populations out of poverty, enable solutions to their situations or assist them to realize their development potential.

Among the most significant humanitarian-development cooperation partnerships strengthened in recent years has been between the World Bank and UNHCR on forced displacement.  In the eighteenth replenishment (2017-2019) of the World Bank¿s International Development Association (IDA) financing programme for least developed countries, an amount of US$ 2 billion has been included for those states receiving large numbers of refugees. The IDA 18 allocation follows the operationalization of a global concessional financing facility for Middle Income Countries (MICs) affected by large numbers of refugees. In addition, UNHCR has enhanced cooperation with the International Labour Organization (ILO), the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Within the context outlined above, the role of the Senior Development Officer is to steer and direct UNHCR's engagement and cooperation with development agencies implementing medium term programmes assisting local communities and refugees in countries with significant refugee populations. It is anticipated that these programmes will grow in significance in future years due to the greater importance attached to addressing protracted displacement situations by donor governments. The role will be pivotal to ensuring complementarity between UNHCR's protection work and the economic and social development objectives pursued by development partners and their government counterparts. It will therefore be important that the Senior Development Officer coordinates closely with UNHCR senior management within the local Country and Sub and Field Offices. For that reason, he/she will work under the overall supervision of the UNHCR Representative or his/her Deputy to ensure that (i) policy, operational and programme priorities are properly aligned between humanitarian and development agencies, and (ii) that reporting and information exchanges on key developments are established and maintained among all interested stakeholders.

FUNCTIONAL STATEMENT
Accountability
-  National/local partnerships with development cooperation agencies and their government counterparts established to ensure policy dialogue and programming for refugees and local communities is informed by protection concerns and objectives from the outset;
- Medium term economic and social development programmes addressing forced displacement incorporate protection and solutions perspectives for refugees during their planning, preparation and implementation;
- Agreed monitoring mechanism established with development partners to track the progress of medium-term development programmes addressing forced displacement towards improved economic and social outcomes for local communities and refugees.

Responsibility
- Provide technical leadership and support for relationship building with development co-operation agencies through the different stages of policy and programme identification, preparation, implementation and review.
- Develop partnerships and networks with development cooperation actors to influence the policy dialogue with governments on institutional arrangements sectors, locations and programme content of consequence to UNHCR and persons of concern. This would, in particular, focus on supporting the coordination of the in-country relationship with the World Bank and the implementation of the IDA 18 financing for the refugee and local communities sub-window.
- Cooperate with development partners to assist them in incorporating the concerns of refugees, returnees and others of concern to UNHCR into the design and implementation arrangements of projects and interventions in a manner that impacts positively on protection circumstances.
- Identify, commission and/or contribute to studies and analytical activities that build the conceptual framework and evidence base for comprehensive, development-oriented responses, including preparedness work, to forced displacement.
- Engage with governments, development partners (both multilateral and bilateral), and with the private sector and civil society (as appropriate) to identify opportunities for UNHCR to contribute to the design and implementation of monitoring systems to track progress towards agreed outcomes.
- Facilitate coordination and collaboration and the sharing of knowledge and experience sharing between UNHCR and development actors and across UNHCR operations globally by documenting and disseminating good practices.
- Support local training activities aimed at the capacity building of UNHCR and partner agency staff to achieve greater coordination, effectiveness and synergies between humanitarian and development interventions.

Authority
- Reflect UNHCR's positions on policy and programming issues as they relate to the protection and solutions of refugees with medium-term economic and social development programmes;
- Represent UNHCR in meetings and fora related to the functions of the post and present positions to development and government counterparts that incorporate the protection and solutions and perspectives of refugees;

ESSENTIAL MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS AND PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE REQUIRED
- Graduate degree (equivalent of Master's) in Law/International Law, Political Science, Social Science, Development, Economics, International Relations or related field plus minimum 8 years of previous work experience relevant to the function. Undergraduate degree (equivalent of a BA/BS) plus 9 years or Doctorate degree (equivalent of a PhD) plus 7 years of previous relevant work experience may also be accepted.
- Minimum 8 years of relevant professional experience;
- At least six (6) years of direct working experience with an international agency/organisation implementing development programmes, of which at least two (2) years in field operations,  preferably with knowledge of, or experience in, local or area based economic development;
- Experience in primary data collection, quantitative research methods and results-based management;
- Proven coordination and or networking skills engaging both development and humanitarian actors, familiarity with development and humanitarian processes;
- Excellent policy and development programming skills and familiarity with results based management;
- Solid understanding of development context and related operational challenges as they relate to refugees, including institutional arrangements;
- Excellent communication skills including ability to communicate and disseminate information effectively to a broad background of stakeholders;
- Excellent analytical skills, and good research capabilities.
- Drafting skills.
- Knowledge of English and UN working language of the duty station if not English, .

DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS & COMPETENCIES
- Strong and up-to-date knowledge of development, state-building and peace-building in fragile and conflict-affected situations.
- Solid understanding of humanitarian operations, principles and coordination structures.
- Good grasp of refugee protection.
- Knowledge of additional UN languages.

This is a Standard Job Description for all UNHCR Senior Development Officer positions. The Operational Context may contain additional essential and/or desirable qualifications relating to the specific operation and/or position. Any such requirements are incorporated by reference in this Job Description and will be considered for the screening, shortlisting and selection of candidates. 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
M005L3 - Leadership Level 3
M004L3 - Strategic Planning and Vision Level 3
M003L3 - Judgement and Decision Making Level 3
X007L3 - Political Awareness Level 3
X005L3 - Planning and Organizing Level 3
X001L3 - Analytical Thinking Level 3
X008L3 - Stakeholder Management 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).