Searcher (Explosive Threat Mitigation), Multiple positions

Peace and Security Cluster

Syria Response Programme
Operating under the mandate of Security Council resolution 2165 (renewed in 2017 with SCR 2393), UNMAS deployed the Syria Response programme at the request of the Deputy Regional Humanitarian Coordinator in August 2015 and subsequently activated the Mine Action Sub Cluster under the Protection Cluster to address the impact of explosive hazards within Syria. UNMAS is the lead agency for the Mine Action Sub Cluster for the Syria Response. Established in Damascus since 2018, following the signature of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Syrian Arab Republic, UNMAS strives to expand humanitarian mine action in Syria, with the aim to respond to high humanitarian needs. This includes humanitarian mine action activities prioritized in the Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) for Syria: risk education, victim assistance, survey and clearance.

The conflict in Syria has been characterized by the extensive use of explosive weapons which resulted in large scale explosive hazard contamination, with the presence of diversified types of ordnances. According to the Humanitarian Needs Overview (HNO) 2019 for Syria, 10.2 million people live in communities reporting explosive hazard contamination; men, women, and children, are exposed to the threat of grave injuries and death on a daily basis. Millions of people live with a permanent disability and new conflict-related trauma cases lead to thousands of permanent disabilities requiring long-term and multi-dimensional support.

Recent exchanges with UN agencies and observations made by the Syria Response Team have highlighted the immediate need for an explosive ordnance assessment capacity, which would be able to assess the threat of explosive ordnances  including landmines, explosive remnants of war and improvised explosive devices. UN Agencies often suspect that explosive hazards are present in an area where they may be attempting to support humanitarian programming; many of these locations include potentially contaminated infrastructures. However, these agencies do not have the capacity to verify and prove or disprove the presence of suspected threat. Therefore, UNMAS Syria Response is in a position to provide its expertise and undertake Explosive Ordnance Assessments (EOA). The intervention will result in an explosive hazard assessment report defining the status of the infrastructure/area as containing or not containing explosive hazards. The intervention will result in an explosive hazard assessment report for each request defining the status of the infrastructure/area as containing or not containing explosive hazards and provide information to the communities to behave more safely. 

Candidates who apply should note that they would be expected to deploy within a short notice period; please indicate your realistic availability and notice period

• Conduct non-technical survey, technical survey and high-risk search operations of infrastructure and areas identified by the Syria Response Programme and UN Agencies as potentially containing explosive ordnance;
  
• Undertake desk research on possible explosive ordnance hazards;
  
• Verify the existence of explosive ordnance and their threat nature;
  
• Implement technical, international and national safety standards;
  
• Liaise with the local community to understand threats and relay information on threat avoidance;
  
• Receive tasks and work within the team to respond with high quality operational capacity;
  
• Support programmatic, project and operation planning and activities through the provision of explosive threat analysis.

Education 

• A First-level University degree (Bachelor’s or equivalent) and 4 years relevant experience is required; OR

• A Secondary School diploma (High School or equivalent) and 8 years relevant experience is required.

• Certification as a deminer or surveyor in a demining capacity is required.

• Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Certification 3 or Higher Qualification is required.

• Certification as a High Risk Searcher or Improvised Explosive Device Disposal (IEDD) Operator is required.

• Relevant experience is defined as operational experience within a recognized military, police, or humanitarian mine action organization, or development setting, or other relevant operations experience;
  
• A minimum of 4 years of experience in manual mine clearance, technical survey of mined areas or areas suspected of containing IED’s, or clearance of areas confirmed to have been contaminated with IED’s is required;
  
• Experience within the last 5 years as team-member of a High Risk Search (HRS) team or an IEDD team is required.
  

• Intermediate knowledge in Arabic (writing, speaking and reading) is required;
  
• Fluency in Arabic (writing, speaking and reading) is desired;
  
• Basic knowledge of English (writing, speaking and reading) is required;
  
• Intermediate knowledge of English (writing, speaking and reading) is desired.

1. Contract type : International Individual Contractor Agreement (IICA)
2. Contract level : IICA-1 ICS-9
3. Contract duration : Open-ended, subject to organizational requirements, availability of funds and satisfactory performance

UNOPS is an operational arm of the United Nations, supporting the successful implementation of its partners’ peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world. Our mission is to help people build better lives and countries achieve sustainable development.

UNOPS areas of expertise cover infrastructure, procurement, project management, financial management and human resources.

Working with us

UNOPS offers short- and long-term work opportunities in diverse and challenging environments across the globe. We are looking for creative, results-focused professionals with skills in a range of disciplines.

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With over 4,000 UNOPS personnel and approximately 7,000 personnel recruited on behalf of UNOPS partners spread across 80 countries, our workforce represents a wide range of nationalities and cultures. We promote a balanced, diverse workforce — a strength that helps us better understand and address our partners’ needs, and continually strive to improve our gender balance through initiatives and policies that encourage recruitment of qualified female candidates.

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