Operations Associate

Peace and Security Cluster

Operating under the mandate of Security Council resolution 2165 (renewed in 2017 with SCR 2393), UNMAS deployed the Syria Response Programme (SRP) 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) 2021 for Syria, 10.3 million people live in communities reporting explosive ordnance 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.

Under the supervision of the Chief of Operations (CoO) and Operations/Quality Assurance Officer, the Operations Associate will be responsible for the following duties and responsibilities:

• Coordinate  team(s) deployment and  provide insights on good planning and coordination of operational activities.

• Assist in drafting plans, reports and related documentation to the Explosive Ordnance Assessment tasks.

• Liaise with and organize meetings in affected communities with landowners, land users, other stakeholders.

• Liaise with and organize meetings with national and local authorities.

• Conduct interviews with relevant informants.

• Collect and record information about Explosive Ordnance, Suspected and Confirmed Hazardous Areas in the standard IMSMA forms.

• Liaise with victims and communities following receipt of  incident reporting and complete the IMSMA accident/victim report and ensure their recording.

• Provide support  in monitoring the security situation and planning security arrangements for the team(s)

• Ensure proper maintenance of all Operations related documentation.

• Keep Chief of Operations and Operations/QA Officer up to date by providing daily and weekly updates, highlighting successes and challenges.

• Assist in monitoring activities and need assessment.

• Carry out other relevant duties as requested by the CoO and Operations/QA Officer.

Education

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent with 2 years of relevant relevant experience; OR

• High School diploma with 6 years of relevant experience

Experience

• Relevant experience is defined as experience working in programme or project management, monitoring,  planning or operations. 

• Knowledge of Microsoft Office is required.

Language

• Fluency in English is required (speaking, reading, and writing).

• Fluency in Arabic is required (speaking, reading and writing).

• Fluency in other UN official languages, particularly French and Spanish, is desirable.

• Please note that the closing date is midnight Copenhagen time
• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.
• Only those candidates that are short-listed for interviews will be notified.
• Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
• UNOPS seeks to reasonably accommodate candidates with special needs, upon request.
• Work life harmonization - UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands. We have a progressive policy on work-life harmonization and offer several flexible working options. This policy applies to UNOPS personnel on all contract types
• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post
• For retainer contracts, you must complete a few Mandatory Courses (around 4 hours) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS.
• The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS.  

It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential recruits/interns. Recruitment/internship in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.

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.

Diversity

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.

Work life harmonization

UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands.