Programme Assistant

Details

Mission and objectives

UNHCR was established on 14 December 1950 by the UN General Assembly. The agency is mandated to lead and coordinate international action to protect refugees and resolve refugee problems worldwide. Its primary purpose is to safe-guard the rights and well-being of refugees. It strives to ensure that everyone can exercise the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge in another State, with the option to return home voluntarily, integrate locally or to resettle in a third country (www.unhcr.org).

Context

The UNHCR Representation in Venezuela has the Country Office in Caracas, four Field Offices (Guasdualito, San Cristobal, Maracaibo, and Ciudad Guayana), as well as Field Units in Caracas, Puerto Ayacucho, and Santa Elena de Uairen. The overall context in Venezuela remains challenging, with an estimated 7.7 million people in need, according to the Humanitarian Response Plan, and recurring issues related to humanitarian access. While the humanitarian crisis continues to produce population outflows from Venezuela, since 2022 there has been a noticeable increase in the proportion of spontaneous returns to the country. Returnees face a range of challenges for successful reintegration and to break the repeated cycle of displacement and human mobility. As a result, the UN Country Team has identified reintegration as an interagency priority for which UNHCR is co-leading coordination efforts and the operational response. Based on the current operational context, the operation needs to better understand the returnee situation, operationally adapt, and seek collaboration and leadership within the humanitarian response on returns. The Programme Assistant receives guidance from the Head of Field Unit in Caracas and may receive indirect guidance from other sections and units relevant to the country programme(s). UNHCR Manual, programme objectives, Operations Plans, UN and UNHCR financial/budgetary rules and regulations will guide the work of the Programme Assistant. S/he is expected to have contacts within the organization and outside the duty station in the AoR of the Field Unit, as well as with partners and other stakeholders to collect information, monitor programme activities and implement administrative requirements. S/he is expected to work in line with the multi-functional team (MFT) approach as defined within the Program Manual, ensuring the participation of relevant stakeholders in all phases of the Program Management Cycle in compliance with all established deadlines.

Task description

Under the direct supervision of the Head of the Field Unit, the UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks: - Provide administrative assistance and support in routine services and activities within Programme. - Assist in organizing and documenting the selection of partners in accordance with the policy on selection and retention of partners, ensuring due diligence to meet the requirements of projects. - Provide support to ensure partnership agreements are established in a timely manner, regularly monitored and reported on in compliance with established guidelines and procedures included in the framework for implementing with partners. - Generate and maintain records of implementation rate (performance progress and expenditures) on a regular basis. - Review the implementation and performance of partnership agreements through field visits and appropriate physical monitoring if applicable, reviewing work plans, performance and financial reports. - Guided by the MFT approach, contribute to monitoring activities implemented through partnerships and those under direct implementation in line with Programme Manual and programming instructions. - Assist in ensuring compliance with issuance of audit certificates for partners in line with the Policy on Risk-Based Project Audits. - Use UNHCR’s corporate tools (e.g. Focus Client, Global Focus Insight and FOCUS Reader, MSRP) for core activities related to planning, budgeting, implementation and reporting, generating data for evidence-based programmatic decisions and analysis. - Actively contribute to UNHCR’s programming of community of practice and to the improvement of programming tools and processes. - Perform other duties as required.