ACU Access and Liaison Specialist

Duty Station: Gaza

Deadline 21 September 2022

Women are highly encouraged to apply

To ameliorate the delivery of humanitarian assistance and advance the protection of civilians, an Access Coordination Unit (ACU) was created to develop a centralized pro-active and sustainable access strategy for the movement of humanitarian personnel and goods. The Access Coordination Unit is a joint project managed, administered and supervised respectively by UN partner agencies OCHA, UNOPS, and UNSCO. The ACU aims to provide operational support to UN, Diplomatic Missions, and INGO staff and goods facing access difficulties. Furthermore, the ACU aims to provide the Resident / Humanitarian Coordinator (RC/HC) with a mechanism for effective dialogue with senior personnel of Host Countries on behalf of all UN Agencies, Donor Agencies, Diplomatic Missions and INGOs.

UNOPS serves as the Administrative Agent for this project whilst UNOCHA, and UNSCO serve respectively as programmatic managers and supervisors of this project. In support of its partner organizations, UNOPS intends to recruit an international Access and Liaison Specialist (Gaza) for the Access Coordination Unit project.

Functional Responsibilities:

Under the guidance and supervision of the ACU Access Coordinator, the Access and Liaison Specialist (Gaza) will support and effectively lead the work of the Access Coordination Unit in Gaza.

S/he will be responsible for all aspects of the liaison with the relevant Israeli and Palestinian counterparts and assistance to the Access Coordinator on day-to-day operations of ACU in Gaza. S/he will serve as the ACU focal point on Gaza access of humanitarian and development personnel and goods.

Reporting directly to the Access Coordinator and within delegated authority, the Access and Liaison Specialist (Gaza), will be responsible for, but not limited to, the following functions and responsibilities:

Represents the ACU in Gaza

• Head of ACU Gaza office.
• Oversees the work of ACU in Gaza, representing ACU with relevant authorities and partners, including UN, NGOs, and diplomatic missions.
• Manages Local Access and Liaison Officer(s) in Gaza.

Education/Experience/Language requirements:

Education

• Master’s Degree in Political Science, International Relations, Law, International Humanitarian Law, Human Rights or another related field of study. Additional two years of relevant work experience, in combination with a relevant bachelor’s degree, may substitute for the requirement for a master’s degree.
• Qualification in negotiations, in particular as it relates to humanitarian access, is preferred

Other Skills

• Conversant in humanitarian affairs and aid in the State of Palestine is desired.
• Ability to build constructive relationships with the Governments of Israel and Palestine, other regional governments and other local authorities is highly desired.
• Holding a driving license is essential.
• Knowledge of crisis management, access management, and the UN security management system are desirable skills.
• Ability to travel throughout Israel, Gaza Strip, West Bank and the region is required.
• Computer literate especially Google Suite and Microsoft Office is desired.

Work Experience

• A minimum of 5 years of relevant experience working in a complex security environment, preferably with relevant authorities such as Defense, Police, Ministry of Interior, diplomatic missions, UN and INGO and other local authorities.
• Exposure to humanitarian access.
• Negotiations experience required, preferably as it relates to humanitarian access.
• Experience in civil military coordination is a distinct advantage.
• Background and work experience on issues related to Israeli-Palestinian conflict is desirable.
• Experience in working with international organizations is desirable.

Languages

• Fluency in spoken and written English is essential.
• Knowledge of Arabic and Hebrew is desirable