Director of UNRWA Affairs, D-1, Jordan

Org. Setting and Reporting

UNRWA, the largest United Nations operation in the Middle East with over 30,000 staff working across five areas of operation, is looking for highly committed personnel wishing to make a change.
If you are looking for a rewarding opportunity to make a tangible difference for one of the most vulnerable communities in the world, UNRWA would like to hear from you.
The Director of UNRWA Affairs, Jordan reports to the Deputy Commissioner-General.

Responsibilities

• The incumbent is responsible for providing UNRWA core services and assistance to Palestine refugees in one of its fields of operation, The incumbent is required to abide by the roles and responsibilities as set out in the United Nations Security Management System Framework of Accountability and the UNRWA Framework of Accountability. He/she is responsible for fulfilling his/her duties as provided by the United Nations Security Management System and the UNRWA Security and Risk Management system.
• Under the overall direction of the Deputy Commissioner-General and in consultation with all Headquarters Directors, the incumbent of the post plans, manages and controls all aspects of UNRWA’s activities in a field of operations characterized by a large and complex refugee population; difficult, sensitive, and volatile political situations; a large complement of staff in dispersed centers of operations; quasi-government social programme; complex interrelationships with governmental and non-governmental organizations and difficult security situations, especially where refugees are involved in conflict situations.
• Works to directly influence the protection and care of Palestine refugees and support for UNRWA locally, regionally and globally:
  • Represents UNRWA and performs vital advocacy, public communication and resource mobilization functions, sourcing and providing, as appropriate, current information on the conditions affecting Palestine refugees and promoting support for UNRWA and Palestine refugees with host and donor governments, the UN country team, civil society and other relevant actors.
  • Plays a critical role in building an effective partnership with local authorities, diplomatic missions community leaders, UN agencies and NGOs, ensuring that programme design and delivery enables the continuation of services in line with global development commitments guided by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development; advocates with government representatives, community leaders and the broader public for the Agency’s programme, highlighting its critical importance, quality and value of its work.
• Leads UNRWA’s delivery of public and community services in education, health, relief and social services, infrastructure and, where applicable, microfinance ensuring consistency and quality in programmes; supports the Agency in the implementation of the Protection Strategic Framework including protection mainstreaming, programming and advocacy, the Gender Equality Strategy, promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment; supports the implementation of the Disability Inclusion policy ensures meaningful participation and accountability to affected populations; oversees the development and delivery of programme and emergency operations, ensuring that refugee needs are met as far as possible and that the services delivered meet Agency and international standards.
• Leads, motivates and supervises a team of programme and operations managers and specialists, contributing to create an ethical, inclusive and empowering workplace in line with UN values builds an effective integrated service delivery capacity which is adapted to the needs of the refugee community and to the particular demands of a volatile environment; contributes to the modernization of the Agency in its fields of operation, strengthening accountability internally and externally in line with the Agency’s management reforms.
• Serves as the principal advisor to the Commissioner-General on policies, programme design, state of operations, the determination of UNRWA’s priorities and resource needs in the assigned field and on the security and political contexts.
• Is responsible for ensuring accountability and rigor in financial and budget management and the maintenance of internal controls and set procedures.
• As part of the Senior Management Team, contributes to determining the strategic direction of UNRWA and to accomplishing its mission; advocates for the needs of refugees within the overall programme priorities of the Agency.

Competencies

UN Core Values of Integrity, Professionalism and Respect for Diversity, and Core Competencies of Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results apply by default. Default managerial competencies may apply.

• • Persuading and influencing
• • Planning and Organizing
• • Relating and Networking
• • Deciding and Initiating Action
• • Managing Complexity and Change

For guidance on how to prepare for competency-based interviews: https://careers.un.org/lbw/home.aspx?viewtype=AYI

Education

Advanced university degree (Master’s or equivalent) from an accredited educational institution in political science, social science, public or business administration, or international relations.

Job Specific Qualifications

Work Experience

At least 15 years of progressively responsible and relevant professional and managerial experience is required.
At least seven years of professional experience at international level in a senior position in a large governmental or international agency dealing with similar programmes to UNRWA’s is required.
Unless already serving as an international staff member in the UN Common System, at least two continuous years of relevant international experience outside UNRWA, and outside the country(s) of citizenship is required.
Advanced university degree (Master’s or equivalent) from an accredited educational institution in political science, social science, public or business administration, or international relations is required.
Knowledge of activities of UNRWA operations and services is desirable.
Knowledge of Middle East geo-political realities and socio-culture implications is desirable.

Languages

Excellent command of written and spoken English.
Knowledge of other UN languages in particular Arabic and/or French for dealing with host government/authority officials and refugee population representatives, and with delegations from donor countries.

Assessment

Evaluation of qualified candidates may include an assessment exercise which may be followed by competency-based interview.

Special Notice

Type of Contract and duration: 2 years, with the possibility of further extension.
The incumbent may be required to travel frequently throughout the Agency’s area of operations in the Middle East.
Only applications that have been fully completed in UNRWA’s online e-recruitment system inspira will be considered and no late applications will be accepted. The Personal History Profile (PHP) should be completed with full work experience under the experience tabs as per the requirements in the Job Opening.
A roster may be created from the selection exercise, and successful candidates may become eligible for an appointment to the same post or a similar post.
UNRWA welcomes applications from qualified candidates with disabilities.
UNRWA is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions from UN member states, regional bodies, business foundations and individual contributions. The mission of UNRWA is to help Palestine refugees achieve their full potential in human development under the difficult circumstances in which they live.
For more details on UNRWA, please visit: https://www.unrwa.org/