Director of UNRWA Affairs, D-2, Jerusalem

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. Under the overall supervision of the Deputy Commissioner-General, the Director of UNRWA Affairs West Bank, acts as UNRWA’s representative in one of its fields of operation where he/she is assigned. S/he will plan, manage and control 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 centres of operations, quasi-government social programmes; complex inter-relationships with governmental and non-governmental organizations and moderate to difficult security situations, especially where refugees are involved in conflict situations.

The Director of UNRWA Affairs West Bank administers and directs its programmes including education, health, relief and social services, infrastructure and camp improvement and microfinance (as applicable) rendered for a population of Palestine refugees in the West Bank. In the field of operations, the Agency employs a significant number of Palestine refugee staff. He/she is also responsible for the operations functions including finance, procurement and logistics, general administration and public information and/or other functions. S/he will be 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 will be responsible for fulfilling his/her duties as provided by the United Nations Security and Management System and the UNRWA Security and Risk Management System.

The incumbent supervises two Deputy Directors and a number of International and Area senior professional staff covering functional areas including Legal, Public Information, Security, Protocol and administration of Area Offices. Depending on field specificity, the Director of UNRWA Affairs may split the portfolios in varying configurations to meet field needs.

Responsibilities Works to directly influence the protection and care of Palestine refugees and support for UNRWA locally, regionally and globally:

– 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; – 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 a difficult and frequently hazardous operating environment; 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 delivery of public and community services in education, health, relief and social services, infrastructure and microfinance (where applicable), ensuring consistency and quality in programmes; 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, 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; – Serves as the principal advisor to the Commissioner-General on policies, programme design, state of operations, the determination of UNRWA priorities and resource needs in the assigned field and on the security and political context; – 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 Professionalism, Integrity and Respect for Diversity and Core Competencies of Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results apply by default. Default managerial competencies may apply. – Deciding and Initiating Action – Leading and Supervising – Relating and Networking – Persuading and Influencing – Planning and Organizing – Adapting and Responding to 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 fifteen years of progressively responsible and relevant experience (required). At least ten years of relevant work experience at a senior international level (required). A minimum of 2 continuous years of relevant international experience outside UNRWA, and outside the country(s) of which the candidate is a national or holds citizenship, a passport or a national identity number (required). Knowledge of activities of UNRWA operations and services (desirable). Knowledge of Middle East geo-political realities and its socio-culture implications (desirable). Knowledge of other UN languages in particular Arabic and/or French is desirable for dealing with host government/authority officials and refugee population representatives, and with delegations from donor countries. Knowledge of other languages is an asset. Languages Excellent command of written and spoken English. Assessment Evaluation of qualified candidates may include an assessment exercise which may be followed by competency-based interview. Special Notice This Job Opening (JO) is re-opened to expand the pool. Candidates who originally applied to JO number 170159 need not to re-apply. Type of Contract and duration: 2 years, with the possibility of further extension. The Director of UNRWA Affairs will be required to travel frequently throughout the Agency’s area of operations in the Middle East. Applicants have to complete the Personal History Profile (PHP) in inspira in order to be considered. The PHP should be completed with full relevant work experience as per the requirements in the Job Opening, in order to be considered. A roster may be created from the selection exercise, and successful candidates may become eligible for appointment to the same post or a similar post. Equivalency: A first level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of an advanced university degree. 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/United Nations