cropped cropped White with Bold Red Political Logo 1 3427 P2 JPO Emergency Officer

P2 JPO Emergency Officer

US Agency for International Development

Through USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (USAID/BHA), the United States sponsors qualified U.S. citizens for employment in the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Junior Professional Officer (JPO) Program. In this complex and transitional environment the Iraq Country Office is seeking an JPO Emergency Officer to support the continuing humanitarian response to the displaced populations, while ensuring the preparedness to respond to the impacts of water scarcity and other potential emergency situations that the country may be faced with in the coming two years. The Emergency Officer will also contribute to the process of transitioning from the humanitarian framework to a government-led development framework for sustainable approaches to emergency preparedness and response, including disaster risk reduction.

Duties and Responsibilities:

  • Support the coordination of ongoing humanitarian activities related to the displaced populations in Iraq, including:
    • Participate in the implementation of plans of action and work plans for emergency projects.
    • Undertake field visits to emergency project areas, to assess local conditions and monitor project progress.
    • Carry out project administration.
    • Prepare inputs for appeals and updates related to emergencies.
    • Coordinate with program sections staff and others to mobilize donor response and recovery/rehabilitation-related funding, including humanitarian appeals.
    • Collect and analyze lessons learned from UNICEF’s emergency operations experience and contribute towards adoption of the best practices and standards for longer-term emergency interventions.
  • Support the preparation of emergency preparedness and response plans for potential humanitarian emergencies, notably the impending water scarcity crisis, including:
    • Provide professional assistance in risk analysis to identify emergency-prone conditions/situations and contribute to early warning and timely emergency preparedness.
    • Assist in the formulation of plans of action in preparation and response to emergencies. Gather information on best practices in emergency situations for the preparation of contingency plans. Monitor compliance of all sectors with emergency plans of action.
    • Collect, interpret, and analyze available data on the evolving emergency situation and its implications to the emergency operation. Keep the effective flow of information and communication crucial for the planning and implementation of emergency measures. Identify availability of resources in emergency prone areas.
    • Assist supervisor with assessment of local emergency and security situations. Visit the location to conduct an initial rough assessment of the magnitude of the crisis and its implications for children, mothers and the community.
    • Coordinate with other partners to make a rapid assessment covering priority areas as defined by the Core Commitment for Children in Emergencies. Establish contact with community groups, government, UN agencies, media and other partners to keep the Country Office informed of emergency situations.
  • Support capacity-building efforts to develop sustainable government-led processes for humanitarian action and disaster risk reduction in Iraq, including:
    • Assist in organizing and conducting training of government and nongovernmental organization (NGO) counterparts and UNICEF staff for capacity building in emergencies preparedness and response and disaster risk reduction. Provide briefings, as required. Participate in other emergency training workshops in the region, and contribute to enhancement of the emergency preparedness and response and disaster risk reduction capability.
    • Work with other colleagues to ensure that disaster prevention, mitigation, preparedness, and response strategies are mainstreamed in the Country Office’s work plans. Assist in the preparation of sectoral input for the country program documents, plan of action, annual work plans, and other related documents of the office’s Emergency Preparedness and Response. Provide technical input in the preparation of the Situation Analysis and the Country Programme document, as required.
  • Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications and Experience Required:

Education: University degree in one of the following fields: social sciences, public administration, law, public health, nutrition, international relations, business administration, or other related disciplines.

Work Experience: Two years of relevant professional work experience at the national and/or international levels in program/project development, planning, implementation, monitoring, evaluation or administration. Developing country work experience and training/experience in emergency response management is highly desirable.

Languages: English and French are the working languages of the United Nations (UN) Secretariat. Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language or local language of the duty station is considered as an asset.

Other Skills: Knowledge of the institutions of the UN system, familiarity with humanitarian principles and practice and relevant experience at UN headquarters and in field operations is desirable. Proven aptitude for representation, advocacy and liaison on a range of international policy issues is an advantage.

How to apply

Please visit https://bhajobs.net/new-jpo.aspx for the full solicitation for this position and application instructions.

USAID/BHA sponsored JPOs are employees of the UN agency, not of the U.S. Government.


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