UN High Commissioner for Refugees
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is offering a full-time position within the
Emergency Preparedness Section at our Headquarters in Geneva Switzerland.**
- Title: Snr. Emergency Deployments Assistant
- Duty Station: Geneva, Switzerland
- Duration: 6 months
- Contract Type: Individual Contractor
- Closing date: 8 June 2022
- Start date: 15 June 2022
The Senior Emergency Deployment Assistant is responsible for administering and managing the onboarding of UNHCR staff to the Emergency Response Team Roster (ERT) as well as facilitating the deployment of staff from UNHCR’s rosters (internal surge mechanisms) and from UNHCR’s Emergency Standby Partners (external surge mechanisms). The incumbent works under the direct supervision of a more experienced staff, and in close coordination with other colleagues in the unit.
Organisational context
UNHCR is a global organization dedicated to saving lives, protecting rights and building a better future for refugees, forcibly displaced communities and stateless people. Every year, millions of men, women and children are forced to flee their homes to escape conflict and persecution. We are in over 125 countries, using our expertise to protect and care for millions.
The Emergency Service (ES) is part of UNHCR’s Division of Emergency, Security and Supply (DESS), and supports the UNHCR Country Operations, Regional Bureaux and Headquarters in emergency preparedness and response. The ES also deploys dedicated emergency staff rapidly and works closely with the UNHCR Global Learning Centre’s Emergency Management Unit on capacity building for emergencies.
The team is led by a Chief of Section and consists of 6 members.
The position
The incumbent will have regular contacts with the ERT roster members, in particular prior to their deployment, but also during and after. S/he will also liaise closely with the requesting offices, relevant Divisions in Headquarters, and Regional Bureaux in connection with the deployments and roster enrolment such as for Terms of References for deployees, their technical assessment, deployment location, etc. S/he will also maintain regular contacts with a wide range of Standby Partners regarding same.
The incumbent may be responsible for the regular updates and reporting on emergency deployments, including for external purposes, and will ensure that the deployment database is fully and accurately updated for the purpose of proper analysis and statistics.
Due to the nature of emergencies, requests for deployments cannot be predicted while they require an immediate response. This may result in working beyond regular working hours and requires being able to cope with a sudden additional workload and related pressure.
Considering the above, the incumbent needs to have the ability to work under pressure, be well-organized with attention to detail, have strong inter-personal skills, have excellent communication skills and be an infallible team player.
Duties and responsibilities
- Act and follow-up on emergency deployment requests, preparing and sending travel authorizations
- Close liaison with relevant Sections and regional Bureaux on deployment requests
- Establish contact with ERT members prior to their departure on mission, and serve as their focal point for general questions/issues during and after their deployment
- Contribute to the administration and management of the selection process for the Workshop on Emergency Management (WEM), liaising with the relevant divisions and regional Bureaux
- Contribute to the gathering of medical clearances and relevant bio data of WEM participants and ERT members
- Ensure deployment database inputs are comprehensive, updated and correct.
- Compile and prepare deployment statistics and overviews
- Perform other related duties as required.
Essential minimum qualifications and professional experience required
The ideal candidate will:
- Have a High School diploma plus 3 years of relevant experience or hold a Bachelor’s degree or higher
- Have Excellent communication skills with strong interpersonal skills.
- Be fluent in English, with advanced writing and editing skills.
- Be capable of building and maintaining simple databases and filing systems
- Have good experience using the Microsoft Office suite (Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint).
- Demonstrate a genuine desire to learn and develop.
- Be highly organized and with good attention to detail.
- Be able to multi-task and to prioritize workload.
- Be a flexible, team-player.
Location
The successful candidate will be based with the team in Geneva, Switzerland.
Conditions
The duration of the assignment as an Individual Contractor is until 31 December 2022 (extendable) with the starting date of 15 June 2022. It is a full-time role with working hours starting from 8.30 am to 5.30 pm Monday to Friday, with one hour lunch (40 hours per week).
How to apply
For a full job description and to apply, interested candidates are requested to visit https://bit.ly/3wNH3ar
This vacancy is open to applicants who are Swiss nationals and/or legal residents in Switzerland.
Closing date of applications: 8 June 2022
The UNHCR workforce consists of many diverse nationalities, cultures, languages and opinions. UNHCR seeks to sustain and strengthen this diversity to ensure equal opportunities as well as an inclusive working environment for its entire workforce. Applications are encouraged from all qualified candidates without distinction on grounds of race, colour, sex, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation and gender identity.
Please note that UNHCR does not charge a fee at any stage of its recruitment process (application, interview, meeting, travelling, processing, training or any other fees).