- Title: Operations Associate (G7), Temporary Appointment
- Duty Stations: Pretoria, South Africa
- Contract Type: Temporary Appointment
- Contract Level: G7
- Application Deadline: 11 February 2020 (midnight, Pretoria time)
- Start Date: ASAP
Organizational context
Regional Bureau for Southern Africa in Pretoria covers the following countries: Angola, Botswana, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mayotte, Mozambique, Namibia, Reunion, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe. UNHCR operations in Southern Africa cover a wide variety of contexts – both urban and camp-based populations as well as internally displaced persons and also provides support regarding statelessness, voluntary repatriation, local integration and resettlement. The responsibilities and implementation of the refugee and internally displaced persons programmes in the region are often shared between UNHCR, UN agencies, host governments and partners.
The Operations Associate works under the direct supervision of the Senior Operations Officer and will be the focal person responsible for liaising with the other units as deemed necessary and required by the senior management.
As a member of the Operations Unit, and working under the Senior Operation officers, the incumbent must demonstrate a knowledge and working experience with the Humanitarian sector and thus understand core humanitarian principles. Within the bureau, the incumbent will have regular contact with other sections/units to support the Senior Operation Officers on accountability efforts, including to ensure that the necessary resources are allocated to address protection and operational gaps. S/he will support the assessment and analysis of the needs of persons of concern, contribute to the review and analysis of operations plans through the year and for end-year reports, and support the collection of information concerning the support and personnel needs expressed by the country offices.
The incumbent will not supervise any support staff.
Duties and Responsibilities
Review operational data, regional and country operations plans and ensure that plans are correctly set up by verifying indicators, budget lines, prioritization and apportioning.
Create reports; conduct regular regional, operation-specific and comparative analyses of plans through Focus and MSRP to create appropriate tables for Operations Officers.
Initiate administrative processing of implementing instruments, sub-agreements and closure of projects at the Operations level.
Contribute to the preparation of plans, reports, project documents and submissions for donor funding by drafting and reviewing text and preparing budgets.
Prepare background information of use in discussions within the Country Operations, Bureau, Divisional Support and field Offices.
Keep abreast of the events that may affect the situation of persons of concern (PoCs) in the countries/operations under AoR and provide regular reports and relevant information on developments regarding the situation of PoCs as appropriate.
Follow-up, in close coordination with the Supply Unit, on the purchase requests with the concerned Operations and prepare draft memos with field inputs for submission to Committee on Contract.
Liaise with Donor Relations, maintains records of status of contributions, commitments, availability of funds, compiles data and produces financial reports to be attached to Appeals or reports.
Keep track of up-dated Fact-Sheets of Country and Regional Operations.
Gather information from the press and other public sources to facilitate the Operations Officers analysis of political and social developments impacting on UNHCR’s operations.
Provide support to improve effective communication and facilitate the sharing of best practices amongst countries/operations and keep track of up-dated reports and fact-sheets of Country and Regional Operations.
Perform other duties as required.
Essential minimum qualifications and professional experience required
The ideal candidate will possess the qualification and experiences listed below:
Education: Completion of secondary education with post-secondary training/certificate in Business Administration, Economics, Political Science, Law or related fields
Work Experience: Minimum 6 years of relevant job experience
Excellent judgment with proven ability to deal with complex, interrelated issues and strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
Ability to communicate clearly and effectively and ability to establish an enabling working environment.
Advanced IT skills in MS Office
Strong reporting skills and the ability to deliver quality results on time are required.
Proficiency in English and working knowledge of French is mandatory.
Desirable Key Competencies
Training in programme design, monitoring & evaluation.
Extensive experience in International Relations.
Knowledge of UNHCR’s operational rules and procedures.
Direct experience as Programme or Operations Associate
Knowledge of and familiarity with operations in Africa and its range of challenges and issues from political to humanitarian perspectives is beneficial.
How to apply:
To apply, please go to https://www.unhcr.org/5e1d85824 .
Closing date: 11 February 2020 (midnight, Pretoria time).
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.