Mission and objectivesThe Office of the UNHCR was established on 14 December 1950 by the UN General Assembly. The agency is mandated to lead and co-ordinate international action to protect refugees and resolve refugee problems worldwide. Its primary purpose is to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees. It strives to ensure that everyone can exercise the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge in another State, with the option to return home voluntarily, integrate locally or to resettle in a third country. During times of displacement, we provide critical emergency assistance in the form of clean water, sanitation and healthcare, as well as shelter, blankets, household goods and sometimes food. We also arrange transport and assistance packages for people who return home, and income-generating projects for those who resettle.
ContextThe Office of the UNHCR was established on 14 December 1950 by the UN General Assembly. The agency is mandated to lead and co-ordinate international action to protect refugees and re-solve refugee problems worldwide. Its primary purpose is to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees. It strives to ensure that everyone can exercise the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge in another State, with the option to return home voluntarily, integrate locally or to resettle in a third country (www.unhcr.org).
Task DescriptionUnder the direct supervision of Senior External Relations Officer, the UN Volunteer will under-take the following tasks: โข Keep abreast all developments in operations to prepare appropriate briefings and reports. โข Prepare periodic reports, i.e. donor updates, internal sitreps, briefing notes for senior managers, and activity-specific reports as required. โข Prepare funding submissions for donors and draft any required after-action reports. โข Develop and maintain working relationships with the government, NGOs, and UN agencies to ensure cooperation in inter-related activities. โข Support the UNHCR-led Cluster activities by preparing and distributing minutes, assisting in the organization of meetings; occasionally chairing meetings, and serving as the general secretariat for the relevant Cluster. โข Support the supervisor in preparation for meetings and missions drafting of talking points. โข Organize and accompany missions for VIP visitors, delegates to visit refugee sites or the activities of UNHCR implementing partners. โข If there is no Public Information (PI) focal point in country, serve as PI focal point, contributing to and coordinating press events, interviews, PI missions and other activities related to information dissemination to the general public to promote UNHCR activities. Furthermore, UN Volunteers are required to: โข Strengthen their knowledge and understanding of the concept of volunteerism by reading relevant UNV and external publications and take active part in UNV activities (for instance in events that mark International Volunteer Day). โข Be acquainted with and build on traditional and/or local forms of volunteerism in the host country. โข Reflect on the type and quality of voluntary action that they are undertaking, including participation in ongoing reflection activities. โข Contribute articles/write-ups on field experiences and submit them for UNV publications/websites, newsletters, press releases, etc. โข Assist with the UNV Buddy Programme for newly arrived UN Volunteers. โข Promote or advise local groups in the use of online volunteering or encourage relevant local individuals and organizations to use the UNV Online Volunteering service whenever technically possible. โข Please add any other information as necessary 11. Results/Expected Outputs: โข The development of capacity through coaching, mentoring and formal on-the-job training, when working with (including supervising) national staff or (non-) governmental counterparts, including Implementing Partners (IPs). โข Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD) perspective is systematically applied, integrated and documented in all activities throughout the assignment. โข A final statement of achievements towards volunteerism for development during the assignment, such as reporting on the number of volunteers mobilized, activities participated in, and capacities developed. . Qualifications/Requirements (including competencies, values and skills): A) Qualifications, skills, experience.
Competencies and valuesโข Integrity and professionalism: demonstrated expertise in area of specialty and ability to apply good judgment; high degree of autonomy, personal initiative and ability to take ownership; willingness to accept wide responsibilities and ability to work independently under established procedures in a politically sensitive environment, while exercising discretion, impartiality and neutrality; ability to manage information objectively, accurately and confidentially; responsive and client-oriented. โข Accountability: mature and responsible; ability to operate in compliance with organizational rules and regulations. โข Commitment to continuous learning: initiative and willingness to learn new skills and stay abreast of new developments in area of expertise; ability to adapt to changes in work environment. โข Planning and organizing effective organizational and problem-solving skills and ability to manage a large volume of work in an efficient and timely manner; ability to establish priorities and to plan, coordinate and monitor (own) work; ability to work under pressure, with conflicting deadlines, and to handle multiple concurrent projects/activities. โข Teamwork and respect for diversity: ability to operate effectively across organizational boundaries; ability to establish and maintain effective partnerships and harmonious working relations in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity and gender. โข Communication: proven interpersonal skills; good spoken and written communication skills, including ability to prepare clear and concise reports; ability to conduct presentations, articulate options and positions concisely; ability to make and defend recommendations; ability to communicate and empathize with staff (including national staff), military personnel, volunteers, counterparts and local interlocutors coming from very diverse backgrounds; ability to maintain composure and remain helpful towards the staff, but objective, without showing per-sonal interest; capacity to transfer information and knowledge to a wide range of different target groups; โข Flexibility, adaptability, and ability and willingness to operate independently in austere, re-mote and potentially hazardous environments for protracted periods, involving physical hard-ship and little comfort, and including possible extensive travel within the area of operations; willingness to transfer to other duty stations within area of operations as may be necessary. โข Genuine commitment towards the principles of voluntary engagement, which includes solidarity, compassion, reciprocity and self-reliance, and commitment towards the UN core values.
Living conditions and remarksThe duration of your assignment is (12 months A volunteer receives a Volunteer Living Allowance (VLA) which is composed of the Monthly Living Allowance (MLA) and a Family Allowance (FA) for those with dependents. A Volunteer Living Allowance (VLA) is paid at the end of each month to cover housing, utilities, transportation, communications and other basic needs. The VLA can be computed by applying the Post-Adjustment Multiplier (PAM) to the VLA base rate of US$ 1,571. The VLA base rate is a global rate, while the PAM is country-specific and fluctuates on a monthly basis according to the cost of living. This method ensures that international UN Volunteers have comparable purchasing power at all duty stations irrespective of varying costs of living. The PAM is established by the International Civil Service Commission (ICSC) and is published at the beginning of every month on the ICSC website (http://icsc.un.org). For example, if the PAM for the current month in the country of assignment is 54.6%, then the VLA for that month and for that country will be US$ 1,571 x 1.546 = US$ 2,429. Moreover, to complete the monthly VLA rate, a Family Allowance (FA) is added in function of the number of recognized dependents (or: in the amount of US$ 250 if the UN Volunteer has 1 recognized dependent, and US$ 450 if the UN Volunteer has 2 or more recognized dependents). In addition, in non-family duty stations that belong to hardship categories D or E, as classified by the ICSC, international UN Volunteers receive a Well-Being Differential (WBD) on a monthly basis. The VLA and WBD taken together form the net core entitlements. Furthermore, UN Volunteers are provided a settling-in-grant (SIG) at the start of the assignment (if the volunteer did not reside in the duty station for at least 6 months prior to taking up the as-assignment) and, under strict conditions, also in the event of a permanent reassignment to another duty station (duty stations can change in the course of an assignment based on operational necessity; UN Volunteers may be required to work anywhere in the area of operations of the host organization, including in remote locations). Life, health, permanent disability and malicious acts insurances are included, as well as assignment travel, annual leave, full integration in the UN security framework (including residential security reimbursements as per the local MORSS), DSA payment for official travel, periodic home visit, final repatriation travel (except in the event of a resignation within the initial contract period), and resettlement allowance for satisfactory ser-vice. UNV will provide, together with the offer of assignment, a copy of the Conditions of Service, including Code of conduct, to the successful candidate.