The Position:
The incumbent will develop, coordinate, and manage the deployment of individuals to humanitarian settings on behalf of UNFPA’s Humanitarian Office (HO) with the overall aim to improve UNFPA’s capacity to respond effectively to the growing humanitarian emergencies worldwide. The incumbent will report to a senior manager responsible for emergency deployments, Humanitarian Office.
How you can make a difference:
UNFPA is the lead UN agency for delivering a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person's potential is fulfilled.
A growing number of countries exposed to humanitarian emergencies worldwide are experiencing a further deterioration of their humanitarian situation caused by ongoing and/or worsening conflicts and a variety of natural disasters destroying livelihoods, health services and infrastructure. UNFPA’s humanitarian programme focuses the reproductive health and protection needs that are often overlooked during humanitarian crises. During and after disasters, UNFPA deploys trained personnel to affected areas to work closely with local governments, United Nations agencies, community organizations and other partners to provide life-saving reproductive health and protection services to millions of women, girls and young people affected by conflict or natural disasters. UNFPA also provides essential hygiene materials, contraception, and obstetric supplies, and trains health personnel to help vulnerable women and young people in crisis.
UNFPA has invested in developing a surge mechanism to enable personnel to be rapidly deployed to support humanitarian response in countries affected by acute onset emergencies. That capacity has been expanded in recent years to include, in addition to an internal staff roster, an external roster of independent personnel and standby partner personnel who bring vast humanitarian knowledge, experience and skill sets to UNFPA.
Job Purpose:
The Emergency Response/Surge Specialist will ensure, together with the colleagues from the Department of Human Resources (DHR), that the necessary human resource policies, programs, practices and systems are in place for UNFPA to effectively respond to humanitarian crises. The Specialist will focus on maintaining and augmenting partnerships with relevant Standby Partners and government agencies to ensure the sustainability of the surge and other emergency deployment mechanisms. The Specialist will also maintain and build the capacity of the surge roster, and ensure effective deployment of humanitarian specialists from both the Global Emergency Response Team (GERT) as well as the surge team. Under the guidance of the Humanitarian Office leadership, the Specialist is also expected to support senior management in making strategic, data-driven decisions enabling the successful delivery of UNFPA’s humanitarian vision, including monitoring of emergency staffing needs, tracking and analyzing trends.
Qualifications and Experience
Education:
Advanced university degree in human resources, business administration, public administration, social and behavioral sciences or related discipline.
Knowledge and Experience:
- 7 years of progressively responsible experience in human resources management, some of which should be in the international development or humanitarian sector;
- At least three years’ experience in humanitarian response, preferably field-based;
- In-depth understanding of HR policy development and application in support of business objectives;
- Experience in training design and delivery;
- Proven ability to drive cultural change and advance innovation;
- Excellent organizational and analytical skills;
- Strong collaboration and team skills:
- Excellent facilitation and communication skills;
Languages:
Fluency in English is required; Knowledge of an additional UN language is an asset.
We are no longer accepting applications for this position.
