Org. Setting and Reporting

This position is located in the Humanitarian Sector Division (HSD) of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). OCHA’s mission is to mobilize and coordinate effective and principled humanitarian action in partnership with national and international actors to reduce human suffering in disasters and emergencies; support the rights of people in need; promote preparedness and prevention; and facilitate sustainable solutions. The Division plays a central role in advancing the Humanitarian Reset, ensuring that humanitarian coordination and policy work is streamlined, country-focused, and fit for purpose. Through simplified structures and closer linkages across operational, policy, and data functions, the Division promotes a coherent, efficient, and impactful humanitarian system. The Director works under the overall strategic guidance of the Under-Secretary-General/Emergency Relief Coordinator (USG/ERC) and the direct supervision of the Assistant Secretary-General/Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator (ASG/DERC).

Responsibilities

Within delegated authority, the Director will provide strategic leadership on humanitarian sector reform activities and oversee the newly structured Humanitarian Sector Division. S/he will represent and collaborate on OCHA’s global support to humanitarian assistance with other entities of the United Nations system, as well as humanitarian actors and organizations in the wider international humanitarian ecosystem. The Director will lead and manage the Division, working collaboratively with other functional leads. Specifically, the Director will be responsible for the following: • Directs and manages the Humanitarian Sector Division, ensuring integrated delivery across OCHA’s coordination, policy, negotiation, and information functions in line with the Humanitarian Reset. • Provides strategic and technical leadership to ensure effective international humanitarian response systems, context-specific coordination mechanisms, and readiness to rapidly respond to emerging crises. • Contributes to the formulation of OCHA’s overall strategies and policies by preparing strategic policy inputs, and advising the USG/ASG on cross-cutting operational and diplomatic priorities. Provides leadership to OCHA’s humanitarian diplomacy strategy, including geopolitical analysis, strategic engagement with actors with influence, and support to principled humanitarian access. • Provides leadership to the development of innovative and change management initiatives that strengthen coherence, efficiency, and agility under the Humanitarian Reset, and which modernize field coordination and inter-agency mechanisms. • Formulates and implement the substantive work programme of the Division under his/her supervision, determining priorities, and allocating resources to ensure the timely delivery of outputs aligned with OCHA’s Strategic Plan, Results Framework, and Reset objectives. • Oversees the management of activities undertaken by the Division, ensuring that programmed activities are carried out in a timely fashion and that work across branches and sections is coordinated with other parts of OCHA, the IASC, and external partners. • Co-ordinates and oversees the preparation of reports for presentation to intergovernmental bodies such as the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budget Questions, Committee for Programme Coordination, Economic and Social Council, the General Assembly and other policy-making organs, as appropriate ensuring that analysis reflects system-wide coordination and policy. • Reports to intergovernmental bodies on budget/programme performance or issues, as appropriate, particularly those presented in biannual and/or annual reports and provides briefings on OCHA’s coordination and policy. • Ensures that the outputs produced by the Division maintain high-quality standards; that reports are clear, objective and based on comprehensive data. Ensures that all outputs produced by the division under his/her supervision meet required standards before completion to ensure they comply with the relevant mandates and reflect integrated analysis across coordination, policy, and information management functions. • Undertakes or oversees the programmatic tasks necessary for the Division, including preparation of budgets, assigning and monitoring of performance parameters and critical indicators, reporting on budget/programme performance, preparation of inputs for results-based budgeting, evaluation of staff performance (PAS), interviews of candidates for job openings and evaluation of candidates. • Oversees the recruitment of staff for the Division taking due account to geographical and gender balance and other institutional values. • Manages, guides, develops and trains staff under his/her supervision; foster teamwork and communication among staff in the Division and across organizational boundaries promoting a culture of collaboration, inclusion, and accountability across coordination, policy and information streams. • Perform other related duties as requested by the senior management of the Organization.

Competencies

• Professionalism: Knowledge of the humanitarian system. Shows ability to produce reports and papers on technical issues and to review and edit the work of others. Shows ability to apply UN rules, regulations, policies and guidelines in work situations. Shows pride in work and in achievements; demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter; is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results; is motivated by professional rather than personal concerns; shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges; remains calm in stressful situations. • Planning & Organizing: Develops clear goals that are consistent with agreed strategies; identifies priority activities and assignments; adjusts priorities as required; allocates appropriate amount of time and resources for completing work; foresees risks and allows for contingencies when planning; monitors and adjusts plans and actions as necessary; uses time efficiently. • Creativity: Actively seeks to improve programmes or services; offers new and different options to solve problems or meet client needs; promotes and persuades others to consider new ideas; takes calculated risks on new and unusual ideas; thinks “outside the box”; takes an interest in new ideas and new ways of doing things; is not bound by current thinking or traditional approaches. • Leadership: Serves as a role model that other people want to follow: empowers others to translate vision into results; is proactive in developing strategies to accomplish objectives; establishes and maintains relationships with a broad range of people to understand needs and gain support; anticipates and resolves conflicts by pursuing mutually agreeable solutions; drives for change and improvements; does not accept the status quo; shows the courage to take unpopular stands. Provides leadership and takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work; demonstrates knowledge of strategies and commitment to the goal of gender balance in staffing. • Vision: Identifies strategic issues, opportunities and risks; clearly communicates links between the Organization’s strategy and the work unit’s goals; generates and communicates broad and compelling organizational direction, inspiring others to pursue that same direction; conveys enthusiasm about future possibilities.

Education

Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in administration, international affairs, social or natural sciences or related area. A first-level university degree in combination with qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Job - Specific Qualification

Not available.

Work Experience

Over fifteen (15) years of progressively responsible experience in leadership management, operations or related field is required. Experience in senior roles leading multi-disciplinary diverse teams and managing complex coordination, policy, or related functions in a large international organization or corporation is required. Experience contributing to or leading organizational change or reform initiatives is required. Proven experience in leading institutional or sector-wide reform and change management is required. Senior experience in coordinating multi-stakeholder processes at international level, shaping consensus and leading to results across disciplines and in several organizations is required.

Languages

Assessment

Evaluation of qualified candidates may include an assessment exercise which may be followed by competency-based interview.

Special Notice

At the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the recruitment and employment of staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity, with due regard to geographic diversity. All employment decisions are made on the basis of qualifications and organizational needs. The United Nations is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. The United Nations recruits and employs staff regardless of gender identity, sexual orientation, race, religious, cultural and ethnic backgrounds or disabilities. Reasonable accommodation for applicants with disabilities may be provided to support participation in the recruitment process when requested and indicated in the application. Staff members of the United Nations Secretariat must fulfil the lateral move requirements to be eligible to apply for this vacancy. Staff members are requested to indicate all qualifying lateral moves in their Personal History Profile (PHP) and cover letter. For this position, applicants from the following Member States, which are unrepresented or under-represented in the UN Secretariat as of 30 November 2025, are strongly encouraged to apply: Andorra, Angola,Belize, Brunei Darussalam, China, Cuba, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Dominica, Equatorial Guinea, Grenada, Guinea-Bissau, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Kiribati, Kuwait, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Libya, Liechtenstein, Malta, Marshall Islands, Micronesia (Federated States of), Monaco, Nauru, Oman, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Qatar, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, United Arab Emirates, United States of America, Vanuatu, Germany, San Marino, Russian Federation. Staff members are subject to the authority of the Secretary-General and to assignment by him or her. In this context, all staff are expected to move periodically to new functions in their careers in accordance with established rules and procedures. Applicants who have reached the mandatory age of separation are not eligible to apply for job openings. The United Nations Secretariat is committed to achieving 50/50 gender balance in its staff. Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply for this position. At the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the recruitment and employment of staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity, with due regard to geographic diversity. All employment decisions are made on the basis of qualifications and organizational needs. Staff members are subject to the authority of the Secretary-General, who may assign them to any of the activities or offices of the United Nations in accordance with staff regulation 1.2 (c). Further, staff members in the Professional and higher category up to and including the D-2 level and the Field Service category are normally required to move periodically to discharge functions in different duty stations under conditions established in ST/AI/2023/3 on Mobility, as may be amended or revised.

United Nations Considerations

According to article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity. Candidates will not be considered for employment with the United Nations if they have committed violations of international human rights law, violations of international humanitarian law, sexual exploitation, sexual abuse, or sexual harassment, or if there are reasonable grounds to believe that they have been involved in the commission of any of these acts. The term “sexual exploitation” means any actual or attempted abuse of a position of vulnerability, differential power, or trust, for sexual purposes, including, but not limited to, profiting monetarily, socially or politically from the sexual exploitation of another. The term “sexual abuse” means the actual or threatened physical intrusion of a sexual nature, whether by force or under unequal or coercive conditions. The term “sexual harassment” means any unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature that might reasonably be expected or be perceived to cause offence or humiliation, when such conduct interferes with work, is made a condition of employment or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment, and when the gravity of the conduct warrants the termination of the perpetrator’s working relationship. Candidates who have committed crimes other than minor traffic offences may not be considered for employment. Due regard will be paid to the importance of recruiting the staff on as wide a geographical basis as possible. The United Nations places no restrictions on the eligibility of men and women to participate in any capacity and under conditions of equality in its principal and subsidiary organs. The United Nations Secretariat is a non-smoking environment. Reasonable accommodation may be provided to applicants with disabilities upon request, to support their participation in the recruitment process. By accepting a letter of appointment, staff members are subject to the authority of the Secretary-General, who may assign them to any of the activities or offices of the United Nations in accordance with staff regulation 1.2 (c). Further, staff members in the Professional and higher category up to and including the D-2 level and the Field Service category are normally required to move periodically to discharge functions in different duty stations under conditions established in ST/AI/2023/3 on Mobility, as may be amended or revised. This condition of service applies to all position specific job openings and does not apply to temporary positions. Applicants are urged to carefully follow all instructions available in the online recruitment platform, inspira, and to refer to the Applicant Guide by clicking on “Manuals” in the “Help” tile of the inspira account-holder homepage. The evaluation of applicants will be conducted on the basis of the information submitted in the application according to the evaluation criteria of the job opening and the applicable internal legislations of the United Nations including the Charter of the United Nations, resolutions of the General Assembly, the Staff Regulations and Rules, administrative issuances and guidelines. Applicants must provide complete and accurate information pertaining to their personal profile and qualifications according to the instructions provided in inspira to be considered for the current job opening. No amendment, addition, deletion, revision or modification shall be made to applications that have been submitted. Candidates under serious consideration for selection will be subject to reference checks to verify the information provided in the application. All external candidates recruited in accordance with section ‎2.2 (a) of ST/AI/2025/3 for a fixed term appointment without limitation and all external candidates recruited in accordance with section 2.2. (c) of ST/AI/2025/3 for a fixed term appointment limited to the entity are subject to an initial probationary period of one year under a fixed-term appointment. Job openings advertised on the Careers Portal will be removed at 11:59 p.m. (New York time) on the deadline date.

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.