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Standard Job Description
Associate Programme Officer
Organizational Setting and Work Relationships
The Associate Programme Officer may be based in HQ, field/regional bureau, typically reporting to and be guided by the Program officer and may supervise a small team of local staff. He/she may refer to UNHCR's Programme Manual (Chapter IV), UNHCR's corporate and regional strategic priorities, operation plans and other relevant institutional rules and regulations for further guidance.
The Associate Programme Officer will provide programmatic guidance and support with regard to the implementation of protection and solutions strategies within available resources. S/he will coordinate with the other sections/units to ensure harmonized programmatic approaches at all levels and throughout the UNHCR Operations Management Cycle. The incumbent will work in line with the overall UNHCR directions which crucially require working with partners, including with forcibly displaced and stateless persons, governmental institutions and the private sector, ensuring that programme management is approached as per UNHCR's Strategic Directions, Global Strategic Priorities (GSPs), Global Compact for Refugees (GCR), and corporate positions on SDGs.
The incumbent is expected to work in line with the multi-functional team (MFT) approach as defined within the Program Manual, ensuring the participation of relevant stakeholders in all phases of the Program Management Cycle.
All UNHCR staff members are accountable to perform their duties as reflected in their job description. They do so within their delegated authorities, in line with the regulatory framework of UNHCR which includes the UN Charter, UN Staff Regulations and Rules, UNHCR Policies and Administrative Instructions as well as relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, staff members are required to discharge their responsibilities in a manner consistent with the core, functional, cross-functional and managerial competencies and UNHCR's core values of professionalism, integrity and respect for diversity.
Duties
- Support in assessing and analysing the needs of forcibly displaced and stateless persons in a participatory manner, using an Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD) perspective as basis for planning.
- Provide support on programmatic aspects of developing multi-year protection and solutions strategies and annual plans with corresponding priorities taking into account corporate priorities.
- Support Results Based Management and programme capacity in light of evolving requirements, programming approaches and gaps.
- Assist the planning process in compliance with planning parameters outlined in the Programme Manual and the planning instructions.
- Support the revision and analysis of plans, mid-year and year-end reports of UNHCR office(s) in the Area of Responsibility AoR), ensure quality assurance and compliance with established policies, guidelines, procedures and standards.
- Assist in the provision of overall direction to broaden partnerships with key stakeholders in order to maximize the protection and solutions response for forcibly displaced and stateless persons.
- Provide support to ensure a consistent application of the framework for implementing with partners, including the effective implementation of the policy on selection and retention of partners, management of partnership agreements, risk-based project performance monitoring, and risk-based project audits, among others.
- Contribute to ensure consistent and coherent monitoring approaches, tools and systems across the region, in line with global standards and polices.
- Actively contribute to UNHCRs programming of community of practice and continuously contribute to improvements of programming tools and processes.
- Oversee a timely and effective follow-up of internal and external audits observations and recommendations that relate to programmatic issues.
- Support the identification and management of risks and seek to seize opportunities impacting objectives in the area of responsibility. Ensure decision making in risk based in the functional area of work. Raise risks, issues and concerns to a supervisor or to relevant functional colleague(s).
- Perform other related duties as required.
Minimum Qualifications
Years of Experience / Degree Level
For P2/NOB - 3 years relevant experience with Undergraduate degree; or 2 years relevant experience with Graduate degree; or 1 year relevant experience with Doctorate degree
Field(s) of Education
Economics; Business Administration; Social Sciences; or other relevant field.
Certificates and/or Licenses
Programme Management
Certification Programme in Programme Management (CP-PM)
(Certificates and Licenses marked with an asterisk* are essential)
Relevant Job Experience
Essential
Demonstrated experience in programme management including familiarization with the OMC and sound knowledge of Results Based-Management. Demonstrated experience in field operations, sound knowledge on the centrality of protection in programming, Joint Needs Assessments and the principles of targeting.
Desirable
Demonstrated experience in coordination within an inter-agency context and other actors, in a refugee or humanitarian context. Sound experience in program management training and capacity building activities.
Functional Skills
MG-Project Management
PG-Results-Based Management
PG-UNHCR's Programmes
PG-Stakeholder management and coordination with Implementing Partners (Gov/NGO/Corporate)
(Functional Skills marked with an asterisk* are essential)
Language Requirements
For International Professional and Field Service jobs: Knowledge of English and UN working language of the duty station if not English.
For National Professional jobs: Knowledge of English and UN working language of the duty station if not English and local language.
For General Service jobs: Knowledge of English and/or UN working language of the duty station if not English.
All UNHCR workforce members must individually and collectively, contribute towards a working environment where each person feels safe, and empowered to perform their duties. This includes by demonstrating no tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse, harassment including sexual harassment, sexism, gender inequality, discrimination and abuse of power.
As individuals and as managers, all must be proactive in preventing and responding to inappropriate conduct, support ongoing dialogue on these matters and speaking up and seeking guidance and support from relevant UNHCR resources when these issues arise.
This is a Standard Job Description for all UNHCR jobs with this job title and grade level. The Operational Context may contain additional essential and/or desirable qualifications relating to the specific operation and/or position. Any such requirements are incorporated by reference in this Job Description and will be considered for the screening, shortlisting and selection of candidates.
Desired Candidate Profile
Required languages (expected Overall ability is at least B2 level):
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Desired languages
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Operational context
Occupational Safety and Health Considerations:
To view occupational safety and health considerations for this duty station, please visit this link:
Nature of Position:
The Islamic Republic of Iran has generously hosted forcibly displaced persons for over 40 years. Despite numerous challenges, and in the absence of equitable international responsibility sharing proportionate with the number of people being hosted, the country has upheld refugee-inclusive policies, ensuring continued quality access to essential public services, in particular including healthcare and education. In 2024, some 3.8 million people are recognized as refugees and refugee-like, making Iran the largest refugee-hosting country in the world.
Despite economic challenges, the Government of Iran has maintained its inclusive policies, enabling refugees and undocumented Afghans to access health and education services within the national system. UNHCR supports the Government through the provision of protection and humanitarian assistance for refugees and also contributes to enhancing national services, which benefit persons of concern and host communities in urban areas and in the 20 refugee settlements across the country.
Following the deterioration of the security and humanitarian situation in Afghanistan in August 2021, UNHCR rapidly scaled up its operation in Iran to respond to the large number of Afghans seeking safety in the country. Despite challenges, Iran has maintained its inclusive approach, providing forcibly displaced Afghans access to healthcare and education within the national systems as well as livelihood opportunities. However, economic challenges and an increased refugee population are making it harder for the Government of Iran to sustain its support and amplified their calls for improved international solidarity and responsibility-sharing to better assist refugees.
In the absence of short to medium-term opportunities for durable solutions, the majority of Afghans in Iran will remain reliant on both external assistance and the continuation of inclusive policies extended by the Government of Iran in areas of health and education. Against this backdrop and in a domestic and wider context which is increasingly constrained and polarized, the most strategic ‘investment’ is through international responsibility-sharing with a focus on promoting social cohesion and resilience, using humanitarian-development nexus approaches. Initiatives to bolster the resilience of Afghans are particularly critical, promoting participatory and community-based empowerment approaches, which equip them with the tools to overcome challenging circumstances themselves.
UNHCR’s Iran operation is guided by the “Solutions Strategy for Afghan Refugees” (SSAR). The SSAR is the result of a quadripartite consultative process initiated in 2012 between Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, and UNHCR to identify and implement lasting solutions for Afghan refugees in the region. The SSAR is a regional multilateral platform that offers a comprehensive and integrated framework for joint interventions aimed at facilitating voluntary return and sustainable reintegration, while at the same time assisting host countries. Denmark was one of the first countries to have joined the SSAR Support Platform core group established in 2020 to mobilize a diverse range of key stakeholders, galvanize political, financial, and technical support for the SSAR’s implementation, and raise visibility of the Afghan situation.
In the context of the Solutions Strategy for Afghan Refugees (SSAR), the planned response aligns to SSAR Pillar 3: Enhanced support for refugee-hosting communities, preserving protection space in host countries and third country solutions, and is in keeping with Denmark’s Membership and active participation in the Global Core Group of the SSAR Support Platform which serves to ‘galvanize structured regional coordination to increase political, financial, and technical support from existing and new partners for the SSAR’.
The Refugee Response Plan (RRP) for the Afghanistan situation was first developed in 2021, initially as a 6-month Refugee Preparedness and Emergency Response Plan, to support a coordinated response to Afghan refugees seeking international protection in neighboring countries (Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan). Annual RRPs have subsequently been developed for 2022 and 2023 respectively, covering the whole of the refugee response in Iran and spanning the assistance spectrum. For 2024, a multi-year RRP was developed covering the period 2024-2025. The transition to a multi-year plan better aligns with the protracted situation of Afghans in Iran, helps contribute to more sustainable/longer-term outcomes, and lightens the planning and reporting process for partner organizations. In conjunction with RRP partners, UNHCR prioritizes the adoption of humanitarian-nexus approaches to Afghans displaced in Iran, particularly those in situations of protracted displacement. UNHCR supports the Government in maintaining its inclusive policies by strengthening health and education systems and service provision in refugee hosting areas.
In the spirit of international responsibility sharing embodied in the Global Compact on Refugees (GCR), UNHCR acts as a catalyst and facilitator for the engagement of development actors on forced displacement; leverages the influence of development actors for protection and policy advocacy with governments; gradually links services for refugees with national systems; or expands support for self-reliance. As such, and especially in protracted refugee situations, UNHCR works towards reducing humanitarian needs while laying the foundation for long-term development, in a humanitarian-development nexus approach.
In support of the Senior Operation Officer, the Associate Program Officer will actively assist and appropriately participate in the overall management of the Iran country program. This includes planning, implementation, monitoring, evaluation, reporting, analysis, strategy setting, and prioritization, while considering the complex operational context in Iran, which may present unique challenges and constraints to regular UNHCR program implementation and management processes.
The incumbent will directly manage sectorial projects (both direct implementation and through partners) with the support of national program staff. They are also expected to work on Cash-Based Interventions (CBI) activities alongside CBI staff. Additionally, they will support Enterprise Risk Management processes and exercises, assist in overseeing annual project audit processes, and any other oversight activities.
The incumbent is expected to draft various internal and external documents, including Multi-Year Strategies, Annual Result Reports, operation briefing materials, and contributions to donor proposals and reports. Capacity building and training of UNHCR staff and partner staff are also part of the responsibilities.
Understanding Results-Based Management (RBM) principles is crucial, as COMPASS is designed around this approach. This includes setting clear objectives, monitoring progress, and evaluating outcomes.
The incumbent plays a key role in driving a Multi-Functional Team (MFT) approach in Iran’s operation, working closely with Sub-Offices/Field Offices, as well as Protection, Project Control, Supply, External Engagement, Information Management, and Admin/Finance units in the Country Office. They will also maintain close liaison with relevant colleagues at the Regional Bureau and/or Headquarters.
The incumbent reports to the Senior Operation Officer and may function as the Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of the program unit in the absence of other senior managers. They supervise a diverse team of national program staff and, as required, closely work with and provide information/advice directly to the Senior Management Team. Given the scale-up of the Iran operation since the Afghan emergency in 2021, the work and staff of the program unit have expanded and increased.
Living and Working Conditions:
Additional Qualifications
Skills
MG-Project Management, PG-Results-Based Management, PG-Stakeholder management and coordination with Implementing Partners (Gov/NGO/Corporate), PG-UNHCR's ProgrammesEducation
Certifications
CP-PM Certification Programme for Programme Management - UNHCR, Programme Management - OtherWork Experience
Competencies
Accountability, Analytical thinking, Client & results orientation, Commitment to continuous learning, Communication, Empowering & building trust, Judgement & decision making, Managing resource, Negotiation & conflict resolution, Organizational awareness, Teamwork & collaborationUNHCR Salary Calculator
https://icsc.un.org/Home/SalaryScales
Additional Information
Functional clearance
