Humanitarian Affairs Officer (Programme)

The position is located in the Crisis Response Division (CRD), Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). OCHA is the part of the United Nations Secretariat responsible for bringing together humanitarian actors to ensure a coherent response to emergencies. OCHA also ensures there is a framework within which each actor can contribute to the overall response efforts. OCHA's mission is to mobilize and coordinate effective and principled humanitarian action in partnership with national and international actors in order to alleviate human suffering in disasters and emergencies; advocate the rights of people in need; promote preparedness and prevention and facilitate sustainable solutions. This temporary job opening is being advertised for the position of Humanitarian Affairs Officer (Programme) and is located in Khartoum, Sudan. Under the overall supervision of the Head of Office, OCHA Sudan, the incumbent reports to the Head of Humanitarian Financing Unit/ Fund Manager (FM). The Humanitarian Fund Units in OCHA Regional and Country Offices manage multi-donor country-based pooled funds under the leadership of the Humanitarian Coordinator. These funds receive unearmarked contributions from donors. The funds are allocated to humanitarian actors for ongoing humanitarian operations and to respond to new emergencies.

Within delegated authority, the Humanitarian Affairs Officer (Programme) will be responsible for the following duties: I. Fund Management and Coordination:

• Under the supervision of the Head of Humanitarian Financing Unit, support OCHA Head of Office and HC on monitoring, reporting and communications for the Humanitarian Financing Unit (HFU) vis-à-vis the humanitarian context (i.e. priorities and critical needs);
• Support and implement standardized policy in line with HQ guidance and decisions;
• Manage and supervise Fund-related support staff (if any);
• Liaise with NGO, UN partners as well as clusters and OCHA field offices to follow-up on project progress and overall Fund progress;
• Conduct periodic field visits to collect stories, information and data for communications and reporting purposes;
• Ensure proper communication and support during the allocation process to all stakeholders;
• Liaise with and provide necessary support to recipient organizations of the Fund throughout the life-cycle of the projects, promoting coherence between humanitarian needs and response;
• Ensure coordination and information exchange with humanitarian donors aiming to promote coordinated and complementary use of funds.
• Assist in fund reporting and communication processes ensuring necessary coordination with relevant counterparts; humanitarian organizations; and OCHA;
• Research, analyze and present humanitarian financing information, in particular funding trends and requirements, gathered from diverse sources;
• Assist in policy development, including the review and analysis of humanitarian issues and funding trends at the country level:
• Liaise with OCHA field offices and recipient organizations in order to disseminate full information on Fund activities;
• Perform other duties as assigned by the PFM/Head of the Humanitarian Finance Unit. II. Monitoring, Reporting and Evaluation:
• Ensure compliance with monitoring and reporting systems in place for the Fund;
• Systematically provide information on project status to the FM, OCHA Head of Office, the Humanitarian Coordinator, donors, and relevant stakeholders of the Fund;
• Ensure timely overall project reporting, including acting as the lead for the pooled fund annual report exercise;
• Assist in the preparation of evaluations or other research activities and studies in consultation with relevant HQ sections.

An advanced university degree (Master's degree or equivalent) in political science, social science, international studies, public administration, economics, engineering, earth sciences or a related field is required. A first-level university degree in combination with an additional two (2) years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Not available.

A minimum of five (5) years of progressively responsible experience in humanitarian affairs, emergency preparedness, crisis/emergency relief management, project management, budget management, or related area is required. Experience working with a country-based pooled fund is required. Experience in humanitarian financing, e.g. grant/project management, fundraising, and donor relations for humanitarian programmes is desirable. Experience in project management and supervision, monitoring and evaluation, and administration is desirable. Experience within the UN common system or other comparable international organization is desirable.

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

This position is temporarily available for 364 days. If the selected candidate is a staff member from the United Nations Secretariat, the selection will be administered as a temporary assignment. While this temporary assignment may provide the successful applicant with an opportunity to gain new work experience, the selection for this position is for a limited period and has no bearing on the future incumbency of the post. Subject to the funding source of the position, the eligibility for this temporary job opening may be limited to candidates based at the duty station. This temporary job opening may be limited to “internal candidates,” who have been recruited through a competitive examination administered according to staff rule 4.16 or staff selection process including the review of a central review body established according to staff rule 4.15. Staff members of the United Nations common system organizations who will reach the mandatory age of separation or retirement within the duration of the current temporary need period are not eligible to apply. Submitting an application or selection for the current temporary job opening does not delay or increase the mandatory age of separation. Retirees above the mandatory age of separation who wish to be considered for the current temporary job opening must indicate the reason for their last separation as "retirement." Such retirees shall not be employed by the Organization, unless (a) the operational requirements of the Organization cannot be met by staff members who are qualified and available to perform the required functions; and (b) the proposed employment would not adversely affect the career development or redeployment opportunities of other staff members and represents both a cost-effective and operationally sound solution to meet the needs of the service. Pursuant to section 7.11 of ST/AI/2012/2/Rev.1, candidates recruited through the young professionals programme who have not served for a minimum of two years in the position of their initial assignment are not eligible to apply to this position.

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.

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.