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Organizational Context

The key role of OCHA – Ethiopia is to mobilize and coordinate effective and principled humanitarian action through advocacy actions which may include publications of information gathered by the Office. OCHA is responsible for monitoring relief needs and providing humanitarian support services to the Ethiopia Humanitarian Country Team (EHCT).
OCHA works in support of the UN Humanitarian Coordinator to facilitate a coordinated, well-resourced, and effective international relief response and the bridging of the transition from relief to recovery. Functionally, the work of OCHA breaks into four main areas: (1) coordination and operational support; (2) field monitoring and analysis; (3) information management and humanitarian reporting; and (4) humanitarian financing.

This position is based in the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) – in the Oromia Sub-office, Field Coordination Unit (FCU) in Addis Ababa.

• Within the limits of delegated authority, the incumbent, reporting to the Head of the Oromia Sub-office, will provide analysis, reporting, and follow-up support to the sub-office. More specifically the incumbent will be responsible for the following duties:

Summary of Key Functions:

Within the limits and delegated responsibilities, the NHAO will be responsible for facilitating coordination in his/her designated areas of assignment in Western Oromia zones on behalf of the HC and OCHA. He/She will work under the overall supervision of OCHA’s Head and Deputy Head of Office and be directly supervised by the Oromia Head of Sub-office, and indirectly by the Head of FCU. The incumbent will be based in Addis Ababa, and work closely with regional, zonal and woreda authorities in coordinating humanitarian actions and engendering a scalable suite of coordination amongst humanitarian agencies in the region.

• Keep abreast with on-going field support functions of the FCU; identifying issues that need the attention and decision of the Head of Sub-office;
• that relate to the FCU work and drafting
• Spend at least one-third of his/her time visiting and monitoring current relief operations and traveling extensively in vulnerable crisis-prone areas, obtaining information, assessing or monitoring either independently or jointly with relevant stakeholders.
• Liaise closely with regional and zonal government officials and humanitarian counterparts in coordination of humanitarian program cycle in his/her area of assignment (needs assessment and analysis, joint planning, response and monitoring).
• Facilitate and undertake joint assessments of vulnerability to emergencies and disasters in insecure and other crisis-prone areas in SNNPR.
• Work closely and consistently with the regional authorities, UN agencies, NGOs and other partners as appropriate and as required to ensure functional, accountable, predictable and scalable suite of coordination systems in designated areas of assignment.
• Facilitate the establishment and strengthening of effective sector task forces in the designated region with relevant regional and zonal line bureaus taking leadership and supporting humanitarian cluster leads to assume their respective cluster leadership roles.
• Work closely with relevant regional officials, UN and NGO counterparts to monitor, analyze and report on humanitarian development, emergency or relief management in assigned areas.
• Work with regional counterparts to strengthen or establish the appropriate disaster or emergency preparedness tools and activate ad-hoc coordination mechanisms to respond in a more timely and predictable manner in the event of quick onset or deteriorating emergencies
• Maintain a close working relationship in the field with regional, zonal and woreda government officials especially the Regional Bureau of Disaster Preparedness, civic and non-governmental aid organization, UN agencies and the Red Cross Movement in order to establish a cooperate network for the exchange of humanitarian information.
• Work with regional counterparts to enhance community participation, including but not limited to facilitating the creation of a platform for effective involvement of local NGOs, the affected beneficiaries and CBOs in various humanitarian program cycles. Promote Accountability for Affected People (AAP), and localization strategy.
• Work with other humanitarian actors to identify gaps in the capacity of regional government humanitarian coordination apparatus and endeavor to mobilizs resources locally to address those gaps.
• Participate in early recovery and development forums to ensure that regional humanitarian concerns are integrated and addressed by development tools such as UNDAF, and the nexus.
• Work closely with and support the regional early warning system in monitoring and reporting on hazards and its impact on communities in designated regions of assignment.
• Organize and facilitate OCHA and humanitarian donors’ field missions to his/her designated area of assignment, including organizing appropriate briefs on humanitarian situations and facilitate local field travel.
• Provide liaison with government on matters that involve government counterparts, accompanying the head of FCU to, and sometimes representing him/her in meetings with government counterparts.
• Substantial contribution to FCU reports through gathering information and drafting reports for review and input by the head of FCU.
• Work with OCHA Information Management Unit and partners to enhance information management by ensuring that information products such as zonal profiles, 3Ws, contact list and briefing packs are in place for his/her area of assignment and updated regularly.
• Work with humanitarian counterparts to ensure that cross-cutting issues such as gender and protection are embedded more thoroughly in the humanitarian program cycle in his/her assigned area.
• Promote the dissemination and understanding of OCHA’s mandate, the humanitarian principles and humanitarian code of conduct amongst partners in assigned areas.
• Perform other duties as may be required by the Head of FCU and Senior Management of OCHA Ethiopia.

Impact of Results

• The OCHA Country Office has determined, based on the increased humanitarian need in the designated region, that the function of the subject NHAO is crucial and significantly contributes to improved co-ordination in identifying humanitarian gaps and responding to the needs of affected populations.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

• Demonstrates commitment to OCHA’s mission, vision and values
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race and nationality sensitivity and adaptability

Functional Competencies:

• Professionalism
• Vision, Leadership and self-management
• Planning and Organizing
• Client Orientation
• Analytical and Conceptual Thinking
• Communication & Networking
• Teamwork

Job Requirement

Education:  Advanced university degree (Master’s degree) in political science, social science, public administration, international studies, economics or related area or First Degree in the above-mentioned areas

Experience:

• 2 years of experience with an Advanced Degree and a minimum of 4 years of progressively responsible and relevant professional experience with a BA degree in humanitarian affairs, emergency preparedness, rehabilitation and development, with significant field experience in complex emergencies, including humanitarian emergency efforts
• UN or NGO experience required.
• Proven ability to work in an inter-agency environment and experience in working with government officials and technical staff in a cooperative manner is essential
• Field experience in the Horn of Africa and Ethiopia would be an advantage.
• Availability for travel in country.
• Cultural sensitivity and diplomatic skills essential
• Ability to build and lead a field team under difficult and insecure conditions

Language Requirements:  Proficiency in written and oral English and languages of the regions is essential. Knowledge of a second UN language is desirable.

Duty Station:  Addis Ababa