Hardship LevelE (most hardship)
Family TypeNon Family with Residential Location
Family TypeNon Family with Residential LocationDanger Pay
Residential location (if applicable)
Nairobi (CO), Kenya
GradeNOB
Staff Member / Affiliate TypeNational Professional Officer
ReasonRegular > Regular Assignment
Target Start Date2024-04-01
Job Posting End DateFebruary 21, 2024
Standard Job Description
Associate Development Officer
Organizational Setting and Work Relationships
UNHCR's mandated responsibility for finding solutions to refugee situations has long required stronger cooperation with development partners and the inclusion of persons of concern within development planning and programming instruments, including national development programmes. Due to a variety of factors, the proportion of refugees and internally displaced persons in protracted displacement situations remains high. Moreover, the diminishing number of forcibly displaced people who have access to so-called durable solutions constitutes a worrying trend that has persisted in recent years. The increasing scale of irregular migration, large scale refugee movements, internal displacement and the costs of responding to humanitarian situations have placed forced displacement high on the global agenda. Given the complexity and protractedness of many of today's forced displacement situations, often occurring in fragile contexts, awareness is growing that the humanitarian model of care and maintenance is unsustainable in the longer term and that forced displacement requires a development response to complement humanitarian assistance, address poverty and other development challenges in a sustainable and inclusive manner. The SDGs provide a yardstick for inclusive development based on the principles of Leaving No One Behind and Reaching the Furthest Behind First. It is also acknowledged that extreme poverty and human suffering associated with refugees and other forcibly displaced people need to be systematically taken into account existing when addressing development challenges and development prospects of host communities, countries, and regions.
The Global Compact for Refugees frames this new approach towards a more predictable and equitable responsibility-sharing, recognizing that more sustainable approaches to refugee situations cannot be achieved without the systematic engagement of a broader set of stakeholders, including development partners.
Among the most significant humanitarian-development cooperation partnerships strengthened in recent years has been between the World Bank and UNHCR on forced displacement. In the eighteenth replenishment (2017-2020) of the World Bank's International Development Association (IDA), which provides financing for low-income countries, an amount of US$ 2.2 billion has been included for those states receiving large numbers of refugees (Sub-Window for Refugees and Host-Communities). The IDA 18 allocation follows the operationalization of a Global Concessional Financing Facility (GCFF) for Middle-Income Countries (MICs) affected by large numbers of refugees. In addition, UNHCR has enhanced cooperation with the private sector wing of the World Bank, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the African Development Bank (AfDB), the International Labour Organization (ILO), the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and bilateral development donor.
Within the context outlined above, the role of the Associate Development Officer is to support UNHCR's engagement and cooperation with development agencies' medium-term programmes assisting local communities and UNHCR's population of concern and the ability to leverage development partnerships to influence policy dialogue to enact institutional reforms toward improved protection environments, socio-economic inclusion, and self-reliance; taking into account and reducing the vulnerabilities of forcibly displaced persons. As such, the incumbent needs to have practical experience working with and an understanding of the interplay of different aspects of economic growth, governance, fragility and conflict, the main factors that influence the environment for inclusion and resilience for UNHCR's population of concern. Depending on the operating environments in the area of responsibility (AoR), the incumbent might need to have specific expertise in areas such as social protection, governance in fragile contexts, local governance and community development. It is anticipated that development responses to forced displacement will grow in significance in future years due to the greater importance attached to fragility and addressing protracted displacement situations. The incumbent will assist in identifying potential opportunities and ensure complementarity between UNHCR's protection work and the economic and social development objectives pursued by development partners and their government counterparts. It will, therefore, be important that the Assistant Development Officer supports relevant UNHCR staff within the AoR to contribute to the Operation's efforts to (i) align policy, operational and programme priorities between humanitarian and development agencies, (ii) establish and maintain reporting and knowledge, and information exchanges on key developments among all interested stakeholders, (iii) assist relevant UNHCR staff to engage in development planning, programming and coordination processes with Government entities and development partners; and (iv) assist relevant UNHCR staff in developing, contributing to and coordinating multi-year and multi-partner transition strategies for protracted forced displacement situations.
In Country or Regional Operations, the Associate Development Officer is normally supervised by and receives guidance from more senior development officers or alternatively from Senior Policy, Protection, Programme or External Relations staff depending on the structure of the Office. The incumbent may supervise some support staff and may receive indirect guidance from other sections and units. External contacts are predominantly with persons on subject matters of importance to development (e.g. counterparts in other organizations or at working level in national Governments).
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
For positions in Country Operations only
- Assist management in commissioning and/or conducting practical research and analysis to interpret long-term political, economic and social trends that will enhance opportunities for solutions, resilience and inclusion for populations of concern to UNHCR as well as more sustainable approaches to refugee protection.
- Support management in planning for resilience and inclusion with a clear shared vision of longer term protection and solution outcomes for people of concern that takes account of host communities and leverages the roles, resources and capacities of development partners, including International Financial Institutions, Multilateral Development Banks, and Bilateral Development donors.
- Assist in facilitating the development of comprehensive multi-year protection and solutions plans/strategies (incl. Multi-Year Multi-Partner Strategies) for Persons of Concern to UNHCR and/or facilitate the inclusion of populations of concern into national and local development planning and programming instruments.
- Assist management in identifying, strategically articulating and capitalizing development and resilience opportunities, including through Government pledges and or pledges made by bilateral or multilateral development and/or peacebuilding partners.
- Assist in facilitating relationship building with development co-operation agencies and peace and state-building agendas through the different stages of policy and programme identification, preparation, implementation and review.
- Support the development of partnerships and networks with development cooperation actors to influence the policy dialogue with governments on institutional arrangements related to sectors, locations and programme content of consequence to UNHCR and persons of concern. This would, in particular, focus on supporting the coordination of the in-country relationship with the World Bank and other multilateral development banks, especially where there is potential for specific funding directed towards UNHCR's persons of concern (e.g. WB IDA sub-window for refugees and host communities or the WB Global Concessional Financing Facility).
- Participate in the cooperation with development partners to assist them in incorporating the concerns of refugees, returnees and others of concern to UNHCR into the design and implementation arrangements of projects and interventions in a manner that impacts positively on protection circumstances.
- Contribute to the identification, commissioning and/or contribution to studies and analytical activities that build the conceptual framework and evidence base for comprehensive, development-oriented responses, including preparedness work, to forced displacement.
- Support the operation to ensure that development actors are provided relevant data to inform their planning, programming and advocacy around resilience for and inclusion of UNHCR persons of concern.
- Support the operations engagement with governments, development partners (both multilateral and bilateral), and with the private sector and civil society (as appropriate) to identify opportunities for UNHCR to contribute to the design and implementation of monitoring systems to track progress towards agreed outcomes.
- Support the facilitation, coordination and collaboration and the sharing of knowledge and experience sharing between UNHCR and development actors and across UNHCR operations globally by documenting and disseminating good practices and active participation in the Division of Resilience and Solutions', Development Partnerships Community of Practice.
- Support training activities aimed at the capacity building of UNHCR and partner agency staff to achieve greater coordination, effectiveness and synergies between humanitarian and development interventions.
For positions in Regional Bureaux only
- Assist in providing support, as detailed in the above duties for a country Associate Development Officer for countries without an Associate Development Officer as specified in the operational context for this position.
- Support the Regional Bureau and country operations in analysing from a development perspective the potential components of longer-term situational solutions strategies, identifying the protection/resilience/solutions challenges, and the means to address these and possible regional opportunities for engagement.
- Support the Regional Bureau and/or operations in identifying, articulating and capitalizing development and resilience opportunities, including through pledges made by regional partners, and regional development initiatives and programmes.
- Assist in the aggregation, analysis and packaging of available knowledge and data from country operations to feed into regional and HQ policy, programme and advocacy efforts.
- Contribute to coherence, where relevant, across operations in how they engage with development actors (e.g. messaging, policies, etc.).
- Contribute to the interpretation of long-term political, economic and social trends from a situational or regional perspective that will define the opportunities for inclusion for populations of concern to UNHCR as well as more sustainable approaches to refugee protection management.
- Support the engagement with regional bodies, such as IGAD, ECOWAS, etc. to identify and advocate for entry points for inclusion in development-related fora; and,
- Contribute to the identification, commissioning and/or contribution to studies and analytical activities from a situational or regional perspective that build the conceptual framework and evidence base for comprehensive, development-oriented responses, including preparedness work, to forced displacement.
- 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
Development Economics; Development Studies; Socio-economic Development;
International Relations; Political Science; Law
or other relevant field.
Certificates and/or Licenses
Not specified.
Relevant Job Experience
Essential
Three (3) years of direct work experience in a large international development institution in a relevant position and of which at least one (1) year in field operations. Preferably with knowledge of, or experience in, local or area based economic development, direct engagement in a technical sector such as education, WASH, social protection, health, energy. Practical experience working with and an understanding of the different aspects of economic growth, governance, fragility and conflict. Expertise related to the governance of specific multilateral development banks or bilateral development actors most relevant to the AoR.
Desirable
Experience with forced displacement. Experience in primary data collection, quantitative research methods and results-based management.
Functional Skills
*CO-Strategic Communication
*CO-Drafting and Documentation
*SO-Networking
*MG-Partnership Development
*SO-Critical Thinking and problem solving
*UN-Policy Advocacy in UNHCR
*IM-Knowledge Management
CL-Strategy Development and Monitoring
PG-Results-Based Management
PR-Refugee Protection Principles and Framework
(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 The incumbent will be required to support the development and implementation of a comprehensive refugee response at national and local levels. S/he will assist in managing strategic partnerships and coordinating with both internal and external stakeholders including key development actors, national authorities, and other relevant operational partners. Incumbent should possess previous experience in UN/UNHCR and previous experience in working with the public and governmental entities.
Experience of working on the humanitarian-development nexus, and in particular working with Government, World Bank and other regional banks and African Development Bank.
S/he should have a proven ability to develop and maintain effective working relationships with a variety of actors - including government and experience in working with development agencies or in other development planning methodologies. Knowledge of, or experience in, local or area-based economic development is an added advantage.
Required languages (expected Overall ability is at least B2 level):
,
,
Desired languages
,
,
Operational context
To view occupational safety and health considerations for this duty station, please visit this link: https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel
The Associate Development officer has a key role to play in aligning UNHCR efforts with the Global Compact on Refugees (GCR), which underscores the need to mobilize additional actors and to adopt a whole-of-society approach to promote Durable Solution and help ease pressure on host country. Promoting economic inclusion of refugees is a key development area that will enable the achievement of these objectives and contribute to the 2030 Agenda's Sustainable Development Goals.
Leveraging the growing global momentum, UNHCR is working to translate the objectives of the GCR into impactful results for persons of concern (POC), including through follow-up on pledges made through the 2023 Global Refugee Forum. Contributing to this global roll-out of the GCR, the Associate development officer, with the support from the Senior Development officer in the Regional Bureau and the global support of the Representative office, the Assistant development officer will work and keep regular contacts National/ international organizations, development actors, UN agencies and line ministries to in identifying potential opportunities and ensure complementarity between UNHCR's protection work and the economic and social development objectives pursued by development partners and their government counterparts.
Under the direct supervision of the Senior Programme Officer, the Associate Development Officer will support UNHCR Somalia's engagement and cooperation with development agencies’ programmes assisting local communities and persons under UNHCR’s mandate and the ability to leverage development partnerships to influence policy dialogue to enact institutional reforms toward improved protection environments, socio-economic inclusion, and self-reliance; taking into account and reducing the vulnerabilities of forcibly displaced persons.
The Associate Development Officer is normally supervised by and receives guidance from more senior Programme officer or alternatively from Senior Protection Officer for protection related matters.
Security situation: Mogadishu, an E category, non-family duty station, is the capital of Somalia. In 2021, UNHCR opened its own residential and office compound within the Aden Abdulle International Airport (AAIA) where UN Agencies, Funds and Programs, as well as Embassies operate from various compounds. The security situation has remained consistently tense and volatile for many years. As a consequence, staff movements may be restricted. Curfew within AAIA is 22:00-05:00 for vehicle movement and 18:00-06:00 for pedestrian movements. The beach area (a 20-minute walk from the compound) is currently open 05:00-08:00 and 14:00-18:00 daily, although swimming in the ocean is prohibited due to strong currents and sharks. National staff can access the compound (AAIA), during the morning from 6:00 and exit in the evening AAIA by 5:00.
Living conditions: International staff reside in UNHCR's compound (containers) in the AAIA compound. National staff live in the town and commute to the office on working days. UNHCR provides shuttle service to/from office and staff residences. In town, there are social amenities, including cafes, restaurants, football playgrounds, and recreational public parks to which national staff have access.
Working conditions: UNHCR has an office and accommodation in their compound within the ATMIS-protected area AAIA. The office is equipped with furniture, office items, and full access to the internet. Field and Protection staff regularly visit IDP sites and monitor Partners project implementation activities. Other UN agencies, including UNICEF, UNOCHA, WFP, IOM, FAO, WHO, and UNFPA have a presence in Mogadishu (AAIA).
Healthcare services: There are several medical facilities in Mogadishu. In the town, national staff have access to several hospitals - Kalkaal Hospital, Turkish hospital, Shaafi, and Adan Ade hospital which are covered under medical insurance. Within the UNSOS/UNSOM compound, there are Level 1 and Level 2 Clinics run by UNSOS and ATMIS, respectively. National staff and their dependents have full access to these hospitals.
Food: All basic foods are available in the market ranging from meat, dairy, fruit, and vegetables. There are many hotels within the protected area of Aden Ade International Airport (AAIA) where staff can visit. There is a canteen run by a private catering company called Star Empire in the UNHCR compound. Both national and international staff have access to it. There are also two fully equipped kitchens for staff to use in the UNHCR Villa.
UNHCR provides transport to UNHCR staff and Affiliate Workforce Personnel when travelling to/from Mogadishu. All arriving staff are requested to share their ticket details with Admin before their travel date. UNHCR drivers normally do not have access permit to the arrival hall of the airport and will wait for staff arriving in the area around the airport main gate/barriers, a shirt walk away from the arrivals hall. To request transportation within Somalia, UNHCR Somalia uses the UN Booking Hub.
National staff use local rental shuttles for pick-up and drop-offs from/to home.
Communication: In Mogadishu, there are many telecommunication entities, Hormuud is the leading telecommunications provider in Mogadishu, offering reliable mobile network coverage for calls, data, and mobile money services for over 20 years. Their dominance in the market makes them a popular choice for residents and visitors alike.
Banking: UNHCR Somalia has a contract with Standard Chartered Bank in Nairobi on cash payments to Somalia. Standard Chartered Bank has sub-contracted Amal Money Transfer Agency in Somalia to remit funds to Somalia on their behalf. Staff members can opt to receive their entitlement in the form of cash from an Amal outlet in Somalia. Staff members can either receive cash over the counter or open a bank account with Amal Money Transfer Agency to withdraw cash as desired. Other international banks operate in Mogadishu as well such as Premier bank, my bank, Dahabshiil, and Somalia Central Bank.
Education: In Mogadishu, there are several private primary and secondary schools and universities, most of them are privately owned institutions. These institutions are accessible to all by students.
Additional Qualifications
SkillsCL-Strategy Development and Monitoring, CO-Drafting and Documentation, CO-Strategic Communication, IM-Knowledge Management, MG-Partnership Development, PG-Results-Based Management, PR-Refugee Protection Principles and Framework, SO-Critical Thinking and problem solving, SO-Networking, UN-Policy Advocacy in UNHCR
EducationBachelor of Arts (BA): Development Economics, Bachelor of Arts (BA): Development Studies, Bachelor of Arts (BA): International Relations, Bachelor of Arts (BA): Law, Bachelor of Arts (BA): Political Science, Bachelor of Arts (BA): Socio-Economic Development
Certifications
Work Experience
CompetenciesAccountability, Client & results orientation, Commitment to continuous learning, Communication, Empowering & building trust, Judgement & decision making, Managing performance, Organizational awareness, Political awareness, Stakeholder management, Teamwork & collaboration
UNHCR Salary Calculator
https://icsc.un.org/Home/SalaryScales
Additional InformationShortlisted candidate may be required to undertake a written test.
Functional clearanceThis position requires Functional Clearance