Humanitarian Affairs Coordination Associate

Position Information

• Job Title: Humanitarian Affairs Coordination Associate    
• Reports to: UNOCHA Head of Sub-Office     
• Grade Level: G7
• Bureau: UNOCHA Lebanon
• Direct Reports: 1    
• Duty Station: Tyre, Lebanon
• Contract Modality: FTA Local 
• Contract Duration: 1 year (renewable)

Background and Organizational Context

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA)‘s overall goal in Lebanon is to support the Resident/Humanitarian Coordinator (RC/HC) in his/her function to ensure a principled, efficient and accountable collective humanitarian response to all people in need in Lebanon, .

OCHA Lebanon’s focus is to:

• Enhance coordination mechanisms at the strategic and operational levels, in support of the HC and the HCT, to support planning, implementation and monitoring of a principled, efficient and accountable collective response to humanitarian needs in Lebanon; 
• Under the purview of the HC and the HCT, support the coordination of emergency response to the compound crisis in Lebanon and facilitate an early transition out of emergency response into longer-term recovery and development activities.
• Strengthen situational awareness in a fluid context, and support a coherent collective analysis of humanitarian needs, gaps and response, with the view to facilitate the development of a coherent narrative shared across the aid community on humanitarian needs and response priorities; 
• Mobilize flexible and predictable humanitarian funding for the collective response to humanitarian needs in Lebanon; and, 
• Advocate for improved protection and operational space for all humanitarian actors involved in the collective response under the RC/HC purview.

Position Purpose

Under the overall supervision of the Deputy Head of Office, and direct daily supervision of the Head of Sub-Office in Tyre, the Humanitarian Affairs Associate  ensures effective support to operational coordination in South and Nabatieh and the Head of Sub-Office.

Key Duties and Accountabilities

Within delegated authority, the  Humanitarian Affairs Associate:

Ensures effective support to operational coordination work of the Sub-Office in Tyre

• Provides high-level assistance in the organization and coordination of inter-agency meetings, missions, and workshops, promoting collaborative exchanges of expertise and insights on critical humanitarian issues to enhance operational effectiveness.
• Conducts comprehensive background research and analysis to support meeting agendas, ensuring all logistical and administrative arrangements align with strategic objectives.
• Oversees the maintenance and enhancement of various databases to facilitate accurate information management and data-driven decision-making.
• Develops and continuously updates a comprehensive contact list of key stakeholders involved in coordination mechanisms, including contributions to the Access Working Group, fostering inclusive and effective partnerships.
• Prepares and drafts various analytical written documents, including reports, briefings, and presentations, providing timely insights on humanitarian trends and developments to inform strategic planning and operational responses.
• Assists in the strategic preparation and execution of field missions to areas with the most pressing needs, addressing gaps in humanitarian response, strengthening partnerships, and promoting a multisectoral approach to aid delivery.

In consultation with the Head of the Access and Civil Military Coordination (CMCoord) section, assists with liaison and follow-up with humanitarian partners registered in the Humanitarian Notification System (HNS) to resolve issues related to the HNS and permits.

• Ensures proactive follow-up on mission activities and maintains effective liaison with relevant security entities and local authorities, including the HNOCC, LAF and the UNIFIL Liaison Branch, to enhance operational safety and facilitate humanitarian access.
• Conducts systematic follow-ups with partners regarding access concerns and security incidents, ensuring timely resolution and communication of critical information to mitigate operational risks.
• Facilitates the regular updating and enhancement of the CMCoord summary of movements and the access monitoring and reporting framework (AMRF), ensuring accurate and comprehensive tracking of humanitarian operations.
• Actively participates in and supports the CMCoord Cell and Access Working Group, providing strategic insights and operational support as required to foster collaborative problem-solving and effective coordination among stakeholders.
• Organizes and delivers information sessions on  HNS procedures for humanitarian partners, enhancing their understanding of access-related protocols and promoting adherence to best practices.
• Conducts follow-up actions for ad hoc meetings with NGO partners, UN agencies, UNIFIL, and local security authorities, ensuring that discussions translate into actionable outcomes and strengthened collaboration

Provide effective support to the Head of Sub- Office

• Monitors and follows up on tasks with the team to ensure timely production of documents and reports, fostering accountability and adherence to established deadlines.
• Tracks and manages deadlines, commitments, and actions taken, facilitating the coordination of the collection and submission of reports to the Head of the Sub-Office to support informed decision-making.
• When requested, support/assist in the preparation of the contingency planning, including
  the development of scenarios with input from humanitarian actors in the field.
• Participate in the periodic planning process of the OCHA office when needed.
• Support the identification of emergency humanitarian needs and types of assistance and
  responses required
• Organizes and oversees the scheduling of driver and vehicle assignments, ensuring efficient logistical support for operational activities.
• Translates and drafts formal correspondence from Arabic to English and from English to Arabic as needed.
• Perform other duties as requested by the Supervisor and/or Head of Office
• Supervisory/Managerial Responsibilities: The selected incumbent will be responsible for supervising 1 Driver

Requirements

Education

• Secondary Education is required; or Bachelor’s degree in Social Science, Public Administration, Law, Development Studies, International Affairs or equivalent field will be given due consideration, but it is not a requirement.

Experience, Knowledge, and Skills

• Minimum of 7 years (with high school diploma) or 4 years (with bachelor’s degree) of relevant experience in  Humanitarian Affairs, Emergency Relief Management, Development Affairs, or related areas, 
• Previous UN experience is highly desirable;
• Familiarity and good knowledge of institutional mandates, policies and guidelines pertaining to humanitarian and development affairs and of the institutions of the UN system is desired;
• Experience in dealing with interactive online dashboards and compilation of humanitarian access analysis are desirable.
• Experience in conducting, participating in and reporting on meetings and field missions is required;
• Experience in the use of computers, office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc), database packages, and web-based management systems.
• Excellent translation skills is required;
• Fluency in written and spoken English and Arabic is required.

Expected Demonstration of Competencies

Core

• Achieve Results:
  LEVEL 2: Scale up solutions and simplifies processes, balances speed and accuracy in doing work
• Think Innovatively:
  LEVEL 2: Offer new ideas/open to new approaches, demonstrate systemic/integrated thinking
• Learn Continuously
  LEVEL 2: Go outside comfort zone, learn from others and support their learning
• Adapt with Agility 
  LEVEL 2: Adapt processes/approaches to new situations, involve others in change process
• Act with Determination     
  LEVEL 2: Able to persevere and deal with multiple sources of pressure simultaneously
• Engage and Partner
  LEVEL 2: Is facilitator/integrator, bring people together, build/maintain coalitions/partnerships
• Enable Diversity and Inclusion
  LEVEL 2: Facilitate conversations to bridge differences, considers in decision making

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies

• Partnership management: Multi-stakeholder engagement and funding     
  Knowledge and ability to forge multi-stakeholder partnerships, and remove any obstacles to resource mobilization and multi-stakeholder funding platforms
• Communications: Advocacy strategy and implementation     
  Ability to create and implement advocacy strategies which lead to impactful change
• Policy and Programme: Crisis and Fragility Policy and Engagement 
  Humanitarian inter-agency coordination
• Policy and Programme: Crisis management / Country Management Support 
  Crisis related communication and advocacy
• Business Direction & strategy: System Thinking    
  Ability to use objective problem analysis and judgement to understand how interrelated elements coexist within an overall process or system, and to consider how altering one element can impact on other parts of the system
• Business Management: Results-based Management    
  Ability to manage programmes and projects with a focus at improved performance and demonstrable results
• Business Management: Customer Satisfaction/Client Management    
  Ability to respond timely and appropriately with a sense of urgency, provide consistent solutions, and deliver timely and quality results and/or solutions to fulfil and understand the real customers' needs. Provide inputs to the development of customer service strategy. Look for ways to add value beyond clients' immediate requests. Ability to anticipate client's upcoming needs and concerns.

Keywords

• Humanitarian Coordination
• Communication
• Partnership,  Capacity assessment, Risk Management