Humanitarian Affairs Officer (P3)

Org. Setting and Reporting:

This position is located in the Crisis Response Division (CRD), in the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). OCHA is part of the United Nations Secretariat, which is 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 position-specific job opening is being advertised for the position of Humanitarian Affairs Officer in Panama City, Panama. Under overall supervision of the Head of Office, OCHA Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean, the incumbent reports to the Head of Coordination and Preparedness Unit.

Responsibilities:

Within delegated authority, the Humanitarian Affairs Officer will be responsible for the following duties: • Conducts frequent (up to 50%) surge and response deployments in support of humanitarian operations in the Latin America and the Caribbean region and beyond. Deploys rapidly and on short notice, as required, to provide emergency support and technical expertise in humanitarian operations. • Monitors, analyzes and reports on humanitarian developments, disaster relief/management or emergency situations in assigned country/area. • Organizes and prepares studies on humanitarian, emergency relief and related issues; organizes follow-up work, including interagency technical review meetings to support policy development work and decision-making on important issues. • Drafts and prepares regular situation papers/reports highlighting relevant operational factors affecting the humanitarian situation and response efforts. • Partners with other humanitarian agencies to plan and evaluate humanitarian and emergency assistance programmes and help ensure that latest findings, lessons learned, policy guidelines, etc. are incorporated into these activities, including gender-related considerations. • Assists in the production of appeals and other planning documents and tools for international assistance; ensures the proper use and spending of donor contributions channeled through OCHA. • Establishes and maintains contacts with government officials, other UN agencies, non-governmental organizations, diplomatic missions, media, etc. • Undertakes and provides support to technical assistance and other field missions, e.g. participates in field trips to undertake in-depth reviews of specific country coordination mechanisms. • Prepares or contributes to the preparation of various written reports, documents and communications, e.g. drafts sections of studies, background papers, policy guidelines, parliamentary documents, briefings, case studies, presentations, correspondence, etc. • Serves as the primary focal point on specific topics, countries or policy-related issues; keeps abreast of latest developments, liaises with other humanitarian organizations, donors, etc., ensures appropriate monitoring and reporting mechanisms; provides information and advice on a range of related issues, including disaster preparedness, anticipatory action, civil-military coordination and humanitarian access. • Reviews and provides advice on policy issues related to safeguarding humanitarian principles and ensuring the effective delivery of humanitarian assistance, and works with partners, affected communities, state and non-state actors to advocate and support humanitarian access and facilitate civil-military coordination in humanitarian operations. • Organizes and participates in work groups, meetings, conferences, consultations with other agencies and partners on humanitarian and emergency relief-related matters. • Provides guidance to, and may supervise, new/junior staff. • Collects and analyzes data to identify trends or patterns and provide insights through graphs, charts, tables and reports using data visualization methods to enable data-driven planning, decision-making, presentation and reporting. • Performs other duties as required.