Regional Humanitarian Military Interaction Officer (Int. CST level II) At World Food Programme

WFP celebrates and embraces diversity. It is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all its employees and encourages qualified candidates to apply irrespective of race, colour, national origin, ethnic or social background, genetic information, gender, gender identity and/or expression, sexual orientation, religion or belief, HIV status or disability.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

JOB TITLE: Regional Humanitarian Military Interaction Officer

TYPE & LEVEL OF CONTRACT: International Consultant Level II

UNIT/DIVISION: Humanitarian Military Interaction (HMI) Unit, Regional Bureau Cairo (RBC)

DUTY STATION (City, Country): Cairo, Egypt

REPORT TO: Head of Supply Chain

DURATION: 11 months

ABOUT WFP

The United Nations World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide. The mission of WFP is to help the world achieve Zero Hunger in our lifetimes. Every day, WFP works worldwide to ensure that no child goes to bed hungry and that the poorest and most vulnerable, particularly women and children, can access the nutritious food they need.

WFP’s Regional Bureau for the Middle East and Northern Africa (RBC), based in Cairo, Egypt, provides strategic guidance, policy/technical support and direction to WFP operations and activities in 14 countries: Algeria, Armenia, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, State of Palestine, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey and Yemen. These country offices aim to assist roughly one-third of all of WFP’s beneficiaries (approx. 30 million) in some of the most critical humanitarian emergencies of our time. RBC is also active in the ‘Changing Lives’ side of WFP’s mandate, helping national governments and local communities improve nutrition, livelihoods, school feeding, social protection, climate and disaster risk reduction and other programmes that build resilience and support development.

WHY WORK AT WFP?

SAVING & CHANGING LIVES
Make a difference the world will notice.
We are driven by our mission to fight world hunger and feed people’s dreams of a brighter future.

GLOBAL COMMUNITY
Build bridges that unite people across the world.
Being part of a global, diverse and multicultural community like WFP, will continuously expose you to new ideas and perspectives.
How we deliver our mission in deep respect for personal and cultural differences and close collaboration between every member of our global team, will certainly enrich your experience and knowledge on so many levels.

UNLIMITED POSSIBILITIES
Unlock possibilities you never thought you’d find.
WFP goes anywhere it is needed and does whatever it takes to get the job done.

LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCE
Reach beyond yourself and discover your true potential.
WFP offers the kind of life-changing experiences you’re unlikely find in many other organizations.

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT

The current state of humanitarian response in the Middle East and North Africa is characterized by increasingly complex and protracted conflict-driven crises involving a multiplicity of humanitarian actors and state/military entities.

As a result, WFP is working to establish a more standard approach to, and more structured dialogue with security sector entities in areas of operation to improve information-sharing, coordinate predictable and systematic access of WFP personnel and cargo and ensure appropriate logistics planning and response.

The Regional Bureau for Middle East, North Africa, and Eastern Europe (RBC) is therefore seeking an Regional Humanitarian Military Interaction Officer to support Country Offices (COs) by providing strategic and technical civil-military coordination advice and support, begin the consultative development of a meaningful and actionable regional strategy, as well as support in any engagement with regional military entities, led by Country Office demand. This profile will also work to maintain clear operational principles, codes of conduct and red lines in WFP’s engagements regionally.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive)

Operations:

• Establish rapport/engage with Country Office (CO) level counterparts, as well as UN agencies and other humanitarian actors in the region to ensure oversight and the appropriate level of preparedness and exchange of information on civil military coordination.

• Provide normative and technical support on civil-military coordination (CMC) to COs, as required, in order to support field operations. This also includes providing any necessary input and/or support in the drafting of context-specific strategies and civil-military guidance.

• Work closely and constructively with OCHA’s Regional Office, OCHA’s national CMC focal-points and broader humanitarian interagency community.

• Develop a roadmap for improved engagement with relevant regional stakeholders.

• Review and refine regional humanitarian notification systems (HNS).

• Draft a Staff Handbook for the Employment of Humanitarian Notification Systems for Deconfliction (HNS4D).

• Work with the established regional humanitarian community and national security sector stakeholders to review key training needs for staff working in priority countries to ensure all relevant staff are equipped with a civ-mil skill base, at a minimal level, for effective operations.

• On an as required basis, Chair and Coordinate the RBC Technical Access Cell (TAC).

• Participate in working groups, meetings, humanitarian access forums and consultations with other UN agencies and humanitarian partners; organize meetings on UN-civil military coordination matters with appropriate entities as required.

Surge Support:

• Be available for short notice regional Civil-Military response tasks, as requested by Country Offices within RBC. Conduct and lead deployments, as needed, following a sudden escalation in hostilities or other critical events (regionally or globally).

Reporting:

• Monitor, analyse and report on progress; the overall civil-military relations, in agreed formats and timeframe.

• Identify any potential/actual challenges with regard to coordination between military and security forces and the humanitarian community.

Institutional Capacity Strengthening:

• Support the efforts of the WFP office (and at times the humanitarian community) with regards to the capacity building of staff (international and local) through the participation, and where appropriate delivery of trainings related to the work of HMI.

• Act as a mentor to junior WFP staff – it is the responsibility of WFP officers to ensure the continuity of mission through the development of the next generation. This is a corporate priority and one that should be considered vital to the longevity of the HMI workstream.

Expected Outcomes:

• Effective engagement with COs on civil-military coordination principles and best practice, with the purpose of improving operations in the field;

• Provision of technical advice and support to COs as necessary, with a focus on ameliorating existing and potential civ-mil challenges in the region;

• Assessment and recommendations on the future development of humanitarian notification systems;

• Developing, if appropriate and contingent on the needs of COs and the region, a regional civ-mil strategy, in consultation with RB key functions and regional leadership.

• Chair the WFP Regional Technical Access Cell.

STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Education:

University degree in one or more of the following disciplines: international relations, political/social science, business administration, economics, management, law enforcement, security management or any relevant field. OCHA UN-CMCoord training is an advantage.

Work Experience:

At least eight years of postgraduate progressively responsible professional experience in international humanitarian work in a civil-military coordination, logistics, security or other operational management function, or military experience. Substantial exposure to, or experience in, both sectors is a strong asset. Field experience in an emergency setting is highly desirable.

Languages:

Fluency in spoken and written English is required. Intermediate knowledge of second official UN language, especially Arabic would be a big plus

KEY COMPETENCIES

Good analytical and problem solving skills; resourcefulness, initiative, maturity of judgement, tact, negotiating skills; familiarity with and experience in the application of Civil-Military Coordination, international policies and practices; ability to cope with situations which may threaten health or safety (own, and others); flexibility in accepting work assignments outside normal desk description; ability to establish priorities and to plan, coordinate and monitor own work plan in line with operational requirements; willingness to travel for extended periods of time. Willingness to work in challenging environments / field locations.