Director of UNRWA Affairs, D-2, West Bank at UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East

Org. Setting and Reporting If you are looking for a rewarding opportunity to make a tangible difference for one of the most vulnerable communities in the world, UNRWA would like to hear from you. Under the overall supervision of the Deputy Commissioner-General, the Director of UNRWA Affairs West Bank, acts as UNRWA’s representative in one of its fields of operation where he/she is assigned. S/he will plan, manage and control all aspects of UNRWA’s activities in a field of operations characterized by a large and complex refugee population; difficult, sensitive, and volatile political situations; a large complement of staff in dispersed centres of operations, quasi-government social programmes; complex inter-relationships with governmental and non-governmental organizations and moderate to difficult security situations, especially where refugees are involved in conflict situations.

The Director of UNRWA Affairs West Bank administers and directs its programmes including education, health, relief and social services, infrastructure and camp improvement and microfinance (as applicable) rendered for a population of Palestine refugees in the West Bank. In the field of operations, the Agency employs a significant number of Palestine refugee staff. He/she is also responsible for the operations functions including finance, procurement and logistics, general administration and public information and/or other functions. S/he will be required to abide by the roles and responsibilities as set out in the United Nations Security Management System Framework of Accountability and the UNRWA Framework of Accountability. He/she will be responsible for fulfilling his/her duties as provided by the United Nations Security and Management System and the UNRWA Security and Risk Management System.

The incumbent supervises two Deputy Directors and a number of International and Area senior professional staff covering functional areas including Legal, Public Information, Security, Protocol and administration of Area Offices. Depending on field specificity, the Director of UNRWA Affairs may split the portfolios in varying configurations to meet field needs.

Responsibilities

• Works to directly influence the protection and care of Palestine refugees and support for UNRWA locally, regionally and globally: – Performs vital advocacy, public communication and resource mobilization functions, sourcing and providing, as appropriate, current information on the conditions affecting Palestine refugees and promoting support for UNRWA and Palestine refugees with host and donor governments; – Plays a critical role in building an effective partnership with local authorities, diplomatic missions community leaders, UN agencies and NGOs, ensuring that programme design and delivery enables the continuation of services in a difficult and frequently hazardous operating environment; advocates with government representatives, community leaders and the broader public for the Agency’s programme, highlighting its critical importance, quality and value of its work; – Leads UNRWA delivery of public and community services in education, health, relief and social services, infrastructure and microfinance (where applicable), ensuring consistency and quality in programmes; oversees the development and delivery of programme and emergency operations, ensuring that refugee needs are met as far as possible and that the services delivered meet Agency and international standards; – Leads, motivates and supervises a team of programme and operations managers and specialists, builds an effective integrated service delivery capacity which is adapted to the needs of the refugee community and to the particular demands of a volatile environment; – Serves as the principal advisor to the Commissioner-General on policies, programme design, state of operations, the determination of UNRWA priorities and resource needs in the assigned field and on the security and political context; – Is responsible for ensuring accountability and rigor in financial and budget management and the maintenance of internal controls and set procedures; – As part of the Senior Management Team, contributes to determining the strategic direction of UNRWA and to accomplishing its mission; advocates for the needs of refugees within the overall programme priorities of the Agency.

Competencies

UN Core Values of Professionalism, Integrity and Respect for Diversity and Core Competencies of Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results apply by default. Default managerial competencies may apply. – Deciding and Initiating Action – Leading and Supervising – Relating and Networking – Persuading and Influencing – Planning and Organizing – Adapting and Responding to Change

For guidance on how to prepare for competency-based interviews: https://careers.un. org/lbw/home.aspx?viewtype=AYI

Education

Advanced university degree (Master’s or equivalent) from an accredited educational institution in political science, social science, public or business administration, or international relations.

Job Specific Qualifications

Work Experience

At least fifteen years of progressively responsible and relevant experience. At least ten years of relevant work experience at a senior international level. A minimum of 2 continuous years of relevant international experience outside UNRWA, and outside the country(s) of which the candidate is a national or holds citizenship, a passport or a national identity number. Knowledge of activities of UNRWA operations and services. Knowledge of Middle East geo-political realities and its socio-culture implications. Knowledge of other UN languages in particular Arabic and/or French is desirable for dealing with host government/authority officials and refugee population representatives, and with delegations from donor countries. Knowledge of other languages is an asset.

Languages

Excellent command of written and spoken English. Assessment Evaluation of qualified candidates may include an assessment exercise which may be followed by competency-based interview.

Special Notice

Type of Contract and duration: 2 years, with the possibility of further extension. The Director of UNRWA Affairs will be required to travel frequently throughout the Agency’s area of operations in the Middle East. Applicants have to complete the Personal History Profile (PHP) in inspira in order to be considered. The PHP should be completed with full relevant work experience as per the requirements in the Job Opening, in order to be considered. A roster may be created from the selection exercise, and successful candidates may become eligible for appointment to the same post or a similar post. Equivalency: A first level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of an advanced university degree. UNRWA is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions from UN member states, regional bodies, business foundations and individual contributions. The mission of UNRWA is to help Palestine refugees achieve their full potential in human development under the difficult circumstances in which they live. For more details on UNRWA, please visit: https://www.unrwa.org/United Nations United Nations Considerations Staff members are subject to the authority of the Commissioner-General of UNRWA and to assignment by him or her. UNRWA is committed to achieving gender parity at all levels of staffing under the current UN-wide gender agenda and strongly encourages applications from qualified applicants from under-represented groups. At UNRWA, the paramount consideration in the recruitment and employment of staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity, with due regard to geographic diversity. All employment decisions are made on the basis of qualifications and organizational needs. UNRWA is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. Reasonable accommodation for applicants with disabilities may be provided to support participation in the recruitment process when requested and indicated in the application.

UNRWA Considerations

UNRWA staff are expected to uphold the highest standards of efficiency, competence, neutrality, impartiality and integrity. This includes respect for and commitment to human rights, diversity and non-violent means of dealing with all kinds of conflict. Only persons who fully and unconditionally commit to these values should consider applying for UNRWA jobs. Candidates will not be considered for employment with UNRWA if they have committed violations of international human rights law, violations of international humanitarian law, sexual exploitation, sexual abuse, or sexual harassment, or if there are reasonable grounds to believe that they have been involved in the commission of any of these acts. Candidates who have committed crimes other than minor traffic offences may not be considered for employment. The Agency may disqualify applicants who have separated for reason of misconduct, who left a UN Agency while misconduct processes were pending, or who appear on the UN Sanctions List. UNRWA is a non-smoking work environment. Applicants are urged to follow carefully all instructions available in the online recruitment platform, inspira. For more detailed guidance, applicants may refer to the Manual for the Applicant, which can be accessed by clicking on “Manuals” hyper-link on the upper right side of the inspira account-holder homepage. The evaluation of applicants will be conducted on the basis of the information submitted in the application according to the evaluation criteria of the job opening and the applicable internal legislations of the United Nations including the Charter of the United Nations, resolutions of the General Assembly, the Staff Regulations and Rules, administrative issuances and guidelines. Applicants must provide complete and accurate information pertaining to their personal profile and qualifications according to the instructions provided in inspira to be considered for the current job opening. No amendment, addition, deletion, revision or modification shall be made to applications that have been submitted. Candidates under serious consideration for selection will be subject to reference checks to verify the information provided in the application.

Job openings advertised on the Careers Portal will be removed at 11:59 p.m. (New York time) on the deadline date.