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National Consultant (IC)

Humanitarian Access Support Consultant- National IC

4 October 2023
Kabul

Job Description

How you can make a difference:

UNFPA is the lead UN agency for delivering a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person's potential is fulfilled.  UNFPA’s strategic plan (2022-2025), reaffirms the relevance of the current strategic direction of UNFPA and focuses on three transformative results: to end preventable maternal deaths; end unmet need for family planning; and end gender-based violence and harmful practices. These results capture our strategic commitments on accelerating progress towards realizing the ICPD and SDGs in the Decade of Action leading up to 2030. Our strategic plan calls upon UN Member States, organizations and individuals to “build forward better”, while addressing the negative impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on women’s and girls’ access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights, recover lost gains and realize our goals.

In a world where fundamental human rights are at risk, we need principled and ethical staff, who embody these international norms and standards, and who will defend them courageously and with full conviction.

UNFPA is seeking candidates that transform, inspire and deliver high impact and sustained results; we need staff who are transparent, exceptional in how they manage the resources entrusted to them and who commit to deliver excellence in programme results.

UNFPA Humanitarian Access 

UNFPA Afghanistan has responded to the emerging needs of Afghan girls and women following the Taliban’s taking over through scaling up its humanitarian programming. Operating in such a complex environment that is full of uncertainty and ambiguity requires proper understanding of the different social, political, legal and security landscape and dynamics; In addition this will be able to inform effective planning, mitigate potential risks, and overcome faced bottlenecks. Additionally, achieving unimpeded principled humanitarian access is a key to delivering humanitarian assistance. Humanitarian Access (HA) , as mandated by the General Assembly resolution 46/182, refers to a two-pronged concept, 1) Humanitarian actors’ ability to reach populations in need and 2) Affected populations’ access to assistance and services. 

Through the UNFPA humanitarian mandate, UNFPA Afghanistan Country Office (CO)  is working to ensure effective engagement and negotiation with Afghanistan de facto authorities aiming to build acceptance around UNFPA programs and maintain uninterrupted service delivery and access to population. UNFPA is an active member of various access coordination platforms including the Humanitarian Access Group, the Access Working Group, and the UN Joint Engagement Group, where the CO provides support to the larger humanitarian community in improving the overall capacity of actors to address access challenges. 

The Afghanistan CO is seeking the technical assistance of a home-based consultant to support its Humanitarian Access work in Afghanistan including the following:

  • Provide operational support and assistance on humanitarian access and negotiations.to UNFPA field staff in sub-offices and UNFPA IPs.
  • Support the field implementation of UNFPA capacity building activities of UNFPA and IPs staff in the different regions on Humanitarian Access and Humanitarian Negotiations.
  • Facilitate the monitoring and reporting by UNFPA IPs on UNFPA Access and Engagement Monitoring Framework.
  • Assist the Access Specialist in conducting on-ground negotiations with DfA local authorities to unblock access constraints.

During the consultancy period, the consultant will ensure proper coordination with Program staff, Humanitarian Coordinator, AAP specialist, PSEA specialist, and M&E Specialist and other relevant capacities.  

The Position:

UNFPA Afghanistan is seeking a consultant to provide Humanitarian Access support to UNFPA Afghanistan 

You would be responsible for:

To achieve the objectives of the consultancy, the consultant will support the Humanitarian Access Portfolio in UNFPA Afghanistan in consultation and direct supervision of Access Specialist through the following activities:

1. Provide operational support and assistance on humanitarian access and negotiations.to UNFPA field staff in sub-offices and UNFPA IPs.

 

Support the Humanitarian Access Specialist in Humanitarian Access work including  IPs’ and the CO’s engagement at field level. More specifically he will assist in the following: 

 

  • Resolving access challenges while implementing UNFPA programs, In addressing their day-to-day challenges, dilemmas and risks while implementing UNFPA programs,.
  • Ensuring proper coordination between and direct involvement of IPs focal points, UNFPA field staff, Work Plan managers, program managers,.
  • Monitoring the access environment for the different practices and positions of the different actors.
  • Translating any edicts, directives, letters related to access from Pashto or Dari to English.     

2. Support the field implementation of UNFPA capacity building activities of UNFPA and IPs staff in the different regions on Humanitarian Access and Humanitarian Negotiations.

 
  • Support the continuous assessment of and reporting on capacity gaps within UNFPA IPs on achieving access for UNFPA programs. This covers internal structures, human resources, knowledge and skills gaps, and faulty directions and approaches of engagement. 
  • Support UNFPA IPs in developing their internal structures including clear roles and responsibilities, clear channels of escalation and decision making, and internal and external referral pathways of access incidents for reporting and assistance.
  • Assist in implementing UNFPA Access training plans in the field, including co-facilitating training sessions and supporting the logistical and operational preparations.
  • Implement a sound MEAL plan with the support of M&E team to assess the change in knowledge and skills of IPs staff on areas related to access and negotiations.
  • Draft sound reports on the different training activities and the overall objective of supporting UNFPA IPs in building their organizational capacity to achieve access and negotiate with the DfA. 

3. Facilitate the monitoring and reporting by UNFPA IPs on UNFPA Access and Engagement Monitoring Framework.
  • Support UNFPA IPs in better identifying and flagging access incidents in a timely manner. 
  • Support UNFPA IPs in developing sound relevant reports on access and engagement with DFA.
  • Familiarize UNFPA IPs on the different access constraint categories, the reporting tools and the different reporting timelines and responsibilities.
  • Follow up with UNFPA IPs on adhering to the reporting timeframes and deadlines as per UNFPA Access reporting framework.
  • Review the access reports and ensure close follow up with IPs on the content of reported information to ensure proper relevance, quality and detail.
  • Ensure proper documentation and tracking of the different access incident reports, including monitoring and reporting on trends.
  • Compile UNFPA IPs reports to feed the different UNFPA access reports and snapshots.  

4. Assist the Access Specialist in conducting on-ground negotiations with DfA local authorities to unblock access constraints.

 
  • Support the Access Specialist missions in  the field to negotiate with DfA, including identifying relevant interlocutors and organizing meetings with different stakeholders.
  • Take the lead in interpreting from English to Pashto or Dari during the actual negotiations following the verbatim methodology of translation.
  • Draft quality notes and meeting minutes from each negotiation meeting for efficient reporting to Senior Management. 

 

Qualifications and Experience: 

Education:

  • Advanced University degree in International Relations, Social Science, Public Administration, Strategic Management or any other relevant field to the scope of work. 

Knowledge and experience:

  • A minimum of 5 years of relevant professional experience in the field of humanitarian assistance, preferably in humanitarian settings of complex and high threat environments.
  • Demonstrated knowledge, skills and experience in humanitarian access with related technical experience In conflict analysis, actor mapping, humanitarian negotiations with state and non-state actors.
  • Sound understanding of practical application of humanitarian normative framework including international humanitarian law, human rights law, humanitarian principles.
  • Good understanding of the UNFPA mandate with familiarity of UN policies, rules and regulations is an advantage.
  • Previous experience in emergency programming including emergency preparedness and response, risk management, humanitarian logistics, interagency coordination and cluster system.
  • Excellent analytical and negotiations skills, and demonstration of political sensitivity and awareness.
  • Demonstrated ability to work harmoniously with persons of different backgrounds in a multicultural environment.
  • Experience working remotely across program sites to achieve stakeholder participation and consensus.
  • Experience working in Afghanistan.

Language requirements:

● Fluency in English is required. Dari and Pashto are necessary as the

working language in Afghanistan.

● Knowledge of other official UN languages would be an asset.

Core Competencies:

  • Integrity, commitment, cultural sensitivity and valuing diversity
  • Developing people, coaching and mentoring
  • Building and managing relationships
  • Personal leadership and effectiveness

Functional Competencies:
            Business acumen

  • Implementing management systems
  • Innovation and marketing of new approaches
  • Client orientation
  • Organizational awareness
  • Strategic alignment of human resource practices
  • Promoting organizational change and development
  • Impact and influence
  • Job knowledge/technical expertise
     

Inputs / services to be provided by UNFPA or implementing partner (e.g. support services, office space, equipment), if applicable: 

The consultant is expected to provide all necessary equipment to complete the assignment (computer, software, phone, access to internet, etc.). 

UNFPA will provide all relevant background information and documentation regarding the regional and country contexts, as well as play a coordinating role to facilitate the onboarding meetings for the consultant. 

 

To apply, click or copy/paste the link below:

https://estm.fa.em2.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/CandidateExperience/en/sites/C...

Disclaimer: 

UNFPA does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process. Fraudulent notices, letters or offers may be submitted to the UNFPA fraud hotline http://www.unfpa.org/help/hotline.cfm

In accordance with the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations, persons applying to posts in the international Professional category, who hold permanent resident status in a country other than their country of nationality, may be required to renounce such status upon their appointment.