Associate Programme Officer

Details

Mission and objectives

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) was established on December 14, 1950 by the United Nations General Assembly. The agency is mandated to lead and co-ordinate international action to protect refugees and resolve refugee problems worldwide. Its primary purpose is to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees. UNHCR strives to ensure that everyone can exercise the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge in another state, with the option to return home voluntarily, integrate locally or to resettle in a third country. UNHCR also has a mandate to help stateless people.
As of 31 December 2021, UNHCR had recruited 18,879 people, of whom around nearly 91 per cent are based in the field.
UNHCR works in 137 countries and territories, with personnel based in a mixture of regional and branch offices and sub and field offices. Our teams work hard to help the displaced, specializing in a wide range of disciplines, including legal protection, administration, community services, public affairs and health.

Context

The Associate Programme Officer will be supervised and guided by the Programme Officer and will receive support from other sections and units relevant to programme management. UNHCR Manual, Operations Plans, UN and UNHCR financial/budgetary rules and regulations will guide the work of the Associate Programme Officer.
The incumbent will provide programmatic guidance and support regarding the implementation of protection and solutions strategies within available resources. S/he will coordinate with the other sections/units to ensure harmonized programmatic approaches at all levels and throughout the UNHCR Operations Management Cycle.
The incumbent will work in line with the overall UNHCR directions which crucially requires working with partners, including with persons of concern, Government institutions and the private sector, through harnessing collaborative networks between JICA and other UN agencies, and the private sector through ensuring that programme management is approached as per UNHCR’s Strategic Directions, Global Compact for Refugees and corporate positions on SDGs.
The incumbent will be expected to work in line with the multi-functional team (MFT) approach as defined within the Program Manual, ensuring the participation of relevant stakeholders in all phases of the Program Management Cycle.

Task description

Under the direct supervision of the Programme Officer, the IUN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks:
• Assist in ensuring that UNHCR’s Global Strategic Directions and regional directions as well as information on projected resource availability guide the planning process.
• Provide inputs for developing the country multiyear strategy (2025 to 2028) compliance with global and regional strategic directions as well as with annual programming/planning instructions.
• Through a consultative process within the country and field visits, stay involved in the development of the strategies, methodologies, contingency plans that respond to new and emerging operational challenges for the country.
• Assist in organizing a consultative process to ensure a consistent application of the organization’s criteria and policies for the selection of implementing and operational partners.
• Assist in managing the development of a broad network of partners including JICA, good coordination practices and the development of partner capacities.
• Assist in training UNHCR as well as implementing partners (IP) staff in UNHCR standard procedures related to the new Results Framework.
• Undertake proper collection, monitoring and use of baselines, standards and indicators needed to measure and analyse UNHCR’s performance, trends and target interventions.
• Undertake field visits to evaluate and improve the planning, programming, implementation and monitoring of assistance projects.
• Assist in implementing the establishment of sound monitoring processes, in reviewing final reports and on progress to advise on any corrective actions required or the need for additional resources to reach planned target levels.
• Apply UNHCR’s corporate tools for planning, COMPASS and donor reporting, to record data and assess the technical soundness of the operation and generate data for evidence-based decisions at the country-level.
• Assist in the development of funding submissions, appeals and reports.
• Assist in monitoring compliance to the organization’s resource allocation framework, providing support and assisting in corrective action where required.
• Assist in establishing and handling Implementing Partners Reports.