Emergency Specialist, P3, Temporary Appointment (364 days), UNICEF Thailand Country Office, Bangkok, Job No #574009

Under the guidance and supervision of the Deputy Representative, the incumbent will establish and implement country office emergency preparedness and response. In addition, she/he will be responsible for the development, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the emergency interventions to ensure the survival and well-being of children and mothers, and the affected communities in an emergency situation.

UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.

At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.

UNICEF is a place where careers are built: we offer our staff diverse opportunities for personal and professional development that will help them develop a fulfilling career while delivering on a rewarding mission. We pride ourselves on a culture that helps staff thrive, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

For every child, better future.

Learn about what we do to create a fair chance for every child in Thailand, click here.

How can you make a difference? 

Under the guidance and supervision of the Deputy Representative, the incumbent will establish and implement country office emergency preparedness and response. In addition, she/he will be responsible for the development, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the emergency interventions to ensure the survival and well-being of children and mothers, and the affected communities in an emergency situation. 

Major responsibilities:

Emergency Preparedness

1.  Adopts adequate emergency preparedness measures through the development and updating of country contingency plans and establishment of early warning mechanisms, to ensure effective preparedness and response to specific emergencies.

2.  Participates in the formulation and development of plans of action in preparation and response to emergencies, monitors compliance of all sectors with emergency plans of action, including financial resources. Ensures coordination of the management of emergency preparedness and response, including with regional office an other country offices, when necessary.

3.  Provides technical advice related to emergency preparedness and response, including on programme management related issues. Provides advice to the country office in the implementation of emergency preparedness measures in the field to strengthen preparedness and response mechanisms in the country faced with impending emergencies.

4. Develops and maintains databases on country/regional information, and ensure the flow of information and communication crucial for the planning and implementation of emergency

5.  Plans, organizes and conducts training for the office’s staff capacity building in emergencies preparedness and response. Assists in developing and conducting emergency training courses. Provides training and/or briefing, as required. Participates in other emergency training workshops in the region, and builds up the emergency preparedness and response capability of UNICEF staff as well as implementing partners.

 

Emergency Response

6.  In the event of an emergency, takes prompt action as a member of the Emergency Response Team which is deployed immediately to establish UNICEF’s presence and implement the initial operational tasks relating to emergency assistance. Immediately verifies the nature and extend of the emergency with staff, government officials, other UN agencies or local organizations and media.  Ensures that the office is provided with effective telecommunications facility and staff security assistance in an emergency, as necessary. In coordination with the programme and operations groups, establishes contact with all UNICEF staff, their dependants and visitors to ensure their safety and whereabouts, and informs OPSCEN and the Regional Director of their status.

7.  Participates and assists with assessment of local emergency and security situation affecting children and mothers in the locality, in conjunction with the Regional Office, the HQ Divisions, and field staff.  Visits the location to conduct an initial rough assessment of the magnitude of the crisis and its implications for children and its impact on the community. Assesses the validity of the office preparedness plan and ability of the office vis-à-vis the current crisis as well as immediate and additional needs. Determines corporate priorities and an appropriate intervention (supply procurement, fund-raising and staff development) by UNICEF. Coordinates with other partners to make a rapid assessment covering priority areas as defined by the Core Commitment for Children in Emergencies.  Establishes contact with community groups, government, UN agencies, media and other partners to keep abreast of emergency situations.  

8. Applies the emergency preparedness and response plan as necessary, and identifies urgent staffing requirements and redeploys country office staff as required. Executes the timely delivery of assistance and procurement of supplies, monitors the appropriate and effective use of UNICEF resources/inputs.  Identifies problems and constraints in order to ensure effective project delivery. Certifies the disbursement of funds, monitors expenditures and submits financial status reports. Sets up a reporting system and sends daily situation reports to concerned parties.

 

Emergency Project

9. Participates in the implementation of plans of action and workplans for emergency projects. Implements and manages project activities. Undertakes field visits to emergency project areas, to assess local conditions and monitor project progress. Makes technical decisions on project administration (e.g., activates, requests or reprogrammes allocation of emergency funds). Prepares inputs for appeals and updates related to emergencies. Works with program sections and senior management to mobilize donor response and recovery/rehabilitation-related funding, including annual or multi-annual humanitarian appeals and documents (e.g., pitch documents). Communicates and advocates on the situation and needs of children through local and international media, as appropriate.

10. Identifies longer-term requirements of the emergency operation/interventions. Proposes a more regular operational and staffing structure to take over from the Emergency Response Team.

11. Maintains continuous, effective and strategic coordination, communication, consultation and liaison with Government, UN agencies, NGOs, donors and allies to appeal for aid for children and women with special needs resulting from the emergency situation requiring an effective emergency response in all sectors. Identifies implementing/operational partners and establishes implementing arrangements. Ensures that the UNICEF support is effectively provided to the government with respect to sectoral coordination within the framework of the cluster approach and based on the Core Commitment for Children.

12. Participates in all humanitarian and recovery related forum and keeps management informed of all humanitarian developments in the country in terms of policies, strategy, situation developments, potential threats and opportunities/issues in partnership.

13. Promotes that disaster prevention, mitigation, preparedness and response strategies are mainstreamed in the country office’s workplans. Prepares sectoral input for the country programme documents, plan of action, annual work plans, and all related documents of the office’s Emergency Preparedness and Response. Contributes towards the preparation of the Situation Analysis and the Country Programme Document. 

 

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

Minimum requirements:

1. Education

• Advanced University degree in one of the following fields: social sciences, public administration, international law, public health, nutrition, international relations, business administration or other related disciplines. Preferably a combination of management, administration, and relevant technical fields.

1. Work Experience

• Five years of progressively responsible professional work experience at the national and international levels in programme/project development, planning, implementation, monitoring, evaluation and administration.
• Developing country work experience (for IP) or field work experience (for NO).
• Specialized training/experience in emergency response management highly desirable.
• Experience working on emergency with UNICEF and/or the United Nations system. Familiarity with Thailand and the work of UNICEF Thailand will be an asset.
• Strong technical skills in editing, reporting and consolidation of quality documents and reports.
• Demonstrated coordination skills, including cross-country is an asset.

1. Language Proficiency 

• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.

1. Technical Knowledge

a) Specific Technical Knowledge Required

• UNICEF policies and strategy to address on national and international emergency issues, particularly relating to conflicts, natural disasters, and recovery.

• Knowledge of global humanitarian issues, specifically relating to children and women, and the current UNCEF position and approaches. 

• Knowledge of UN humanitarian reform principles, international humanitarian laws.

• Knowledge of the principle of gender parity and equality.

b) Common Technical Knowledge Required

• The UNICEF mission statement; UNICEF Board policy papers and decisions.

• The Core Commitments for Children in Emergencies. 

• The Convention on the Rights of the Child; Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination against Women.

• EMOPS Technical Notes, EMOPS Emergency Field Book. 

• UNICEF Program Manuals, policy guidelines, ExDirs, PROs; Country Programme documentation. 

• UNICEF personnel, financial, supply and administrative rules, regulations and manuals. 

• National development plans and policies; Guidelines and manuals from NGO/donor partners.

• Annual work plan. 

• UNDAF; The UN Humanitarian Reform; IASC documents, guidelines and materials on UN Humanitarian Reform and the cluster approach.

• Information & Communications Technology literacy, including skills and knowledge of office system applications, LAN, internet navigation, telecommunications, and data analysis.

•  Gender equality and diversity awareness

            c) Technical Knowledge to be Acquired/Enhanced

• UN security operations and guidelines.

• Knowledge of local conditions and country legislation relevant to UNICEF programmes.

• Knowledge of the latest developments and trends in emergency preparedness and response management related fields.

• UN policies and strategy to address international humanitarian/emergency issues and response.

• UN common approaches to programmatic issues and UNICEF positions in international developing cooperation. 

• Current knowledge of development issues and social programming in international development cooperation context. 

 

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

The UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

• Demonstrates Self Awareness and Ethical Awareness (1)

• Works Collaboratively with others (1)

• Builds and Maintains Partnerships (1)

• Innovates and Embraces Change (1)

• Thinks and Acts Strategically (1)

• Drive to achieve impactful results (1)

• Manages ambiguity and complexity (1)

*The 7 core competencies are applicable to all employees. However, the competency Nurtures, Leads and Managers people is only applicable to staff who supervise others.

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

Please submit application and relevant documents no later than 5 August 2024.

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

We offer a wide range of measures to include a more diverse workforce, such as paid parental leave, time off for breastfeeding purposes, and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements.

UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority, and discrimination. UNICEF is committed to promoting the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance.  Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station is required for IP positions and will be facilitated by UNICEF. Appointments may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Should you be selected for a position with UNICEF, you either must be inoculated as required or receive a medical exemption from the relevant department of the UN. Otherwise, the selection will be canceled.

 

Remarks:

As per Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity.

UNICEF’s active commitment to diversity and inclusion is critical to deliver the best results for children.

Government employees who are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government positions before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason. 

UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants’ bank account information.

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. An internal candidate performing at the level of the post in the relevant functional area, or an internal/external candidate in the corresponding Talent Group, may be selected, if suitable for the post, without assessment of other candidates.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.