Location: Kenya
Closing date: 18 Apr 2008
Job Description

UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME – SOMALIA
INTERNAL/EXTERNAL VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT

I. Position Information

Title: Humanitarian Relief Fund (HRF)/Donor Liaison Officer
Type of Contract: Fixed Term
Level: NOB (UNOCHA reserves the right to recruit at a lower level)
Direct Supervisor: Humanitarian Response Fund/Donor Relations Officer
Duty station: Nairobi
Duration: 12 Months (with possibility of extension)
Date of Issue: 1st April 2008
Closing Date: 18th April 2008

II. Organizational Context

The pooled fund, the Humanitarian Response Fund (HRF) for Somalia, was established in 2004 to provide rapid, flexible and predictable funding for emergency response and gap filling humanitarian interventions. The HRF is managed by OCHA, in partnership with its Advisory Board, under the authority of the Humanitarian Coordinator. Since its inception, the Fund has increasingly become an important coordination and financing tool for the humanitarian community for Somalia, including UN agencies, local and international NGOs and the Red Cross/Crescent Movement. In 2007, the HRF allocated over $10 million to 63 projects. In 2008 and onwards, the HRF is expected to remain instrumental in enabling life saving response, addressing gaps in funding, sector and geographical coverage and promoting coordination and collaboration as well as fostering complementarily with other funding mechanisms.
III. Summary of Key Functions:

Under the overall guidance of the UNOCHA Head of Office, and under the direct supervision of the HRF /Donor Relations Officer, the HRF/Donor Liaison Officer will assist in the functioning of the HRF secretariat to support efficient and effective management of the Fund in line with its mandate and strategic objectives as well as the strategic goals set forth in the Somalia CAP.

The HRF/Donor Liaison Officer will be based in OCHA Somalia Country Office in Nairobi and is expected to travel to Somalia as necessary to monitor HRF-supported projects and liaise with partners in the field.

1. Responsible for HRF funding, administration and monitoring of proposals in the assigned portfolio throughout their project life cycle:
- Proposal screening: Liaise with OCHA field offices, the respective Clusters and other relevant entities in order to screen their relevance based on the needs and priorities, appropriateness and feasibility for funding consideration. Review proposals also in light of the HRF guidelines, overall humanitarian response priorities and plans of the Clusters and field coordination mechanisms. Liaise with implementing partners to improve or adjust proposals to ensure that HRF-funded projects contribute to the enhancement of coordinated response. Advise the Head of the Unit with recommendations for funding and prepare necessary documentation to the Board. Follow up with the Board on their consideration and if approved prepare necessary documentation for the Humanitarian Coordinator for his/her final endorsement;
- Project administration: Prepare Agreements, disbursement requests and other necessary correspondence and documentation pertaining to the administration of funding of approved proposal within his/her portfolio. Ensure timely and appropriate liaison with OCHA Administrative Office in Geneva to accomplish the necessaries in a timely manner throughout the project life cycle;
- Monitoring: Continuously liaise with implementing agencies in his/her portfolio to stay abreast with progress and bottlenecks of interventions and provide necessary support and advice to partners to ensure effective and timely implementation. Also liaise with implementing agencies throughout project life cycle to ensure their compliance with the terms and conditions for the use of the funds;
- Reporting: Ensure timely and effective reporting by implementing agencies on progress, impacts and the utilization of the funds. Analyze reports and recommend measures for improvement or correction. Ensure the Advisory Board, the Clusters, the field offices and OCHA management are kept informed of the progress. Contribute to OCHA’s information products, including the fact sheet, monthly cluster reports, periodical HRF updates and OCHA Somalia web site as well as donor reporting. Correspond with OCHA Geneva CAP section to ensure HRF allocations are accurately reflected on the Financial Tracking System (FTS);
- Other HRF Secretariat support: Assist in convening Advisory Board meeting, including meeting preparation and recording of proceedings and decisions. Assist in any other matters pertaining to the functioning of the HRF Secretariat.

2. Provide back-up support to the HRF/Donor Relations Officer on matters relating to OCHA’s support to UN Agencies in accessing the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) as assigned, including following up on the status of applications, advising Agencies on guidelines and procedures, monitoring the progress in the use of the fund, coordinating the drafting of the annual report of the Humanitarian Coordinator, and providing update and analysis of the CERF allocations to the Somalia Humanitarian Country Team as required.

3. Provide back-up support to the HRF/Donor Relations Officer on the general donor relations matters, as assigned, including monitoring, analyzing and reporting on the funding level of the CAP projects, contributing to OCHA’s information products regarding CAP funding, liaising with partners to collect information on allocation priorities and gaps, drafting donor communication documents and correspondence, and ensuring timely and accurate reporting to the FTS.

4. Provide back-up support to the HRF/Donor Relations Officer on matters relating to the resource mobilization for OCHA Somalia and the HRF, including tracking of incoming contributions, liaison with OCHA Geneva External Relations and Administrative Office, drafting of funding proposals and donor reports and communications, and reporting to the FTS.

5. Perform any other duties assigned by the Office.

IV. Functions / Key Results Expected

The key results have an impact on the success of OCHA Somalia within specific areas of cooperation. In particular, the key results have an impact on the accountability, operation and programming of HRF activities, creation of strategic partnerships as well as reaching resource mobilization targets

V. Competencies

Corporate Competencies:
- Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards
- Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of OCHA
- Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability
- Treats all people fairly without favoritism

Functional Competencies:

Knowledge Management and Learning
- Promotes a knowledge sharing and learning culture in the office
- In-depth knowledge on humanitarian aid issues
- Ability to advocate and provide policy advice
- Actively works towards continuing personal learning and development in one or more Practice Areas, acts on learning plan and applies newly acquired skills

Development and Operational Effectiveness
- Ability to lead strategic planning, results-based management and reporting
- Ability to lead formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of humanitarian programmes and projects, mobilize resources
- Strong IT skills
- Ability to lead implementation of new systems (business side), and affect staff behavioral/ attitudinal change
- Strong interpersonal and communication skills; with demonstrable ability to collaborate/communicate with all relevant stakeholders involved including donors
- Strong organizational and time management abilities, as well as the ability to meet tight deadlines as required
- Excellent drafting and analytical skills with demonstrative ability to draft quality reports and correspondence
- Strong administrative and financial management skills

Management and Leadership
- Focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback
- Leads teams effectively and shows conflict resolution skills
- Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude
- Demonstrates strong oral and written communication skills
- Builds strong relationships with clients and external actors
- Remains calm, in control and good humored even under pressure
- Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities

VI. Recruitment Qualifications

Education:
- Masters degree in development, social sciences and other relevant discipline. Focus on humanitarian affairs or project management is desirable.

Experience:
- Minimum 5 years of experience in International Organizations including UN agencies with an emphasis on humanitarian emergency intervention with a strong background in project management, monitoring and evaluation, administration, or financial management. Experience with the United Nations is an asset.
- Proven leadership and management skills and ability to work as part of a team
- Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc)
- Ability to travel to Somalia

Language requirements:
- Fluency in English
- Fluency in Somali is an advantage.
- Knowledge of Arabic desirable.
Vacancies Contact
VII. Submission of application
Please send your curriculum vitae, marked “HRF/Donor Relations Officer - Nairobi” by 18th April 2008 to: The Deputy Country Director (Operations), United Nations Development Programme - Somalia, P.O. Box 28832,00200, Nairobi, Kenya, fax: 254-20- 4183641, e-mail: registry.so@undp.org
Women are strongly encouraged to apply.
Applicants are required to fill the P11 Form and submit it together with the application.
Find the P11 Form for Fixed Term Contract Holders on this link
http://www.so.undp.org/P11_Form_For_Fixed_Term_and_ALDs.doc
Applications submitted without the P11 Form will not be considered.
UNDP will only be able to respond to those applications in which there is further interest.