Shelter Coordination Officer

The Shelter/NFI Sector in the oPt is accountable to the Humanitarian Coordinator. In the Gaza strip the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is the designated sector lead. Currently there is no shelter sector lead in the West Bank or East Jerusalem. Since April 2009 The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) has been sector co-lead in the Gaza strip. From early 2010 it is anticipated that NRC, will assume additional sector responsibilities in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.  In close collaboration with UNHABITAT and UNOCHA a temporary Emergency Shelter Task Force will be set-up to assess the current emergency shelter needs. As part of this process, NRC oPt is currently in the process of recruiting a suitably qualified
Shelter Coordination Officer.

RESPONSIBILTIES:

Coordination
-Hold bi-monthly Task Force meetings at the west bank and, if necessary, oPt level, actively promote inclusion of all stakeholders in the group;
-Extract relevant shelter information from other Clusters / Working Groups and, in return, ensure that relevant shelter dimensions are integrated in the work of other Clusters / Working Groups;
-Act as focal point for inquiries on emergency shelter response plans and operations and, if required, promote emergency response actions;

Assessment/data
-Set up a monitoring mechanism for shelter needs, establish a baseline and carry out a West Bank shelter needs assessment (incl. mapping, collation of existing data), where possible as part of inter-sectoral assessments: this should allow to identify geographic gaps and un-serviced vulnerable groups, map negative trends and propose preventive measures, training needs, and provide information for advocacy and communication purposes.
-Arrange joint needs assessments and case visits;

Planning and strategy development
-Draw lessons learned from past activities;
-If required initiate draft strategies and action plans.

Advocacy
-Advise UN-OCHA on core advocacy concerns;
-Support UN-OCHA in communication strategies with public, media, and policy makers;

SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED:
Professional qualification in social or shelter-related sciences or equivalent

-At least 5 years year's relevant experience in the humanitarian sector
-Excellent leadership, coordination, and information management skills
-Knowledge of, UN Systems, and NGO humanitarian community
-Knowledge of basic shelter-related technical guidelines and standards
Commencement:As soon as possible
Contract period:6 months, with possible extension

Applications and CV in English are to be submitted by email to [email protected]  
Please ensure that you state the title of the post that you are applying for. 
Closing date:2nd January 2010