CONSULTANCY - TERMS OF REFERENCE

UNRWA is a United Nations agency established by the General Assembly in 1949 and is mandated to provide assistance and protection to a population of some 5 million registered Palestine refugees. Its mission is to help Palestine refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, West Bank and the Gaza Strip to achieve their full potential in human development, pending a just solution to their plight. UNRWA’s services encompass education, health care, relief and social services, camp infrastructure and improvement, microfinance and emergency assistance. UNRWA is the largest UN operation in the Middle East with more than 30,000 staff. UNRWA is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions.

External Relations and PROJECTS officer, ERCD, Jerusalem

BACKGROUND

UNRWA is funded almost entirely from voluntary contributions and funding has generally not kept pace with increased refugee needs. This has resulted in a recurrent financial deficit which threatens the ability of the Agency to provide critical services to Palestine refugees. The Department of External Relations and Communications (ERCD) is seeking a qualified junior expert to join the team in mobilizing additional resources for the Agency in light of substantial financial challenges.

The candidate will work in the Department of External Relations and contribute to its overall objectives through conducting/facilitating a range of activities as a team member and as an individual. Particularly, the candidate is expected to take on a number of donor portfolios, based on skills and experience, participate in developing new resource mobilization activities, as well as coordinate and manage official diplomatic visits in the five fields of operation for visiting dignitaries. Moreover, the candidate will be expected to contribute to departmental and inter-departmental coordination and communication activities.

Description of Duties and Responsibilities

  • Manage a portfolio of traditional and non-traditional donors (subject to change depending on the department’s needs and candidate’s capacities and experience). This management of donor relationships includes the following duties: provide a consistently high level of responsiveness and service to donors; negotiate bilateral agreements and Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) with donors on behalf of the Agency; suggest, negotiate and draft project proposals for donors in coordination with field offices and headquarter departments; analyze, review and edit project proposals and donor reports; draft correspondence for the purpose of fund-raising and advocacy; produce briefing materials for senior management;
  • Strengthen department-wide efforts to enhance UNRWA’s brand profile. Duties include: production of existing and development of new communication tools in line with programme funding and advocacy priorities, contribution to reporting;
  • Contribute substantially to: ERCD’s development of fund-raising strategy and planning (also in as much as required, in line with the ongoing Resource Mobilization Strategy); gathering intelligence on selected donors; developing and strengthening contacts with donors at capital and local level; exploring and undertaking resource mobilization initiatives; preparing fund-raising documents including appeals and Department’s reports and policy documents; supporting Executive Office and Representative Offices in contacts with donors;
  • ERCD Field (or and department) focal point. Duties include: regular engagement with a particular Field on forecast income, resource mobilization and project implementation;
  • Perform other duties as may be assigned.

minimum Qualifications and Experience

●A university degree in political science, international relations, business or public administration, law, economics, development or humanitarian studies, communication or a related discipline;

●At least 4 years of progressively responsible experience in a relevant field preferably in an international context;

●Experience in fundraising and campaigning, advocacy or communication(ideally on humanitarian or Middle East issues);

●Excellent computer skills (Word, Outlook, Powerpoint and in particular Excel) and drafting skills.

COMPETENCIES

●Demonstrated ability to set standards, plan and implement work and to communicate ideas effectively;

●Positive attitude, strong analytical, interpersonal, organizational and communication skills;

●Willingness and ability to handle details;

●Demonstrated skills in working with others and ability to handle sensitive issues; proven ability to maintain good professional relations with a variety of interested stakeholders in different settings;

●Ability to develop clear goals, independently plan and prioritize own work, work well under tight deadlines and handle multiple concurrent activities;

●Ability to follow-up actively on issues, find creative solutions to problems and negotiate with and influence others.

dESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS

  • Knowledge of at least one other language;
  • Previous work experience in the UN is an asset;
  • Knowledge of the region;

● Some understanding of marketing or advocacy in a UN or not-for-profit environment.

CONDITIONS OF SERVICE

  • The duration of the consultancy is12 months with the expected start date of 1 September 2015;
  • Remuneration for this consultancy will be around US$4,000depending on the qualifications and experience of the candidate;
  • The incumbent will be based in Jerusalemwith travel to other UNRWA fields of operation or for the purposes of resource mobilisation missions.

APPLICATION PROCESS

Applicants should submit a cover letter and CV or UN Personal History Form demonstrating clearly the knowledge and experience required to meet the consultancy requirements via indicating the title of this consultancy “External Relations and Projects Officer”in the subject line of the message. The deadline for the submission of applications is1/8/2015.

UNRWA is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes applications from both women and men. UNRWA encourages applications from qualified women. Only those applicants shortlisted for interview will be contacted. UNRWA is a non-smoking environment.

14 July 2015