Re-advertisement: Emergency, Climate Change & DRR Officer, (NO-2), Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Fixed-term, #115663 (Only for Uzbekistan nationals)

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ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT PURPOSE OF THE JOB

The Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country with a population of approximately 34.6million – about 48 percent of the total population of Central Asia. The country has long relied on its robust agricultural sector, which comprises around 25 percent of total gross domestic product (GDP) and is primarily based on cotton and wheat. However, the intensive farming practices that were in use until the early 1990s greatly depleted Uzbekistan’s water resources and diminished its arable land. The extensive overuse of water has resulted into an ecological disaster in which the Aral Sea has experienced a severe decrease in water surface area, with the average water shrinkage rate per annum accounted for around 1,000 sq km.

Uzbekistan is prone to a number of disasters due to both natural hazards, including earthquakes, droughts, floods, landslides and epidemics; and technological hazards, including transport and miscellaneous accidents. Earthquakes are the most dominant hazard in Uzbekistan. Analysis of disaster data show that Uzbekistan has been severely affected by several devastating earthquakes (Tashkent 1966; Gazli 1976; 1984 Gazli-Bokhara; 1992 Andijan).   Drought hazards are significant: a single drought event in 2000 affected 600,000 people and caused an economic loss of $50 million. Uzbekistan is also vulnerable to floods and mud flows. A few are caused by snowmelt run-off or severe storms; very large floods and mudslides are generally caused by the outbreak of mountain lakes. There are also trans-boundary hazards from the hundreds of lakes in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan that are upstream of Uzbekistan in the Aral Sea basin. Landslide hazards are significant in the country’s mountain and foothill areas, while there have been over 2,600 extreme mud flows in the past 80 years. All these disasters have resulted into loss of life, loss of livelihood, damage to property and infrastructure[i]. Political instability in neighboring countries is also a major factor which may result into an influx of thousands of  people seeking refuge in Uzbekistan.

Purpose for the job
Under the direct supervision of the Deputy Representative, the purpose of this position is to enhance emergency preparedness and response; strengthen resilience of and disaster risk awareness amongst vulnerable communities, and children. The focus will be on addressing climate and environment related risks to children and supporting evidence-based policy development and advocacy to mitigate those risks. This will include the provision of support in the development of partnerships, evidence generation, planning and implementation of advocacy campaigns and the development policy guidance to address climate and environmental risks to children. Involving children and adolescents, including those with disabilities as climate change actors and advocates will be an important component of this work.

KEY END-RESULTS

1. Early warning and emergency preparedness enhanced thorough timely assessment and analysis of emergency risks in conformity with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction in Central Asia.

2. UNICEF successfully deploying the tools in the Children’s Climate Risk Index (CCRI) to guide program design and support government to prioritize action enhancing children’s resiliency by reducing exposure and vulnerability to climate and environmental hazards, shocks and stress.   

3. Available data on evolving emergency situations provided and its implication on program delivery and results for children, women and youth timely analyzed.

4. Children and adolescents capacity built as agents of Climate Change and environmental preservation as well as disaster preparedness and response through a child centered disaster risk reduction program approach.

5. Timely delivery of assistance and supplies is maintained, urgent staffing requirements are identified, and the appropriate and effective use of UNICEF resources is monitored for effective program delivery. 

6. Disaster prevention, mitigation, preparedness and response strategies are mainstreamed in the country office’s workplans. Sectoral input is provided for all related documents of the office’s Emergency Preparedness and Response, as well as for the Situation Analysis and the Country Program Document.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES and DUTIES & TASKS 

Within the delegated authority and under the given organizational set-up, the incumbent may be assigned the primary, shared, or contributory accountabilities for all or part of the following areas of major duties and key end-results.

Emergency Preparedness

1.  Provides professional assistance in risk analysis to identify emergency-prone conditions/situations and contribute to early warning and timely emergency preparedness.

2. Assists in the formulation of plans of action in preparation and response to emergencies. Gathers information on best practices in emergency situations for the preparation of contingency plans. Monitors compliance of all sectors with emergency plans of action.

3. Identifies formal and informal sources of information. Collects, interprets and analyses all available data on the evolving emergency situation and its implications to the emergency operation. Keeps the effective flow of information and communication crucial for the planning and implementation of emergency measures. Identifies availability of resources in emergency prone areas. 

4.  Assists in organizing and conducting staff training for the office’s capacity building in emergencies preparedness and response.  Provides briefing, as required. Participates in other emergency training workshops in the region, and contributes to enhancement of the emergency preparedness and response capability of the office staff.

Emergency Response

5.  In the event of an emergency, promptly assists in implementing the initial operational tasks relating to emergency assistance. Immediately collects reliable information to verify the nature and extend of the emergency with staff, government officials, other UN agencies or local organizations and media.  Follows up to ensure that the office is provided with effective telecommunications facility and staff security assistance in an emergency, as necessary. Contacts with all UNICEF staff and their dependants and visitors to ensure their safety and whereabouts, and promptly informs head of office, supervisor and other emergency staff of their status as required.

6.  Assists supervisor with assessment of local emergency and security situation.  Visits the location to conduct an initial rough assessment of the magnitude of the crisis and its implications for children, mothers and the community. Assists with the assessment of the validity of the emergency preparedness plan and ability of the office vis-à-vis the current crisis as well as immediate and additional needs. Provides input in and contributes toward determining priorities and an appropriate intervention 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 the country office of emergency situations.  

7. Participates in Implementing the emergency preparedness and response plan as necessary.  Assists in identifying urgent staffing requirements and redeploying country office staff. Follows up with the timely delivery of assistance and procurement of supplies, and monitors the appropriate and effective use of UNICEF resources. Identifies problems and constraints in project delivery.  Sends daily situation reports to concerned parties.

Climate Change and DRR

8. Contribute to the further development, design and management of the climate and environment programme and related projects and activities including youth engagement and shock resistant social protection policies.

9. Lead strategic planning, coordination and implementation of UNICEF supported DRR  and climate change adaptation interventions;

10. Identify and support evidence generation activities and research to enhance understanding on how climate change and environmental degradation are affecting children in Uzbekistan and inform advocacy and child friendly policy and legislation to mitigate climate, and environmental risks on children’s welfare and development.

11. Liaise with other teams in the office including Programmes and Operations as well as coordinate with UNICEF Implementing Partners, and multilateral and bilateral donors and civil society to support successful implementation of climate change adaptation and mitigation and disaster risk reduction projects

Emergency, Climate Change and DRR (ECC-DRR) component

8.  Under the guidance of the Deputy Representative -Programmes participates in the implementation of plans of action and workplans. Undertakes field visits to project areas, assess local conditions and monitors project progress. Supports the preparation and inputs for appeals and updates related to emergencies. Coordinates with program sections staff and others to mobilize donor response and recovery/rehabilitation-related funding, including humanitarian appeals and documents (e.g., pitch documents). Supports the country office to communicate and advocate on the situation and needs of children through local and international media, as appropriate.

9. Collects and analyses lessons learnt from UNICEF’s emergency , climate change action and DRR operational experience and contributes towards adoption of the best practices and standards for longer-term sustainable solutions. Assists in identifying longer-term requirements of the emergency intervention/operations.

10. Provides support to the Deputy Representative- programs to make sure that disaster prevention, mitigation, preparedness response  and climate action strategies are mainstreamed in the country office’s workplans. Assists in the preparation of sectoral input for the country programme documents, plan of action, annual work plans, and other related documents of the office’s Emergency Preparedness and Response. Provides technical input in the preparation of the Situation Analysis and the Country Programme document, as required. 

JOB GRADE FACTORS

NOB

The scope of the job duties ranges from methodical data collection, analysis, and reporting, to effective monitoring and analysis of project implementation and management, with limited independent technical decisions on project implementation and evaluation which will impact on project efficiency and delivery. The nature of the job is mostly contributory technical work requiring substantive technical analysis and core knowledge of the specialized functional area. The work makes substantial contribution to the achievement of planned objectives of the project teams and the Section at the solid professional quality level. The supervisor guides and oversees the work process, progress and end-results delivery.

The work also includes the review of appropriateness and completeness of financial and supply documentation as well as adherence to established allotments.

Technical expertise is required to analyse data and background information in support of emergency situation analysis, risk analysis and updates.

The job requires professional judgement to interpret and apply guidelines correctly. If necessary, recommends deviations from guidelines to programme/project officers, as appropriate.

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

Education

Advanced University degree in social sciences or any other relevant fields.

Work Experience

Five years of relevant professional work experience related to Emergency Preparedness and Response and or Disaster Risk Reduction at the national and/or international levels in programme/project development, planning, implementation, monitoring, evaluation or administration.

Training/experience in emergency response management highly desirable.

Language Proficiency

Fluency in English, Russian and Uzbek is required.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA) and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

The UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

i)  Core Values (Required)

• Care
• Respect
• Integrity
• Trust
• Accountability

ii)  Core Competencies (Required)

• Nurtures, Leads and Manages People (1)
• Demonstrates Self Awareness and Ethical Awareness (2)
• Works Collaboratively with others (2)
• Builds and Maintains Partnerships (2)
• Innovates and Embraces Change (2)
• Thinks and Acts Strategically (2)
• Drives to achieve impactful results (2)
• Manages ambiguity and complexity (2)

iii) Functional Competencies (Required)

• Persuading and Influencing (2)
• Applying Technical Expertise (2)
• Planning and Organizing (1)

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

Click here to learn more about UNICEF’s values and competencies.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

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 also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. 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.

Remarks:

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

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.