Title of Post: Associate Programme Officer 
Post Number: 10036796 
Vacancy Notice No: NEP/063/2022
Category/grade: National Professional Officer/NOB 
Type of contract: Fixed-term appointment
Location: Kathmandu, NEPAL
Date of Issue: 20 April 2022 
Effective date of assignment: As soon as possible
Closing Date: 03 May 2022

Organizational Setting and Work Relationships:

The Associate Programme Officer will be based in UNHCR Nepal Country Office in Kathmandu, reporting to and be guided by the Program Officer and/or Representative. S/he may supervise a small team of local staff. S/he may refer to UNHCR’s Programme Manual (Chapter IV), UNHCR's corporate and regional strategic priorities, operation plans and other relevant institutional rules and regulations for further guidance.  

The Associate Programme Officer will provide programmatic guidance and support with regard to the implementation of protection and solutions strategies within available resources. S/he will coordinate with the other sections/units to ensure harmonized programmatic approaches at all levels and throughout the UNHCR Operations Management Cycle. The incumbent will work in line with the overall UNHCR directions which crucially require working with partners, including with persons of concern, governmental institutions and the private sector, ensuring that programme management is approached as per UNHCR’s Strategic Directions, Global Strategic Priorities (GSPs), Global Compact for Refugees (GCR), and corporate positions on SDGs.

The incumbent is expected to work in line with the multi-functional team (MFT) approach as defined within the Program Manual, ensuring the participation of relevant stakeholders in all phases of the Program Management Cycle.

All UNHCR staff members are accountable to perform their duties as reflected in their job description. They do so within their delegated authorities, in line with the regulatory framework of UNHCR which includes the UN Charter, UN Staff Regulations and Rules, UNHCR Policies and Administrative Instructions as well as relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, staff members are required to discharge their responsibilities in a manner consistent with the core, functional, cross-functional and managerial competencies and UNHCR’s core values of professionalism, integrity and respect for diversity.

Operational Context:

In line with UNHCR Nepal’s Operational Multi-Year Strategy (MYS), the Associate Programme Officer will be expected to carry out standard programmatic responsibilities as per the above, including the mitigation of risks identified by the operation.

An important country strategic priority of UNHCR Nepal operation relates to advocacy and inclusion of refugees in the economy aiming at their self-reliance through livelihoods, focusing on refugees with specific needs. 

Effective implementation of projects, monitoring and evaluation, project proposal writing, reporting, and preparing advocacy materials based on evidence and data collection and presentation will be an important task. Drafting concise correspondence, documents and reports and operating procedures will be required. 

S/he will need to strengthen data collection, analysis and presentation and will need to coordinate in close collaboration with the protection team, effective livelihoods delivery for refugees, participatory assessments, post distribution monitoring and surveys among refugees and monitoring of UNHCR’s project partners.

S/he will support the Representative’s in managing partnerships and building on the office’s advocacy efforts towards inclusion of persons of concern in public services, livelihoods, and in UN and National Development, humanitarian, and disaster plans. Contributions to UN inter-agency processes and reaching out to private sector, refugees and other partners will be vital. S/he will also contribute to emergency and contingency planning and preparedness and engage with relevant stakeholders if/where necessary.

To do this successfully, the candidate needs to have:

• Excellent English communication skills (written and oral)
• Excellent planning, organizing, time and stakeholder management skills
• Familiarity with digital data-collection and relevant computer skills
• Experience and understanding of new technologies, including the use of mass communication (SMS) services, Cash-Based interventions, cloud technologies, and data analytics would be advantageous
• Relevant professional experience of not less than two years, preferably with the NGO or UN sector would be a distinct advantage
• Past experiences in working with persons of concern to UNHCR or with other vulnerable populations would be a distinct advantage

The Associate Programme Officer will also supervise national staff and will work closely in a multi-functional team. Hence, the desire and capacity to work in and for a team will be essential. 

Duties:

• Support in assessing and analysing the needs of persons of concern in a participatory manner, using an Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD) perspective as basis for planning.
• Provide support on programmatic aspects of developing multi-year protection and solutions strategies and annual plans with corresponding priorities taking into account corporate priorities.
• Support Results Based Management and programme capacity in light of evolving requirements, programming approaches and gaps.
• Assist the planning process in compliance with planning parameters outlined in the Programme Manual and the planning instructions.
• Support the revision and analysis of plans, mid-year and year-end reports of UNHCR office(s) in the Area of Responsibility AoR), ensure quality assurance and compliance with established policies, guidelines, procedures and standards.
• Assist in the provision of overall direction to broaden partnerships with key stakeholders in order to maximize the protection and solutions response for   persons of concern. 
• Provide support to ensure a consistent application of the framework for implementing with partners, including the effective implementation of the policy on selection and retention of partners, management of partnership agreements, risk-based project performance monitoring, and risk-based project audits, among others.
• Contribute to ensure consistent and coherent monitoring approaches, tools and systems across the region, in line with global standards and polices.
• Actively contribute to UNHCRs programming of community of practice and continuously contribute to improvements of programming tools and processes. 
• Oversee a timely and effective follow-up of internal and external audits observations and recommendations that relate to programmatic issues. 
• Perform other related duties as required.

Minimum Qualifications: (Education & Professional Work Experience)

Years of Experience / Degree Level

• 3 years relevant experience with Undergraduate degree; or 2 years relevant experience with Graduate degree; or 1 year relevant experience with Doctorate degree

Field(s) of Education 

• Economics; Business Administration; Social Sciences; or other relevant field.

Certificates and/or Licenses 

• Programme Management
• Certification Programme in Programme Management (CP-PM)

(Certificates and Licenses marked with an asterisk* are essential) 

Relevant Job Experience (Essential)

• Demonstrated experience in programme management including familiarization with the OMC and sound knowledge of Results Based-Management. Demonstrated experience in field operations, sound knowledge on the centrality of protection in programming, Joint Needs Assessments and the principles of targeting.  

Desirable

• Demonstrated experience in coordination within an inter-agency context and other actors, in a refugee or humanitarian context. Sound experience in program management training and capacity building activities.

Functional Skills 

• MG-Project Management
• PG-Results-Based Management
• PG-UNHCR's Programmes
• PG-Experience with coordinating with Implementing Partners (Government/INGO/NGO/Corporate)
• DM-Data Management

(Functional Skills marked with an asterisk* are essential) 

Language Requirements 

• Knowledge of English and local language.

Competency Requirements:

Core Competencies

• Accountability
• Communication
• Organizational Awareness
• Teamwork & Collaboration
• Commitment to Continuous Learning 
• Client & Result Orientation

Managerial Competencies

• Judgement and Decision Making
• Managing Resources
• Empowering and Building Trust

Cross-Functional Competencies

• Analytical Thinking 
• Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
• Political Awareness

Eligibility: 

Candidates must be Nepali Nationals.  

Interested staff members should consult the Administrative Instruction on Recruitment and Assignment of Locally Recruited Staff (RALS, UNHCR/AI/2020/1/Rev.2). If you have questions regarding your eligibility, you may also contact the HR Unit.

In line with the RALS, the below categories of candidates are eligible to apply for internally/externally advertised vacancies:

Group 1 candidates: Current NPO staff members holding an indefinite or fixed-term appointment are eligible to apply to advertised positions in the NPO category at their personal grade and one grade below or above, as Group 1 candidates.

External candidates: All other candidates are eligible to apply to positions in the NPO category as external candidates, including GS staff members holding a university degree and fulfilling eligibility requirements, regardless of grade or length of service, who may apply to any vacant NPO position in their country of assignment for which they qualify. External candidates must meet the essential minimum requirements of the position.