Organizational Setting and Reporting Relationships: 

This position is located in the Office for the HACU of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Somalia. The Humanitarian Affairs Officer  ( Cmcoord & Access ) typically reports to the head of a unit or a senior Humanitarian Affairs Officer.

Somalia’s prolonged humanitarian crisis is characterized by ongoing conflicts, climate shocks including floods and drought, communicable disease outbreaks, weak social protection and insecurity. In 2022, the situation in Somalia remains fragile with continued political instability and severe drought. OCHA’s role is to coordinate effective and principled inter-agency humanitarian response and ensure that relief assistance reaches the people who need it in a timely manner. In line with OCHA’s global mission, OCHA Somalia continues to mobilize and coordinate an effective and principled inter-agency humanitarian response.

Under the overall supervision of the Head of the OCHA Humanitarian Access and Unit (HACU) the NHAO is under the direct supervision, direction and guidance of the Head of Unit and will have a key role in monitoring and analyzing developments, collecting and managing information, coordinating and liaising with partners and local authorities and supporting capacity building in order to proactively intervene in, support or facilitate humanitarian access in Somalia and the resolution, reduction or mitigation of issues preventing humanitarian access. Provides support for field missions as required.

Responsibilities

Within delegated authority, the Humanitarian Affairs Specialist will be responsible for the following duties:

• Monitors and analyzes social, political, security and humanitarian developments in Somalia and their impact on humanitarian access and the requirement for civil-military coordination.
• Assists in the production of regular and ad-hoc humanitarian access and CMCoord products. (snapshots, maps, reports and the AMRF etc)
• Establishes and maintains contacts with CMCoord and access focal points, military actors, other UN agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and OCHA hubs and any other interlocutors (e.g. local authorities).
• Liaise with OCHA Sub-Offices and humanitarian partners for the collection of information to effectively map areas of humanitarian needs and response activities in support of coordination efforts, and track information required for preparedness and response planning;
• Classifies and cleans access incident data weekly while also participating in regular access analysis meetings.
• Responsible for the collection and insertion of access incident data into the Access Monitoring & Reporting Framework (AMRF) master sheet
• Meetings and Calls: Regularly schedule and attend meetings or calls with local authorities, partners, and key individuals to discuss ongoing humanitarian efforts, challenges, and opportunities for collaboration.
• Relationship Building: Cultivate strong working relationships through continuous engagement, ensuring open lines of communication.
• Liaison: Act as a liaison between different humanitarian actors and local stakeholders to ensure a coordinated approach.
• Facilitating Access: Work with local authorities to secure necessary permissions or support for humanitarian operations, addressing any bureaucratic or administrative challenges.
• Supports the organization in the preparation for the CMCoord and Access Working Group meetings and ensures follow-up on action points.
• Participates in working groups, meetings, conferences, and consultations with other agencies and partners on humanitarian and emergency relief-related issues and with armed actors on CMCoord matters
• Supports the HACU team in engagement with relevant actors on CMCoord, Protection, security and humanitarian access issues, including advocacy and negotiations with all relevant actors (e.g. government, armed groups, communities, etc.)
• Support in the preparation of the Access Snapshot and Access Severity mapping
• Monitoring Reports: Regularly monitor security reports, situation updates, and field reports for any access-related incidents.
• Incident Logging: Record all access incidents reported by field teams, partners, and other sources, ensuring accuracy and completeness of the information.
• Cross-Checking Information: Verify the details of reported incidents by cross-checking with multiple sources, including direct communication with field staff or local contacts.
• Clarification: Follow up on any unclear or incomplete information to ensure accurate data entry.
• AMRF Master Sheet Updates: Enter verified access incident data into the AMRF master sheet, ensuring that all relevant fields are completed correctly.
• Categorization: Properly categorize each incident according to the established framework criteria (e.g., type of incident, location, impact, etc.).
• Regular Updates: Keep the AMRF master sheet up to date by promptly entering new incidents as they are reported.
• Data Quality Checks: Periodically review the master sheet to identify and correct any discrepancies or inconsistencies in the data.
• Act as the primary point of contact for field offices and other units, addressing queries on access, providing guidance, and offering technical support as needed.
• Maintain regular communication with field offices to understand their needs and provide timely assistance.
• Ensure that field offices have access to the necessary resources, documents, and tools to carry out their work effectively.
• Quickly respond to requests for additional resources or troubleshoot any issues that arise in the field.
• Offer training sessions or workshops for field office staff on key processes, tools, and best practices.
• Provide one-on-one support to new or inexperienced staff to help them build their capacity in relevant areas.
• Conduct periodic visits to field offices to assess operations, provide direct support, and gather feedback on challenges and successes.
• Gather insights from the field to inform central planning and decision-making, ensuring that field perspectives are considered.
• Monitors, analyzes and reports on humanitarian developments, disaster relief/management or emergency situations in assigned country/area.
• Organizes and prepares studies on humanitarian, emergency relief and related issues;
• Support inter-cluster emergency preparedness and contingency planning; support Clusters’ efforts geared to enhancing national and community-level early warning preparedness.
• Participates in large, complex projects, to include multi-sectoral needs assessments, disaster assessment or other missions; assists in the coordination of international humanitarian/emergency assistance for complex emergency/disaster situations and in ensuring the necessary support.
• Partners with other humanitarian agencies to plan and evaluate humanitarian and emergency assistance programmes and help ensure that latest findings, lessons learned, policy guidelines, etc. are incorporated into these activities, including gender-related considerations.
• Assists in the production of appeals for international assistance; ensures the proper use and spending of donor contributions channeled through OCHA.
• Establishes and maintains contacts with government officials and serve as a technical liaison focal person.
• Undertakes and provides support to technical assistance and other field missions, e.g. participates in field trips to undertake in-depth reviews of specific country coordination mechanisms.
• Prepares or contributes to the preparation of various written reports, documents and communications, e.g. drafts sections of studies, background papers, policy guidelines, parliamentary documents, briefings, case studies, presentations, correspondence, etc.
• Serves as the primary focal point on specific topics or policy-related issues; keeps abreast of latest developments, liaises with other humanitarian organizations, donors, etc., ensures appropriate monitoring and reporting mechanisms; provides information and advice on a range of related issues.
• Organizes and participates in work groups, meetings, conferences, consultations with other agencies and partners on humanitarian and emergency relief-related matters.
• Provides guidance to, and may supervise, new/junior staff.
• Collects and analyzes data to identify trends or patterns and provide insights through graphs, charts, tables and reports using data visualization methods to enable data-driven planning, decision-making, presentation and reporting.
• Performs other duties as required.

Staff at all levels within OCHA both in Mogadishu and various field locations.

Cluster Coordinators and information managers designated by respective Cluster Lead Agencies

Relevant government counterparts such as Somalia Disaster Management Agency

Results Expected: Provides sound analytical inputs and advice that contribute to improving institutional capacity and articulates policy on a growing number of humanitarian and relief assistance issues. Takes action to identify humanitarian affairs and related issues/problems and develops creative approaches to problem resolution. Provides timely delivery of assigned outputs. Develops partnerships and interacts effectively with colleagues internally and externally.

Competencies:

• Professionalism: Knowledge of a range of humanitarian assistance, emergency relief and related human rights issues, including approaches and techniques to address difficult problems. Analytical capacity and in particular the ability to analyze and articulate the humanitarian dimension of issues which require a coordinated UN response. Ability to identify issues and judgment in applying technical expertise to resolve a wide range of problems. Ability to conduct research, including ability to evaluate and integrate information from a variety of sources and assess impact on the humanitarian rights situation in assigned country/area. Ability to work under extreme pressure, on occasion in a highly stressful environment (e.g. civil strife, natural disasters and human misery); ability to provide guidance to new/junior staff. Shows pride in work and in achievements; demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter; is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results; is motivated by professional rather than personal concerns; shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges; remains calm in stressful situations. Takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work. Able to analyze and interpret data in support of decision-making and convey resulting information to management.
• Communication:  Speaks and writes clearly and effectively; listens to others, correctly interprets messages from others and responds appropriately; asks questions to clarify and exhibits interest in having two-way communication; tailors’ language, tone, style and format to match audience; demonstrates openness in sharing information and keeping people informed.
• Teamwork: Works collaboratively with colleagues to achieve organizational goals; solicits input by genuinely valuing others’ ideas and expertise; is willing to learn from others; places team agenda before personal agenda; supports and acts in accordance with final group decision, even when such decisions may not entirely reflect own position; shares credit for team accomplishments and accepts joint responsibility for team shortcomings.
• Planning & Organizing:  Develops clear goals that are consistent with agreed strategies; identifies priority activities and assignments; adjusts priorities as required; allocates appropriate amount of time and resources for completing work; foresees risks and allows for contingencies when planning; monitors and adjusts plans and actions as necessary; uses time efficiently.
• Accountability: Takes ownership of all responsibilities and honours commitments; delivers outputs for which one has responsibility within prescribed time, cost and quality standards; operates in compliance with organizational regulations and rules; supports subordinates, provides oversight and takes responsibility for delegated assignments; takes personal responsibility for his/her own shortcomings and those of the work unit, where applicable.
• Creativity: Actively seeks to improve programmes or services; offers new and different options to solve problems or meet client needs; promotes and persuades others to consider new ideas; takes calculated risks on new and unusual ideas; thinks “outside the box”; takes an interest in new ideas and new ways of doing things; is not bound by current thinking or traditional approaches.
• Client Orientation: Considers all those to whom services are provided to be “clients” and seeks to see things from clients’ point of view; establishes and maintains productive partnerships with clients by gaining their trust and respect; identifies clients’ needs and matches them to appropriate solutions; monitors ongoing developments inside and outside the clients’ environment to keep informed and anticipate problems; keeps clients informed of progress or setbacks in projects; meets timeline for delivery of products or services to client.