Mission and objectives

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees was established on December 14, 1950, by the United Nations General Assembly. UNHCR provides protection and assistance to refugees worldwide. UNHCR currently works in more than 120 countries and helps over 43 million people worldwide; refugees or those uprooted within their own countries. The UN Refugee Agency also cares for asylum seekers, returnees, and stateless persons. It strives to ensure that everyone can exercise the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge in another State, with the option to return home voluntarily, integrate locally, or resettle in a third country (www.unhcr.org).

Context

The Refugee Electrical Assistant will report to the UNHCR Energy/Electrical site Engineer, in the context of the electricity projects in Azraq and Za’atari Syrian Refugee Camps in Jordan, reporting activities monitoring the electrical network and load status and consolidating collected data, as well as repairing and operating of electrical systems. The incumbent might be lending support to other UNHCR Jordan activities as required, subject to approval from Head of Office, Azraq and Za’atari Field Offices. There are several actors working independently of the UNHCR, as well as sister agencies and other organizations. The incumbent is required to monitor the situation on the ground where relevant, where construction works take place that are either directly related to the Energy projects or may indirectly affect the integrity of the infrastructure, and directly report such to the UNHCR Energy/Electrical site Engineer. The refugee population is a challenging one, and the incumbent must therefore exercise great diplomacy in his/her tasks, as well as providing input to an effective communication strategy. The working conditions at the field level are difficult. Therefore, the incumbent should be flexible, mature, have very good interpersonal skills to ensure a solid team spirit. Availability that his/her likeness appears on media, social media, photos, and videos as it will be impossible for UNHCR to prevent such appearances on the public or external occasion s/he will perform duties. S/He will need to understand that her/his picture will possibly be seen on the internet. Qualified female candidates are highly encouraged to apply. Additional information: Refugee UN Volunteers in Jordan are entitled to: • Monthly Volunteer Living Allowance (VLA) at the amount of JOD 1,101.58; • Annual and learning leaves; • Free Medical and life insurance; and • Free access to different learning platforms.

Task Description

Within the delegated authority and under the supervision of the UNHCR Energy/Electrical site Engineer in Azraq and Za’atari Camps or his/her designated mandated representative(s), the UNV Refugee Electrical Assistant will: • Install, service, maintain and repair electrical system components in compliance with recognized standards and regulations pertaining to safety and installation codes of all electrical systems • Diagnose technical faults and supervise remedy for malfunctioning or defective electrical systems, as applicable within the scope of the contractors and implementing partners, and personally carry-out needed remedy where not applicable under scope • Perform and supervise daily diagnostics and preventive maintenance of electrical systems, all electrical lighting and power systems, main distribution as well as generators • Perform technical or other assessments of electrical systems, and prepare technical inspection, assessment, or other reports • Provide insight to cultural understanding of refugee community, assess actual needs, evaluate and breakdown concerns raised by refugee community in the camp • Develop strong rapport with refugee community and communicate effectively upon a basis of sympathy and emotional contagion. • Report trends in energy consumption by refugees in the camp, such as availability and introduction of new electrical appliances in the camp, and spread of such items among refugees, as well as acquiring appliance technical data for the purpose of assessing impact • Apply and ensuring adherence to safety standards related to the safe operation of electrical systems and maintenance activities • Inspecting and reporting on electricity project work progress and maintenance work carried out either by contractors, implementing partners or electric utilities and ensure proper utilization of available resources • Perform quantity surveying and estimates bill of quantities. • Following on the available stock of electrical items, prepare stock reports and report to the UNHCR Energy/Electrical site Engineer any shortages. • Ensure that any work carried out does not conflict with existing UN environmental, health and safety policies • Ensure that full and accurate reports are maintained on electrical activities, by reviewing reports on activities and faults and ensuring correct filling of forms, description of faults, repairs and actions, time and location • Any other related tasks as may be required or assigned by the supervisor. Furthermore, Refugee UN Volunteers are encouraged to integrate the UNV programme mandate within their assignment and promote voluntary action through engagement with communities during their work. As such, they should dedicate a part of their working time to some of the following suggested activities: • Strengthen their knowledge and understanding of the concept of volunteerism by reading relevant UNV and external publications and taking an active part in UNV activities; • Be acquainted with and build on traditional and/or local forms of volunteerism in the host country; • Provide annual and end-of-assignment self-reports on UN Volunteer actions, results, and opportunities. • Contribute articles/write-ups on field experiences and submit them for UNV publications/websites, newsletters, press releases, etc.; • Assist with the UNV Buddy Programme for newly-arrived UN Volunteers; • Promote or advise local groups in online volunteering or encourage relevant local individuals and organizations to use the UNV Online Volunteering service whenever possible.

Competencies and values

• Professionalism • Integrity • Teamwork and respect for diversity • Commitment to continuous learning • Planning and organizing • Flexibility • Genuine commitment towards the principles of voluntary engagement

Living conditions and remarks

Azraq town is the administrative capital of Azraq district of Zarqa governorate and is located approximately 34 Kilometers east of Azraq Refugee Camp. Azraq refugee camp was opened by the Government of Jordan on 30th April 2014. The office was established in August 2013. – Compared to other governorates, working conditions in Azraq are harsh. The camp environment is semi-desert where the winters are very cold (with heavy snowfalls and torrential rains at times) and very hot/dry with extreme daily temperature fluctuations during the summer. – The basecamp hosts UNHCR’s camp management and the associated organisational units as well as implementing and other camp partners. Azraq refugee camp is the largest camp in size, but it is second to Zaatari camp in terms of number of refugees. Azraq camp registered 45,000 people of concern and hosts approximately 40,000 refugees (as of July 2023). The position is based in Azraq camp, presently a B category duty station. Compared to other governorates, working conditions in the north of Jordan are harsh. Azraq and Za’atari are hot and dry desert, dusty environments with extreme daily temperature fluctuations. UN Security Phase – Level 2 in both Azraq camp and Zaatari camp The UN Volunteer will be responsible for arranging his/her own housing and other living essentials. A candidate living inside or very close to the camps is a plus as this will help us to achieve fast response times in case of emergencies or any urgent works.