Closing date: 12 Jan 2020
The Centre of Competence on Humanitarian Negotiation Purpose
The Centre of Competence on Humanitarian Negotiation (hereafter CCHN) is a common undertaking of five organizations, namely the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the World Food Program (WFP), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Médecins sans Frontières Switzerland (MSF-Switzerland) and the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD). The CCHN’s creation and its five-year incubation period is governed by a strategic partnership agreement between the five initiators and hosted by the ICRC.
The aim of the CCHN is to facilitate the capture, analysis and sharing of humanitarian negotiation practices on the frontline to support the efforts of humanitarian practitioners in seeking access to and protection of populations affected by armed conflicts and other situations of violence. It intends to contribute to the creation of a “community of practice” among humanitarian negotiators across agencies and regions centered around the specificities of humanitarian negotiation.
Mobilizing humanitarian professionals engaged in negotiation on the frontlines is a critical part of the activities of the CCHN. Based on the inputs of the research stream and building on the policy tools and methods developed by the CCHN and its partners, the CCHN reaches out to operational staff who regularly engage in access and protection negotiations at country and regional level through a series of listening tours, interviews, field workshops, and peer support activities.
Purpose of the position
The CCHN is recruiting a Negotiation Support Specialist for CCHN activities in the Middle East, with a specific emphasis on operations in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and Yemen, to join the CCHN team to further develop the policy, training and networking capabilities of the CCHN in this region. The Negotiation Support Specialist will design, coordinate, implement and facilitate CCHN context-specific activities to further strengthen the CCHN ability to develop policy tools pertaining to humanitarian negotiation in the Middle East. S/he will reach out to and mobilize the larger humanitarian community in the region on the practice of such tools. To do so, s/he will maintain a connection between CCHN events, linking information and participants with the wider deliberations on frontline humanitarian negotiation in the said region, and bridging negotiation knowledge with humanitarian agencies and NGOs to ensure an effective support to practitioners/negotiators and a sound respond to operational challenges.
Main duties and responsibilities
- Designing and coordinating the organization of CCHN workshops in the region (Peer Workshops, Specialized sessions and Peer circles);
- Delivering curriculum sessions and facilitating the various CCHN peer-to-peer support activities in the region;
- Contributing to the development and mobilization of the CCHN Community in the region;
- Engaging with and mobilizing the Strategic Partners of the CCHN in the region, in the development of CCHN activities in support of their respective staff;
- Providing support to the conduct of interviews of humanitarian negotiations’ practitioners as well as listening tours in the field;
- Gathering and analyzing information on trends, opportunities and challenges related to humanitarian negotiation practices across the agencies and the larger humanitarian community in the Middle East;
- Organizing and facilitating thematic roundtable discussions, conferences and expert meeting on the challenges and dilemmas of humanitarian negotiations in the region.
Education and experience required
- Minimum 2-3 years of field experience in humanitarian operations in the Middle East;
- Advanced academic degree in International Relations, political Science, Law or equivalent;
- Solid experience in designing, coordinating and organizing training and peer-to-peer activities, including group facilitation;
- Good understanding of humanitarian negotiation processes, the operational challenges in operating in contexts in the Middle East, as well as the humanitarian system at large;
- Proven professional experience working in government, academia, international organizations or international NGOs.
Desired skills and profile
- Proven ability to think critically, succinctly and creatively;
- Capacity to work independently under pressure with tight deadlines;
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, including good public presentation skills;
- Strong coordination and organizational skills;
- Strong writing, editing and analytical skills, and ability to translate complex questions into policy options leading to practical recommendations;
- Flexibility and adaptability;
- Fluent in English and Arabic; French an asset;
- Available for regular field missions (up to 50 %/ year).
Additional Information
- Location: Geneva
- Type of contract: Open-ended
- Activity rate: 100%
- Estimated start date: February 2020
- Application Deadline: Sunday, the 12th of January 2020
How to apply:
Follow the link: https://bit.ly/2t6sUqo