Descripción del puesto
The Latin America and the Caribbean Humanitarian Fund (LAC HF) managed by OCHA (Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) from its Regional Office in Panama, through a dedicated Regional Humanitarian Financing Unit (RHFU) is seeking an Associate Programme Officer who has been hired as by the contract modality of the United Nations System´s contract: Fixed-Term Appointment - National Officer level NOB. This contract is for one-year with possibility of extension.
Location: Clayton, City of Knowledge, Panama city.
The LAC HF has been established in 2024 by the ERC (Emergency Relief Coordinator) to provide a stable and flexible platform for donors addressing emergencies across the region, including sudden-onset disasters, escalating crises, and ongoing humanitarian situations. With current funding mostly coming from a handful of donors, supplemented by a broader range of emergency-specific public and private contributors, LAC HF seeks engagement from non-traditional donors.
Managed from OCHA's Regional Office in Panama, LAC HF dynamically adjusts its Country Envelopes based on evolving needs, donor interest and partner capacity. Each Envelope is managed by the respective UN Resident Coordinator or Humanitarian Coordinator, with support from an in-country Advisory Board, and working with national coordination mechanisms.
Colombia and Haiti have been prioritized initially and based on their success over time, LAC HF could expand to other countries based on humanitarian needs and donor interest. This means LAC HF could possibly expand to support responses to phenomena like El Niño or hurricanes affecting multiple countries. Additionally, LAC HF and CBPFs (Country-Based Pooled Funds) are complementary to one another, with LAC HF Envelopes potentially evolving into full CBPFs (Country-Based Pooled Funds) as needed, or CBPFs (Country-Based Pooled Funds) scaling back into LAC HF Envelopes, depending on the context.
Under the guidance and direct supervision of the Pooled Fund Manager and Head of Office (OCHA ROLAC), the Associate Programme Officer is responsible for the implementation of the programmatic and monitoring functions of the Regional Humanitarian Financing Unit (RHFU), including both funding mechanisms led by ROLAC (Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean): the LAC HF (with country envelopes in Colombia and Haiti), and CERF (Central Emergency Response Fund). The Associate Programme Officer leads the formulation, management, and evaluation of programme and monitoring activities within his/her portfolio; and provides advice services.
The Associate Programme Officer works in close collaboration with other units and field offices within OCHA, programme staff in other UN Agencies, OCHA and CBPF (Country-Based Pooled Funds ) section staff in HQ, cluster coordinators, technical advisors/experts, partners and donors to ensure successful processes within the RHFU and LAC HF, including the country envelopes in Colombia and Haiti; and CERF when necessary.
Requisitos
Education:
- Advanced university degree (master's degree or equivalent) in political science, social science, international studies, public administration, economics, legal science, or a related field is required or
- A first-level university degree (bachelor´s degree) in humanitarian or development affairs, social sciences, public administration, international studies, economics, or a related field is required.
Experience, Knowledge and Skills:
- Two (2) years (with master’s degree) or 4 years (with bachelor’s degree) of relevant experience at the national and/or international level in humanitarian affairs, emergency preparedness, crisis/emergency relief management, rehabilitation, development, or related area is required.
- Experience in humanitarian financing, e.g., grant management, fundraising, and donor relations for humanitarian programmes, is desirable.
- Experience with pooled funds is desirable.
- Experience with United Nations and/or NGOs desirable.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, and ability to establish and maintain a good working relationship.
- Experience in the use of computers, office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.), database packages, and web-based management systems.
- Demonstrated experience in report writing.
- Experience in project management and supervision, monitoring and evaluation, and administration is desirable.
- Experience in grants management and in the design of logical frameworks is desirable.
- Ability to work with moderate supervision, efficiently, competently, and with integrity with diverse people.
- Willingness to work under pressure in an international and multicultural environment.
- Excellent interpersonal skills; culturally and socially sensitive; ability to work inclusively and collaboratively with a range of partners and colleagues to achieve organizational goals.
Language requirements:
- Fluency in the UN language of the duty station (Spanish) is required.
- Knowledge in English as UN language is required.
- Knowledge in Haitian Creole is desirable.
- Knowledge in other UN language (French) is desirable.
Note:
*Interested candidates must complete the online application in the following link:
https://estm.fa.em2.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/CandidateExperience/en/sites/CX_1/job/28958
*Just applications received through the link above, will be checked.
* Deadline: Thursday September 18, 2025