Afghanistan is facing an unprecedented humanitarian crisis and an increasing risk of economic collapse. Forty years of armed conflict, recurrent natural disasters – including droughts and floods, increased poverty, food insecurity, failing health systems, and lack of shelters, compounded by COVID-19 – have made most of the people in Afghanistan vulnerable to extreme protection risks.
Events after August 2021, in addition to the global economic impact of COVID-19, have severely affected the coping mechanisms of vulnerable population groups in the country, particularly internally displaced people. The prices of main food commodities in Afghanistan are significantly higher than in the first half of the year. An average food basket now costs more than 82 per cent of the average family income. It is anticipated that 95 per cent of Afghans are now facing food insecurity. Some 23 million people, over half of Afghanistan’ s population, are facing acute food insecurity.
UNHCR has put in place a Preparedness and Response Plan to meet needs in this fast-evolving context to: (i) provide critical protection and life-saving assistance and prevent human suffering; (ii) ensure life-saving assistance by improving access to essential services and by creating a conducive protection environment to mitigate further displacement; and (iii) support building resilient communities through area-based programming, in so-called Priority Areas of Return and Reintegration (PARR), in line with the whole-of-society approach.
UNHCR Afghanistan’s population of concern includes 3.7 million persons including refugees, refugee returnees, internally displaced persons (IDPs), and members of the host communities.
Against the backdrop, UNHCR has been working to complement and support the de facto authorities in addressing the needs of IDPs through its coordinator role in the Afghanistan Protection and ES/NFI Clusters as well as the provider of last resort. In particular, during emergency phases, UNHCR conducts joint needs assessments with other humanitarian actors and coordinates its responses. In addition, UNHCR is one of the key actors conducting Community-Based Protection Monitoring (CBPM) to assess the protection needs and concern of the IDPs and other POCs. In addition, for IDPs identified as most vulnerable, UNHCR provides assistance through its Persons with Specific Needs Programme (PSN) and Cash for Protection Programme (CFP). Under the “Whole of Community Approach” and to realize the Humanitarian-Development-Peace nexus, UNHCR also concentrates its effort to support durable solutions for IDPs, primarily in the Priority Areas of Return and Reintegration (PARRs). In the PARRs, IDPs benefits from a range of services and projects, including, among others, education, health, shelter, youth empowerment, livelihood opportunities, WASH, and infrastructure.
Cash-Based Interventions (CBIs) are a dignified form of assistance, giving recipients the ability to immediately prioritize and address their specific needs such as food, shelter/accommodation, medication, livelihoods and other necessities. CBIs also directly complement community protection measures and support the local economy and can contribute to peaceful coexistence within and across communities as the funds distributed are used in local markets. In Afghanistan, UNHCR has a long history of delivering Cash-Based assistance to populations of concern in furtherance of the organization’s protection, assistance, and solutions strategies. Presently, the operation delivers multiple types of CBIs including Cash for Protection, Cash for Shelter Construction, Repairs or Rent, Cash for Basic Needs, Cash for Repatriation, Cash for Reintegration, Cash for Livelihoods, Cash for Energy and Cash for Food among others. UNHCR adopts a whole-of-community approach and as such Cash-Based interventions are directed to a cross-section of the community including refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced persons, returnees, and members of the host community.
The incumbent is a member of the program section in a UNHCR (field) office, supervised by the Associate Programme Officer. His/her work covers all CBI related aspects at the (field) office level, from the assessments to the cash distributions to the monitoring of CBIs. The incumbent is the UNHCR CBI person to refer to in the area covered by the office and ensures that CBIs are compliant with the technical guidance and objectives. S/he specifically supports the identification of new interventions, organizes and implements assessments, oversees the CBI partner’s activities, liaises with the local authorities, coordinates locally and monitors the general situation (ex. Markets, security, etc.). The incumbent in liasion with protection and other relevant units also plans and organizes distributions, follow-up budgets and ensures reconciliation, and alerts colleagues of challenges & complaints. S/he works in close coordination with the UNHCR Office in Kabul, under the directions and guidance of the Programme CBI Officer.
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.
Duties and Responsibilities
Education:
Language:
Certificate:
Work Experience:
Essential
Desirable
Functional Skills:
Core Competencies
Cross-Functional Competencies
The management of the advertised openings in this announcement is in line with the provisions of the UNHCR Administrative Instruction on Recruitment and Assignment of Locally Recruited Staff (RALS). The vacancies are open to eligible internal (Group 1 and Group 2) and external applicants.
Additional Information:
N/A
Afghanistan is facing an unprecedented humanitarian crisis and an increasing risk of economic collapse. Forty years of armed conflict, recurrent natural disasters – including droughts and floods, increased poverty, food insecurity, failing healt... Read More
