Programme Associate - UNOCHA

UNDP•Panama City, FL

About The Position

This position is in the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN- OCHA) Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean (ROLAC). This position reports to Regional Disaster Response Advisor. Work implies frequent interaction with the following: Officers/Managers/Representatives responsible of preparedness and response for humanitarian action, disaster management and information management experts, experts and focal points for specific transversal programmes, projects and subjects at regional and at country level. Resident Coordinator Office and focal point or responsible for humanitarian coordination structures in country. OCHA Officers/Managers of units and branches at headquarter or regional level including interaction with other units, partners and Country Offices, Member states authorities and representatives from the region, sub-regional bodies and donors. Results Expected: The person in this role provides reliable support for the coordination and implementation of humanitarian preparedness and response activities. The person contributes to the monitoring of the humanitarian situation, carrying out basic research and demonstrating a solid understanding of the humanitarian context and emergency‑related priorities. This person is expected to perform their tasks with increasing autonomy, ensuring timely follow‑up on required actions and proactively identifying issues and potential solutions. The person maintains well‑organized work processes and produces accurate information and reports under general supervision. The role also involves close monitoring of the regional agenda, progress on the annual workplan, and ongoing activities, while maintaining effective and timely interaction with colleagues and partners, both inside and outside the organization, to support processes related to disaster preparedness and response, coordination and partnerships, information management, advocacy and reporting, as well as humanitarian financing.

Requirements

Higher Secondary Education is required.
A bachelor’s degree in business or public Administration, Economics, Political Sciences and Social Sciences will be given due consideration.
A Minimum 6 years (with high school diploma) or 3 years (with bachelor’s degree) of progressively responsible experience in humanitarian affairs and disaster management experience is required at the national or international level.
Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) and advance knowledge of spreadsheet and database packages, experience in handling of web-based management systems is required.
Experience of organizing trainings/workshops for the operations/ projects staff on programme is required.
Relevant experience of working with international or development organizations is required.
Ability to review and edit documents, and ability to produce meeting reports identifying key actions, is required.
Fluency in English and Spanish, required.

Nice To Haves

Knowledge of another official United Nations language, such as French, is an advantage.

Responsibilities

Supports the monitoring and analysis of the dynamic humanitarian landscape and its associated operational challenges in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC).
Research, compiles, analyses, summarizes, and presents basic information/data on humanitarian related topics.
Contributes to the preparation of donor reports and to the development of information products on humanitarian situations such as situation reports, dashboards, briefing notes, and thematic updates.
Drafts correspondence and contributes to communications related to internal products—including workplans and prepares the unit’s inputs for periodic internal reports on operational matters.
Support the development of presentations, training modules, and other materials required for sessions, workshops, emergency preparedness simulations, and other capacity‑building activities.
Support the organization of OCHA-led humanitarian coordination meetings in Panama and assist the follow up of the coordination meetings' decisions and action points with correspondent stakeholders.
Serves as focal point for any thematic working group at regional level related to cross-cutting issues like gender, protection, accountability to affected people or others if needed.
Provides support during emergency response activities, including up to 50% physical deployment to affected areas, comprehensive logistical coordination, operational follow-up, and direct support assistance to field teams engaged in humanitarian missions.
Support in uploading, updating, and maintenance of contact list and work files on internal and external repositories.
Support the monitoring of the humanitarian financing trends in the LAC region, using existing mechanisms and tools
Perform other duties and assigned responsibilities around areas of these terms of reference, as per recommendations from his/her supervisor and according to identified priorities.