Junior Humanitarian Affairs Officer

About OCHA Pacific
The Pacific is one of the most disaster-prone regions in the world. Small, vulnerable island states are isolated by vast expanses of ocean. They experience frequent and intense disasters with disproportionately high economic, social and environmental consequences.
In 1999, OCHA established an office for the Pacific (OP) to mobilize and coordinate effective and principled humanitarian action in partnership with national and international actors.
Emergency Preparedness & Response
The first responders in any emergency are disaster-affected people and their governments. OCHA’s key objective is to support national efforts to protect the lives, livelihoods and dignity of people in need. International assistance can only be mobilized when a request is made by the affected government.
OCHA maintains a surge support capacity that allows the international humanitarian system to establish quick links with affected countries. It does this through the response capacity of its staff in the Pacific, the UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) system, OCHA global staff, standby partners, and through the coordination of Pacific Humanitarian Team clusters and member organizations. This flexible approach allows OCHA to find different and appropriate solutions for assistance requests across the Pacific.
OCHA OP personnel can provide support in information management, reporting, mapping, media and communications, assessments, humanitarian financing and inter-cluster coordination. OCHA can deploy UNDAC teams at short notice to assist in the coordination of incoming international relief at the earliest stages of an emergency.

The Junior Humanitarian Affairs Officer is to contribute to the coordination of humanitarian affairs in Fiji. This support can take various aspects from coordination on preparedness to information, data collection, production of reports, liaison with interlocutors, and deploying to areas affected by disaster to support a government-led humanitarian response.

Under the direct supervision of the Head of Coordination and the overall supervision of the Head of Office, the UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks:

Assist in the monitoring, analyzing, and reporting of humanitarian preparedness and responses, issues, disaster relief/management programs, or emergencies in Fiji.

Support the coordination unit to monitor and analyze current events, public opinion, and media, identify issues and trends, and advise on appropriate action/responses.

As part of the team, the youth volunteer will participate in regional-inter cluster coordination meetings by supporting the OCHA’s Head of Coordination in updating the Pacific Humanitarian Team (PHT) on humanitarian developments in Vanuatu.

Contribute to establishing and maintaining contacts with other UN agencies, non-governmental organizations, government officials, and the private sector, to ensure the effective exchange and dissemination of current information.

Support the organization of and participate in national working groups, meetings, conferences, and consultations with other agencies and partners on humanitarian and emergency relief-related matters.

Undertake missions throughout the area of responsibility (affected provinces in Fiji) for preparedness and emergency duties.

Assist in the preparation of OCHA reports, studies, background papers, policy guidelines, correspondence, presentations, etc.

Contribute to the development of a suite of reporting and information products, including Humanitarian Situation Updates and Reports, Humanitarian Bulletins, Humanitarian Snapshots, etc.

Assist the focal point with the coordination of anticipatory action activities for Fiji.

Perform other tasks as required.