JPO, Associate External Reporting Officer

TERMS OF REFERENCE Chiffre
-2-32JUNIOR PROFESSIONAL OFFICER PROGRAMME (JPO)

1. GENERAL INFORMATION

Title: JPO, Associate External Reporting Officer

Sectors of Assignment/Office: New York Office (NYO)

Organization: UNHCR – United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

Country and Duty Station: New York, USA

Duration of assignment: 2 years with possibility of extension for another year. The extension of appointment is subject to yearly review concerning priorities, availability of funds, and satisfactory performance.

Please note that for participants of the JPO Programme two years work experience are mandatory! Relevant work experience can be counted. In order to assess the eligibility of the candidates, we review the relevant experience acquired after obtaining the first university degree (usually bachelor’s degree).

2. Justification

The current state of the world (multiplication of conflicts, displacement crises, breaches of IHL, failures of protection of civilians, climate impact, etc.) has resulted in an increase in workload for the New York Office, with a higher number of relevant Security Council meetings, more bilateral follow up with member states, more UNHCR engagements during UNGA High Level Week, etc. It is anticipated that this “heightened state of alert” will continue in the next few years, with little signs of improvements in multilateral cooperation, or of the numbers of conflict-induced displacement crises abating.

In addition, the Pact for the Future (adopted at the Summit for the Future) is expected to create several follow up work streams (covering, amongst others: AI governance and digital spheres; climate change; reform of the financial infrastructure; reform of UN structures and governance; peace building).

The above developments translate in increased pressure on NYO staff, who are all stepping up to cover higher numbers and more intense substantive files, and higher numbers of processes. As past experience with a JPO position in the NYO has proven, a JPO position can support significantly in addressing workload pressures for the team as a whole; a strong JPO can cover (with supervision and support) several substantive geographical or thematic files.

The JPO will be involved in following and influencing policy, however, since no P2-level “policy” job title exists, “associate reporting officer” is the closest option. It should be noted that the NYO offers an excellent learning environment for a JPO, with intense exposure to UN Headquarters multilateral processes, first-hand experience of diplomacy and negotiations, regular exposure to senior UNHCR leaders on mission to NY, exposure to interagency collaboration.

A JPO position in the NYO offers a great education for a UN/humanitarian/diplomatic/international career.

The JPO plays a key role in policy, political and advocacy engagement here in New York with Member States and UN institutions.

3. Organizational Setting and Work Relationships

General information about the organizational structure of the local UNHCR organization:
The JPO is reporting to the Senior Management, and is part of the team of Policy colleagues.

UNHCR New York is primarily involved in policy development, political analysis, advocacy and partnership to ensure that UNHCR’s mandate and positions are expressed with, and ideally taken inot account by, key stakeholders in New York (Member States and UN entities).

Matters of central concern to UNHCR are high on the agenda of the United Nations in New York and are also of prominent concern to civil society and the media. UNHCR in New York works closely with the Executive Office of the Secretary General (EOSG) and many other parts of the UN Secretariat. UNHCR is appreciated as the agency that has the expertise as far as refugees are concerned and indeed in terms of the migration/ refugee movements notably confronting the Middle East, Africa, the Americas, Europe and South East Asia.

UNHCR is specifically respected for bringing field perspectives to the Headquarters level discussions and decision-making fora.

With starkly increased numbers of refugees and internally displaced persons, precipitated by new and unresolved…