Field Coordinator (Part-time 50%)

The UNOPS Middle East Region (MR) provides strategic leadership, performance oversight, and support to UNOPS operations across Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and the State of Palestine. MR is responsible for positioning UNOPS as a key development partner in the region through high-level engagement with regional bodies, UN coordination mechanisms, development banks, donors, and intergovernmental organisations. By fostering strategic partnerships and promoting operational excellence, the region supports country teams in delivering sustainable solutions to complex development, peace, and humanitarian challenges

The Israeli – Palestinian conflict remains a protracted and complex conflict. While political efforts are pursued at various levels to bring the wider conflict to an end, it is essential that progress be made on the ground in a manner that will create a more conducive environment for final status negotiations.

The mandate of the Office of the Quartet is to increase Palestinian institutional and economic development and empowerment, as a support towards achieving a two-state solution. In the event of a resumption of final status negotiations, the OQ would support Quartet members in their efforts to realize a successful outcome. 

The OQ works to deliver its mandate by supporting sustainable policy change through working with the international community, the Palestinian Authority and the Government of Israel. This allows the OQ to facilitate engagement between the parties, encouraging agreement and progress at the political level, while also drawing on its sectoral expertise to support the technical-level work. A key focus of working with the international community is to strengthen the engagement with the parties. This is achieved through facilitating and supporting international community discussions at various levels towards tangible action and ownership as well as providing technical expertise for a collective international community wide approach.

The OQ is a fast paced and dynamic office operating in the areas of infrastructure, governance and economic development. The following strategic principles guide the OQ’s work to support the parties while also ensuring alignment with the strategic objectives of the Quartet members and donors to the OQ.

• Bridging between the parties and providing creative solutions that enable progress on the ground;
• Playing a catalytic role in working towards sectoral solutions in partnership with other actors, while taking on direct responsibility for specific elements of those solutions when the Office is well positioned and requested to do so;
• Focusing on policies and projects that have a multiplier effect – that is, an outcome that extends beyond the direct output of the policy or project;
• Focusing on the implementation of agreements reached and announcements made by the parties to ensure that they are translated as quickly as possible into results that have a positive impact on people’s lives;
• Maintaining the vertical depth of our work from the granular, technical level to the strategic and political level while engaging the broad array of actors required to make progress, including the parties, members of the international community and others;
• Ensuring complementarity of the OQ’s work with that of other key actors, including those which also play a convening role;
• Continuing support to Quartet members.

The Field Coordinator Gaza is part of the OQ Infrastructure Team, reporting to Senior Unit Coordinator – Infrastructure with a focus on the energy and water sectors, particularly on validating the field components of the holistic Palestinian infrastructure plans.

The Field Coordinator – Gaza (FC-G) will be working closely with the members of the Infrastructure Team, as well as the members of the other OQ teams. The FC-G is responsible for delivering the ToR and additional tasks assigned by the line manager.

The FC-G is a key and an integral part of implementing the Infrastructure Strategy and Workplan, contributing towards the delivery of overall OQ Strategy.

The FC-G will contribute towards the strategy and work of Infrastructure Teams and OQ within the scope below.

• Stakeholder engagement and coordination
• Sector specific research, data analysis and reporting
• Workstream implementation
• Communication, outreach, and knowledge sharing

The work is of a highly confidential nature, and the selected candidate must maintain the highest standards of professionalism and confidentiality at all times.

The FC-G is responsible for the deliverables below, following the objective of the assignment and the scope of work.

Stakeholder engagement and coordination

• Identify, map and maintain an overview of external stakeholders
• Support the director to maintain field level communication with relevant stakeholders
• Support the director with the work of field stakeholders for sector program planning & implementation
• Identify and maintain channels of external information input for sector products and content
• Arrange meetings and coordinate missions of OQ and OQ partner delegations to stakeholders

Sector specific research, data analysis and reporting 

• Maintain a robust understanding of Infrastructure developments in the field, particularly as they relate to infrastructure master planning and sectoral trends.
• Develop routine summary reports for Infrastructure sector developments
• Review external reports and provide an analysis identifying opportunities and implications for OQ efforts
• Propose ideas for new areas of research, papers, or briefings that contribute to the OQ Infrastructure strategy
• Gather field information relevant to the sectors by conducting research and analysis.
• Draft analysis, literature reviews, reports, papers, briefs, publications etc. that inform research findings and issues relevant to the OQ’s strategic objectives.

Workstream implementation

• Conduct field level research and assessments to inform workstream opportunities
• Support in developing activities, outputs, budgets, works plans etc. with field /context data
• Support in identifying and mitigating field level risks associated with workstreams
• Support in developing procurement documents & sourcing local suppliers / service providers
• Coordinate field resources and collaborate with field personnel to ensure workstream delivery
• Support in producing workstream delivery reports and updates
• Support in monitoring and evaluation of workstreams
• Support workstream leads, or provide coverage for leads, to advance workstream implementation

Communication , outreach, and knowledge sharing

• Contribute to generating document structure, analytics and content
• Participate in developing maps, graphics & illustrations, data visualizations, etc.
• Draft input for briefing notes, OQ website and social media
• Contribute input towards high level reports, briefings papers and presentations
• Support the team members with inputs and/or drafting letters, memos, emails, talking points etc.

Required: Bachelor’s degree in engineering, economics, international relations, development management or other development areas is required. 

Desired: Master’s degree is an advantage and may compensate for some years of experience.

Required: 

• 2 years of relevant work experience required.
• Excellent communication skills, including a demonstrated ability to both write and present high-quality written documents/presentations in English is required.
• Experience and understanding of the local political & economic context is required.
• Experience in external stakeholder engagement is required.

Desired:

• Experience in working in challenging environments is preferred.
• Experience working with international organizations in Gaza is preferred.

• UNOPS does not accept unsolicited resumes. 
• UNOPS will at no stage of the recruitment process request candidates to make payments of any kind.
• Applications to vacancies must be received before midnight Copenhagen time (CET) on the closing date of the announcement. Applications received after the closing date will not be considered. 
• Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and invited to proceed to the next stage of the selection process, which may include various assessments. 
• UNOPS embraces diversity and is committed to equal employment opportunity. Our workforce consists of a wide range of nationalities, cultures, languages, races, gender identities, sexual orientations, and abilities. We strive to sustain and strengthen this diversity, fostering an inclusive working environment where all personnel are treated with respect and have equal access to opportunities.
• UNOPS evaluates all applications based on the skills, qualifications and experience outlined in the vacancy announcement. We are committed to a fair and transparent selection process and welcome diverse perspectives, including those of women, indigenous and racialized communities, individuals of diverse gender identities and sexual orientations, and persons with disabilities.
• We are committed to enabling all candidates to perform at their best during the assessment process. If you are shortlisted and require support or reasonable accommodation to complete any assessment, please inform our human resources team upon receiving your invitation.
• UNOPS has zero tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA), sexual harassment, and other forms of abusive conduct, including discrimination, abuse of authority, and harassment. To uphold these standards, background checks are conducted for all final candidates to help ensure that individuals with a history of such conduct are not hired. By applying for a position with UNOPS, candidates acknowledge and consent to these verification processes.
  

• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post. 
• For retainer contracts, you must complete a few mandatory courses (they take around 4 hours to complete) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS. Refreshers or new mandatory courses may be required during your contract. Please note that you will not receive any compensation for taking courses and refreshers. For more information on a retainer contract here. 
• For more details about the contract types, please click here.
• All UNOPS personnel are responsible for performing their duties in accordance with the UN Charter and UNOPS Policies and Instructions, as well as other relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, all personnel must demonstrate an understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a manner consistent with UN core values and the UN Common Agenda. 
• It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential personnel. Recruitment in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.