INFORMATION MANAGEMENT OFFICER, Mogadishu

INFORMATION MANAGEMENT OFFICER - UNOCHA (OPEN TO SOMALI NATIONALS ONLY)

Location: Mogadishu, SOMALIA Application Deadline : 21-Nov-12 Type of Contract : FTA Local Post Level : NO-B Languages Required :

English   Duration of Initial Contract : One year Expected Duration of Assignment : One year (with possibility of renewal)  

Background

Somalia has recently undergone intense conflict between the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and the Union of Islamic Courts (ICU), the second such confrontation within six months. The country has endured fifteen years of armed conflict and generalized violence, which has resulted in widespread human rights abuses, the destruction of public infrastructure, and the disintegration of basic health and social services.

Overall the humanitarian situation for vulnerable civilians remains dire. Somalis continue to flee insecurity, particularly in the south and central parts of the country. While approximately 35,000 Somalis crossed into Kenya in 2006, there are at least protracted 400,000 IDPs, with 250,000 alone in Mogadishu. IDPs remain an especially vulnerable group, particularly those who come from historically discriminated minority clans and ethnic groups. The response of OCHA, the IASC Country Team and the international community to natural disasters and chronic political instability has been a mix of humanitarian and recovery/transitional initiatives that seek to:

·         Save lives, alleviate suffering and increase access to basic humanitarian services for populations at risk and strengthen their resilience to better withstand natural or conflict related disasters;

·         Enhance the protection of, and respect for, the human rights and dignity of affected populations; and

·         Strengthen local capacity for social service delivery and response to natural or conflict-related disaster.

Given the challenging and worrying context of Somalia, OCHA will continue to play a key role to support the HC in the mobilization and coordination of an effective and principled humanitarian response. OCHA is particularly concerned that vulnerable communities and those at risk from natural disasters and conflict receive humanitarian assistance and protection, which meet their assessed needs and enable them to rebuild sustainable livelihoods. Under the leadership of the UN Humanitarian/Resident Coordinator for Somalia, OCHA maintains an office in Nairobi and a strong field presence inside Somalia; the primary objectives of OCHA Somalia include the following activities and objectives:

·         Advocate for access to basic services, especially water, sanitation, education and health for vulnerable communities, including collection, analysis and dissemination of information and negotiation of access;

·         Coordinate the implementation of humanitarian response in Somalia with UN agencies and programmes, national and international NGOs and local authorities/communities as appropriate with focus on strengthening the Cluster Approach;

·         Enhance a protective environment that respects the human rights of all, including IDPs, returnees and minority clans;

·         Support to the HC in the management of the Humanitarian Response Fund (HRF)   and   the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF).

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the overall supervision of the Head of Information Management Unit, and in close liaison as necessary with the Regional Information Management Unit, Nairobi and Field Information Support Unit, New York, the Information Management Officer (IMO) will be responsible for the following:

Summary of Key Functions:

·         Data Collection and Analysis

·         Document Management and Information Standards

·         Dissemination of Information

·         Mapping by providing GIS support

Data Collection and Analysis

·         Support the Office in the collection of relevant information and data from key humanitarian partners, including representatives of national governments, UN agencies, donors, local and international NGOs, in order to facilitate and maximize the exchange of information and data between humanitarian partners, and support the creation of appropriate information products for decision-making and humanitarian response.

·         Promote the collection and collation of baseline datasets. Compile and disseminate these, in particular demographic and vulnerability data, in different formats (including GIS).

Document Management and Information Standards

·         Establish and maintain appropriate record-keeping and document-archiving systems, including implementation of the OCHA Field Information Management System (FiDMS) and managing system back-up, upgrades and migration, as needed, for digital archives databases. 

·         Provide support, training and advice to relevant staff and records-creating office on use of the record-keeping and document archiving systems, the use of meta-data standards, records accession and disposition.

·         Maintain databases based on existing HIC/FIS templates (or develop if necessary, including user-friendly menu access and reports) to support humanitarian operations. Core databases include: Who does What Where, Contacts, affected populations, photograph and map archives.

·         Ensure the implementation, where appropriate, of OCHA standardized information management tools, including document management systems, databases, and standardized websites. 

·         Maintain databases based on existing HIC/FIS templates (or develop if necessary, including user-friendly menu access and reports) to support humanitarian operations. Core databases include: Who does What Where, Contacts, affected populations, photograph and map archives.

·         Provide support in the development of databases to support the collection and processing of context specific data (e.g.: affected population, displaced populations, demographic and vulnerability data, results of common rapid needs assessment etc.

Dissemination of Information

·         Support the Office in the creation and maintenance of the OCHA Somalia website, in accordance with the OCHA standard template.

·         Prepare and maintain inventories of the information management systems, tools and products of the OCHA office and, where possible. of other key humanitarian partners and perform and supervise reference functions by advising internal and external users on holdings and accessibility, and assisting in the administration of access and declassification activities.

Mapping By Providing GIS Support

·         Provide GIS support to the office in general and assist in the development of appropriate maps and infographic products to support humanitarian decision-making and reflect humanitarian response. Support the maintenance of an inventory of OCHA-produced maps and, where possible, those available from other humanitarian partners.

Impact of Results 

The IMO will be expected to implement OCHA’s Field Information Management Strategy under the leadership of the Head of Office. He/she will work closely with the Information Unit and be expected to provide direct support to OCHA Offices in the adoption and use of field information management applications and procedures, particularly the standardised Content Management System, the Who does What Where/ Contact Directory, the OCHA GeoNetwork and the Field Document Management System. He/she will also contribute to the development and improvement of field information management procedures at the local and regional levels to ensure that information management in the field functions efficiently and provides the best possible functionality and usability to FIS clients and stakeholders. Furthermore, given that Somalia is now one of four countries rolling out the cluster approach, the IMO Officer will be expected to coordinate and support information management in the clusters, including a central Who does What Where, exchange of information and reporting. Some field travel will be required.

Where necessary, assist the Unit head in direct supervision of GIS and database experts working directly on information management activities. Perform other duties as required.

Competencies

Functional Competencies:          

Advocacy/Advancing A Policy-Oriented Agenda

·         Identifies and communicates relevant information for a variety of audiences for advocating

Results-Based Programme Development and Management

·         Assesses project performance to identify success factors and incorporates best practices into project work

·         Researches linkages across programme activities to identify critical points of integration

·         Monitors specific stages of projects/programme implementation

Building Strategic Partnerships

·         Maintains an established network of contacts for general information sharing and to remain up-to-date on partnership related issues

·         Analyzes and selects materials for strengthening strategic alliances with partners and stakeholders

Innovation and Marketing New Approaches

·         Generates new ideas and proposes new, more effective ways of doing things

Resource Mobilization (Field Duty Stations)

·         Analyzes information/databases on potential and actual donors

Promoting Organizational Learning and Knowledge Sharing

·         Generates new ideas and approaches, researches best practices and proposes new, more effective ways of doing things

Job Knowledge/Technical Expertise

·         Understands and applies fundamental concepts and principles of a professional discipline or technical specialilty relating to the position

·         Possesses basic knowledge of organizational policies and procedures relating to the position and applies them consistently in work tasks

·         Strives to keep job knowledge up-to-date through self-directed study and other means of learning

·         Demonstrates good knowledge of information technology and applies it in work assignments

Global Leadership and Advocacy for UNOCHA

·         Identifies and communicates relevant information for advocacy for UNOCHA’s goals for a variety of audiences

Client Orientation

·         Researches potential solutions to internal and external client needs and reports back in a timely, succinct and appropriate fashion

·         Organizes and prioritizes work schedule to meet client needs and deadlines

Core Competencies:

·         Demonstrating/safeguarding ethics and integrity 

·         Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment

·         Self-development, initiative-taking

·         Acting as a team player and facilitating team work

·         Facilitating and encouraging open communication in the team, communicating effectively

·         Creating synergies through self-control

·         Managing conflict

·         Learning and sharing knowledge and encourage the learning of others. Promoting learning and knowledge management/sharing is the responsibility of each staff member.

·         Informed and transparent decision making

Required Skills and Experience

Education:          

·         A Master’s degree or equivalent in political science, economics, statistics, information management or a related discipline with 2 years of experience.

·         A first level university degree with a combination of relevant academic qualifications and experience or other related field may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree with 4 years of experience.

Experience:       

·         Relevant professional experience, preferably in humanitarian/development work with demonstrated written and oral communication skills, including substantive analysis and report writing.

·         Experience in data processing, analysis and mapping utilizing popular statistical and mapping software packages (e.g ArcGIS, Google Earth, SPSS, etc.)

·         Experience with graphic/publishing software (preferably Adobe Suite).

Language Requirements:            

·         Fluency in English and Somali

·         Knowledge of Arabic is desirable.

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.