How you can make a difference:

UNFPA is the lead UN agency for delivering a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person’s potential is fulfilled. UNFPA’s strategic plan (2022-2025), reaffirms the relevance of the current strategic direction of UNFPA and focuses on three transformative results: to end preventable maternal deaths; end unmet need for family planning; and end gender-based violence and harmful practices. These results capture our strategic commitments on accelerating progress towards realizing the ICPD and SDGs in the Decade of Action leading up to 2030. Our strategic plan calls upon UN Member States, organizations and individuals to “build forward better”, while addressing the negative impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on women’s and girls’ access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights, recover lost gains and realize our goals.

In a world where fundamental human rights are at risk, we need principled and ethical staff, who embody these international norms and standards, and who will defend them courageously and with full conviction.

UNFPA is seeking candidates that transform, inspire and deliver high impact and sustained results; we need staff who are transparent, exceptional in how they manage the resources entrusted to them and who commit to deliver excellence in programme results.

Job Purpose:

The operational environment under de facto authority (DfA) remains challenging and disruptive for UNFPA program implementation. The interference by local DfA, continues to pose challenges to the resilience of UNFPA program delivery and its implementing partners. Given these challenges, the consultancy aims to strengthen UNFPA’s humanitarian access support in the regions by recruiting a Regional Access Officer. The officer will leverage their knowledge of regional political, cultural, and social dynamics to ensure UNFPA operations align with humanitarian principles, foster community acceptance, and support navigating local DfA dynamics.

The Regional Access Officer will play a crucial role in supporting the Area Offices by i) facilitating engagements with local authorities and implementing partners and, ii) monitoring access and providing critical contextual information to ensure UNFPA’s sensitive services are delivered safely and effectively.

Additionally, the Regional Access Officer will enhance UNFPA’s Afghanistan capacity to respond to emerging challenges by maintaining needed engagement with local communities and authorities.

Scope of work:

The Regional Access Officer ensures the smooth and effective management of UNFPA’s Afghanistan humanitarian access, focusing on maintaining continuity in UNFPA programming. The Regional Access Officer works closely with UNFPA Afghanistan central and regional security Heads of Field and Area offices, partners, and other key stakeholders. S/he will lead strategic guidance on regional access trend analysis and troubleshooting best local practices to optimize service delivery and program implementation while addressing and reporting barriers to safe access in alignment with the humanitarian principles.

The Regional Access Officer will report directly to the Humanitarian Access Specialist and work in close coordination with the Humanitarian Coordinator.

UNFPA Afghanistan is looking for a roving position with bases in Kabul traveling to Kandahar, Jalalabad and Herat covering the West, North, South and Southeast, East and Northeast regions upon request. The position requires frequent travel within assigned regions with occasional travel to other parts of the country when necessary.

You would be responsible for:

Humanitarian Access Framework:

● Guiding, supporting and implementing UNFPA’s access framework, ensuring alignment with humanitarian principles, local context, and operational needs.

Stakeholder Engagement:

• Establishing and maintaining working relationships with de facto local authorities, implementing partners, and other stakeholders to ensure effective access.

Training & Dissemination:

• Assist in organizing UNFPA Afghanistan training events, meetings, seminars and workshops on humanitarian access and principled engagement.
• Contributing to the development of knowledge products in relation to humanitarian access in the country office.

Monitoring & Reporting:

• Leading regional and local level trend analysis, synthesizing access reports, and presenting timely and relevant updates to the Head of Area Offices, Heads of Programme and the UNFPA Afghanistan Access Specialist.
• Ensure reporting through the UNFPA Access Reporting Mechanism, Access Reporting Mechanism Framework (ARMF) and Regional Access Working Group (RAWG).

Mitigation & Problem-Solving:

• Identifying access barriers and participating in meetings with stakeholders to mitigate these challenges.

Risk Management:

• Collaborating with the UNFPA regional security to assess and mitigate security risks related to humanitarian access.

Coordination:

• Regularly convene coordination meetings with UNFPA Filed offices, implementing partners, and UNFPA Access Specialist to ensure consistent reporting and address troubleshooting needs.
• Participate in and backstop the Head of Area Offices in the Regional Humanitarian Access Working Groups (RAWG) to ensure alignment and coordination on access issues across the designated region.
• Liaise with regional staff and partners to resolve operational access issues and ensure smooth collaboration across all relevant actors.
• Perform any other duty or task as required by the Head of the Area Office or Humanitarian Access Specialist.

Qualifications and Experience:

Education:

Master’s degree in social science, International Studies, religious studies or a related field is required. In lieu of a Master’s degree, a Bachelor’s degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be considered.

Knowledge and Experience:

At least 2 years of relevant experience in humanitarian programming, crisis management, humanitarian access or other related fields. Experience in humanitarian coordination is highly desirable. Previous experience working with UN or INGOs is an asset.

Required Competencies:

Humanitarian Access Knowledge: Understanding of international humanitarian law and principles (neutrality, impartiality, operational independence and do no harm) with experience in humanitarian access negotiations.

Stakeholder Engagement: Ability to establish relationships with local authorities, community leaders, and other stakeholders to facilitate access in an Islamic religious discourse.

Risk Assessment & Crisis Management: Skills in security risk assessment and managing access-related crises.

Problem-Solving & Negotiation: Capacity to address operational challenges and negotiate access in complex environments with experience in Afghanistan.

Monitoring & Reporting: Ability to collect, analyze, report and follow-up on access-related issues on a timely basis.

Language: Fluid in English (both verbal and written), Pashto and Dari.

Place where services are to be delivered: Herat, Kandahar & Jalalabad and regions related to their area of responsibility.

UNFPA Work Environment:

UNFPA provides a work environment that reflects the values of gender equality, diversity, integrity and healthy work-life balance. We are committed to ensuring gender parity in the organization and therefore encourage women to apply. Individuals from the LGBTQIA+ community, minority ethnic groups, indigenous populations, persons with disabilities, and other underrepresented groups are highly encouraged to apply. UNFPA promotes equal opportunities in terms of appointment, training, compensation and selection for all regardless of personal characteristics and dimensions of diversity. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is at the heart of UNFPA’s workforce – click here to learn more.

Disclaimer:

Selection and appointment may be subject to background and reference checks, medical clearance, visa issuance and other administrative requirements.

UNFPA does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process and does not concern itself with information on applicants’ bank accounts.

Applicants for positions in the international Professional and higher categories, who hold permanent resident status in a country other than their country of nationality, may be required to renounce such status upon their appointment.