There are currently more than one million Syrian refugees registered with UNHCR in Lebanon, which makes Lebanon the highest refugee-hosting country per capita in the world. There are no approved camps in the country, and refugees are living in more than 1,700 locations across the country. The refugee response is led by the Government and local actors, supported by the international community.
As the designated lead agency in the refugee response, UNHCR has established a sector-based structure in Beirut and in the field. The structure brings together over 100 UN agencies, national and international NGO partners in identifying and agreeing on the strategic priorities to address the needs of Syrian refugees and other affected populations. The Lebanon national response falls under the Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan (3RP), whereby UNHCR guides the refugee response and UNDP facilitates the resilience and stabilization component.
The UNHCR operational response in Lebanon is the largest for the organization. Media attention and the frequency of influential high-profile visitors is high. The Office are located in Beirut, Zahle, Tripoli, Tyre, and Qobayat.
The shelter strategy is guided by the principle of enabling refugees to access and live in dignity in secure settlements. UNHCR as the principle shelter donor is committed to funding partners to ensure full coverage of shelter provision to Syrian refugees residing in informal settlements as the most vulnerable group, and advocates for the provision of significant funding assistance to target the highly and severely socioeconomic and shelter vulnerable households residing in sub-standard buildings.
The shelter sector North is driven by strong shelter partners with expertise in effective shelter solutions, namely; Save the Children, Concern Worldwide, Norwegian Refugee Council, Danish Refugee Council, Solidarites Int. and PU-AMI, with support from ICRC, Acted and UN-Habitat.
The Senior Shelter Assistant will assist in the implementation of the Shelter component of UNHCR programme as well as the coordination of the shelter sector at field level in the T5 districts.
The Senior Shelter Assistant position is based in Tripoli and will report directly to the UNHCR Assistant Shelter Officer in Tripoli. This position will not have supervisory responsibility.
Accountability (key results that will be achieved)
UNHCR Office has sufficient service support in the field of shelter thus better able to address technical issues related to shelter projects and meet the needs of persons of concern.
Responsibility (process and functions undertaken to achieve results)
Assist the UNHCR Assistant Shelter Officer to implement clear guidance and standards for shelter, including minimum emergency standards to meet basic and essential needs as well as guidance for phased improvement of shelter conditions;
Assist in carrying out technical assessments of the unused or unfinished private and public buildings (i.e. private accommodation /houses/apartments) in priority locations that have been identified by the municipalities and /or the Shelter partners.
Lead assessments of the suitability of housing units in sub-standard buildings for eligibility of weatherproofing works or rehabilitation works by UNHCR shelter partners, inclusive of assessment of proposed bills of quantities, oversight of construction works, monitoring of budgets, and facilitation of discussions with landlords and refugees to ensure that proposed works are in line with needs;
Assist the UNHCR assistant shelter officer in preparing and analysing information for North shelter working group/ sector coordination;
Assist the UNHCR Assistant Shelter officer in carrying out assessments and monitoring mechanism in informal tented settlements for eligibility of shelter assistance undertaken by shelter partners, inclusive of assessment of partners capacity, oversight of distribution activities, monitoring of budgets, and facilitation of discussions with landowners and refugees to ensure that proposed support is in line with needs;
Lead the T5 shelter referral mechanism
Assist in the drafting of UNHCR shelter partnership agreements;
Directly manage UNHCR funded shelter partners in line with partnership agreements inclusive of assisting partners in drafting detailed work plans, chairing and minuting monthly partner progress meetings, acting as shelter focal point for UNHCR funded shelter partners, undertaking regular monitoring visits to plan and assess the progress of the implementation of UNHCR shelter partner works;
Develop and verify any BoQ, execution plan, including defining the scope of works, technical drawings and specifications for internal analysis.
Support supply in the market analysis of locally available construction materials and skills, promoting the use of local capacity as appropriate.
Regularly report on work progress of various activities and preparation of SitRep (weekly and monthly).
Perform other related duties as requested by UNHCR assistant shelter officer
Authority (decisions made in executing responsibilities and to achieve results)
Represent UNHCR in implementation and monitoring of all Shelter activities.
Enforce humanitarian and technical standards, protocols and guidelines.
Liaise and report with sector partners to raise issues, provide feedback.
Participate in monitoring of the implementation of shelter activities.
Application Deadline
Organisation
Salary Range
Unpaid Position
Contract Type
Full Time
Application Submission Guidelines
Interested qualified external persons meeting the requirements of the attached Job Description can apply online through the following website: https://jobs.unhcr-lb.org/ no later than COB 16/10/2017.
Please note that only applications received through the above website will be accepted and no applications will be accepted through email.
Only short-listed candidates will be contacted. UNHCR does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview meeting, processing, training or any other fees). UNHCR strongly encourage qualified female applicants for this position. Shortlisted candidates may be required to sit for written test and/or oral interview.
UNHCR seeks to ensure that male and female employees are given equal career opportunities. UNHCR is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidentiality.
Requires a Cover Letter?
Yes
Education Degree
Masters Degree
Education Degree Details
ESSENTIAL MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS AND PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE REQUIRED.
Define the educational background, the relevant job experience and the language(s) that are essential to perform the work of the position.
Advanced University Degree in architecture, civil/structural engineering or other shelter related field.
Minimum 3 years of relevant working experience, including collaboration with different international organizations (e.g. UN agencies, Red Cross Movement, INGOs, IOs or Donors).
Fluency in Arabic and Englis
Working knowledge of French (written / oral / comprehension) is an asset
DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS & COMPETENCIES.
Describe any experience or knowledge that would be an asset, such as: UNHCR Learning Programmes, other training, additional languages, Field/HQs experience, etc.
Knowledge of UNHCR standards and criteria for shelter, as well as issues related protection, WASH, environment, land property issues etc. will be an asset.
Strong knowledge of construction and particularly rehabilitation and conversion of existing buildings. Any specific additional knowledge about electricity work, water and sanitation system will be an asset.
Experience of site construction management (including supervision, monitoring, quality control, evaluation etc.)
Good knowledge of site surveying and experience in undertaking related topography assessments/ feasibility studies for site identification and environmental impact studies whilst using surveying tools (including GPS equipment, GIS software).
Prior experience in designing and implementing a longer term shelter strategy looking beyond the emergency phase, particularly within a refugee context.
Capacity to work with multi sectorial teams to ensure that relevant issues related to the site/settlements are taken into consideration such as the development/maintenance of various infrastructures required.
Cultural sensitivity to the specific needs of the persons of concern.
Willingness and ability to work in hardship environments.
Computer literacy in MS Office and other relevant drawing software (AutoCAD) to produce layout and technical drawings when necessary.
Define the educational background, the relevant job experience and the language(s) that are essential to perform the work of the position.
Advanced University Degree in architecture, civil/structural engineering or other shelter related field.
Minimum 3 years of relevant working experience, including collaboration with different international organizations (e.g. UN agencies, Red Cross Movement, INGOs, IOs or Donors).
Fluency in Arabic and Englis
Working knowledge of French (written / oral / comprehension) is an asset
DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS & COMPETENCIES.
Describe any experience or knowledge that would be an asset, such as: UNHCR Learning Programmes, other training, additional languages, Field/HQs experience, etc.
Knowledge of UNHCR standards and criteria for shelter, as well as issues related protection, WASH, environment, land property issues etc. will be an asset.
Strong knowledge of construction and particularly rehabilitation and conversion of existing buildings. Any specific additional knowledge about electricity work, water and sanitation system will be an asset.
Experience of site construction management (including supervision, monitoring, quality control, evaluation etc.)
Good knowledge of site surveying and experience in undertaking related topography assessments/ feasibility studies for site identification and environmental impact studies whilst using surveying tools (including GPS equipment, GIS software).
Prior experience in designing and implementing a longer term shelter strategy looking beyond the emergency phase, particularly within a refugee context.
Capacity to work with multi sectorial teams to ensure that relevant issues related to the site/settlements are taken into consideration such as the development/maintenance of various infrastructures required.
Cultural sensitivity to the specific needs of the persons of concern.
Willingness and ability to work in hardship environments.
Computer literacy in MS Office and other relevant drawing software (AutoCAD) to produce layout and technical drawings when necessary.
Arabic
Fluent
English
Fluent
Hide guidelines for wrong answers
No