UN High Commissioner for Refugees Facilitator/Coordinator for CRRF/GCR Conference in Ethiopia

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Facilitator/Coordinator for CRRF/GCR Conference in Ethiopia

Closing date: 25 Aug 2019

The Government of Denmark has approached UNHCR with a proposal to organize a regional CRRF stock taking conference to be hosted by the Government of Ethiopia during the latter half of 2019.

The aim of the conference is to foster cross-national sharing of experiences and identify forwardlooking opportunities for the implementation of the Global Compact on Refugees (GCR) and roll-out of the Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework (CRRF) throughout countries in the Horn and East Africa.

Above all, it is an occasion for national governments at different levels to exchange experiences and ideas on a pre-defined set of themes related to inclusion of refugees in national services, livelihoods, and coordination.

The conference will seek to generate context specific economic and social arguments for how the GCR can be the driver of inclusion between host and refugee communities, through renewed investment in country specific local initiatives.

It will serve as an important opportunity for countries in the region to exchange and prepare in advance of the first Global Refugee Forum on 17-18 December 2019.

It is envisaged that the conference will take place over 2-3 days in October 2019, with a total of about 150 participants. Participants will include national and sub-national government representatives, regional actors, UN, donors, private sector and civil society.

An agreement between UNHCR and the Government of Denmark on roles and responsibilities in organizing the conference has been drafted.

It is envisaged that the two entities will collaborate closely on defining the agenda of the conference, developing the substantive content and gather local best practices, as well as on communications and on the final outcome document.

The Government of Denmark will play a key role in managing administrative and logistical arrangements pertaining to staging the conference in Addis Ababa, including event management, lists of participants, invitations, and related formalities.

UNHCR will work closely on the content of the conference, contributing substantively to the conference themes, facilitate consultations between select UNHCR Representations and national governments within the Eastern Horn of Africa to gather substantive views and inputs, as well as through appropriate channels consult with IGAD.

It is envisaged that several aspects of coordination and a range of consultations will have to be done internally within UNHCR between HQ (DRS, and the GRF team notably), the regional office in Nairobi, and the participating country operations in order to prepare for successful conference outcomes.

Responsibilities

The overall purpose of the consultancy is to support the coordination and facilitation of UNHCR’s input to the conference, liaising with various parts of the organization to produce successful outcomes.

The consultant will report to the Head of External Relations, in close coordination with the CRRF team and Communications focal point.

Specifically, the consultant will:

Act as a principal focal point on behalf of UNHCR to organize the conference.

Work on the overall agenda for the Conference in collaboration with others, including ensuring appointment of designated officials to facilitate individual sessions.

In collaboration with others, prepare the substantive sessions of the conference by producing written inputs/papers, questions, and formats for exchanges.

Facilitate consultations between select UNHCR Representations and national governments within the Eastern Horn of Africa; in consultation with the respective Royal Danish Embassies in the region, to ensure the preparation of local best practices case studies that align to the spirit of the Global Compact on Refugees.

Initiate consultations via the UNHCR Africa Bureau with the IGAD Secretariat to consider the scope of collaboration with this intergovernmental body.

Coordinate with the participating UNHCR country operations in the region on participating delegation, substantive inputs, and – as necessary – logistics (noting that logistics for ensuring attendance of country representatives will be dealt with by respective UNHCR operations at national level).

Prepare, in consultation with others, a joint conference outcome document, highlighting bestpractice, sessions learned, recommendations and conclusions.

Together with communications focal point, ensure production of relevant communications products to support the promotion of the Conference. Produce joint visibility material associated with the convening of the Conference; including banners, rollup posters and folders.

On behalf of UNHCR, seek permission from the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, and follow the necessary administrative procedure once approved, to secure the necessary Conference facilities required to host the planned event.

vWith the support of an IT focal point, oversee the smooth functioning of audio-visual conference services, in coordination with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.

Essential Minimum Qualifications and Experience

Graduate degree in Law/International Law, Political Science, Social Science, Development, Economics, International Relations or related field;

Minimum 8 years of relevant professional experience;

Proven coordination and or networking skills engaging both development and humanitarian actors, familiarity with development and humanitarian processes as well as refugee related issues and protection;

Excellent analytical skills including synthesizing information succinctly;

Ability to work independently and deliver high quality products under pressure;

Strong liaison, coordination and stakeholder engagement and negotiation skills;

Excellent communication skills including ability to communicate and disseminate information effectively to a broad background of stakeholders;

Good drafting skills in English with ability to present information in a concise and coherent manner, using standard word processing packages.

How to Apply:

Interested applicants should submit an updated and signed Personal History Form (PHF) to ethadhr@unhcr.org indicating “Facilitator/Coordinator for CRRF/GCR Conference in Ethiopia” in the subject of the email no later than Friday, 25 August 2019.