UNOPS

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 Occupied Palestinian Territory (oPt) is one of the most complex and challenging environments in which the United Nations operates. Access challenges, including movement restrictions, differ greatly across the oPt, primarily due to the range of political, administrative and security measures implemented by Israeli, Egyptian, Jordanian, and Palestinian authorities. Restrictions on the access of goods and  the movement of people are severe, widespread, costly, and difficult to overcome. These restrictions increase the impoverishment and vulnerability of Palestinians within the oPt, and directly impede humanitarian and development operations. 

UNOPS supports both humanitarian response and early recovery in Gaza. Currently, UNOPS support in Gaza focuses on key humanitarian enablers, including on access, via the Security Council-mandated UN 2720 Mechanism and the Access Support Unit (ASU), humanitarian fuel and energy, and mine action. Operations are envisaged to continue in the coming period with a focus in line with the UNOPS mandate: (i) infrastructure construction and rehabilitation, (ii) procurement and (iii) project management.

Acces Support Unit (ASU)

The ASU is an inter-agency project under the overall leadership of the UN Deputy Special Coordinator (DSC) / Resident Coordinator (RC) / Humanitarian Coordinator (HC), working with UNSCO and UNOCHA, and administered by UNOPS. ASU provides services to UN, NGOs, and Diplomatic delegations with the objective to: “Ameliorate the delivery of humanitarian and development assistance and advance the protection of civilians, by developing a centralized, pro-active, and sustainable access strategy for the movement of humanitarian and development personnel and access of goods/materials/equipments, while providing hands-on facilitation, advice and support to goods access and people movement.” 

ASU’s key functions are:

• Supporting DSC/RC/HC advocacy efforts on movement of people and access of goods in OPT

Under the overall political leadership of UNSCO/OCHA, the ASU assists the DSC/RC/HC in preparation of the high-level political advocacy and discussions with the parties that contribute to an easing of restrictions on access and movement in the Gaza strip and the West Bank.

• Facilitating the movement of people

The ASU engages in and supports access negotiations and advocacy in relation to the movement of humanitarian and development personnel and coordinates the implementation of mechanisms agreed with the relevant parties. Hands on advice and support is provided to help navigate access and movement restrictions in the field.

Particularly, the ASU provides the support to the Movement of Humanitarian Personnel by facilitating staff rotations into and out of Gaza, (re-)entry into the country, supporting applications for crossing in and out of Gaza (both on the Israeli and the Palestinian side) and into East Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank, and intervening when issues arise at checkpoints, crossings (including in the West Bank) or international borders. 

• Facilitating the access of goods and materials

Prior to the outbreak of hostilities between Israel and Palestinian armed groups in Gaza in October 2023, the access of so-called “dual use” goods, materials and equipment for humanitarian, reconstruction and, development projects and the private sector was facilitated by the ASU through implementation of the Gaza Reconstruction Mechanism (GRM), a tripartite agreement between the Government of Israel, the Palestinian Authority and the UN established in 2014 in the aftermath of the Gaza conflict. 

Although, since October 2023, the GRM has been put on hold until the parameters for post-conflict reconstruction are known, the ASU team in Gaza adapted quickly to the emerging needs and has been supporting monitoring entry of fuel for the humanitarian response  and facilitating the entrance of Critical Humanitarian Items (CHIs) needed by different humanitarian clusters

Under the overall strategic and technical guidance of Deputy Special Coordinator (DSC)/Resident Coordinator (RC)/Humanitarian Coordinator (HC) and direct technical supervision of the Chief of Coordination unit and Head of RCO (UNSCO), the Head of CMCoord and Access (OCHA), reporting to the UNOPS Head of programme, the ASU Coordinator will be responsible for the operational aspects of the ASU.

The core ASU Coordinator tasks include supervision of the operations related to the ASU

Required

• Master’s degree (or equivalent)preferably in political/social science or international relations, Project Management, Business Administration, Political/Security/Development Studies, Public Administration, Anthropology, Law, Economics or other relevant discipline with 7 years of relevant experience is required

Desired

• Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) preferably in political/social science or international relations, Project Management, Business Administration, Political/Security/Development Studies, Public Administration, Anthropology, Law, Economics or other relevant discipline with 9 years of relevant experience OR

• Other pertinent qualifications in other related skills such as negotiations are an advantage.   

Required

• Experience in team management, preferably in a humanitarian/development and security context. 

• Prior experience in access negotiations or civil military coordination that involves different parties in a similar context is required. 

• Excellent skills in project management, results monitoring as well as stakeholders and team management, preferably in a humanitarian/development context with  extensive security considerations is required. 

Desired

• Experience of working in multicultural environments or UN system organizations in a developing country is desired.

• Five years in dealing with access issues (goods and people), preferably in the UN environment similar to Israel and the oPt is an added advantage. 

• Experience in development or humanitarian contexts is desired.

• Demonstrated experience and exposure in the international arena dealing with security-related issues is an added value. 

• Demonstrated knowledge of UN policies, procedures and operations is desirable

• capacity of resources mobilisation and financial management  is desirable

• 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.