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OCHA-CMCoord Officer-P3/P4-Beirut, Lebanon (with field travel)
Beirut, LebanonPosition Title: Civil-Military Coordination Officer
Receiving Agency: OCHA
P Level: P3/P4
Location: Beirut, Lebanon
Duration: 6 months (October 31st end date)
Language: English, Arabic is an asset
Receiving Agency: OCHA
P Level: P3/P4
Location: Beirut, Lebanon
Duration: 6 months (October 31st end date)
Language: English, Arabic is an asset
ROLE REQUIREMENTS:
Main tasks and duties to be executed (specify precisely in a maximum of 10 bullet points):
The standby partner Access/CMCoord Officer will serve as an operational focal point for implementation of the HCT Access and CMCoord strategy at sub-national level, as outlined by the RC/HC and HCT, through the OCHA Head of Office.
Main tasks and duties to be executed (specify precisely in a maximum of 10 bullet points):
The standby partner Access/CMCoord Officer will serve as an operational focal point for implementation of the HCT Access and CMCoord strategy at sub-national level, as outlined by the RC/HC and HCT, through the OCHA Head of Office.
- Support the Head of Office/Head of Sub-Office and Access/CMCoord Officer in developing operational strategies to navigate access constraints, utilize access enablers, and expand the operational space for humanitarian actors in Lebanon, aligning with overarching coordination efforts.
- Support the participatory revision and operationalization of the Lebanon HCT Access Strategy and related frameworks, ensuring inclusivity of all relevant stakeholders on issues pertinent to South Lebanon.
- Contribute to the development and implementation of contextualized humanitarian access practices, standards, mechanisms, and tools, including but not limited to, Joint Operating Principles and Access Monitoring and Reporting Frameworks, under the established OCHA guidelines led by the national level AWG & Access team.
- Provide support in coordinating the Humanitarian Access Working Group (HAWG) activities, enhancing its role in informing strategic decision-making related to humanitarian access and CMCoord.
- Develop and strengthen necessary linkages with Access and CMCoord focal points within humanitarian organizations, national and local authorities, Lebanese security institutions, and UN agencies, facilitating effective coordination and collaboration on a sub-national level.
- Support monitoring and analysis of geopolitical and country-specific developments that could impact humanitarian operations and access in Lebanon, contributing to informed collective response strategies.
- Support scenario development and early warning analysis to enhance collective preparedness and contingency planning for potential emergencies.
- Support the updating of CMCoord guidelines and related mechanisms to foster principled dialogue with military and other key actors, aiming to improve humanitarian access, guided by strategic coordination efforts.
- Contribute information and analysis for updating OCHA’s access-related products, ensuring they reflect the latest trends and developments in humanitarian access issues.
- Draft reports, presentations, and advocacy materials on humanitarian access issues and trends, supporting OCHA efforts to communicate challenges and progress in coordination meetings and forums.
- Perform other duties as may be requested by the OCHA Head of Office, Deputy Head of Office and/or the Access/CMCoord Officer.
Expected outcome of the deployment (detail in bullet point form the anticipated achievements and added value expected from the deployment):
- Expanded humanitarian access for affected populations in areas impacted by the escalation of conflict in Southern Lebanon is facilitated via a well-functioning CMCoord Cell and Access Working Group at national and sub-national levels.
- The Humanitarian Notification System (HNS) in Lebanon is established, maintained and provides effective notification and deconfliction for priority humanitarian activities in the AOR.
- Humanitarian, civilian government and military partners are trained on and comply with / support UNCMCoord principles, concepts and modalities in the AOR
Specific required skills (languages, experience, ability to work remotely/as a singleton, soft skills, etc.):
- Previous experience in humanitarian civil-military coordination in a complex emergency and/or in a UN peacekeeping mission setting, preferably with OCHA, is required.
- Proficiency in English is required; working level Arabic is desirable.
- Capacity to work in stressful and hazardous environment is required.
- Experience in humanitarian affairs, inter-agency coordination and humanitarian access issues is required.
- Experience in Middle East countries and in Lebanon in particular is desirable.
- Good writing and reporting skills is required.
OPERATIONAL ENVIRONMENT:
Brief description of emergency outbreak/upsurge and the consequences for OCHA:
Since 8 October 2023, continued and increasing exchanges of fire at the Lebanese southern border between armed groups and Israel have been recorded. The tension along the Israel-Lebanon border has escalated during the past weeks, marked by heightened military actions, including targeted attacks against armed groups beyond southern borderlines. As of 6 February 2024, 87,161 individuals (52 percent females) have been displaced from south Lebanon due to the ongoing hostilities along the Blue Line, while an estimated 60,000 people remain in frontline localities. As of 6 February, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) has reported a total of 171 killed and 771 people wounded. At least 26 confirmed civilian deaths have been reported. Some 80 per cent of IDPs are currently living with host families, while 15 per cent are renting houses. Another four per cent have relocated to secondary residences. Around two per cent are housed in 18 collective shelters.
Humanitarian partners continue to face access challenges in southern Lebanon, such as increased interference by de facto authorities citing security measures and restricted access to conflict-prone border regions within the 10- 15-kilometer buffer zone. These challenges are exacerbated by road closures and supplier reluctance in transporting goods to certain areas, resulting in a supplier-to-supplier transfer increasing prices and duration. The districts of Marjaayoun, Bent Jbeil, Tyr, and Hasbaya, also continue to witness an acute shortage in service provision, namely health care, electricity, education, as well as the availability of fuel. Additionally, the socioeconomic vulnerability of communities in hard-to-reach areas, where many rely on agriculture, is worsened by the ongoing conflict increasing the number of people in need of assistance.
The humanitarian community remains concerned regarding instances of discrimination against Syrians, including denial of access to collective shelters, as well as ongoing restrictive measures that risk impacting freedom of movement, employment, and ability to rent property. Dialogue continues with government officials on these matters, including ensuring the principle of non-discrimination within the response is upheld.
On 7 February, UNRWA warned that the organization will no longer have funding as of the end of February, adding that operations would come to a halt during March. This will affect 250,000 Palestine refugees in Lebanon who could lose access to lifesaving services, including 27,000 Palestine Refugees from Syria, which UNRWA considers among the most vulnerable Palestinians in Lebanon.
Brief surge need justification (including why the post is urgent and why current/other OCHA capacity cannot cope/does not apply):
The escalation of conflict in Southern Lebanon following the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October 2023 and the start of war in Gaza has triggered increasing exchanges between Hezbollah and the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF), displacing tens of thousands of Lebanese even as other communities, including refugees and migrants remain in hard-to-reach areas in frontline locations. As a result, OCHA has established a temporary presence (sub-office) in Tyre, Lebanon, to provide enhanced humanitarian coordination of emergency response and preparedness in the area of operations south of the Litani River (SLR). In the initial months of the response phase, OCHA has mobilized internal surge capacity to establish the sub-national presence and support sub-national operational coordination as well as reinforced work on humanitarian access and civil-military coordination at national and sub-national levels. Given the intensive engagement required to deliver on its mandate for humanitarian access and CMCoord and in view of the increasing scope of this work in additional geographic areas, particularly eastern Lebanon (Bekaa and Baalbek), reinforcing the existing CMCoord/Access function at national and subnational level in the coming months, until such time as de-escalation is achieved and recovery can commence, is essential.
OCHA’s role and key challenges:
Lebanon is experiencing a constantly evolving multi-layered crisis which is exacerbating long-term structural vulnerabilities, reversing previously made development gains, and leading to acute and increasingly visible humanitarian needs among the most vulnerable populations. Since 2019, the country has been going through a complex governance, economic and financial crisis, further deepened by a political deadlock, a steady deterioration of social stability and systems, and additional internal and external shocks. The massive 2020 Beirut port explosions, the summer 2021 fuel crisis and the cholera outbreak in the country highlighted the deeply rooted unfolding crisis and worsening needs. Global and regional developments, including the COVID-19 outbreak and the impact of the Ukraine crisis and global economic deterioration, further impacted on the situation. Additionally, Lebanon continues to manage the spill-over from the Syrian crisis and hosts the largest number of refugees per-capita in the world. While Syrian communities continue to be largely welcomed, antagonistic sentiments, public institutions’ decisions and statements regarding refugees have been further increasing as the society struggles to adjust to the rapidly evolving context and the growing humanitarian needs among its residents.
In this context, OCHA’s focus is to promote and support the coordinated response in Lebanon in line with the vision and leadership and the RC/HC and HCT. In 2024, a unified planning framework, the Lebanon Response Plan (LRP) aims to address humanitarian needs in a way that promotes stability and progress towards sustainable development goals. OCHA will support the maintenance of accountability lines to the Humanitarian Coordinator and the Humanitarian Country team through its engagement in the LRP coordination mechanisms, while focusing its capacity on strengthening operational coordination, including on access and CMCoord, as well as more robust collective advocacy to support resource mobilization.
Main partners and stakeholders in the field:
LAF and UNIFIL, sector lead and co-lead organizations, Lebanon Humanitarian INGO Forum (LHIF) and membership, Lebanon Humanitarian and Development NGO Forum (LHDF) and members, Lebanese Red Cross (LRC), Government agencies.
What is the staffing plan to continue the work (if applicable) of the deployee, after the surge support period?:
The SBP is requested for an initial period of 6 months, renewable depending on the evolving situation in Lebanon. Should elevated operational coordination, CMCoord and Access requirements persist beyond 2024, the current office structure will be reviewed and adjusted accordingly
Will other surge resources be requested? If so, through which mechanism? (SBPP, internal surge, ASP, ProCap/GenCap, or other):
Two SBPs – a coordination generalist and an Access/CMCoord expert – have recently been deployed 6 months, based in the Tyre sub-office. This third SBP request for a second Access/CMCoord expert is for the deployment of an expert to support humanitarian access/CMCoord work in other parts of the country, particularly eastern Lebanon (Bekaa and Baalbek).
What is the approximate percentage of time spent on duty travel and to which locations? (if duty travel within the country/region is expected, all associated costs are to be covered by the requesting OCHA office):
The SBP position will be based in Beirut, with frequent travel to the field, including Bekaa, Baalbek and Southern Lebanon, expected.
Since 8 October 2023, continued and increasing exchanges of fire at the Lebanese southern border between armed groups and Israel have been recorded. The tension along the Israel-Lebanon border has escalated during the past weeks, marked by heightened military actions, including targeted attacks against armed groups beyond southern borderlines. As of 6 February 2024, 87,161 individuals (52 percent females) have been displaced from south Lebanon due to the ongoing hostilities along the Blue Line, while an estimated 60,000 people remain in frontline localities. As of 6 February, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) has reported a total of 171 killed and 771 people wounded. At least 26 confirmed civilian deaths have been reported. Some 80 per cent of IDPs are currently living with host families, while 15 per cent are renting houses. Another four per cent have relocated to secondary residences. Around two per cent are housed in 18 collective shelters.
Humanitarian partners continue to face access challenges in southern Lebanon, such as increased interference by de facto authorities citing security measures and restricted access to conflict-prone border regions within the 10- 15-kilometer buffer zone. These challenges are exacerbated by road closures and supplier reluctance in transporting goods to certain areas, resulting in a supplier-to-supplier transfer increasing prices and duration. The districts of Marjaayoun, Bent Jbeil, Tyr, and Hasbaya, also continue to witness an acute shortage in service provision, namely health care, electricity, education, as well as the availability of fuel. Additionally, the socioeconomic vulnerability of communities in hard-to-reach areas, where many rely on agriculture, is worsened by the ongoing conflict increasing the number of people in need of assistance.
The humanitarian community remains concerned regarding instances of discrimination against Syrians, including denial of access to collective shelters, as well as ongoing restrictive measures that risk impacting freedom of movement, employment, and ability to rent property. Dialogue continues with government officials on these matters, including ensuring the principle of non-discrimination within the response is upheld.
On 7 February, UNRWA warned that the organization will no longer have funding as of the end of February, adding that operations would come to a halt during March. This will affect 250,000 Palestine refugees in Lebanon who could lose access to lifesaving services, including 27,000 Palestine Refugees from Syria, which UNRWA considers among the most vulnerable Palestinians in Lebanon.
Brief surge need justification (including why the post is urgent and why current/other OCHA capacity cannot cope/does not apply):
The escalation of conflict in Southern Lebanon following the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October 2023 and the start of war in Gaza has triggered increasing exchanges between Hezbollah and the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF), displacing tens of thousands of Lebanese even as other communities, including refugees and migrants remain in hard-to-reach areas in frontline locations. As a result, OCHA has established a temporary presence (sub-office) in Tyre, Lebanon, to provide enhanced humanitarian coordination of emergency response and preparedness in the area of operations south of the Litani River (SLR). In the initial months of the response phase, OCHA has mobilized internal surge capacity to establish the sub-national presence and support sub-national operational coordination as well as reinforced work on humanitarian access and civil-military coordination at national and sub-national levels. Given the intensive engagement required to deliver on its mandate for humanitarian access and CMCoord and in view of the increasing scope of this work in additional geographic areas, particularly eastern Lebanon (Bekaa and Baalbek), reinforcing the existing CMCoord/Access function at national and subnational level in the coming months, until such time as de-escalation is achieved and recovery can commence, is essential.
OCHA’s role and key challenges:
Lebanon is experiencing a constantly evolving multi-layered crisis which is exacerbating long-term structural vulnerabilities, reversing previously made development gains, and leading to acute and increasingly visible humanitarian needs among the most vulnerable populations. Since 2019, the country has been going through a complex governance, economic and financial crisis, further deepened by a political deadlock, a steady deterioration of social stability and systems, and additional internal and external shocks. The massive 2020 Beirut port explosions, the summer 2021 fuel crisis and the cholera outbreak in the country highlighted the deeply rooted unfolding crisis and worsening needs. Global and regional developments, including the COVID-19 outbreak and the impact of the Ukraine crisis and global economic deterioration, further impacted on the situation. Additionally, Lebanon continues to manage the spill-over from the Syrian crisis and hosts the largest number of refugees per-capita in the world. While Syrian communities continue to be largely welcomed, antagonistic sentiments, public institutions’ decisions and statements regarding refugees have been further increasing as the society struggles to adjust to the rapidly evolving context and the growing humanitarian needs among its residents.
In this context, OCHA’s focus is to promote and support the coordinated response in Lebanon in line with the vision and leadership and the RC/HC and HCT. In 2024, a unified planning framework, the Lebanon Response Plan (LRP) aims to address humanitarian needs in a way that promotes stability and progress towards sustainable development goals. OCHA will support the maintenance of accountability lines to the Humanitarian Coordinator and the Humanitarian Country team through its engagement in the LRP coordination mechanisms, while focusing its capacity on strengthening operational coordination, including on access and CMCoord, as well as more robust collective advocacy to support resource mobilization.
Main partners and stakeholders in the field:
LAF and UNIFIL, sector lead and co-lead organizations, Lebanon Humanitarian INGO Forum (LHIF) and membership, Lebanon Humanitarian and Development NGO Forum (LHDF) and members, Lebanese Red Cross (LRC), Government agencies.
What is the staffing plan to continue the work (if applicable) of the deployee, after the surge support period?:
The SBP is requested for an initial period of 6 months, renewable depending on the evolving situation in Lebanon. Should elevated operational coordination, CMCoord and Access requirements persist beyond 2024, the current office structure will be reviewed and adjusted accordingly
Will other surge resources be requested? If so, through which mechanism? (SBPP, internal surge, ASP, ProCap/GenCap, or other):
Two SBPs – a coordination generalist and an Access/CMCoord expert – have recently been deployed 6 months, based in the Tyre sub-office. This third SBP request for a second Access/CMCoord expert is for the deployment of an expert to support humanitarian access/CMCoord work in other parts of the country, particularly eastern Lebanon (Bekaa and Baalbek).
What is the approximate percentage of time spent on duty travel and to which locations? (if duty travel within the country/region is expected, all associated costs are to be covered by the requesting OCHA office):
The SBP position will be based in Beirut, with frequent travel to the field, including Bekaa, Baalbek and Southern Lebanon, expected.
CANADEM and its partners have a no-tolerance policy for inaction to prevent, respond to and follow up on alleged cases of Sexual Exploitation, Abuse, and Harassment (SEAH). For this reason, we adhere to all policies, procedures and training of the United Nations on The Prevention of Sexual Exploitation, Abuse, and Harassment (PSEAH). CANADEM mandates all deployees successfully complete the PSEA online course. This e-learning course is composed of a set of lessons designed to raise awareness about SEAH, become familiar with a range of measures to combat SEAH, understand the impact on victims and the consequences for UN Personnel who commit Sexual Exploitation, Abuse, and Harassment.