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Emergency Specialist - Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency

The Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB) is opening our field staff roster for Emergency Experts willing to be deployed at short notice to various parts of the world. As a member of our roster you will continuously receive interesting international job opportunities and invitations to stimulating and valuable trainings and exercises.
Employed by the MSB on an international mission you will receive a monthly salary as well as a comprehensive allowances and benefits package, ranging from free home leave travel to access to psychosocial support.
The MSB highly values the well-being of our staff and whilst on mission you will have access to health and psychological support as well as safety support from the MSB 24 hours a day.
The MSB strives to apply gender equality in terms of recruitment our Field Staff Roster.

Duties

The following is an overall description of potential area of responsibility. Actual duty will depend on the situation in a given emergency response / humanitarian crisis. Specific terms of reference will be developed for each assignment.
• Rapid assessment of humanitarian needs in coordination with authorities and implementing partners. Establish contact with community groups, government, UN agencies and other partners to keep abreast of emergency situations.
• Assessment of state of preparedness and gaps in programme sectors. Adopt adequate emergency preparedness measures through the development and updating of country contingency plans and establishment of early warning mechanisms, to ensure effective preparedness and response to specific emergencies.
• Maintain continuous, effective and strategic coordination, communication, consultation and liaison with Government, local structures, UN agencies, NGOs, donors and allies.
• Identify implementing/operational partners and establish implementing arrangements. Ensure that the support is effectively provided to the government with respect to sectoral coordination within the framework of the cluster approach.
• Identify bottlenecks for response in line with guidelines, principles etc. and formulate plans/mobilize support from national and regional office where required to address these in a timely fashion. Identify problems and constraints in order to ensure effective project delivery.
• Develop/update agreed response strategies and action plans for clusters and ensuring that these are adequately reflected in the overall country strategies.
• Ensure full integration of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee’s agreed priority cross-cutting issues, namely human rights, HIV/AIDS, age, gender, and environment, utilization participatory and community-based approaches.
• Prepare inputs for appeals and updates related to emergencies. Work with program sections and senior management to mobilize donor response and recovery/rehabilitation-related funding, including annual or multi-annual humanitarian appeals and documents.
• Participate in the implementation of plans of action and workplans for emergency projects. Implement and manage project activities. Undertake field visits to emergency project areas, to assess local conditions and monitor project progress.
• Provide technical advice related to emergency preparedness and response, including on programme management related issues. Provide advice to the country office in the implementation of emergency preparedness measures in the field to strengthen preparedness and response mechanisms in the country faced with impending emergencies.
• Develop and maintain databases on country/regional information, and ensure the flow of information and communication crucial for the planning and implementation of emergency preparedness and response management.

Experience

A minimum of 5-8 years experience with either the UN and/or NGO in Emergency or Early Reconstruction settings.
Specialized training/experience in emergency response management highly desirable.

Education

Advanced University degree in one of the following fields: social sciences, public administration, international law, public health, nutrition, international relations or other related disciplines. Preferably a combination of management, administration, and relevant technical fields. A first-level university degree in combination with qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the Advanced University degree.

Languages

Fluency in English is essential, both verbal and written. Knowledge of French or any other official UN language is an asset.

Other requriements

We are looking for women and men with a strong commitment towards humanitarian relief and disaster operations. It is of utmost priority that you understand, respect and act in the spirit of the mandate and core values of the MSB.
You must undergo a pre-employment medical examination by a licensed physician before being contracted.
You must inform your regular employer of your potential assignment with the MSB.

Profile

You must be able to interact with sensitivity and display respect for diversity and gender in multi-cultural environments. A capacity for working under pressure is essential, as work is often performed under difficult and demanding conditions, where the focus frequently shifts due to changes in priority.
You must possess a high level of professional and personal maturity together with an ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with colleagues, managers and external partners, such as UN organisations, NGOs, recipient governments and host populations.
You are expected to have excellent analytical and communicative skills, show initiative and take both a hands-on and an analytical approach to tasks and problems.

Contractual conditions

All MSB field staff members are registered on a roster which contains a wide range of professions and competencies. After recruited to the roster you need to conduct the MSB’s induction training and any specialist training courses required. Working with the MSB on international operations means that field staff members from the roster are temporarily employed by the MSB. The MSB pays salary as well as a comprehensive allowances and benefits package to field staff on international operations, ranging from free home leave travel to access to psychosocial support. In addition, participants on induction training and relevant specialist training courses receive remuneration from the MSB.