Iraq: Access Coordinator

About NCCI

The NGO Coordination Committee for Iraq (NCCI) is a member-led NGO coordination platform and was founded in Baghdad in April 2003 by a group of international NGOs looking to establish a neutral, independent space for NGOs to coordinate humanitarian activities in Iraq. In 2005 it was decided to open up NCCI for local NGOs. Throughout the years NCCI’s mission, structure and objectives continuously evolved to adapt to the changing circumstances in Iraq.

As the main NGO coordination body in Iraq NCCI has three strategic objectives: coordination and information sharing, advocacy, and support services and capacity building for NGOs. NCCI has two main offices in Iraq (Erbil and Baghdad) and sub-offices in Basrah and Geneva (Switzerland).

Basic Information

Type of job: humanitarian access/coordination

Duty station: Erbil, with travel to Baghdad as required. Please note that this is an unaccompanied position.

Work Schedule: full-time

Start date: as soon as possible

General Duties and Responsibilities

Access to people in need remains one of the greatest challenges for NGOs operating in Iraq. Deteriorating security and limited physical access have left many of those most in need with limited or no assistance. Given the highly dynamic security, political and conflict situation, humanitarians are preparing for increasing complexity in reaching the most vulnerable populations in hard to reach areas.

In this context, NCCI has created an NGO access task force led by an NCCI–employed access coordinator and supported by NCCI’s existing staff in Erbil and Baghdad, as well as the NGO field coordination network in all Iraqi governorates, and NCCI member organisations.

The access coordinator will be Erbil-based with regular travel to NCCI’s Baghdad office and other relevant field locations as required. The coordinator will guide the task force’s work to expand access into new geographical areas, with particular focus on increasing access in insecure areas with high needs and limited humanitarian response.

Specific Duties and Responsibilities

Coordination and collaboration;

· Actively outreach to and encourage systematic input from all NGO actors to the task force;

· Coordinate field level access meetings through NGO field coordination network partners;

· As requested, provide advice on operational responses to identified access concerns;

· Collaborate closely with REACH, iMMAP, OCHA, INSO and other data analysis units on key humanitarian issues that require monitoring and analysis;

· Ensure that linkages between other access initiatives are established and maintained. Represent the task force in NCCI advocacy working group meetings, NCCI general coordination meetings and humanitarian access working group meetings.

· Expand and maintain NCCI’s network of relevant contacts inside Iraq.

· In partnership with all stakeholders, continuously review the relevance and suitability of the task force’s design, as well as what and how information is collected and analyzed.

· Work closely with NCCI’s EC to ensure relevant messages from the task force are relayed in other fora such as HCT.

Data collection, analysis and reporting;

· Lead the collaborative process of producing a strategy for the Task Force;

· Lead prioritization and analysis of access-related information from NGOS, including patterns and trends;

· Produce timely reports on humanitarian access trends in Iraq;

· Assist with special requests for information from NGO members of the Access Task Force;

· Ensure attention to special protection issues that arise with the project; particularly those involving vulnerable groups, sensitive topics, protection of sources and confidential data;

· Identify emerging issues or concerns and relay such issues to the relevant parties/fora;

Qualifications and Experience

• Post-graduate university degree in conflict and development, international relations, international humanitarian law or a related field.

• Five years of experience in the humanitarian sector, preferably with humanitarian access.

• Experience with developing and implementing access related strategic objectives.

• Native or near-native fluency in written and spoken English.

• Strong working knowledge of Arabic is preferred.

• Good knowledge about the humanitarian coordination system

• Good knowledge about social, economic and political dynamics in Iraq and the Middle East in general

Salary and Benefits

A competitive salary and benefits package will be provided. Benefits include:

• Comprehensive health insurance

• Two return flights home / year

• Accommodation in Erbil (please note that this is an unaccompanied position, no housing or support will be provided for family)

Please send a detailed CV, references and cover letter to ncciraq@ncciraq.org , clearly mentioning ‘Application NCCI Access Coordinator’ in the subject line. The closing date for this vacancy is 20 June.

Candidates who do not meet the compulsory requirements will be rejected.

Only short listed candidates will be notified.