El Niño Response Coordinator, Dili

General

Description of assignment title

El Niño Response Coordinator

Assignment country

Timor-Leste

Duty stations

Dili

Work location

On UN premises

Expected start date

12/01/2026

Expected end date

05/31/2027

Sustainable Development Goal

13. Climate action

Host entity

UNICEF Timor-Leste

Modality

Onsite

Type

National

Volunteer category

Expert UCoS from Apr2026

Work schedule

Full-time

Number of Assignments

1

Details

Mission and objectives

UNICEF is mandated by the United Nations General Assembly to advocate for the protection of children's rights, to help meet their basic needs and to expand their opportunities to reach their full potential.

UNICEF is guided by the Convention on the Rights of the Child and strives to establish children's rights as enduring ethical principles and international standards of behaviour towards children.

UNICEF insists that the survival, protection and development of children are universal development imperatives that are integral to human progress.

UNICEF mobilizes political will and material resources to help countries, particularly developing countries, ensure a "first call for children" and to build their capacity to form appropriate policies and deliver services for children and their families.

UNICEF is committed to ensuring special protection for the most disadvantaged children – victims of war, disasters, extreme poverty, all forms of violence and exploitation, and those with disabilities.

UNICEF responds in emergencies to protect the rights of children. In coordination with United Nations partners and humanitarian agencies, UNICEF makes its unique facilities for rapid response available to its partners to relieve the suffering of children and those who provide their care.

UNICEF is non-partisan and its cooperation is free of discrimination. In everything it does, the most disadvantaged children and the countries in greatest need have priority.

UNICEF aims, through its country programmes, to promote the equal rights of women and girls and to support their full participation in the political, social and economic development of their communities.

UNICEF works with all its partners towards the attainment of the sustainable human development goals adopted by the world community and the realization of the vision of peace and social progress enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations.

Context

Timor-Leste is highly vulnerable to climate-related shocks. Following the 2023–2024 El Niño, which affected 10 of the 13 municipalities and the Special Administrative Region of Oecusse, the country again faces increased El Niño risk, with reduced rainfall expected to cause drought, water shortages, and crop losses. With 66 per cent of households depending on agriculture, children, women, people with disabilities and remote communities face heightened risks. This National UN Volunteer assignment is part of UNICEF Timor-Leste’s multisectoral El Niño preparedness and response plan, covering WASH, nutrition, health, education, child protection, social protection and community engagement. The UN Volunteer will work under the Deputy Representative (Programme), alongside the office Emergency Focal Point and Emergency Management Team, in coordination with the Government, municipalities, UN agencies and partners.

Task description

Under the overall supervision of the Deputy Representative (Programme) and in collaboration with the Emergency Focal Point and the Emergency Management Team, the UN Volunteer will:

• Support the preparation and regular updating of UNICEF Timor-Leste’s El Niño preparedness and response plan, including scenarios, triggers, priority municipalities, target populations and response packages.
• Consolidate climate, water, nutrition, health, education and protection data into an integrated analysis of risks to children.
• Maintain a consolidated El Niño action tracker and follow up with programme sections on agreed actions, deadlines and constraints.
• Represent UNICEF, as delegated, in government-led and inter-agency coordination meetings at national and municipal levels.
• Maintain a stakeholder and partner mapping covering geographical presence, capacity, response coverage, stocks and gaps.
• Work with Programme, Operations, Supply and Finance teams to identify and address bottlenecks and track the status of critical emergency supplies.
• Coordinate rapid assessments and undertake regular field missions to priority municipalities to monitor implementation and consult affected communities.
• Prepare weekly internal updates, situation reports, inputs to donor reports, briefing notes and dashboards, and document lessons learned for future climate-related responses.

Eligibility criteria

Age

18 - 80

Required experience

7 years

Nationality

Candidate must be a national, legal resident or hold refugee status in the country of assignment.

Assignment requirements

Relevant experience

7 years

Languages

• English, Level: Fluent, Required
• Tetum, Level: Fluent, Required
• Portuguese, Level: Working knowledge, Desirable
• Indonesian, Level: Working knowledge, Desirable

Required education level

Bachelor's degree in Disaster risk management, humanitarian affairs, international development, public health, nutrition, Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), social sciences, public policy, climate change or environmental studies, economics, or a related field.

Competencies and values

• Accountability
• Adaptability and flexibility
• Creativity
• Judgement and decision-making
• Planning and organising
• Professionalism
• Self-management

Skills and experience

Must have at least seven years of professional experience in emergency preparedness, humanitarian response, disaster risk management, programme coordination or a related field; experience coordinating work with government counterparts, UN agencies and implementing partners; strong analytical, reporting and data management skills (situation reports, trackers, dashboards); and proficiency in MS Office, particularly Excel.

Assets: experience in drought, El Niño or other climate-related emergencies, or in Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), nutrition, health, education, child protection or social protection; experience with UNICEF, another UN entity or a humanitarian organization; and knowledge of Timor-Leste’s municipalities and national disaster management system.

Willingness to travel frequently to remote municipalities and to work under emergency conditions, including outside normal working hours when required.

Area(s) of expertise

Climate change, environment, Community development

Driving license

Other information

Volunteerism is understood as a wide range of activities undertaken of free will, for the general public good, for which monetary reward is not the principal motivating factor.

Living conditions and remarks

Dili is the capital of Timor-Leste and offers access to basic services, including accommodation, banking, health facilities and telecommunications. Frequent field missions to rural and remote municipalities are required, where road access, electricity, water and communications may be limited, particularly during the rainy season.

Inclusivity statement

United Nations Volunteers is an equal opportunity programme that welcomes applications from qualified professionals. We are committed to achieving diversity in terms of gender, care protected characteristics. As part of their adherence to the values of UNV, all UN Volunteers commit themselves to combat any form of discrimination, and to promoting respect for human rights and individual dignity, without distinction of a person’s race, sex, gender identity, religion, nationality, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy, age, language, social origin or other status.

Reasonable accommodation

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for UN Volunteers with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the recruitment process and afterwards in your assignment.

Note on Covid-19 vaccination requirements

In addition to duty station-specific vaccine requirements, appointments are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the appointment. It does not apply to UN Volunteers who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their contracts.

Scam warning

The United Nations does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process. Should you receive a solicitation for the payment of a fee, please disregard it. Furthermore, please note that emblems, logos, names and addresses are easily copied and reproduced. Therefore, you are advised to apply particular care when submitting personal information on the web.

• · Support accessible community feedback mechanisms in Tetum and local languages and help integrate Prevention of Asexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA), child safeguarding and do-no-harm principles across the response.

· Support accessible community feedback mechanisms in Tetum and local languages and help integrate Prevention of Asexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA), child safeguarding and do-no-harm principles across the response.