General
Description of assignment title: Disaster Risk Reduction Expert
Assignment country: Syrian Arab Republic
Duty stations: Damascus
Work location: On UN premises
Expected start date: 11/01/2026
Duration: 6 monthsLong-term benefits and allowances
Sustainable Development Goal: 13. Climate action
Host entity: UNICEF SYR
Modality: Onsite
Type: International
Volunteer category: Expert UCoS from Apr2026
Work schedule: Full-time
Number of Assignments: 1
Details
Mission and objectives:
- With the strong presence on the ground and partnerships with local communities and organizations across multiple sectors, UNICEF aims to reach more children and families. Upholding the humanitarian principles, UNICEF supports integrated, multi-sectoral programming and continues to improve sustained, equitable and safe access to critical basic services in areas where the needs are the highest.
- UNICEF, in coordination with partners, aims to ensure accountability to affected populations with integration of gender, child safeguarding as well as prevention from sexual exploitation and abuse into its programmes.
- UNICEF aims to reach children no matter where they are or live.
Context:
- The UN Volunteer will be part of the Field Operations and Emergency Section of UNICEF Syria Country Office, based in Damascus. The section leads UNICEF's engagement on emergency, disaster risk reduction (DRR), humanitarian coordination, field operations, and resilience-building initiatives across Syria. In close collaboration with government counterparts, UN agencies, and development partners, the section supports national and sub-national systems to strengthen risk analysis, emergency response capacities, and long-term resilience, with a particular focus on protecting the rights and well-being of children.
- This United Nations Volunteer (UNV) assignment is part of UNICEF Syria's support to strengthening national disaster risk reduction (DRR) and emergency systems in partnership with the Ministry of Emergency and Disaster Management (MoEDM). The initiative contributes to national efforts to reduce vulnerabilities to natural and human-induced hazards, including earthquakes, floods, droughts, extreme weather events, environmental risks, and conflict-related threats.
- The project supports several strategic priorities of the Government of Syria, including:
- • Development of the country's first National Disaster Risk Reduction Strategy.
- • Review and updating of the national risk registry.
- • Strengthening national contingency planning mechanisms.
- • Improving inter-ministerial coordination and risk governance systems.
- • Promoting child-centred, gender-responsive, and youth-inclusive approaches to disaster risk management.
- Key stakeholders include the Ministry of Emergency and Disaster Management (MoEDM), relevant line ministries, governorate-level authorities, UNICEF programme sections, United Nations agencies, technical partners, civil society organizations, youth representatives, and other national and international actors engaged in disaster risk management and emergency.
- Expected outcomes include strengthened national disaster risk reduction frameworks, enhanced institutional capacities for response, improved multi-hazard risk analysis, stronger coordination mechanisms among national stakeholders, and greater integration of child-focused and community-based approaches within Syria's disaster risk management architecture.
Task description:
- Within the delegated authority and under the supervision of Chief Field Operations and Emergency, and the Deputy Representative for Programmes or his/her designated mandated representative(s), the UN Volunteer will:
- • Support the development and implementation of disaster risk reduction (DRR) in collaboration with the Ministry of Emergency and Disaster Management and other relevant stakeholders.
- • Contributes to the development, review, and updating of disaster risk reduction strategies, risk assessments, action plans, and related technical documents.
- • Assist in coordinating consultations, workshops, meetings, and technical discussions with government institutions, UN agencies, academia, civil society organizations, and other partners.
- • Support the collection, analysis, and consolidation of information related to disaster risks, vulnerabilities, and resilience-building initiatives.
- • Help strengthen coordination and collaboration among national and sub-national stakeholders involved in disaster risk reduction.
- • Contribute to the preparation of reports, presentations, briefing notes, meeting summaries, and other knowledge products.
- • Support the documentation and dissemination of lessons learned, good practices, and recommendations related to disaster risk reduction and emergency management.
- • Assist in monitoring project activities, tracking progress against planned outputs, and identifying implementation challenges and opportunities.
- • Support the integration of child-sensitive, gender-responsive, and community-based approaches into disaster risk reduction initiatives.
- • Liaise with UNICEF programme sections and external partners to facilitate information sharing and coordinated implementation of activities.
- • Perform any other related tasks assigned by the supervisor in support of UNICEF's disaster risk reduction, and resilience-building efforts.
Eligibility criteria
Age:
Required experience:
Nationality:
- Candidate must be a national of a country other than the country of assignment.
Assignment requirements
Relevant experience:
Languages:
- English, Level: Fluent, Required
Required education level:
- Master's degree in Public administration, social policy, international relations, environmental studies, international development/development studies, or another relevant technical field.
Competencies and values:
- • Adaptability and flexibility
- • Judgement and decision-making
- • Planning and organising
Skills and experience:
- • A minimum of seven years of professional experience in one or more of the following areas is required: DRR, Early Action, public policy in Syria, government structures and/or governance, external/donor relations, advocacy or other relevant area.
- • Familiarity with national systems and global DRR frameworks.
- • Strong coordination and facilitation skills with national and international key stakeholders and government entities.
- • Relevant experience in a UN system, especially UNICEF, other international development agency or organization is considered as an asset.
- • Experience in donor relations and donor reporting is a strong asset
Area(s) of expertise:
- Emergency preparedness, crisis response
Driving license:
Other information
NGO Jobs in Syria