Community Liaison Officer

Job Description

Purpose and Scope of Assignment

The Community Liaison Officer will support the Project Manager in liaising with the local community and local government authorities to ensure the project can be implemented as per schedule and scope, addressing the day to day concerns of the community, updating on project’s progress, project’s plans, etc. The responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Facilitate the smooth liaison between Kabul Municipality (KM), JICA, MoF and UNOPS, by maintaining regular contact and networking;
• On the instruction from the Project Manager/ Deputy Project Manager, relay instructions and messages to the Contractor in a prompt manner;
• Set up and organize meetings for UNOPS with KM and or with any other agencies or person if so requested, including organizing meeting spaces;
• Maintain detailed and accurate record of meetings including agendas, meeting minutes, follow-up/action points. Details of meeting held or cancelled should also be maintained;
• Deliver documents to all the interested parties and similarly receive documents from both external and internal parties;
• Ensure that follow up of document approvals by concerned authorities is done timely and consistently and keep the Project Manager updated as required;
• Ensure that communities at construction sites are kept abreast of the project developments and communication channels remain open with the communities;
• Respond to community concerns by ensuring that they are brought to the attention of the KM and facilitate the process of resolving the issue;
• Acting as a focal point for the project on behalf of the Project Manager within UNOPS and KM;
• Responsible for ensuring all project documents and records are maintained;
• Assist UNOPS in the identification of potential implementation problems and bottlenecks,
• Report to the Project Manager on a daily and weekly basis on community issues and the project’s performance in relation to those issues;
• Keep up with the weekly and daily developments of the project;
• Mediate issues between the community members and the project staff;
• Forward questions about the project from community leaders and residents to appropriate government authorities and the Project Manager;

Perform other duties as may be assigned

Qualifications and Experience

A. Education

• Bachelor Degree in relevant field e.g. Economic/ Development Studies /Social Science;

B. Work Experience

• A minimum of 2 years of experience in communication and liaison, interpreting/translation related fields required;
• Experience working with national and international organizations that are contributing to the reconstruction and development in Afghanistan is a significant advantage;
• Prior experience with UN/UNOPS agency is desirable;

C. Languages

• Excellent knowledge of both written and oral English and Dari is required;

D. Key Competencies

• Proven ability to work independently with minimal supervision and direction;
• Capable of working with others in a participatory and capacity building manner;
• Ability to establish and maintain excellent contacts with colleagues, government officials, community representatives and contractors;
• Self-motivated, versatile and adaptable to different cultures and people;
• Ability to multi-task and prioritize work schedules;
• Strong community liaison, mobilization and negotiation skills required;
• Working knowledge of MS Office Applications required;
• Fluent in both oral and written English;
• Good analytical skills; resourcefulness, initiative, maturity of judgment;
• Strong communications skills and ability to work with a team to achieve organizational goals;

Good negotiation skills, and the ability to bring consensus amongst people

About the Organization

Background Information - UNOPS

UNOPS is an operational arm of the United Nations, supporting the successful implementation of its partners’ peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world. Our mission is to help people build better lives and countries achieve sustainable development.

UNOPS areas of expertise cover infrastructure, procurement, project management, financial management and human resources.

Working with us

UNOPS offers short- and long-term work opportunities in diverse and challenging environments across the globe. We are looking for creative, results-focused professionals with skills in a range of disciplines.

Diversity

With over 4,000 UNOPS personnel and approximately 7,000 personnel recruited on behalf of UNOPS partners spread across 80 countries, our workforce represents a wide range of nationalities and cultures. We promote a balanced, diverse workforce — a strength that helps us better understand and address our partners’ needs, and continually strive to improve our gender balance through initiatives and policies that encourage recruitment of qualified female candidates.

Work life harmonization

UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands.

Afghanistan

UNOPS strategy for Afghanistan is aimed at providing maximum support to the Government and people of Afghanistan though the delivery of projects and services in line with the government’s own priorities. The UNOPS Afghanistan Operation Center (AFOC) has been established as an organizational mechanism to deliver a range of projects for which UNOPS has been designated as the implementation agency. At present, UNOPS AFOC is implementing a number of projects in a range of sectors including infrastructure (roads and schools) development, capacity building to various ministries, and environmental protection, among others, on behalf of the Government of Afghanistan and the donor community.

The functional objective of UNOPS AFOC is to deliver projects in an efficient and effective manner, to achieve the development outcomes sought by the Government of Afghanistan and the donor community, where capacity building is always considered and encouraged. The aim of UNOPS AFOC is to provide implementation services to the Government of Afghanistan, the donor community and partner agencies in the reconstruction and development of the country. In doing so, UNOPS aims to exceed client expectations in the delivery of quality services throughout the country.