BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT:

The escalation of the conflict which began on 7 October in Gaza, resulted in the disruption of electricity, food, water, and fuel supplies, as well as restricted access to and movement within Gaza. This has caused a significant worsening of the humanitarian crisis and a large-scale displacement of the population within Gaza. Due to the magnitude of the humanitarian crisis, the significant impact on the supply chain and the access challenges to and inside Gaza, humanitarian organizations face significant logistics challenges for the delivery of relief supplies and life-saving cargo. In response to the request made by the Palestine Humanitarian Country Team, the Palestine Logistics Cluster was officially activated on 16 October of 2023. Following this, a logistics coordination cell based in Cairo is supporting information management and coordination efforts, and supports the operational response through the Egypt corridor for Gaza.

Under the direct supervision of the Logistics Coordinator based in Cairo, and in close collaboration with the WFP country office and Logistics Cluster Coordinator for Palestine, the Information Management Officer is in charge of identifying the information needs of the humanitarian logistics community and responding to them in the most efficient way possible, by implementing the tasks described below.

ACCOUNTABILITIES/RESPONSIBILITIES:

The IMO will act as the focal point for collecting, analysing and disseminating logistics information, in close coordination with logistics and information personnel of other humanitarian organizations and national counterparts involved in the humanitarian response.

1. Produce Logistics coordination products/reports in specific formats as required within the operation. Key products include: situation updates, bulletins, snapshots, briefings, situation updates.
2. Liaise with Logistics coordination cell participants, other stakeholders, ERC, OCHA, UNWRA and national counterparts to gather information for the production of sitreps and bulletins, ensuring that challenges and concerns relating to the logistics operation are represented.
3. Gather information on the overall logistics situation, including comprehensive data on logistics procedures and bottlenecks from the various Logistics coordination cell participants and national authorities and support emergency response operations with the drafting of lessons learned mission reports, as required.
4. Support the Logistics Coordinator as required in drafting donor proposals and reports, collating key operational information and provide support as required.
5. Draft, consolidate, and share key logistics information and procedures, such as ConOps and SOPs ensuring they are regularly revised/updated if required. Inform relevant stakeholders on commodity tracking reporting procedures.
6. Manage content of Logistics country operations webpage – in close coordination with Global Logistics Cluster support team in Rome.
7. Inform relevant stakeholders on commodity tracking reporting procedures and use Microsoft Excel to generate tables, charts, reports based on the Relief Item Tracking Application (RITA) data, to illustrate cargo flow as entered into the system
8. Maintain the Palestine Logistics Cluster SharePoint site, ensuring proper archiving of files and advising Logistics Cluster staff on best practices for filing.
9. Prepare operational overview, briefings and snapshots on the logistics operation for management, donors, stakeholders, Humanitarian Country Team, Office of the Humanitarian Coordinator and other stakeholders.
10. Work closely with OCHA to ensure updated logistics information is disseminated to all focal points as necessary. Attend coordination meetings on access constraints and Information Management Working Group and provide updates on logistics bottlenecks to OCHA working groups on a regular basis.
11. Contribute to the Humanitarian Needs Assessment, Humanitarian Response Plan and other interagency key documents.
12. Identify the most appropriate methodology to source and map information that can be used for advocacy in addressing issues in the supply chain.
13. Liaise with GIS teams to ensure maps are being produced and updated with relevant logistics information to be disseminated with humanitarian actors or for internal use.
14. Establish, moderate, and maintain the Logistics Cluster contact list and communication channels (e.g mailing list).
15. Standardise and execute quality control of logistics assessments and activity reports.
16. Provide WFP colleagues with inputs on Logistics coordination activities; Liaise regularly with reports officers in other agencies and NGOs.
17. Establish and maintain internal information sharing mechanisms, documentation formats, assessment formats, central file store, according to GLCSC guidelines and standardisation.
18. Recognise and assess the sensitivity of information obtained; Respect the confidential nature of sources of information where relevant.
19. Ensure all publications are in line with GLC standards and templates.
20. Perform other duties as required.

Skills

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:

Education:

University degree in economics, social sciences, international relations, communications, supply chain management, journalism or related field; or the equivalent combination of education and experience.

Experience Knowledge & Skills:

Minimum three years of professional experience in an international context including: responsibility in information management, communications and/or reporting roles; experience with reporting/tracking systems; Previous experience with humanitarian organizations and/or in emergencies is an advantage.

Excellent written and verbal communications skills; high attention to detail and proofreading ability; good research and analytical skills; ability to meet deadlines and work under pressure as part of a team; good communication and networking skills; ability to work independently while asking questions and seeking support in a fast-paced work environment; willingness to work in challenging environments / field locations.

Proficient in MS Office package, particularly in Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint. Demonstrated ability in data acquisition and knowledge of Access or other database tools is a great advantage. Experience with SharePoint is a distinct advantage. Demonstrated ability in acquiring, wrangling, structuring, manipulating and visualizing unstructured and structured data with BI platforms like Power BI or Tableau is a distinct advantage.

Languages:

Fluency in English is required. Fluency in Arabic is a distinct advantage.