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Seeks a (IICA2) for protection-focused work in a conflict-affected region. Requires 3 years relevant experience with an undergraduate degree or 2 years with a graduate degree. Strong communications, fundraising, and donor visibility skills desired. Local knowledge of institutions, politics, and culture essential.
Last checked: 2 hours ago
Closing date: Monday, 20 July 2026
Country: Ecuador
Duty station: Quito, Ecuador
Contract type: Full time
Grade: Not specified
Open to: Internationals
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Ad
Deadline for Applications
July 19, 2026
Hardship Level (not applicable for home-based)
A (least hardship)
Family Type (not applicable for home-based)
Family
Staff Member / Affiliate Type
UNOPS IICA2
Target Start Date
2026-09-15
Terms of Reference
Programme Coordinator, IICA 2
Quito - Ecuador
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is offering a UNOPS International position within the Country Office in Quito, Ecuador.
UNHCR is a global organization dedicated to saving lives, protecting rights and building a better future for refugees, forcibly displaced communities and stateless people. Every year, millions of men, women and children are forced to flee their homes to escape conflict and persecution. We are in over 125 countries, using our expertise to protect and care for millions.
Title: Programme Coordinator
Duty Station: Quito, Ecuador
Duration: 12 months, with possibility of extension for an additional year
Contract Type: International-Specialist ICA, Level (P2/IICA-2)
Closing date: 19 July 2026, 17h00 Ecuador Time
(20 July 2026, 00h00 Geneva Time)
Start date: 15 September 2026
Organizational context
Ecuador remains one of the principal countries affected by mixed displacement movements in Latin America, hosting more than 500,000 refugees and migrants, including the largest population of Colombian refugees worldwide and a significant number of Venezuelans. The country continues to maintain one of the region’s most established asylum systems; however, increasing asylum claims, ongoing arrivals, and reduced pathways to regularization are placing growing pressure on protection mechanisms. At the same time, escalating violence linked to organized criminal groups, rising insecurity, and climate-related shocks are creating additional protection risks for refugees, migrants, and vulnerable Ecuadorians alike.
The protection environment has become increasingly complex amid a broader national focus on security and migration control. The cancellation of regularization pathways and recent legislative changes affecting human mobility have limited options for refugees and migrants to obtain or maintain regular status, constraining access to employment, public services, and long-term solutions. These challenges are compounded by widespread labor informality, economic vulnerability, discrimination, extortion, recruitment risks, and barriers to accessing housing, healthcare, education, and specialized protection services, particularly for women, children, and survivors of gender-based violence.
Despite progress in macroeconomic stabilization, socioeconomic conditions remain fragile. Informal employment continues to dominate the labor market, affecting more than half of the employed population, while refugees and migrants are disproportionately represented in precarious and informal livelihoods. At the same time, fiscal constraints and increasing humanitarian needs are placing additional pressure on national and local institutions responsible for delivering protection and inclusion services.
In this context, UNHCR continues to work closely with government counterparts, local authorities, civil society organizations, and development partners to strengthen protection systems, expand access to asylum and legal protection, support socioeconomic inclusion, and promote durable solutions for displaced populations. Given the scale and complexity of these interventions, effective programme coordination, donor engagement, monitoring, reporting, and visibility are critical to ensure quality implementation and accountability.
The Programme Coordinator, based within the External Relations Unit in Quito, will play a key role in supporting the implementation and oversight of a KOICA-funded project. The incumbent will ensure timely monitoring of activities and results, coordinate reporting and donor requirements, support visibility and communication efforts, and facilitate engagement with UNHCR technical units, field offices, government counterparts, and KOICA representatives. This position will contribute to ensuring that project implementation remains aligned with UNHCR priorities, results-based management principles, donor commitments, and Ecuador’s evolving operational context.
The position
The Programme Coordinator is directly supervised by the External Relations Officer, while receiving guidance from relevant protection / coordination staff at national level.
Duties and responsibilities
- Ensure consistent implementation of KOICA-funded project activities.
- Lead programmatic monitoring tasks, considering UNHCR priorities, the new Results Framework, evolving requirements, programming approaches, and gaps.
- Lead in reporting efforts, including the drafting of analysis and monitoring documents, indicators, and periodic reports, ensuring quality assurance and compliance with established timing, policies, guidelines, procedures, and standards, in coordination with field offices and technical units.
- Ensure the implementation of visibility activities, including communications and awareness efforts to properly communicate about the project’s donor and impact.
- Respond to KOICA’s requirements concerning proposal technical aspects, follow-up meetings, event planning, visibility, and communication actions.
- Perform other related duties as required.
Essential minimum qualifications and professional experience required
Experience: 3 years relevant experience with an Undergraduate degree; or 2 years relevant experience with a Graduate degree; or 1-year relevant experience with a Doctorate degree.
Fields of Education: Economics, Business Administration, Political Science, Social Sciences, International Relations, Communications, or another relevant field.
Skills and Knowledge: Demonstrated experience in humanitarian operations in a field environment.
Excellent knowledge of local institutions, politics, and culture. Desirable experience in fundraising and programming/programme management, including familiarity with OMC and Results Framework.
Strong drafting, documentation, data presentation, and IT skills (MS Office, web content management).
Strong communications, event planning and donor visibility experience is desirable.
Excellent communication skills, both internal and external.
Languages: Fluency in Korean, English and Spanish
Desired Qualifications and Competencies:
Certificates and/or licenses: Program Management and CP-PM desirable.
Experience in inter-agency coordination and humanitarian contexts.
Experience with KOICA is an asset.
Experience with projects related to ODA priorities is an asset.
Previous experience with UNHCR is an asset.
Location
The successful candidate will be based in Quito, Ecuador, with possible travel to field locations.
Conditions
- Full-time role (40 hours/week), Monday to Friday (08:30 am – 05:30 pm).
- International medical insurance fully covered by UNOPS.
- Accrual of 2.5 days annual leave per month.
- No deductions for insurance or similar contributions.
- Continuity throughout the project without mandatory break in service.
To apply
“International individual contracts apply to a person who does NOT reside in the country where he or she is to perform the services. This person has been hired from outside the country of work and the travel to the place of work and return at the end of the contract is at the organization´s expense”. (Annex II, Administrative Instruction on Managing Affiliate Workforce, 11 December 2020).
“Individuals cannot be hired under an international individual contract in the country of their nationality or permanent residence. Furthermore, a local individual contract holder shall not be hired for an international engagement…” (Annex II, Administrative Instruction on Managing Affiliate Workforce, 11 December 2020).
If you wish to be considered for this vacancy, please submit your application according to the following instructions:
A) If you wish to be considered for this vacancy, please submit your application according to the following instructions:
a. ALL CANDIDATES WILL APPLY THORUGH WORKDAY: In order to apply, you must first create your profile in the WORKDAY system.
WHEN CREATING A CANDIDATE PROFILE IN WORKDAY, PLEASE USE CAPSLOCKS FOR LAST NAME AND NO SPECIAL CHARACTERS (Ñ OR ACCENTS)
CVs WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED BY EMAIL. ONLY THOSE APPLICATIONS SENT THROUGH THE SYSTEM WILL BE CONSIDERED.
No late applications will be accepted.
The UNHCR workforce consists of many diverse nationalities, cultures, languages and opinions. UNHCR seeks to sustain and strengthen this diversity to ensure equal opportunities as well as an inclusive working environment for its entire workforce. Applications are encouraged from all qualified candidates without distinction on grounds of race, colour, sex, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation and gender identity.
Korean
,
English
,
Spanish
,
,
Skills
Education
Bachelor's: Business Administration/Management, Bachelor's: Communication, Bachelor's: Economics, Bachelor's: International Relations, Bachelor's: Political Science, Bachelor's: Social Science
Certifications
Work Experience
Development, Work Context: Interagency Coordination
Other information
This position doesn't require a functional clearance
Remote
No
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