Position Title: Humanitarian Reset/Transition Coordinator
Receiving Agency: OCHA
P Level: P5
Location: Abuja, Nigeria (with field travel)
Duration: 6 months
Language: English


Brief Description of Emergency Outbreak/Upsurge and the Consequences for OCHA:

Nigeria is undergoing a pivotal shift in its humanitarian landscape. After over a decade of internationally led humanitarian response systems and mechanisms in the northeast, the United Nations and its partners are now implementing the global Humanitarian Reset. This reform agenda is aimed at simplifying and improving efficiencies in the humanitarian coordination systems, strengthening local leadership and ownership of national and sub-national actors. In Nigeria, this reset is likely to be operationalised through a phased approach with transition planning in 2025 and full implementation in 2026 and beyond. Reduced humanitarian funding means ways of working will change substantially. The northeast states of Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe (BAY) remain the epicentre of humanitarian needs in Nigeria, with millions affected by protracted conflict, displacement, and climate shocks. While humanitarian assistance remains critical, and needs are not reducing, there is growing recognition that the current model is unsustainable. There will be greater emphasis on durable solutions, resilience, and recovery with transition to national leadership and closer links between humanitarian and development approaches required.

Brief Surge Need Justification:

The Humanitarian Reset/ Transition Coordinator will play a central role in enabling this transition and managing change. The position is designed to be action-oriented and time-bound, focused on delivering tangible outcomes that support the Resident/Humanitarian Coordinator in navigating the political, institutional, and operational complexities of the reset. This includes brokering consensus among UN agencies and partners, engaging with Nigerian federal and state authorities, and ensuring that critical enablers such as information management, pooled funding, and common services are sustained and transitioned responsibly within a reasonable timeframe. It will also be essential that the Transition Coordinator maintains a clear view of needs-based humanitarian issues in ringfencing humanitarian principles, including protection (in collaboration with protection experts), throughout, and is able to synthesize and present humanitarian priorities in a succinct and accurate manner. This role is not limited to humanitarian coordination. It is embedded in the broader ambition to redefine the relationship between international actors and national systems, ensuring that the future of humanitarian response in Nigeria is locally led, nationally accountable, and strategically aligned with development and peacebuilding efforts. While the OCHA Office while maintain its main focus to implement the HNRP and conduct programming of humanitarian operations for the remainder of 2025 and into 2026, the Transition Coordinator will support the HC/RC and the HCT to develop the Transition Plan to ensure a smooth transition for the accelerated transition of senior leadership of UN and NGO members, local partners and in particular government partners.

OCHA’s Role and Key Challenges:

Under the overall supervision of the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator (RC/HC) with a reporting line to the Head of Office of host United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) , the Humanitarian Reset/ Transition Coordinator will be responsible for delivering a time-bound, action-oriented transition plan that enables the progressive handover of humanitarian leadership and coordination to Nigerian federal and state authorities. This role is central to implementing the global Humanitarian Reset in the Nigerian context, with a focus on localization, simplification with an aim to improving efficiency and sustainability. Within the office of the RC/HC, collaborating with the respective P5s in the office of the RC and OCHA Nigeria to liaise with the broader humanitarian and development community in Nigeria and the Government and Nigeria, the Transition Coordinator will be expected to;
A. Government of Nigeria Engagement and Transition Facilitation
• Develop and deliver a Government Engagement Strategy within the first month, identifying key federal and state counterparts (including the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, NEMA, SEMA, and relevant line ministries), and establishing structured engagement mechanisms to support the transition.
• Establish and operationalize a Transition Dialogue Platform, co-chaired with national authorities, to coordinate the transition process and ensure alignment with national and state-level priorities, including the BAY States’ Solutions Action Plans.

B. Develop a draft Nigeria HCT Transition Plan towards endorsement and implementation within 2026 into 2027, including a Transition
Roadmap with clear milestones.
• Support the integration of humanitarian planning into national and sub-national development frameworks, and resilience strategies, ensuring continuity of services and alignment with the Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus and recommendations for continuation of development partners 
• Ensure the inclusion and leadership of Nigerian civil society and local government actors, with a focus on women-led organizations, youth-led organizations,
organizations of persons with disabilities, and community-based responders and leaders, as well as private sector and public-private cooperation and foundations.
• Ensure that independent needs assessments, real-time data, and regular feedback from affected people, with a focus on transparency and accountability to those served, inform transition planning and future scope of humanitarian coordination.

Main Partners and Stakeholders in the Field:

Under overall supervision of the HC/RC with direct supervision of the HoO of OCHA as host agency, and in collaboration of RCO and OCHA, the Transition Coordinator will interact closely with Members of HCT, Members of UNCT, Heads of UN Agencies, Heads of I/NNGOs, Heads of CSO Networks, relevant Government counterparts, Heads of Sub-Field Offices, and donor representatives.

Long-Term Plan After SBP Deployment Ends:

After the 6 months Transition Coordinator time-bound programme, the HCT Transition Plan should be well underway and the HCT implementing the transition plan

Will Other Surge Resources Be Requested?

ProCap deployment during the critical period of 6-12 months for Nigeria for Centrality of Protection to ensure strong advocacy and emphasis for protection and IHL to strengthen local ownership and capacity for protection of civilians in humanitarian programming.


ROLE REQUIREMENTS


Main Tasks and Duties to be Executed:

1. Develop and deliver a Government Engagement Strategy within the first month, identifying key federal and state counterparts (including the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, NEMA, SEMA, and relevant line ministries), and establishing structured engagement mechanisms to support the transition.
2. Establish and operationalize a Transition Dialogue Platform, co-chaired with national authorities, to coordinate the transition process and ensure alignment with national and state-level priorities, including the BAY States’ Solutions Action Plans and develop a draft Nigeria HCT Transition Plan towards endorsement and implementation within 2026 into 2027, including a Transition Roadmap with clear milestones.
3. Support the integration of humanitarian planning into national and sub-national development frameworks, and resilience strategies, ensuring continuity of services and alignment with the Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus and recommendations for continuation of development partners
4. Ensure the inclusion and leadership of Nigerian civil society and local government actors, with a focus on women-led organizations, youth-led organizations, organizations of persons with disabilities, and community-based responders and leaders, as well as private sector and public-private cooperation and foundations.
5. In consultation with key in- country stakeholders, serve as the RC/HC’s lead negotiator and envoy in securing inter-agency alignment with the Humanitarian Reset, including simplification of coordination structures, transition of leadership roles, and increased support to local actors, in close collaboration with OCHA and existing development coordination platforms such as the Nigeria Development Partners Group.
6. Facilitate structured inter-agency consultations to resolve institutional tensions, align to mandates, and promote shared ownership of the transition agenda, including the eventual reduction/withdrawal of the existing coordination architecture by late 2026. Ensure that I/NNGOs and NNGOs, CSOs, government, UN agencies, and Donors are included in these consultations.
7. Promote and report coherence between humanitarian, development, and peace actors within the UN system, ensuring that the transition is embedded in broader UN reform efforts (e.g., UN80, the Grand Bargain, and the Nexus).
8. Support the integration of anticipatory action and early warning systems into transition planning, in collaboration with development, climate, and financial actors, to ensure preparedness is embedded in the transition process and engage with international financial institutions (IFIs) and private sector actors to align resilience financing and development investments with the humanitarian transition agenda.
9. Promote streamlined coordination and cost-effective delivery models, including multi-purpose cash and pooled funding mechanisms with strong performance metrics and value-for-money considerations. 10. Map and assess the lifespan of critical enablers and common services (e.g., information management, logistics, security coordination, pooled funding, and back-office support) and develop a handover plan to ensure continuity and national ownership of these functions including preparing a final Transition Report with actionable recommendations for sustaining reforms through 2026, institutionalizing national leadership, and ensuring continuity of essential services beyond the withdrawal of international coordination structures.


Expected Outcome of the Deployment:

- Develop an HCT Transition Plan including a Government Engagement Strategy on Transition
- Establish a Transition Dialogue Platform to identified relevant stakeholders local, national, and international
- Produce a monthly Transition Alignment Brief for the RC/HC, summarizing progress, risks, and recommendations for managing inter-agency dynamics and institutional resistance.
- Promote visibility of the transition process through strategic communications, engagement with platforms such as the Nigeria INGO Forum, donor briefings, and documentation of good practices and lesson learned, with a focus on replicable models for other transitioning contexts.

Specific Required Skills:

A minimum of 10 – 15 years of progressively responsible professional experience, often at the international level. Advanced university degree (master’s or equivalent) in international relations, political science, development studies, humanitarian affairs, public administration, or a related  field. The specific terms of reference (ToR) for such a role will outline the precise requirements, a P5 level indicates a senior position within the UN system.


OPERATIONAL ENVIRONMENT


Overall Security Situation:

In Abuja for living conditions moderate, with safety and security in modern apartments cleared by UN DSS and Security Risk Management (SRM) Process covered by UNDSS. For field visits to the BAY state of NE and NW/NC, also movements covered by UNDSS SRM; since beginning of 2025; acute increase of insecurity when comparing the 2024 dry season trend to the 2025 dry season insecurity trend. • Non-state armed groups (NSAGs) have regularly attacked civilians engaged in livelihood activities such as farming, logging, and fishing. These attacks have severely hindered farming in Borno and increased food insecurity. •The Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN) bases in northern, central, southern Borno, northern Adamawa, and eastern Yobe have regularly come under attack during this dry season. •The insecurity has hindered humanitarian response operations in towns and along main supply routes (MSR) and secondary roads. • The rise of foreign fighters working with NSAGs, and the use of armed/surveillance drones. An escalating security environment driven by an increasing number of terrorist attacks that have in recent months since the beginning of 2025 targeted garrison towns in tandem IEDs aimed at key MSRs coupled with increasing concerns over the lack of adequate crowd-control and access measures at humanitarian aid distribution events increases security and safety measures for humanitarian and development workers. With attacks primarily orchestrated by the Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) targeting armed forces infrastructure and frequently resulting in loss of military arms, ammunition and equipment to non-state armed groups (NSAG) elements, NSAG is likely to have acquired enhanced capacity. Amidst an evolved on-ground scenario, distribution events need to be specifically addressed to mitigate against the failure of crowd and access-control measures as well as the risk of IED, PBIED and VBIED attacks.The NE has been focused on disseminating the Civil-Military Guidelines through training military personnel in NE Nigeria. CMCOORD has been regularly organizing escorts for humanitarian partners ferrying supplies to the deep field to ensure their cargo reaches vulnerable populations.

Duty Travel:

Field visits required to northeast Nigeria (likely to NE and NW/NC) as required.


CANADEM and its partners have a no-tolerance policy for inaction to prevent, respond to and follow up on alleged cases of Sexual Exploitation, Abuse, and Harassment (SEAH). For this reason, we adhere to all policies, procedures and training of the United Nations on The Prevention of Sexual Exploitation, Abuse, and Harassment (PSEAH). CANADEM mandates all deployees successfully complete the PSEA online course. This e-learning course is composed of a set of lessons designed to raise awareness about SEAH, become familiar with a range of measures to combat SEAH, understand the impact on victims and the consequences for UN Personnel who commit Sexual Exploitation, Abuse, and Harassment.