The Shelter Cluster Coordinator will provide strategic leadership and operational management for the Shelter and Settlements Sector in Afghanistan. Building on UNHCR’s successful 20-year track record of shelter coordination in the country, the incumbent will carry forward this legacy, ensuring continuity, coherence, and technical excellence in ES/NFI, CCCM, and HLP responses. The role will ensure that UNHCR continues to fulfill its mandate as Sector Lead Agency, overseeing coordination with humanitarian partners, government counterparts, and affected communities, while guiding the transition to a merged, area-based, protection-sensitive coordination model. This includes integrating CCCM and HLP functions and ensuring alignment with the Basic Human Needs (BHN) framework, the Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (HNRP), and the UN Strategic Framework for Afghanistan (UNSFA), while maintaining the capacity for rapid response to sudden onset of emergencies.
The incumbent will lead national-level coordination for the Shelter and Settlements Sector, including Technical Working Groups and sub-national coordination mechanisms, facilitate the operational and strategic transition from the standalone Shelter Cluster to the merged sector, and develop and oversee implementation of a sector strategy covering emergency shelter/NFI assistance, site management, eviction monitoring, land tenure support, and durable solutions. Develop and oversee implementation of sector strategy that addresses ES/NFI, site management, eviction monitoring, land tenure support, and durable solutions. Ensure adherence to international humanitarian standards (Sphere, IASC, UNHCR) and promote protection, gender, age, diversity, and environmental considerations, oversee needs assessments and information management, support monitoring, reporting, and evaluation, strengthen national and local partner capacities, and represent the sector in inter-cluster, HCT, donor, and external forums, advocating for adequate funding and technical support.

Duties

Strategic Direction and Coordination
- Ensure, for the location s/he is based at, that UNHCR delivers on its commitments and accountability as lead of the Shelter Cluster. Manage the team under his/her supervision.
- Establish strong working relationships with the cluster members in the Area of Responsibility (AoR) in order to facilitate effective collaboration and communication. Upon consultations with SC members and his/her supervisor(s), take final decision over format and frequency of meetings, designation of focal points and the establishment of a strategic advisory group, sub-national clusters, Technical Working Groups and ad hoc/task-related bodies for specific issues.
- Provide coordination services, including meetings, in line with the Principles of Partnership, ensuring that cluster coordination is inclusive, effective and results-oriented.
- Under the framework of the Inter-Agency contingency Plan, revise existing contingency planning and emergency preparedness measures and ensure they are updated and developed.
- Develop or contribute to the development of a SC strategy that is part of the overall multi-sectoral response, that is owned by shelter partners and the government counterpart and that is revised as the situation evolves. Ensure that the SC Strategy has proper linkages with disaster risk reduction, relief, and recovery and development efforts.
- Ensure that the SC Strategy aligns with the Humanitarian Country Team's common humanitarian action plan.
- Promote accountability to affected population, participation of local and national stakeholders such as civil groups, and ensure coordination with government counterparts and other relevant authorities.
- Promote that appropriate transitional measures are in place for handing over to the government or recovery and development actors.
- Ensure the establishment and maintenance of the cluster structure including the cluster core documents as defined by the Global Shelter Cluster guidance: Strategy, Technical Standards, and Factsheet.
- Facilitate the evaluation of the cluster's performance. Based on the feedback of this evaluation, work with Shelter Cluster members to develop a plan of response to improve the cluster's performance.

Needs Assessment, Resources Mobilization and Allocation
- Facilitate and coordinate within the Shelter Cluster or Inter-Cluster level shelter needs assessments, including participatory assessments
- Support the system to ensure the timely availability of data to inform operational decisions by partners and strategic decisions of the Humanitarian Country Team.
- Promote that the SC covers all identified shelter needs of the affected population and not only those relating to the specific mandate of individual members of the Shelter Cluster.
- Provide transparent support to development of common funding criteria, resource mobilisation and prioritization within the SC for inclusion in Consolidated Appeals and pooled funds processes.
- Establish mechanisms for accountable and transparent financial resource allocation within the cluster.

Capacity Development
- Build capacity of the government counterpart or the organization that will take over the coordination of the cluster once this is phased out.
- Coordinate the delivery of shelter training activities for SC members, other local partners, and relevant authorities.
- Coordinate initiatives to build the shelter capacity of the national and local government, partners and civil society.

Standard Setting and Implementation
- Ensure that the shelter response is informed by appropriate relevant Technical Standards including among others Sphere, and good practice.
- Promote appropriate collaboration with shelter response-related clusters of CCCM, Early Recovery, Education, Health, Logistics, Protection and WASH in the work of the Shelter Cluster.
- Coordinate the integration of cross-cutting issues in the work of the Shelter Cluster, including age, gender, environment, diversity.
- Through Cluster-wide consultative processes, provide input into the development of global shelter policy and standards led by the Global Shelter Cluster.

Information Management, Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting
- Contribute to development and implementation of the SC information management strategy and mechanism to report and share information within the Shelter Cluster, with the other clusters, with the government, with the overall humanitarian community including donors, with UNHCR internal mechanisms, and with the Global Shelter Cluster.
- Ensure that the SC produces analytical shelter reports, including the Factsheet. Promote that information on affected population is disaggregated by sex and age. Implement decisions on indicators to measure impact and performance of SC members.
- Ensure that the SC maintains an updated website and produces regular updates on the shelter concerns of the affected population, the response by the shelter actors, the gaps, challenges and recommendations.
- Promote and ensure monitoring and evaluation of the impact of operations carried out by cluster members and the performance of the coordination team.
- Appraise the performance of any directly supervised personnel of the SC coordination team.

Advocacy, Promotion and Fundraising
- Identify core advocacy concerns for the SC through a consultative process.
- Represent when requested the SC in meetings with sectoral and external partners, authorities, donors and other relevant interlocutors.
- Issue reports and make advocacy statements on behalf of the Shelter Cluster in the AoR.
- With the support of the supervisor, negotiate with the Humanitarian Coordinator/Resident Coordinator, the Humanitarian Country Team and cluster members the prioritization and inclusion of project proposals and common funding criteria for inclusion in inter-agency funding appeals.
- Direct transparent and accountable financial and other resource allocation within the Shelter Cluster, when required, such as with regard to CERF or CHF.
- With the support of the supervisor, approach donors and other potential sources of funding to explain the SC strategy, challenges, and progress, and to advocate for funding for the overall shelter sector.
- Coordinate with UNHCR and other partners to maximize communication impact to donors and others on the SC priorities.
- Ensure a consistent interpretation and application of international law and related UNHCR and IASC legal standards and policies for the adequate provision of shelter.
- Ensure the Shelter Cluster's adherence to international human rights instruments, the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement as well as other relevant international and regional instruments; in cooperation with the Humanitarian Country Team.
- Support the identification and management of risks and seek to seize opportunities impacting objectives in the area of responsibility. Ensure decision making in risk based in the functional area of work. Raise risks, issues and concerns to a supervisor or to relevant functional colleague(s).
- Perform other related duties as required.

Field(s) of Education
Shelter-related sciences (e.g. civil engineering or architecture) or other relevant field.

Relevant Job Experience

Essential
Excellent knowledge of the Humanitarian reform process and the role of the humanitarian community (UN System, Red Cross Red Crescent Movement, and NGO), preferably in shelter. Good knowledge of current humanitarian issues. Good knowledge of shelter-related technical guidelines and standards. Good communication skills

Desirable
Applied knowledge in UNHCR mandate, its policies and priorities in relation to IDPs, shelter and NFI. Demonstrated expertise in program management and reporting requirements.

How to apply

Deadline for application: 9th February 2026

External applicants are requested to submit their applications through UNHCR Careers - Careers (myworkdayjobs.com).

You will need to create an account as “New User” and then click on “My Account Information”.

For more information on this vacancy, and applying for it, click the following link:

https://unhcr.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/en-GB/External/job/Kabul-CO-Afghanistan/Shelter-Cluster-Coordination-Officer_JR2663601-1