United Nations agency · Written recruitment test
Practical exercise
Humanitarian Coordination Officer
- Duty station
- Pemba, Cabo Delgado province (Mozambique)
- Time allowed
- 90 min
- Marks
- 100 marks
- Pass mark
- 60 %
- Profile
- Officer, 2 to 4 years of experience
Instructions
- The test lasts 90 minutes. It is marked out of 100; the pass mark for the interview is 60.
- You are a coordination officer in the Pemba sub-office. You took the raw notes in document 1 during the inter-cluster coordination group (ICCG) meeting, which you were supporting on behalf of the head of sub-office.
- Show your workings. A spreadsheet is allowed. Any outside help (another person, artificial intelligence) is forbidden.
- The data are fictional. Do not make unjustified assumptions.
Original practice test, built on the format of written tests used by United Nations agencies and international NGOs. The context and figures are fictitious.
Documents provided
Present: OCHA (chair), Shelter/NFI, Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), Health, Protection, Food Security and Education clusters. Apologies: Logistics.
- New displacement: approx. 4,200 households arrived in Ancuabe in 10 days from Macomia and Meluco. DTM figures expected on Friday. Shelter: "we can't do anything without a list". Food Security: "we already have our lists, we are distributing on Thursday".
- Multi-sector rapid assessment in Ancuabe: agreement to carry it out. Debate on the lead: WASH and Protection both volunteer. Not settled. Fieldwork proposed from 9 to 11 November.
- WASH: Nanjua site, water trucking, about 7 L per person per day. Need for 2 additional partners.
- Health: 23 suspected cholera cases in Chiúre in 7 days, 2 deaths. Samples sent to the laboratory, results expected on Monday. Request to WASH to prioritise chlorination in Chiúre.
- Protection: 46 unaccompanied or separated children identified in Ancuabe. The coordinator read out in the meeting the names of 5 children reported by a foster family. Need for a child-friendly space.
- Food Security: pipeline break expected in December, rations cut by 50% if no funding by 20 November. Wants the matter referred to the humanitarian country team (HCT).
- October 4W: deadline 5 November. Education and Shelter have not sent anything for 2 months.
- AOB: situation report every Thursday, inputs on Wednesday at 12:00. HCT meeting on Thursday 19 November in Maputo, briefing note expected 2 working days before. Next ICCG: Tuesday 10 November, 10:00.
| District | Sector | People in need | People reached | Partners |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ancuabe | WASH | 38,000 | 9,500 | 2 |
| Ancuabe | Shelter/NFI | 38,000 | 4,200 | 1 |
| Ancuabe | Health | 38,000 | 21,000 | 3 |
| Ancuabe | Protection | 22,000 | 3,100 | 1 |
| Chiúre | WASH | 45,000 | 27,000 | 4 |
| Chiúre | Shelter/NFI | 30,000 | 12,600 | 2 |
| Chiúre | Health | 45,000 | 31,500 | 3 |
| Metuge | WASH | 28,000 | 25,200 | 5 |
| Metuge | Shelter/NFI | 20,000 | 17,000 | 4 |
| Metuge | Protection | 15,000 | 13,500 | 6 |
| Montepuez | WASH | 24,000 | 6,000 | 1 |
| Montepuez | Health | 24,000 | 4,800 | 1 |
The September figures do not take into account the October arrivals in Ancuabe.
Result
0 out of 100
Mark each answer honestly against the panel's grid: the total is calculated automatically.
Common mistakes that cost marks
- Copying the notes in order without distinguishing decisions, discussions and pending points.
- Writing action points without a single responsible party or a date ("the clusters will look into it").
- Leaving the disagreement on the assessment lead open.
- Judging gaps only in percentage terms, without taking new arrivals or cholera into account.
- Including children's names or statements attributed to named individuals in circulated minutes.
Useful references
- Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC), Reference Module for Cluster Coordination at Country Level
- OCHA, 3W/4W tools (who does what, where and when)
- Professional Standards for Protection Work (ICRC)