Senior Political Affairs Officer

SENIOR POLITICAL AFFAIRS OFFICER (Temporary Job Opening) [Temporary]

United Nations

New York, NY

Temporary

This position is located in the Middle East and Gulf Team in the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific Division of the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Department of Peace Operations (DPPA-DPO). The Senior Political Affairs Officer reports to the Director and Deputy Director of the Middle East and Gulf Team.

Responsibilities

Within delegated authority, the Senior Political Affairs Officer will be responsible for the following duties:

Formulates political affairs strategies; develops a vision or direction for work; proposes policy directives and plan of action for immediate and long range solutions to political problems in general and in specific geographical areas; identifies emerging issues pertaining to the mandates of the unit; analyses implications and makes recommendations on possible strategies and measures.

Plans and implements the operational activities related to the work of the division/department, i.e., peacekeeping, disarmament, demobilization and reintegration, conflict prevention and resolution, post-conflict rehabilitation, election administration, political and governance institution-building, civil society support work, etc.; incorporates an integrated approach that includes a rights-based dimension, conflict prevention sensitivity, and a gender perspective into the policy, planning and operational activities of the unit.

Plans, coordinates and manages programmes, projects and activities requiring interdepartmental and/or interagency involvement and participation.

Prepares briefing notes and talking points for the Secretary-General, Senior Advisers, Under-Secretary-General/Assistant Secretary-General.

Designs peacekeeping initiatives; advises on and participates in the negotiation to establish operations and develops guidelines, terms of reference and operational plans and time frames for new operations.

Coordinates and directs the provision of secretariat services secretariat services -for the General Assembly, ECOSOC and the Security Council and their subsidiary bodies, and special conferences and summits.

Provides continuous guidance and advice to the Presidents and Chairs as well as other elected offices of intergovernmental bodies concerning the organization of work, status of negotiations, conduct of business including interpretation of the rules of procedure.

Leads and directs a work team; plans and allocates work assignments; coaches, mentors, and evaluates staff; participates in recruitment and selection of new staff and in the development of training programs.

Acts as coordinator for complex coordination and support missions.

Manages, coordinates, organizes and supervises research on a variety of political issues in a region and or country or major conflict

Represents division/office/mission at round tables, seminars and conferences.

Responds to/prepares responses to comments, statements, queries of parties and manages operations involving several components, including civilian, military and humanitarian operations.

Formulates the programme of work, budget and medium-term plan of the unit and participates in the overall approval of the programme of work, and administrative matters concerning the Section/Division or mission; coordinates and oversees work of colleagues and unit.

Develops and maintains relations with senior government officials and advises them on issues and policies of mutual concern.

Performs other related duties as required.

Competencies

PROFESSIONALISM: Knowledge of the work of intergovernmental bodies, the work of the United Nations and its related bodies concerned with political, economic, social and related matters. Ability to evaluate international political situations in area of assignment. Ability to manage and coordinate many different levels and participants in operations in both the field and UN common system. Ability to identify problems and propose policy options. Drafting ability and negotiation skills. Shows pride in work and in achievements; demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter; is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results; is motivated by professional rather than personal concerns; shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges; remains calm in stressful situations.

TEAMWORK: Works collaboratively with colleagues to achieve organizational goals; solicits input by genuinely valuing others’ ideas and expertise; is willing to learn from others; places team agenda before personal agenda; supports and acts in accordance with final group decision, even when such decisions may not entirely reflect own position; shares credit for team accomplishments and accepts joint responsibility for team shortcomings.

PLANNING & ORGANIZING: Develops clear goals that are consistent with agreed strategies; identifies priority activities and assignments; adjusts priorities as required; allocates appropriate amount of time and resources for completing work; foresees risks and allows for contingencies when planning; monitors and adjusts plans and actions as necessary; uses time efficiently.

MANAGING PERFORMANCE: Delegates the appropriate responsibility, accountability and decision-making authority; makes sure that roles, responsibilities and reporting lines are clear to each staff member; accurately judges the amount of time and resources needed to accomplish a task and matches task to skills; monitors progress against milestones and deadlines; regularly discusses performance and provides feedback and coaching to staff; encourages risk-taking and supports creativity and initiative; actively supports the development and career aspirations of staff; appraises performance fairly.

JUDGEMENT/DECISION-MAKING: Identifies the key issues in a complex situation, and comes to the heart of the problem quickly; gathers relevant information before making a decision; considers positive and negative impacts of decisions prior to making them; takes decisions with an eye to the impact on others and on the Organization; proposes a course of action or makes a recommendation based on all available information; checks assumptions against facts; determines that the actions proposed will satisfy the expressed and underlying needs for the decision; makes tough decisions when necessary.

Education

Advanced university degree degree in political science, international relations, international economics, law, public administration, or related field. A first-level university degree in combination with two years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Work Experience

A minimum of ten years of progressively responsible experience in international relations out of which at least five years of management experience is required, including supervising staff. Minimum three years of experience in political analysis on Middle East is required. Experience working on Syria is desired. Experience working in the United Nations common system, field missions or similar international organization is desirable.

Languages

Fluency in English is required; knowledge of Arabic is desirable.

Assessment

Evaluation of qualified candidates may include an assessment exercise which may be followed by competency-based interview.

Special Notice

This position is temporarily available until 31 December 2019. If the selected candidate is a staff member from the United Nations Secretariat, the selection will be administered as a temporary assignment.

While this temporary assignment may provide the successful applicant with an opportunity to gain new work experience, the selection for this position is for a limited period and has no bearing on the future incumbency of the post.

Subject to the funding source of the position, the eligibility for this temporary job opening may be limited to candidates based at the duty station.

This temporary job opening may be limited to “internal candidates,” who have been recruited through a competitive examination administered according to staff rule 4.16 or staff selection process including the review of a central review body established according to staff rule 4.15.

Staff members of the United Nations common system organizations who will reach the mandatory age of separation or retirement within the duration of the current temporary need period are not eligible to apply. Submitting an application or selection for the current temporary job opening does not delay or increase the mandatory age of separation.

Retirees above the mandatory age of separation who wish to be considered for the current temporary job opening must indicate the reason for their last separation as "retirement." Such retirees shall not be employed by the Organization, unless (a) the operational requirements of the Organization cannot be met by staff members who are qualified and available to perform the required functions; and (b) the proposed employment would not adversely affect the career development or redeployment opportunities of other staff members and represents both a cost-effective and operationally sound solution to meet the needs of the service.

United Nations Considerations

According to article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity. Candidates will not be considered for employment with the United Nations if they have committed violations of international human rights law, violations of international humanitarian law, sexual exploitation or sexual abuse, or crimes other than minor traffic offences, or if there are reasonable grounds to believe that they have been involved in the commission of any of these acts. The term “sexual exploitation” means any actual or attempted abuse of a position of vulnerability, differential power, or trust, for sexual purposes, including, but not limited to, profiting monetarily, socially or politically from the sexual exploitation of another. The term “sexual abuse” means the actual or threatened physical intrusion of a sexual nature, whether by force or under unequal or coercive conditions.

Due regard will be paid to the importance of recruiting the staff on as wide a geographical basis as possible. The United Nations places no restrictions on the eligibility of men and women to participate in any capacity and under conditions of equality in its principal and subsidiary organs. The United Nations Secretariat is a non-smoking environment.

Applicants are urged to follow carefully all instructions available in the online recruitment platform, inspira. For more detailed guidance, applicants may refer to the Manual for the Applicant, which can be accessed by clicking on “Manuals” hyper-link on the upper right side of the inspira account-holder homepage.

The evaluation of applicants will be conducted on the basis of the information submitted in the application according to the evaluation criteria of the job opening and the applicable internal legislations of the United Nations including the Charter of the United Nations, resolutions of the General Assembly, the Staff Regulations and Rules, administrative issuances and guidelines. Applicants must provide complete and accurate information pertaining to their personal profile and qualifications according to the instructions provided in inspira to be considered for the current job opening. No amendment, addition, deletion, revision or modification shall be made to applications that have been submitted. Candidates under serious consideration for selection will be subject to reference checks to verify the information provided in the application.

Job openings advertised on the Careers Portal will be removed at 11:59 p.m. (New York time) on the deadline date.

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.