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Job Opening
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Posting Title: |
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Senior Political Affairs Officer, P5
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Job Code Title: |
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SENIOR POLITICAL AFFAIRS OFFICER
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Department/ Office: |
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Department of Political Affairs
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Duty Station: |
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NEW YORK
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Posting Period: |
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16 September 2015-30 November 2015
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Job Opening number: |
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15-POL-DPA-47664-R-NEW YORK(G)
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Staffing Exercise ID: |
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N/A
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United Nations Core Values: Integrity, Professionalism, Respect for Diversity
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Org. Setting and Reporting
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The position is located in the Africa I Division of the Department of Political Affairs (DPA). The Senior Political Affairs Officer serves as team leader for the Southern Africa and Indian Ocean team in the Africa I Division and will report to the Deputy Director of Africa I Division.
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Responsibilities
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Within delegated authority and under the supervision of the Director and Deputy Director, the Senior Political Affairs Officer will be responsible for the following duties:
- Develops a vision and direction for the team’s work and creates the conditions to allow its implementation. - Provides substantive guidance to the members of the team on a daily basis, particularly carrying out research and analysis on peace and security issues related to the geographical area assigned. - Drafts policy proposals for consideration by the Assistant Secretary-General, the Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs and the Secretary-General. - Prepares and reviews draft background papers, briefing notes and talking points. - Monitors and assesses political developments in the Southern Africa and Indian Ocean region and individual countries (may include: Angola, Botswana, Comoros, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe) and analyses the policies of other international, regional and/or sub-regional organizations to provide the Secretary-General and senior UN officials with early warning and policy options for conflict prevention, peace-making and post-conflict peace-building. - Provides substantive political support for good offices, mediation and other political initiatives and activities that may be undertaken by the Secretary-General, his Envoys and Representatives and/or other senior UN officials in the areas of responsibility. - Provides backstopping to DPA’s Liaison Team to Southern African Development Community (SADC) in Gaborone. - Participates in good offices, fact-finding or peace-making missions, leads on the implementation of agreements and decisions made and designs and develops policy, programme and project outlines, as required, and assists in the management and implementation. - Tracks the substantive aspects of the work of the different bodies of the Organization, as appropriate, and provides guidance on political issues to heads of UN offices and country teams in the assigned countries. - Manage the inter-agency working group on Southern Africa and Indian Ocean. - Coordinate closely with the Resident Coordinators of the assigned countries as well as the United Nations Office to the AU and other relevant UN Departments and entities. - Liaises with Permanent Missions of the UN of assigned countries, other UN departments, offices, agencies, funds and programmes, international and regional organizations, academic institutions and civil society organizations in Africa and represents the Division at meetings, inter-agency teams or task forces, round tables, seminars and conferences and reports back on outcomes and agreements to the Director and Deputy Director. - Responds to programming, budgeting and performance reporting requirements of the Division and participates in recruiting and selecting new staff, allocating assignments, reviewing and guiding the work of junior team members and evaluating staff members. - Performs other substantive and administrative duties as required.
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Competencies
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Professionalism: Demonstrated ability to conduct in-depth studies and reach conclusions on possible causes and solutions to political problems in specific areas and/or countries; Demonstrated analytical, research and negotiating skills; Ability to prepare high-quality draft documents in a timely manner, including under extreme time pressure; Ability to work calmly and collaboratively under pressure; Ability to develop effective working relationships with UN departments, agencies and programmes as well as relevant outside actors. 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.
Planning and 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 effectively.
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.
Leadership: Serves as a role model that other people want to follow; empowers others to translate vision into results; is proactive in developing strategies to accomplish objectives; establishes and maintains relationships with a broad range of people to understand needs and gain support; anticipates and resolves conflicts by pursuing mutually agreeable solutions; drives for change and improvement; does not accept the status quo; shows the courage to take unpopular stands. Provides leadership and takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work; demonstrates knowledge of strategies and commitment to the goal of gender balance in staffing.
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.
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Education
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Advanced university degree (Master's degree or equivalent) in political science, international relations or related field. A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
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Work Experience
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A minimum of ten years of progressively responsible experience in political science, international relations, conflict resolution or related area is required. Experience in political analysis in Africa is required. Experience with the practices and procedures in conflict resolution in an international organization is required. Experience in mediation, bilateral and multilateral negotiations is desirable. Experience in providing political support and guidance to peacemaking and peacekeeping organizations and/or good offices missions is desirable. Experience in programme and project drafting and management is desirable. Experience working with regional or subregional organizations is desirable. Two years of experience in advisory and managerial capacity is desirable.
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Languages
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English and French are the working languages of the UN Secretariat. For this post, fluency in English is required. Knowledge of French is desirable. Knowledge of another UN official language is an advantage.
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Assessment
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Evaluation of qualified candidates may include an assessment exercise which will be followed by a competency-based interview.
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Special Notice
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Staff members are subject to the authority of the Secretary-General and to assignment by him or her. In this context, all staff are expected to move periodically to new functions in their careers in accordance with established rules and procedures.
Staff members of the United Nations Secretariat must fulfill the lateral move requirements to be eligible to apply for this vacancy. Staff members are requested to indicate all qualifying lateral moves in their Personal History Profile (PHP) and cover note.
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United Nations Considerations
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Candidates will be required to meet the requirements of Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter as well as the requirements of the position. The United Nations is committed to the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity for all its human resources, including but not limited to respect for international human rights and humanitarian law. Candidates may be subject to screening against these standards, including but not limited to whether they have committed, or are alleged to have committed criminal offences and/or violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law.
The United Nations shall place 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. (Charter of the United Nations - Chapter 3, article 8). 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 At-a-Glance on "The Application Process" and the Instructional Manual for the Applicants, which can be accessed by clicking on “Manuals” hyper-link on the upper right side of inspira account-holder homepage.
Applications are pre-screened by the system according to the published requirements of the job opening on the basis of the information provided in the application. In relation to the requirements of the job opening, applicants must provide complete and accurate information pertaining to their qualifications, including their education, work experience, and language skills. Each applicant must bear in mind that submission of incomplete or inaccurate applications may render that applicant ineligible for consideration for the job opening. Initial screening and evaluation of applications will be conducted on the basis of the information submitted. Applications cannot be amended following submission. Candidates under serious consideration for selection will be subject to a reference-checking process to verify the information provided in the application.
Job openings advertised on the Careers Portal will be removed at midnight (New York time) on the deadline date.
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No Fee
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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.
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