This position is located within the United Nations Investigative Team to Promote Accountability of Da'esh / ISIL (UNITAD) and will be based in Baghdad, Iraq. The incumbent will report to the Chief, Office of Evidence Management.
UNITAD was established by the Secretary-General pursuant to Security Council resolution 2379 (2017), according to which it is mandated to support domestic efforts to hold ISIL (Da'esh) accountable by collecting, preserving, and storing evidence in Iraq of acts that may amount to war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide committed by the terrorist group ISIL (Da'esh) in Iraq.
Within delegated authority, the incumbent will be responsible for the following duties:
DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION
•Direct UNITAD's strategy with respect to excavations of mass grave sites and postmortem examination of human remains in line with the Team's investigative strategy;
•Ensure coherence between UNITAD's strategy on mass graves investigations and that of Iraqi national authorities and develop programs to enhance the capacity of local forensic institutions;
•Develop a common forensic strategy with other international organizations to increase local forensic institution's access to forensic resources, expertise and emerging technologies and ensure non-duplication;
•Lead exhumations in the field at mass grave sites in Iraq and provide technical guidance and oversight to UNITAD staff, partners, and Iraqi counterparts;
•Manage the delivery of outputs and deliverables related to extra-budgetary projects for mass grave exhumations through the UNITAD Trust Fund;
•Interprets and applies international standards and best practices to all scientific aspects of UNITAD's work on mass grave investigations
•Ensure coherence of approach between all sections of the Team with respect to mass grave investigations
•Advise on the collection of ante mortem data for the purposes of identification of human remains and support/promote the development of a coherent, integrated system to establish scientific identifications in a timely manner. organize a system for matching postmortem data;
•Lead and direct a team in exhumations and victim identification duties and activities.
GENERAL ADMINISTRATION
•Advise on the identification of required equipment, tools and materials needed for the above-described operations;
•Manage procurement processes, including conducting needs assessments, preparing bid documents, reviewing contracts, coordinate the management of goods and services;
•Oversee the contracting and work of third-party contractors, service providers, and implementing partners as required;
•Take the lead on substantive aspects of human resource management of forensic teams.
GOVERNANCE
•Engage key external stakeholders across host government agencies, international organizations, non-governmental organizations, research, academia, the private sector, and civil society to enhance UNITAD's exhumation and mortuary activities;
•Keep abreast of the latest technological and scientific developments in the field of mass grave exhumations and victim identification;
•Perform any other duties as required.
•Professionalism: 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. Takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work.
•Communication: Speaks and writes clearly and effectively; listens to others, correctly interprets messages from others and responds appropriately; asks questions to clarify and exhibits interest in having two-way communication; tailors language, tone, style and format to match audience; demonstrates openness in sharing information and keeping people informed.
•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.
•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 improvements; 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.
•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 the actions proposed will satisfy the expressed and underlying needs for the decision; makes tough decisions when necessary.
Advanced University degree (Masters or equivalent), preferably in forensic anthropology or archaeology, or related fields is required. A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
A minimum of ten (10) years of progressively responsible experience at national and/or international level as a forensic anthropologist or archaeologist is required.
Seven (7) years of direct experience in the recovery and analysis of human remains using a multidisciplinary approach is required.
Experience working in Iraq is desirable.
Experience conducting ante mortem data collection using various strategists is required.
Experience with an international or multilateral public institution is desirable.
English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the position advertised, fluency in English is required. Fluency of Arabic is desirable.
NOTE: ''Fluency'' equals a rating of ''fluent'' in all four areas (read, write, speak, understand) and ''Knowledge of'' equals a rating of ''confident'' in two of the four areas.
Evaluation of qualified candidates may include an assessment exercise which may be followed by competency-based interview.
• The United Nations Secretariat is committed to achieving 50/50 gender balance and geographical diversity in its staff. Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply for this position.
• Fully vaccinated status for COVID-19 or willingness to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 is required for this position.
• This position is funded by a trust fund and temporarily available. 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.
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, sexual abuse, or sexual harassment, 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. The term “sexual harassment” means any unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature that might reasonably be expected or be perceived to cause offence or humiliation, when such conduct interferes with work, is made a condition of employment or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment, and when the gravity of the conduct warrants the termination of the perpetrator’s working relationship. Candidates who have committed crimes other than minor traffic offences may not be considered for employment.
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.
The paramount consideration in the appointment, transfer, or promotion of staff shall be the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity. By accepting an offer of appointment, United Nations staff members are subject to the authority of the Secretary-General and assignment by him or her to any activities or offices of the United Nations in accordance with staff regulation 1.2 (c). In this context, all internationally recruited staff members shall be required to move periodically to discharge new functions within or across duty stations under conditions established by the Secretary-General.
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.
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