This position is located within the Security Sector Reform (SSR) Unit in the Office of Rule of Law and Security Institutions (OROLSI), Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO), United Nations
Headquarters. The SSR Officer (Inter-agency Support) reports to the Chief of the SSR Unit, and / or his delegate.
Within delegated authority, the Security Sector Reform Officer will be responsible for the following duties:
• Coordinate responses to queries and requests for Security Sector Reform (SSR) support from peacekeeping operations and special political missions, as well as other departments, agencies and field offices.
• Assist in further developing and strengthening the UN-African Union partnership in the area of SSR
• Review and consolidate best practices and lessons learned in SSR from various sources.
• Develop a report on lessons learned in the area of SSR.
• Participate in field and technical assessment missions, including provision of guidance to external consultants, government officials and other parties.
• Assist in policy and guidance development, including the review and analysis of issues and trends, preparation of impact evaluation or equivalent studies, etc.
• Participate in the development, implementation and evaluation of assigned programmes/projects, etc.; monitor and analyze programme/project development and implementation; review relevant documents and reports; identify problems and issues to be addressed and propose corrective actions; liaise with relevant parties; and identify and track follow-up actions.
• Assist in the roll-out of SSR sensitization and training modules for UN peacekeeping personnel.
• Assist in the development of job profiles for SSR Officers and assessment of applications for technical clearance.
• Organize and prepare high-quality written outputs, e.g. policies, guidance material, background papers, talking points, analyses, sections of reports (e.g. relevant reports of the Secretary-General) and studies, inputs to publications, etc.
• Undertake survey initiatives; review, analyze and interpret responses, identify problems/issues and prepare conclusions.
• Research, analyze and present information gathered from diverse sources.
• Provide substantive support to conferences and meetings.
• Perform other duties as required.
• Professionalism: Excellent knowledge of SSR (concepts, terminology, research and policy literature); ability to work with a wide range of technical experts including public administrative, civil society, police, military and judicial actors, as well as those from NGOs and regional bodies; proven strengths in policy and operational-level coordination; good research, analytical and problem-solving skills, including the ability to identify and participate in resolution of issues/problems; ability to apply good judgment in the context of assignments given; ability to plan own work and manage conflicting priorities; commitment to implementing the goal of gender equality by ensuring the equal participation and full involvement of women and men in all aspects of SSR.
• Planning and organizing: Develops clear goals that are consistent with agreed strategies; identifies priority activities and assignments; adjusts priorities as required.
• Communication: Speaks and writes clearly and effectively; ability to develop contacts and maintain collaborative relationships with other organizations.
• Teamwork: Works collaboratively with colleagues to achieve organizational goals; shares credit for team accomplishments and accepts joint responsibility for team shortcomings, ability to establish and maintain effective working relations with people of different national and cultural backgrounds.
Advanced university degree (Master's degree or equivalent) in security sector management / administration/ governance, business management, public administration, international relations or a
related field. A first level university degree with a relevant combination of academic qualifications and experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
A minimum of five (5) years of progressively responsible experience in political science, international relations, law, disarmament, security, development management, conflict resolution or related area. Previous experience in the development and implementation of Security Sector Reform (SSR) programmes / projects in post-conflict contexts in Africa's Great Lakes region is desired. Experience in the development of partnerships with regional organizations in the area of SSR is desired; experience in compiling lessons learned reports, preferably in the area of SSR, is desired. Previous experience providing technical support in the area of SSR to peacekeeping missions is highly desirable.
English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the post advertised, fluency in oral and written English is required. Knowledge of another official United Nations language, preferably French, is desirable.
Evaluation of qualified candidates may include an assessment exercise which may be followed by competency-based interview.
Estimated start date: 01 March 2018
Duration of need: 31 July 2018
• A current staff member who holds a fixed-term, permanent or continuing appointment may apply for temporary positions no more than one level above his or her current grade. However, a current staff member who holds an appointment at the G-6 or G-7 level may also apply to temporary positions in the Professional category up to and including the P-3 level, subject to meeting all eligibility and other requirements for the position. A staff member holding a temporary appointment shall be regarded as an external candidate when applying for other positions, and may apply for other temporary positions at any level, subject to section 5.7 below and staff rule 4.16 (b) (ii). Therefore, a staff member holding a temporary appointment in the General Service or related categories may only apply to positions within those categories. For full information on eligibility requirements, please refer to section 5 of ST/AI/2010/4 Rev.1 on Temporary Appointments. In its resolution 66/234, the General Assembly further "stressed that the Secretary-General should not recur to the practice of temporarily filling posts in the Professional and higher categories with General Service staff members who have not passed the General Service to Professional category examination other than on an exceptional basis, and requests the Secretary-General to ensure that temporary occupation of such posts by the General Service staff shall not exceed a period of one year, effective 1 January 2013" Consequently, eligible candidates in the General Service or related categories for temporary job openings in the Professional category that have not passed the competitive examination may be selected only on an exceptional basis endorsed by the Office of Human Resources Management where no other suitable candidate could be identified.
• Upon separation from service, including, but not limited to, expiration or termination of, or resignation from, a fixed-term, continuing or permanent appointment, a former staff member will be ineligible for re-employment on the basis of a temporary appointment for a period of 31 days following the separation. In the case of separation from service on retirement, a former staff member will be ineligible for re-employment for a period of three months following the separation. This equally applies, mutatis mutandis, with respect to a former or current staff member who has held or
holds an appointment in another entity applying the United Nations Staff Regulations and Rules and who applies for a temporary position with the Secretariat.• 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.
• Subject to the funding source of the position, this temporary job opening may be limited to candidates based at the duty station.
• 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. An external candidate selected for this position is bound by the prevailing condition of the staff selection system under ST/AI/2010/3, as amended, and T/AI/2010/4/Rev.1. A staff member holding a temporary appointment who is recruited in the Professional and above categories on a temporary appointment, and placed on a position authorized for
one year or longer may not apply for or be reappointed to his/her current position within six months of the end of his / her current service. This provision does not apply to staff members holding temporary appointments and placed on positions authorized for one year or more in duty stations authorized for peacekeeping operations or special political missions.
• The expression "Internal candidates", shall mean staff members who have been recruited after a competitive examination under staff rule 4.16 or after the advice of a central review body under staff rule 4.15.
• Please note that 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.
• For information on special post allowance, please refer to ST/AI/1999/17. For more details on the administration of temporary appointments please refer to ST/AI/2010/4/Rev.1.
• The Staff Regulations, Staff Rules and administrative issuances governing staff appointments can be viewed at: http://www.un.org/hr_handbook/English• 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.
• Staff members are not eligible to apply for the current temporary job opening if they are unable to serve the specified duration of temporary need before reaching the mandatory age of separation. Submitting an application or selection for the current temporary job opening does not delay or increase the mandatory age of separation.
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.
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