CHIEF POLITICAL AFFAIRS OFFICER

Contract

This is a D-1 contract. This kind of contract is known as Professional and Director staff. It is normally internationally recruited only. It's a staff contract. It usually requires 15 years of experience, depending on education.

Salary

The salary for this job should be between 128,707 USD and 162,415 USD.

Please keep in mind that the salary displayed here is an estimation by UN Talent based on the location and the type of contract. It may vary depending on the organization. The recruiter should be able to inform you about the exact salary range. In case the job description contains another salary information, please refer to this one.

Org. Setting and Reporting This position is located in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). The Division of Political and Civil Affairs constitutes the substantive Political component of the Mission, and includes the Political Affairs Section, Civil Affairs Section, Strategic Communications and Public Information Section. The incumbent of this post will report to the Deputy Head of Mission / Director of Political and Civil Affairs (DHoM/DPCA).

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

• Provide substantive inputs on all matters relating to the implementation of the Mission’s mandated tasks from the political and public relations perspective as well as to ensure conformity with the United Nations policies, practices and procedures; promote greater cultural sensitivity in all UNIFIL operations and interactions with local interlocutors.

• Develop overarching, integrated strategies as well as political and strategic direction for UNIFIL’s operations, including substantive guidance on policy issues, to further the Mission’s overall objectives; identify emerging issues pertaining to the mandate of UNIFIL, analyse implications and formulate guidance on possible strategies and measures.

• Support the Director in ensuring the integrity and effectiveness of UNIFIL’s liaison and coordination role with the parties to the conflict, including through the Tripartite mechanism.

• Support the HoM/DHoM in fulfilling the reporting obligations of the Mission to UN Headquarters, including regular and periodic political reports on developments in the Mission Area and the host country as well as inputs for the Secretary-General’s Reports to the Security Council on the implementation of resolution 1701.

• Advance the involvement in southern Lebanon of the Government of Lebanon, its ministries and security institutions, in effect contributing to the extension of the government’s effective authority in the area that UNIFIL is mandated to assist.

• Establish and manage a formalized consultative process with UNSCOL and advance a comprehensive approach to the implementation of resolution 1701, including by mainstreaming the United Nations goals, through effective coordination between UNIFIL, UNSCOL and the UN Country Team; plan, coordinate and manage programmes, projects and activities requiring interagency involvement and participation.

• Maintain liaison and effective political coordination with diplomatic representatives of troop contributing countries, Security Council member states and other partners, including relevant political parties and Civil Society actors.

• Support the DHoM in managing the Political Affairs section, set goals and determine priorities, ensure a cohesive effort, reallocate resources within the section as needed, appraise performance through evaluation of staff performance (ePAS), promote and facilitate staff development and training, including ensuring compliance with mandatory training.

  Competencies Professionalism – Demonstrated in-depth understanding of peacekeeping operations; strong analytical and evaluative skills combined with good judgment; in-depth understanding of and ability to evaluate international political situations; ability to advise on high profile and sensitive communication challenges; ability to assess communication environments and develop communication strategies to address diverse audience groups; excellent knowledge of the work of intergovernmental bodies; commitment to implementing the goal of gender equality by ensuring the equal participation and full involvement of women and men in all aspects of peace operations. Communication – Excellent and effective communication (verbal and written) skills, including ability to make and defend recommendations; diplomacy and tact; ability to persuade people with varying points of view; present information in a concise and accurate manner; ability to convey difficult issues and positions to senior officials. Teamwork – Excellent inter-personal skills with an ability to work and foster teamwork, encourage initiative and inspire and supervise staff in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, mixed gender environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity; integrity, tact and strong interpersonal skills. Leadership – Ability to provide managerial leadership in overseeing work of more junior staff and local experts; ability to generate and communicate organisational direction as well as introduce and emphasise UN policies into the dialogue; demonstrated ability to provide leadership and take responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives into substantive work; commitment to the goal of achieving gender balance in staffing. Judgement/Decision Making: Identifies key issues in complex situations and gets to the heart of a problem quickly; gathers relevant information before making a decision; considers positive and negative impact of decisions prior to making them; takes decisions with an eye to the impact on others an 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 need for the decision; makes tough decisions when necessary.

  Education Advanced university degree (Master's degree or equivalent) in political or social sciences, international relations, law, history, public administration or other related fields. A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

  Work Experience A minimum of fifteen years of progressively responsible experience in international affairs, conflict resolution, political affairs or related area is required.

  Experience in political analyses, bilateral and multilateral negotiations is required.

  A minimum of two years of experience in political affairs or related substantive area in peacekeeping in the field or other field operations in a conflict or post-conflict setting is required.

  Experience in or on the Middle East, preferably related to the Arab-Israeli conflict, is desirable.

  A minimum of two years of experience, leading and managing a large work unit in an international organization is desirable.

  Languages English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this post, fluency in English (both oral and written) is required. Knowledge of Arabic is desirable.

  Assessment Previously rostered candidates are not subject to any further assessment and as such, will not be invited for such an assessment.

  Special Notice This "Recruit from Roster" job opening is only open to roster applicants who are already placed on pre-approved rosters, following a review by a United Nations Central Review Body. Only roster applicants who were placed on rosters with similar functions at the same level are considered to be eligible candidates. Eligible applicants receive an email inviting them to apply. Rostered applicants are encouraged to apply only if they are interested and available to take up the position at the duty station/s specified in the Job Opening. Applying to this job opening carries an expectation to accept the offer, if selected.

  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, 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.

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.