CIVIL AFFAIRS OFFICER

Contract

This is a P-3 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 5 years of experience, depending on education.

Salary

The salary for this job should be between 74,649 USD and 97,747 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

These positions are located in the Office of the Deputy Head of Mission of the United Nations Mission in Support of the Hudaydah Agreement (UNMHA). The incumbent will be based in Hudaydah, Yemen and will report to the Deputy Head of Mission.

Following the Stockholm Agreement, reached in Sweden on 13 December 2018, between the Government of Yemen and the Houthis under the auspices of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen, the Security Council in its resolution 2451 authorized the Secretary-General to deploy an advance team to support the immediate implementation of the Hudaydah governorate-wide ceasefire and a mutual redeployment of forces from the city of Hudaydah and the ports of Hudaydah, Salif and Ras Isa (Hudaydah Agreement). The Security Council also mandated the United Nations to chair the Redeployment Coordination Committee (RCC) established to oversee the ceasefire and the redeployment of forces.

On 16 January 2019, the Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 2452 authorizing the establishment of a new Special Political Mission, the United Nations Mission to support the Hudaydah Agreement (UNMHA). The Mission brings together a variety of personnel, including military, police and civilian staff, from around the world to deliver on its mandate, with a focus on providing support to the functioning of the RCC and related mechanisms as part of monitoring the ceasefire.

Since its establishment, UNMHA has maintained dialogue between the Yemeni parties and continues to explore different ways to keep momentum towards the full implementation of the Hudaydah Agreement and related Security Council resolutions. Through sustained engagement, the Mission has supported the parties to finalize agreements on the technical details of a phased redeployment of forces and demilitarization of the ports of Hudaydah, Salif and Ras Isa, which provide a critical commercial and humanitarian artery sustaining the lives of millions in Yemen.

Responsibilities

Within the limits of delegated authority, the Civil Affairs Officer will be responsible for performing the following duties:

Core profile:

• Leads UNMHA civil affairs team and community engagement efforts across Hudaydah governorate; • Provides information and analysis for the Mission and other actors where applicable, on political, social and economic issues affecting conflict dynamics at the local and regional level, including analysis on how these relate to the national level and vice versa. Ensures that the concerns and perceptions of the local population are effectively communicated to the Mission, as well as other actors where appropriate; • Manages individual Quick Impact Projects (QIPs) intended for confidence building purposes at the local level, in line with UN policies on QIPs and Mission specific priorities; • Leads UNMHA programmatic activities, in coordination with the Office of Mission Support, as well as with UNCT and OCHA as required; • Contributes to a shared understanding of the Mission environment, mandate and operations amongst Mission actors at the local level, to support consistency and coherence of approach; • Fosters effective working relations with United Nations Country Team (UNCT); • Represents the mission at the local level as required; • Supervises, monitors and encourages the work of staff under his/her responsibility in undertaking the full range of their duties; • Contributes to the formulation of recommendations concerning Mission actions and approaches required at the local level. Assists in mobilising responses from other actors where appropriate; • Contributes to overall mission monitoring and planning as required; • Identifies and researches good practice and lessons learned in Civil Affairs work and shares these with colleagues, including through active participation in the online Civil Affairs Network; • Performs other duties as required, in line with the UN policies on Civil Affairs.

Conflict Management:

• Supports dialogue between groups in conflict in the area of responsibility by convening structured meetings and similar activities; • Promotes and protects the interest of excluded and/or threatened groups through advocacy in full respect of humanitarian and international law; • Supports civil society groups and/or institutions at the local level that promote a culture of peace and reconciliation. Assists the civil society groups and institutions where appropriate, in becoming effective implementing partners for Quick Impact Projects.

Support to Local/State Institutions:

• Assists local institutions to assess capacity building and support needs, working with partners including the UNCT and in particular UNDP; Helps to design a coordinated response to these needs from relevant actors; • Assists in the design and implementation of appropriate and practical Civil Affairs support to local authorities, including mentoring and support to policy and decision-making processes where appropriate; • Supports dialogue and cooperation between authorities and relevant interest groups with the aim of creating political space and accountability, and provide support to the development of structures of accountability and transparency; • Supports events such as public fora or town-hall meetings to foster development of political space at the local level. Supports civic education programmes at the local level on a range of issues, including elections, policy issues, and good governance principles, in coordination with local authorities and/or civil society actors.

Programme Management:

• Manages a local field office or team, undertaking or overseeing the programmatic and administrative tasks necessary for its functioning; • Manages a small Mission QIPs programme in accordance with Mission priorities. Includes, inter alia: acting as Secretariat to a decision-making body on QIPs, ensuring the effective and timely running of the project design, approval and implementation process, the keeping of accurate records, assistance with determining mission specific priorities, assessment of impact of the overall programme, and drafting of QIPs submission for the Mission budget; • Contributes to the development and ensures distribution of high-quality mission-specific induction materials. Assists with the design, implementation and evaluation of tailored in-mission skills training for Civil Affairs components in accordance with global Civil Affairs skills training methodologies; • Supports the Mission Gender Advisor, identifying and communicating ways to ensure that gender perspective is taken into account in all aspects of Civil Affairs work; • Serves as focal point for researching, identifying and sharing good practices and lessons learned with the Civil Affairs component and the global Civil Affairs community. • Performs other related work as required.

Competencies

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

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.

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.

Education

An advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in political science, law, international relations, public administration, social sciences, anthropology, economics or related field is required. A first-level university degree in combination with two (2) additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Job - Specific Qualification

Not available.

Work Experience

A minimum of five years of progressively responsible experience in social sciences, governance, international relations or other related area is required.

A minimum of one year of progressively responsible experience in Civil Affairs-related work with UN Peacekeeping Operations, UN funds or programmes, National or International NGOs, or community-based organizations, research institutions or related field is required.

At least one year working in conflict management, facilitation, mediation or negotiation skills; experience in facilitating structured dialogue events between different parties, and reconciliation activities and processes is desirable.

At least one year experience working in programme/project management with international governmental or non-governmental organizations, including relevant experience in monitoring and evaluation of projects, budgeting and financial reporting is desirable

Previous experience on or working in the Middle East is desirable.

Languages

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the position advertised, fluency in English (both oral and written) is required. Knowledge 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.

Assessment

Evaluation of qualified candidates may include an assessment exercise which may be followed by an Informal Interview.

Special Notice

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.

• This position is temporarily available for [364 days]. 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, 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.

Reasonable accommodation may be provided to applicants with disabilities upon request, to support their participation in the recruitment process.

By accepting a letter of appointment, staff members are subject to the authority of the Secretary-General, who may assign them to any of the activities or offices of the United Nations in accordance with staff regulation 1.2 (c). Further, staff members in the Professional and higher category up to and including the D-2 level and the Field Service category are normally required to move periodically to discharge functions in different duty stations under conditions established in ST/AI/2023/3 on Mobility, as may be amended or revised. This condition of service applies to all position specific job openings and does not apply to temporary positions.

Applicants are urged to carefully follow all instructions available in the online recruitment platform, inspira, and to refer to the Applicant Guide by clicking on “Manuals” in the “Help” tile 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.