Editorial Assistant

Contract

This is a G-5 contract. This kind of contract is known as General Service and related categories. It is normally only for nationals. It usually requires 5 years of experience, depending on education. More about G-5 contracts.

Org. Setting and Reporting

This position is located in the Publications, Outreach and Support Unit of the Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs. The incumbent reports to the Population Affairs Officer in the Unit. More information is available at https://www.un. org/development/desa/pd/.

Responsibilities

Within delegated authority, the Editorial Assistant may be responsible for the following duties:

• Assists in screening documents and sales publications submitted for editing in order to ensure compliance with submission standards and regulations; assists with reviewing, proofreading and editing manuscripts and other forms of publications, making stylistic, structural and grammatical corrections; formats publications and other documents for publication and printing using appropriate desktop publishing methods; • Registers incoming and outgoing texts in the electronic document-tracking system; informs supervisor of technical problems concerning submission and registration and assists in resolving them; maintains working and final files in the electronic storage system on the divisional collaborative platform; assists in updating content on the divisional website, including through use of web content management tools. • Assists supervisor in assigning incoming jobs and tracking the workflow; keeps all concerned informed of changes in processing schedules and transmits corrections made by authors to texts in process. • Ensures that outgoing texts are submitted correctly to the translation services and text-processing units or the reproduction section. • Acts as focal point for the release of texts to the United Nations Official Document System (ODS). • Provides reference assistance to language staff, contacting other UN offices and permanent missions as necessary. • Responds to queries from other departments or services concerning documents submitted for processing; refers queries to the appropriate parties as necessary. • Compiles statistics on the output and workflow of the Section; • Assists in the servicing of intergovernmental meetings and briefings for Member States and other stakeholders; Performs general office support functions for the Unit, and maintains attendance records; and • Carries out other tasks requested by the supervisor on outreach activities, publications and the organization of intergovernmental meetings; covers other General Service staff functions when the staff members are absent on annual or sick leave.

Competencies

• Professionalism: Knowledge of UN documentation, the document processing chain and relevant operational and administrative procedures. Knowledge of UN editorial policies and practices;. 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; Commitment to implementing the goal of gender equality by ensuring the equal participation and full involvement of women and men in all aspects of work.

• 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.

• Accountability: Takes ownership of all responsibilities and honours commitments; delivers outputs for which one has responsibility within prescribed time, cost and quality standards; operates in compliance with organizational regulations and rules; supports subordinates, provides oversight and takes responsibility for delegated assignments; takes personal responsibility for his/her own shortcomings and those of the work unit, where applicable.

Education

High school diploma or equivalent is required.

Job - Specific Qualification

Not available.

Work Experience

A minimum of five years of experience in office support functions and in desktop publishing, copy editing, proofreading or a related area is required. The minimum years of relevant experience is reduced to three years for candidates who possess a first-level university degree or higher.

Experience in using Microsoft Office applications, in particular Word, Excel and PowerPoint is required.

Experience with InDesign or other desktop publishing software is desirable.

Experience with maintenance of website materials with content management tools such as Drupal is desirable.

Languages

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 is an advantage.

Assessment

Evaluation of qualified candidates may include an assessment exercise which may be followed by competency-based interview.

Special Notice

This position is subject to local recruitment pursuant to staff rule 4.4 of the United Nations Staff Rules. Applicants for positions in the General Service and related categories must be authorized to work for the United Nations in the duty station where the position is located. Eligible applicants selected from outside the duty station are responsible for any expenses in connection with their relocation to the duty station. Staff members subject to local recruitment are not eligible for allowances or benefits exclusively applicable to international recruitment.

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.