Political Affairs Officer

Result of Service Political Affairs Officer

Work Location Nairobi

Expected duration 12 months

Duties and Responsibilities Org. Setting and Reporting

The United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON), the UN headquarters in Africa, was established by the General Assembly in 1996. The Office is headed by a Director-General (DG), at the Under-Secretary-General level, and serves as the representative office of the Secretary-General in Nairobi. The Director-General is responsible for all activities of the United Nations Office at Nairobi. As the Secretary-General’s representative, the Director-General undertakes special political and representation assignments and provides the Secretary-General with advice and support on a broad range of political, diplomatic and cross-cutting issues in the region. The Director-General performs representation and liaison functions with permanent missions, the host-country and other Governments, and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, as well as other organizations of the United Nations system in Kenya. UNON hosts the global headquarters for UNEP and UN-Habitat, as well as offices for Kenya-based UN entities and other regional UN agencies. The Director-General of UNON oversees the United Nations Information Center (UNIC), the United Nations Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS), the Division of Conference Services (DCS) and Division of Administrative Services (DAS). The Director-General also serves as the UN Designated Official for Kenya, with overall responsibility for the security and safety of all United Nations staff and their dependents throughout Kenya.

This position is located in the Office is of the Director-General (ODG). The Political Affairs Officer will be based in Nairobi. Within the delegated authority, the incumbent will report to the UNON Director-General through the Chief of Staff in ODG.

RESPONSIBILITIES Within delegated authority, the Political Affairs Officer will be responsible for the following duties: - Provide specialised advice and technical support to the Director-General in identifying, analysing and monitoring political developments and emerging issues with respect to the implementation of the Director-General’s mandate. - Bring to the attention of the Director-General, through the Chief of Staff, all matters requiring his/her personal attention, makes recommendations on how those matters might be handled, and ensures appropriate follow-up, as directed. - Draft political briefs, talking points, and analytical reports for the Director-General and senior staff. - Draft/review correspondence for the Director-General. - Liaise and maintain close working relationships with all UN and other relevant internal and external stakeholders. - Analyse political and related events, and prepares analytical reports and papers, with a view to providing early warning advice to senior officials, and recommendations for further action. - Gather, select and analyse information contained in communications and publications received from different sources, including the press. - Maintain up-to-date knowledge of events and trends relating to the Duty Station - Keep abreast of latest trends and developments, monitors national and regional level political developments and provides inputs on issues to the Director-General and relevant colleagues. - Monitor actions taken by intergovernmental groups, UN organizations, government and non-governmental organizations, as well as civil society groups.

Qualifications/special skills Academic Qualifications: Advanced university degree (Master's degree or equivalent degree) in political science, international relations, law, or related field. A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree. Experience: A minimum of seven (7) years of progressively responsible experience in political science, international relations, law, development management, conflict resolution or related area is required. Experience in political outreach, facilitation, analysis, advice and reporting is required. Experience working at the international level in Africa is required. Experience in implementing conflict resolution work is required. Proven experience drafting high quality, accurate documents in English under tight deadlines is required. Experience briefing senior officials on complex or multidimensional issues is desirable. Experience working in a multicultural and multidisciplinary team is desirable. Prior experience working in a multidimensional analysis operation and/or in analytical entities is desirable. Previous experience working in the direct office of a senior public official is desirable. Previous experience providing strategic advice to a senior public official is required. Previous professional experience working on matters related to East Africa and the Indian Ocean Region is highly desirable. Language: English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the post advertised, fluency in both oral and written English is required. Fluency in another UN language is desirable.

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.