Sustainable Development 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 140,639 USD and 184,155 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 National Strategies and Capacity Building Branch of the Division for Sustainable Development in the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA). The Division for Sustainable Development Goals provides leadership in promoting and coordinating the implementation of the sustainable development agenda of the United Nations and serves as the global secretariat for the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and provides substantive inputs to the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development. For more information, please visit our website at https://sdgs.un.org/.

The Sustainable Development Officer reports to the Chief of the Branch. The focus of the position is to coordinate the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the Branch’s programme of work; support capacity development and training activities at the global, regional and national levels whilst linking the global intergovernmental processes with national policies, strategies and reviews of SDG implementation particularly in the areas of integrating the 2030 Agenda into national development plans and strategies, voluntary national review follow-up, emerging challenges and other substantive areas as appropriate.

Responsibilities Within delegated authority, the Sustainable Development Officer will be responsible for the following duties:

• Drafts inputs for technical papers and analytical studies on sustainable development issues, including UN common country analysis in cooperation with the respective UN country team.
• Attends international, regional, and national meetings for consultations with colleagues in other institutions dealing with sustainable development issues, notably related to the High-Level Political Forum and its Voluntary National Review process.
• Assists in the organization and servicing of expert group meetings, seminars, etc. on sustainable development issues, including capacity building activities undertaken by the Branch on implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the SDGs.
• Prepares speeches and other inputs for presentations by senior staff on sustainable development issues.
• Prepares inputs for reports to the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development and other intergovernmental bodies, inter-agency or expert groups on issues relating to sustainable development.
• Follows intergovernmental meetings, prepares summary reports and provides substantive support, as needed.
• Participates in missions on sustainable development issues, usually as a member of a team, including supporting sub-national governments and stakeholders in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and integrating the SDGs in national development plans.
• Performs other duties as required, including administrative tasks.

• Undertakes on-the-job and other training activities both internally and externally.

  Competencies •Professionalism: Ability to apply sustainable development theories, concepts and approaches. Ability to develop economic, social and environmental policies and make recommendations on their implementation. Knowledge and understanding of sustainable development issues, international policy-making processes and UN intergovernmental process in the area of sustainable development. Familiarity with relevant capacity development activities of other Divisions of UN-DESA, regional commissions, and UN agencies, funds and programmes active in the area of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals. Ability to conduct independent research and analysis on sustainable development topics, determine suitability, validity and accuracy of data provided by different sources. Ability to deliver oral presentations to various audiences. 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 ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work.

•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 Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent degree) in sustainable development, development studies, economics, public policy, social sciences or related field is required. A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying work experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Work Experience A minimum of five years of progressively responsible experience in a broad range of sustainable development issues, preferably in the fields of policy formulation and implementation, programme/project management, building strategic alliances and partnerships, resource mobilization, and related capacity development is required.

Experience working in an international organization and in supporting intergovernmental processes is desirable.

Experience in contributing inputs for reports to intergovernmental bodies, inter-agency or expert groups on issues related to sustainable development is desirable.

Experience in the organization and substantive servicing of capacity building workshops, expert group meetings, seminars, etc. on sustainable development issues is desirable.

Languages English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the post advertised, fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another UN official languages is advantage.

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

Special Notice The United Nations Secretariat is committed to achieving 50/50 gender balance in its staff. Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply for this position.

For this position, applicants from the following Member States, which are unrepresented or underrepresented in the UN Secretariat as of 30 November 2021, are strongly encouraged to apply: Afghanistan, Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahrain, Belize, Brunei Darussalam, Cabo Verde, China, Comoros, Cuba, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Djibouti, Dominica, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Grenada, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Israel, Japan, Kiribati, Kuwait, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Monaco, Namibia, Nauru, Norway, Oman, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, San Marino, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Sudan, Timor-Leste, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, United Arab Emirates, United States of America, Vanuatu, Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.

Pursuant to section 7.11 of ST/AI/2012/2/Rev.1, candidates recruited through the young professionals programme who have not served for a minimum of two years in the position of their initial assignment are not eligible to apply to this position.

Staff members are subject to the authority of the Secretary-General and to assignment by him or her. In this context, all staff are expected to move periodically to new functions in their careers in accordance with established rules and procedures.

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.