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United Nations Core Values: Integrity, Professionalism, Respect for Diversity

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Org. Setting and Reporting

The United Nations Human Settlements Programme, UN-Habitat, is the agency for human settlements. It is mandated by the UN General Assembly to promote socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities with the goal of providing adequate shelter for all. This post is located in the Office of the Executive Director (OED) UN-Habitat. Under the guidance of the Executive Director, the incumbent's responsibilities will be as follows:

Responsibilities

•Directing and managing the Office of the Executive Director (OED) through ensuring overall coordination of the substantive support to the Executive Director in the implementation of his/her mandate on behalf of the Secretary-General.
•Providing strategic planning of the Executive Director's political and managerial objectives in cooperation with heads of Branches and Offices at UN-Habitat.
•Providing policy advice and recommendations to the Executive Director in the exercise of his/her functions.
•Coordinating the activities of UN-Habitat Branches and Offices as related to the Executive Director's responsibilities and monitoring implementation.
•Maintaining liaison with high-ranking representatives of Member States, as well as other international organizations and external partners on substantive, political and procedural questions and providing advice to the Executive Director on these issues.
•Managing the correspondence of the Executive Director and coordinating follow-up across UN-Habitat.
•Overseeing the preparation of and reviewing draft correspondence, official statements and reports for the Executive Director's signature or clearance.
•Conducting relevant research and preparing background papers on matters of concern to the Office.
•Formulating and implementing the work programme of the Office, determining priorities and monitoring progress; Overseeing the preparation of the budget and processing of human resources matters.
•In the absence of the Executive Director, receiving visitors, performing representational functions, organizing and attending meetings on his/her behalf.

Competencies

Professionalism: Excellent knowledge of the institutional mandates, policies and procedures of the United Nations; experience in the coordination of the activities of high-level officials and the provision of policy advice on a range of managerial and political questions. Strong analytical skills and proven ability to develop policy options and strategies; ability to establish and maintain contacts at all levels. Sound political judgement and diplomatic skills. 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.

Communication: Speaks and writes clearly and effectively; Listens to other, 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 keeping people informed.

Planning and organizing: Develops clear goals that are consistent with agreed strategies. Identifies priority activities and assignments; adjusts priorities as required. Allocates appropriate amount of time and resources for completing work. Foresees risks and allows for contingencies when planning. Monitors and adjusts plans and actions as necessary. Uses time efficiently.

Leadership: Takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work; Serves as a role model that other people want to follow; Empowers others to translate vision into results; Is proactive in developing strategies to accomplish objectives; Establishes and maintains relationships with a broad range of people to understand and gain support; Anticipates and resolves conflicts by pursuing mutually agreeable solutions; Drives for change and improvement; Does not accept the status quo; Shows the courage to take unpopular stands. Provides leadership and takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work; Demonstrates knowledge of strategies and commitment to the goal of gender balance in staffing.

Judgement/Decision-making: Identifies the key issues in a complex situation, and comes to the heart of the problem quickly; Gathers relevant information before making a decision;
Considers positive and negative impact of decision prior to making them; Takes decisions with an eye to the impact on others and 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 needs for
the decision; Makes tough decision when necessary.

Education

Advanced university degree (Master's degree or equivalent) in political science, international relations, management or other relevant discipline is required. A first university degree with a combination of two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced degree.

Work Experience

A minimum of fifteen years of progressively responsible experience in political affairs and/or management in a politically sensitive environment, including at least five years at the international level in the area of human settlements and/or development assistance is required.
Experience in providing strategic policy advice to senior level officials is required.
Experience in executive direction and management of a multilateral organization 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. Working knowledge of another United Nations official language will be an advantage.

Assessment

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

Special Notice

Appointment against this post is for an initial period of one year and may be subject to extension. Staff members of the United Nations Secretariat must fulfill the lateral move(s) requirements, or geographical to be eligible to apply for this vacancy. Staff members are requested to indicate all qualifying lateral or geographical move(s) in their Personal History Profile (PHP) and cover note.

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.

The United Nations is Secretariat is committed to achieving 50/50 gender balance in its staff. Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply for this position. All applicants are strongly encouraged to apply on-line as soon as possible after the job opening has been posted and well before the deadline stated in the job opening. On-line applications will be acknowledged where an email address has been provided. If you do not receive an e-mail acknowledgement within 24 hours of submission, your application may not have been received. If the problem persists, please seek technical assistance through the Inspira "Need Help?" link

Internal Applicants – when completing the PHP, ensure ALL fields, ALL professional experience and contact information are completed and up to date. This information is the basis for the hiring manager to assess your eligibility and suitability for the position and to contact you.

Individual contractors and consultants who have worked within the UN Secretariat in the last six months, irrespective of the administering entity, are ineligible to apply for professional and higher temporary or fixed-term positions and their applications will not be considered.

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.

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.

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