Closing date: 22 Feb 2020
Org. Setting and Reporting
These positions are located in the field in peace operations, special political missions, UNDP and UNOPS electoral projects or with other UN entities providing electoral assistance (http://www.un.org/undpa/en/employment). Staff level P5 is equivalent to the following International Civil Service and International Individual Contractor Agreement levels: ICS12 and IICA3/IICA4.
The Senior Electoral Officer may head a unit, section, field office or project and may be the senior-most electoral officer of the mission or project, for example in the role of Chief Technical Advisor, but may also serve as a member of an electoral assistance team, usually in an advisory role to a national counterpart in her/his area of expertise. The Senior Electoral Officer reports to either a Principal Electoral Officer, the Head of Mission, Special Representative of the Secretary-General or the designee, or to the Chief Technical Adviser of another UN agency (UNDP, UNOPS, UN Women, UNESCO, etc.) or the UNDP Resident Representative, or head of another UN agency (UNOPS, UN Women, UNESCO, etc.) or other designated supervisors.
Responsibilities
The Senior Electoral Officer will be responsible for the following duties: (These duties are generic and may not be carried out by all Senior Electoral Officers.)
Design, lead, supervise, coordinate and contribute to the implementation of electoral assistance programmes and processes in the following areas, as required: legal drafting and reform; complaints and dispute resolution; overall process management, planning and budgeting; infrastructure development; operations including field operations; procurement; logistics; security; information and communications technology; data processing and analysis; procedures; training; external relations, public information, outreach and media relations; civic and voter education; inclusion programmes; graphic design; administrative support; support to the media, political parties and civil society; gender mainstreaming; capacity-building, and institutional reform and development.
Lead, coordinate and supervise the provision of technical assistance and advice to national counterparts and their institutions in the above areas.
Provide project and programme management and support, including budget management and monitoring, and reporting of results to national counterparts, donors and UN bodies.
Provide overall donor liaison and management.
Monitor the impact of domestic norms and processes on women’s political participation and representation, and the compliance with international norms and commitments on gender equality and women’s rights; provide advice to the Electoral Management Bodies and other relevant national stakeholders on appropriate corrective measures.
If required, serve as the most senior electoral advisor for the entire UN Country Team and offer electoral advice to UN senior management on the ground. Supervise and manage the performance of UN national and international staff under the project.
Establish and maintain professional and productive partnerships with national counterpart institutions and other key stakeholders in the electoral process. Establish effective communication mechanisms; regularly brief senior UN officials, partners, donors, counterparts as well as other key stakeholders on the electoral process and provide regular reports, including to the head of the UN/Mission as well as senior officials in UN Headquarters.
Perform other related duties as required.
Work implies frequent interaction with the following: Senior UN officials including Special Envoys of the Secretary-General, Resident Coordinators, Resident Representatives, their deputies and Country Directors; managers and staff of the Mission and the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, Department of Peace Operations and/or Department of Operational Support, UNDP and/or UNOPS; managers and senior staff of the Mission or country office; senior staff of specialized agencies, senior representatives of international and regional organizations and governments; heads and senior staff of electoral management bodies and other national institutions involved in the electoral process; heads and senior staff of political parties, non-governmental organizations, academic institutions, institutes and foundations as well as media representatives, if authorized by the supervisor or if the function is media relations officer.
Competencies
CORE 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 in all areas of work and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work; Demonstrates knowledge and leads by example with the commitment to the United Nations-wide Strategy on Gender Parity.
TEAMWORK
Works collaboratively with colleagues to achieve organizational goals; Solicits inputs 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 the team shortcomings.
PLANNING & 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.
MANAGERIAL COMPETENCIES:
LEADERSHIP
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 needs and gains 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.
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 impacts of decisions 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 decisions when necessary.
Education
Advanced university degree (Master's degree or equivalent) in Political Science, International Economics, International Relations, Law, Public Administration, or a related field is required. A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
Work Experience
A minimum of ten years of progressively responsible experience in elections and related areas is required.
Electoral experience in a field operation of the United Nations Common System or a comparable international organization or other relevant electoral experience is required.
At least five years of experience in supervising, implementing, supporting or advising on electoral processes is required.
Previous experience in managing a team at the senior level is desirable.
Electoral experience in developing countries is desirable.
Work experience in post-conflict situations is desirable.
Experience in bilateral or multilateral negotiations is desirable.
Languages
English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the post advertised, fluency in English or French (both oral and written) is required. Knowledge of another UN official language is an advantage.
Assessment
Evaluation of qualified candidates may include an assessment exercise which may be followed by competency-based interview.
Special Notice
The United Nations Secretarial maintains rosters of qualified and available candidates to fill anticipated job openings in peacekeeping operations, special political missions, and other field operations. The purpose of this job opening is to generate a list of qualified candidates for inclusion in the Senior Electoral Officer roster, at the P-5 level. The entire assessment process takes an average of six months; all applicants will be notified in writing of the outcome of their application (whether successful or unsuccessful) within 14 days of the conclusion of the process. Successful candidates will be placed on the roster and subsequently will be invited to apply for field mission vacancies open only to roster members. Roster membership does not guarantee selection.
How to apply:
More information and application at https://careers.un.org/lbw/jobdetail.aspx?id=129167&Lang=en-US