SENIOR MISSION PLANNING OFFICER

at United Nations
Location Juba, Sudan
Date Posted September 15, 2020
Category Administration
Job Type Full-time
Currency SDG

Description

The position is located in the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS).

The United Nations Security Council adopted resolution 2524 (2020) authorizing the mandate of UNITAMS to support the political transition in Sudan and the progress towards democratic governance, protection and promotion of human rights and sustainable peace. UNITAMS will support peace processes and the implementation of future peace agreements, assist peace-building, civilian protection and rule of law, in particular in Darfur and the Two Areas. UNITAMS will also support the mobilization of economic and development assistance and the coordination of humanitarian assistance.

The position is based in Khartoum, Sudan and is located in the Office of the Chief of Staff. The incumbent will report to the Chief of Staff.

Responsibilities

Within the limits of delegated authority, the Senior Mission Planning Officer will be responsible for performing the following duties:

Partnerships, Planning and Programming:

  • Acts as a senior advisor to the Mission leadership on strategic planning issues, including mission start-up, engaging with the host Government, UN partners and external actors in respect of multi-dimensional planning processes.
  • Facilitates joint and integrated planning between Mission components, UNCT members and other relevant partners in accordance with the Policy on Integrated Assessments and Planning, and senior management guidance.
  • Leads the preparation of a Mission Concept, Mission Plan and similar initiatives, which, building on the vision of the SRSG, translates the mission mandated tasks into a form that fuses objectives, timelines and expected outcomes into a coherent whole, serving as an authoritative guide for the development and implementation of Mission component plans.
  • Provides advice to Mission components in development of component-level plans, including ensuring coherence with the Mission’s overall strategic direction.
  • Monitors implementation of the budget, including staffing needs and workplace planning and advises senior management to help ensure that resources are used to support implementation of component plans, mission priorities and Integrated Strategic Framework (ISF) or equivalent.
  • Provides authoritative advice and technical support enabling UN senior management to develop, implement, and monitor strategies that maximize the individual and collective impact of the UN’s response in the country of deployment, concentrating on mandated tasks and activities required to consolidate peace through a strategic partnership between the Mission and the UN Country Team.

Analysis, Advice and Reporting:

  • Provides authoritative advice to senior management and programme managers on strategic and operational planning policy, procedures and best practices in line with the UN Policy on Integrated Assessment and Planning (IAP); provides recommendations on design of specific planning tools and mechanisms, in line with policy and best practice, to meet the needs of the Mission and partners.
  • Ensures the establishment and operation of integrated field coordination structures, including a senior leadership forum, providing policy guidance and technical assistance on joint strategic and operational issues as required.
  • Coordinates Mission-level support to the Headquarters-based Integrated Task Force or equivalent body and supports Technical Assessment Missions, Strategic Assessment Mission and Strategic Reviews. Serves as a strategy and planning point of contact for Headquarters and facilitates linkages between field-based structures and the Headquarters-based Integrated Task Forces.
  • With all relevant stakeholders, facilitates the development and implementation of a UN Integrated Strategic Framework for peace consolidation in the country, including in-depth conflict analysis, identification of priorities, roles and responsibilities for the United Nations, and a system for monitoring and evaluation of progress.
  • Prepares the Mission Results-Based Budget (RBB) framework and performance reports, and prepares inputs as required for audits, budget monitoring and performance reporting. As directed by Mission leadership, designs and facilitates development of other strategies and plans required for implementation of the Mission’s mandate.
  • Leads and coordinates the work of the Mission planning team.
  • Where applicable, stands in for the Chief of Staff. Performs other duties as required.

    Competencies

    Professionalism: Comprehensive understanding of the issues and challenges in volatile conflict or post conflict environments. Proven ability to facilitate and produce integrated strategic plans, strategies, or similar documents. Well-developed understanding of peace and security, development, and humanitarian actors and perspectives. Demonstrated experience with monitoring and evaluation in complex organizational settings. Proven success integrating strategic planning processes with requisite funding, staffing, and other resource requirements. Strong inter-personal skills, including the ability to manage challenging multi-stakeholder analytical and planning processes. Proven ability to build consensus with colleagues and contacts in pursuit of common objectives Shows pride in work and 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 the audience; Demonstrates openness in sharing information and keeping people informed.

Planning and Organizing: Develops clear goals that are consistent with agreed strategies; Identifies priority activities and assignments and 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.

Building Trust: Provides an environment in which others can talk and act without fear of repercussion; Manages in a deliberate and predictable way; Operates with transparency; Has no hidden agenda; Places confidence in colleagues, staff members and clients; Gives proper credit to others; Follows through on agreed upon actions-Treats sensitive or confidential information appropriately.

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 social sciences, political science, international relations, economics, finance, management or development, or a related field. A first-level university degree in combination with qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Professional training in the areas of planning, programme management, analysis, facilitation and/or coordination is an asset.

Work Experience

A minimum of ten (10) years of relevant progressively responsible professional experience is required; this should include policy development at the strategic level as well as experience facilitating and coordinating multi-stakeholder planning processes in peace consolidation settings.
Demonstrated experience implementing policies, procedures and operations at the United Nations or a comparable international organization, including mandated development planning, budget and human resources, is required.
Experience of designing and applying monitoring and evaluation tools is required.
At least one year of experience working in one of the above fields in or in support of the start-up of a field operation of the United Nations Common System or a comparable international organization is desirable.

Languages

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the position advertised, fluency in English is required.

Assessment

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

Special Notice

• Please note that this is a temporary job opening, open to internal and external candidates. 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.

• The temporary position is advertised for a duration of 6 months. The selected candidate is expected to start as soon as possible.

• Please note that due to the ongoing situation with COVID-19 and the travel restrictions imposed by national authorities, selected candidates may be required to start the assignment/appointment remotely, in agreement with the hiring manager, and until further notice.

• A current staff member who holds a fixed-term, permanent or continuing appointment may apply for temporary positions no more than one level above his or her current grade. However, a current staff member who holds an appointment at the G-6 or G-7 level may also apply to temporary positions in the Professional category up to and including the P-3 level, subject to meeting all eligibility and other requirements for the position. A staff member holding a temporary appointment shall be regarded as an external candidate when applying for other positions and may apply for other temporary positions at any level, subject to section 5.7 below and staff rule 4.16 (b) (ii). Therefore, a staff member holding a temporary appointment in the General Service or related categories may only apply to positions within those categories. For full information on eligibility requirements, please refer to section 5 of ST/AI/2010/4/Rev.1 on Temporary Appointments. In its resolution 66/234, the General Assembly further “stressed that the Secretary-General should not recur to the practice of temporarily filling posts in the Professional and higher categories with General Service staff members who have not passed the General Service to Professional category examination other than on an exceptional basis, and requests the Secretary-General to ensure that temporary occupation of such posts by the General Service staff shall not exceed a period of one year, effective 1 January 2013…” Consequently, eligible candidates in the General Service or related categories for temporary job openings in the Professional category that have not passed the competitive examination may be selected only on an exceptional basis endorsed by the Office of Human Resources Management where no other suitable candidate could be identified.

• Upon separation from service, including, but not limited to, expiration or termination of, or resignation from, a fixed-term, continuing or permanent appointment, a former staff member will be ineligible for re-employment on the basis of a temporary appointment for a period of 31 days following the separation. In the case of separation from service on retirement, a former staff member will be ineligible for re-employment for a period of three months following the separation. This equally applies, mutatis mutandis, with respect to a former or current staff member who has held or holds an appointment in another entity applying the United Nations Staff Regulations and Rules and who applies for a temporary position with the Secretariat.

• Retirees above the mandatory age of separation who wish to be considered for the current temporary job opening must indicate the reason for their last separation as "retirement." Such retirees shall not be employed by the Organization, unless (a) the operational requirements of the Organization cannot be met by staff members who are qualified and available to perform the required functions; and (b) the proposed employment would not adversely affect the career development or redeployment opportunities of other staff members and represents both a cost-effective and operationally sound solution to meet the needs of the service.

• Subject to the funding source of the position, this temporary job opening may be limited to candidates based at the duty station.

• While this temporary assignment may provide the successful applicant with an opportunity to gain new work experience, the selection for this position is for a limited period and has no bearing on the future incumbency of the post. An external candidate selected for this position is bound by the prevailing condition of the staff selection system under ST/AI/2010/3, as amended, and ST/AI/2010/4/Rev.1. A staff member holding a temporary appointment who is recruited in the Professional and above categories on a temporary appointment, and placed on a position authorized for one year or longer may not apply for or be reappointed to his/her current position within six months of the end of his/her current service. This provision does not apply to staff members holding temporary appointments and placed on positions authorized for one year or more in duty stations authorized for peacekeeping operations or special political missions.

• The expression “Internal candidates”, shall mean staff members who have been recruited after a competitive examination under staff rule 4.16 or after the advice of a central review body under staff rule 4.15.

• Please note that candidates will be required to meet the requirements of Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter as well as the requirements of the position. The United Nations is committed to the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity for all its human resources, including but not limited to respect for international human rights and humanitarian law. Candidates may be subject to screening against these standards, including but not limited to whether they have committed, or are alleged to have committed criminal offences and/or violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law.

• For information on special post allowance, please refer to ST/AI/1999/17. For more details on the administration of temporary appointments please refer to ST/AI/2010/4/Rev.1.

• The Staff Regulations, Staff Rules and administrative issuances governing staff appointments can be viewed at: http://www.un.org/hr_handbook/English

• Staff members of the United Nations common system organizations who will reach the mandatory age of separation or retirement within the duration of the current temporary need period are not eligible to apply.

• Staff members are not eligible to apply for the current temporary job opening if they are unable to serve the specified duration of temporary need before reaching the mandatory age of separation. Submitting an application or selection for the current temporary job opening does not delay or increase the mandatory age of separation.

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.

WARNING: Do not to pay any money to get a job. Please report fraudulent jobs to info@jobsinsudan.com