Job Description
| Department/Office: | United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan |
| Posting Title: | HUMAN RIGHTS OFFICER, P4 |
| Job Code Title: | HUMAN RIGHTS OFFICER |
| Duty Station: | EL FASHER |
| Posting Period: | 29 January 2021 – 12 February 2021 |
| Job Opening Number: | 21-Human Rights Affairs-UNITAMS-148745-F-El Fasher (M) |
| Staffing Exercise | N/A |
Org. Setting and Reporting
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 which is to assist the political transition, progress towards democratic governance, in the protection and promotion of human rights, and sustainable peace; support peace processes and implementation of future peace agreements; assist peacebuilding, civilian protection and rule of law, in particular in Blue Nile and South Kordofan (the Two Areas) and Darfur; and support the mobilisation of economic and development assistance and coordination of humanitarian assistance.
The position is based in El Fasher, which is classified as “E” hardship duty station and as non-family duty station. The position is located in the El Fasher Regional Office. The incumbent will report to the Senior Human Rights Officer in coordination with the Head of Office.
Responsibilities
Within the limits of delegated authority, the Human Rights Officer will be responsible for performing the following duties:
•Oversees and coordinates the delivery of the human rights and civilian protection mandate in Darfur; formulates recommendations and suggests strategies to better promote and protect human rights in the mission area, including for peace processes;
•Supports the implementation of human rights and civilian protection strategies in the Darfur region and the development of protection action plans, including the National Plan for Civilian Protection;
•Coordinates, supervises and carries out human rights monitoring activities in compliance with United Nations (UN) methodology and relevant to the observance of international human rights and humanitarian law in the area of responsibility;
•Works directly with other UNITAMS components, including police advisers, to integrate human rights considerations into the planning and review of their programs, including through developing procedures and policies, as appropriate;
•Works closely with the Women Protection Advisor and the Child Protection Officer to coordinate activities to address conflict-related sexual violence and grave violations against children during armed conflict;
•Plans, designs, implements and evaluates strategies for the mainstreaming of human rights in the activities of UNITAMS and the UN Country Team (UNCT) and advocates for the integration of human rights in these programmes;
•Contributes to the integration of human rights in humanitarian action, through participating or coordinating emergency preparedness and response activities including in the work of the Protection Cluster, as appropriate;
•Contributes to advocacy strategies, advocates and advises relevant authorities, inducting State officials, the UNCT and the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT), UN and Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) senior management on strategies to better protect and promote human rights and mechanisms to stop impunity and redress human rights violations;
•Establishes and maintains contact with local authorities, civil society, community leaders and protection networks, UN Agencies, Funds and Programmes with complementary mandates, and other relevant partners to inform on the human rights situation in the mission area and advises on strategic and policy issues to better protect and promote human rights;
•Contributes to the integration of gender perspectives/considerations and specific women/girls’ rights issues in all activities, programmes and strategies;
•Facilitates cooperation and appropriate communication with OHCHR in the establishment of policies and sharing of best practices;
•Represents the human rights component in decision-making fora as appropriate;
•Establishes and maintains effective working relationships with other UN and non- UN actors, state authorities, donors and other stakeholders for effective policy coordination;
•Promotes coordination among all human rights related mandates present in the mission area;
•Analyses and synthesizes significant amounts of information of relevance to human rights, including from open sources;
•Reaches out to various UN actors to collect and analyze information of relevance to human rights;
•Promotes the effective flow of information and channels human rights analysis and concerns for inclusion in UN crisis management and response;
•Coordinates the monitoring of and evaluates the legal system and its compliance with international human rights instruments and norms and advises where appropriate, relevant authorities including on the implementation of UN recommendations;
•Plans, coordinates and leads multidisciplinary teams in the conduct of investigations into alleged violations of international human rights and humanitarian law in compliance with UN standards;
•Works with national authorities and civil society for the establishment of transitional justice processes and the establishment of accountability and compensation mechanisms, as appropriate;
•Advises national authorities on national legislation relative to transitional justice processes;
•Designs, coordinates and evaluates capacity building efforts, including those supporting institution-building and institutional reforms, for alignment with international human rights norms and to meet international human rights law obligations;
•Coordinates with other UN mission components, UN actors and other regional and international organizations to create opportunities to integrate human rights into their training and cooperation programmes, including those aiming at legislative, rule of law and security sector reforms;
•Contributes, and where required, coordinates the implementation of the Human Rights Due-Diligence Policy on UN support to non UN forces including by coordinating risk assessments and ensuring relevant human rights monitoring information is gathered, as well as advises on support and follow-up for the implementation of the Policy;
•Contributes to the integration of human rights in the mission’s civilian protection efforts and, where relevant, coordinates such efforts including by, inter-alia, mapping and reporting protection risks, early warning, advising mission leadership on human rights protection issues, working closely with local protection mechanisms and relevant protection actors;
•Oversees reporting on the human rights and protection situation in Darfur and ensures threats, violence, and violations are mapped and analysed for early warning and trend mapping; Drafts, reviews and coordinates the timely delivery of a variety of reports, briefings and other type of communications in compliance with established standards, including with regard to public human rights reports;
•Ensures, coordinates and supervises the timely entry of accurate and verified human rights cases into an established database; conducts quality control and delivers statistics and trend reports as required;
•Ensures the integration of UN-developed methodology into human rights monitoring, reporting, protection and investigation Activities.
•Engages with state authorities and rule of law institutions and parties to the conflict to promote accountability and advocate for improving the human rights situation in Darfur; ensures the integration of gender-sensitive victim perspectives in advice on the design of transitional justice processes;
•Integrates human rights considerations into the planning and review of advice and support to police and other security services, as appropriate;
•Serves as team leader with responsibility for carrying out, in consultation with the Senior Human Rights Officer, work coordination and administrative functions relating to staffing, planning and budgeting;
•Assists in the development, coordination and implementation of the human rights work plan; Evaluates or assists in the evaluation of its progress and suggests adjustments as needed;
•Trains, coaches and supervises new and junior staff, manages their performance, and assists in training needs assessments;
•Performs other related duties as required.
Competencies
Professionalism: Proven sensitivity to the political and social environment and ability to adjust behaviours accordingly; Expert knowledge of human rights principles, international mechanisms and of related concepts, including protection of civilians, transitional justice, humanitarian action, DDR, legislative and rule of law reforms, gender mainstreaming and conflict-related sexual violence, as well as good understanding of issues related to the integration of human rights in UN peace missions; Comprehensive knowledge of institutional mandates, organizational structures and policies within the UN, guidelines and methodologies relating to human rights; Capacity to maintain effective working relationships with other UN, NGO, state and/or government stakeholders and to advocate for the respect and integration of human rights in various fora; Ability to produce in-depth analysis of political, ethnic, racial, gender-based, social, economic and other human rights-related problems to assess their impact and to provide concrete strategy recommendations to redress situations; Ability to seek new and improved methods of work, to share best practices and to incorporate lessons learned in the work of the human rights component; Capacity to relate to and integrate human rights issues and perspectives into other fields, including humanitarian action, development, rule of law, legislation reforms and election support, to human rights issues and activities and vice versa; Comprehensive knowledge and experience of project management and ability to plan, implement, coordinate and evaluate capacity development initiatives for multiple stakeholders; Understanding of the relevance of information collected by various UN actors for human rights analysis and ability to seek and identify such information; Ability to synthesise significant amounts of information and to produce human rights analysis drawing on all available sources of information, including open sources; Proven understanding of the relevance of information and data management and its applicability to human rights work; Ability to identify appropriate means of communication to channel relevant human rights information for crisis management and response; Capacity to serve as advisor, share knowledge in the area of expertise and to deliver training for colleagues and external stakeholders alike; 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.
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.
Managerial Competencies:
Managing Performance: Delegates the appropriate responsibility, accountability and decision-making authority; Makes sure that roles, responsibilities and reporting lines are clear to each staff member; Accurately judges the amount of time and resources needed to accomplish a task and matches task to skills; Monitors progress against milestones and deadlines; Regularly discusses performance and provides feedback and coaching to staff; Encourages risk-taking and supports creativity and initiative; Actively supports the development and career aspirations of staff; Appraises performance fairly.
Education
An advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in law, political science, international relations, social sciences or a related area. 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 seven (7) years of progressively responsible experience in the human rights or closely related field, of which at least half in the area of human rights are required.
•Experience in human rights monitoring and reporting is required.
•Experience in human rights advocacy or on the design and management of capacity building programmes is required.
•A minimum of one (1) year of experience providing services in the field of Human Rights to or in a field operation of the United Nations Common System or a comparable international organization or non-governmental organization is desirable.
•A minimum of one (1) year of experience in a managerial capacity and supervising a team is desirable.
•Demonstrated experience on sexual and gender-based violence, including conflict- related sexual violence is desirable.
•Experience in human rights protection work, including through engaging with military and police for civilian protection is desirable.
Languages
- English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the position advertised, fluency in English is required.
- Knowledge of Arabic is desirable.
Assessment
Recruit from Rosters
Previously rostered candidates are not subject to any further assessment and as such, will not be invited for such an assessment.
Special Notice
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.
This “Recruit from Roster” job opening is only open to roster applicants who are already placed on pre-approved rosters, following a review by a United Nations Central Review Body. Only roster applicants who were placed on rosters with similar functions at the same level are considered to be eligible candidates. Eligible applicants receive an email inviting them to apply. Rostered applicants are encouraged to apply only if they are interested and available to take up the position at the duty station specified in the Job Opening.
Applying to this job opening carries an expectation to accept the offer, if selected. 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. In this context, all staff are expected to move periodically to new functions in their careers in accordance with established rules and procedures. An impeccable record for integrity and professional ethical standards is essential.
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.
