Senior Advisor Policy At UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East

Org .Setting And Reporting
The Senior Advisor Policy reports to the Chief of Staff.
Responsibilities
ExCom and Management Committees’ Secretariats:

• Serves as Secretariat for the Executive Committee (ExCom) and the Management
  Committee, created to assist the Commissioner-General (CG) in taking decisions on issues of
  strategic consequence requiring principal-level attention across all pillars of UNRWA work,
  which require approval by the CG;
• Is accountable for ensuring that there is a well-defined decision-making process; steers the
  substantive preparations of the sessions ensuring that the political perspective is considered in
  all key corporate potential decisions, that proposed decisions are identified, tracked and
  presented to the CG in the appropriate way;
• Oversees the administrative organization for its agendas and meetings, coordinates followup
  activities and implementation of decisions across the Agency in a disciplined and timely
  manner;
  Political Analysis, Advice and Reporting:
• Identifies, analyzes and monitors key political developments, trends and emerging issues in
  the fields of operation and beyond the region that have potential impact on the
  implementation of the Agency’s services and operations with a view to provide early warning
  advice;
• Assesses implications after incorporating an integrated approach that includes a rights-based
  dimension, humanitarian principles and gender perspective and makes recommendations for
  immediate and long-term courses of action to senior management on possible policies,
  strategies and other measures to address issues of concern and to facilitate and advance the
  Agency’s mandated objectives;
• Prepares analytical reports and papers on sensitive and high-profile matters of concern,
  including but not limited to, situation reports, briefing notes, options papers, and input for the
  reports of the CG to the Security Council, General Assembly or other bodies; plays a key role
  in facilitating and marshaling the political knowledge internally and externally;
  Internal Governance Mechanisms
  Ensures effective functioning of internal governance mechanisms, particularly those chaired
  by the EO; tracks status of Organizational Directives to ensure they are up-to-date and aligned
  with decisions of the Executive Committee; maintains, revises and updates Organizational
  Directives managed by the EO, tracks TORs of different committees to ensure that the
  necessary systems, structures, and procedures are in place; this includes, but is not limited to,
  reflecting new Committees in the internal governance structure, and reviewing
  membership/role/frequency of meetings of the various Committees;
  Competencies
  UN Core Values of Professionalism, Integrity and Respect for Diversity and Core
  Competencies of Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results apply by
  default. Default managerial competencies may apply.
• Coping with Pressure and Setbacks
• Relating and Networking
• Deciding and Initiating Action
• Analyzing
• Formulating Strategies and Concepts
• Persuading and Influencing
  For guidance on how to prepare for competency-based interviews: https://careers.un.
  org/lbw/home.aspx?viewtype=AYI
  Education
  Advanced university degree (Masters’ or equivalent) from an accredited educational
  institution in political science, international relations, international economics, law, public
  administration, or related field.
  Work Experience
• A minimum of ten years of progressively responsible professional experience in political
  science, international relations, law, disarmament, security, development management,
  conflict resolution or related area
• At least five years of international exposure in senior leadership and management functions,
  including coordination of interdisciplinary teams, project management and in dealing from/or
  with a UN entity;
• Proven track of substantive policy development and management, and designing and
  facilitating complex development interventions
• A minimum of 2 continuous years of relevant international experience outside UNRWA,
  and outside the country(s) of which the candidate is a national or holds citizenship, a passport
  or a national identity number
• Experience in political outreach, analysis, advice and reporting is required
• Familiarity with the United Nations system and practices (desirable)
• Knowledge of historical and contemporary issues of the Middle East (desirable).
  Languages
  Excellent command of written and spoken English.
  Working knowledge of written and spoken French and/or Arabic (desirable).
  Assessment
  Evaluation of qualified candidates may include an assessment exercise which may be
  followed by competency-based interview.
  Special Notice
• Type of Contract and duration: 2 years, with the possibility of further extension
• Given the nature of the demands of the office of the Commissioner-General, the incumbent
  will be frequently required to work outside normal office hours.
• UNRWA is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions from UN member states,
  regional bodies, business foundations and individual contributions. The mission of UNRWA
  is to help Palestine refugees achieve their full potential in human development under the
  difficult circumstances in which they live.
• For more details on UNRWA, please visit: https://www.unrwa.org/United Nations
  United Nations Considerations
  Staff members are subject to the authority of the Commissioner-General of UNRWA and to
  assignment by him or her.
  UNRWA is committed to achieving gender parity at all levels of staffing under the current
  UN-wide gender agenda and strongly encourages applications from qualified applicants from
  under-represented groups.
  At UNRWA, the paramount consideration in the recruitment and employment of staff is the
  necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity, with due
  regard to geographic diversity. All employment decisions are made on the basis of
  qualifications and organizational needs. UNRWA is committed to creating a diverse and
  inclusive environment of mutual respect. Reasonable accommodation for applicants with
  disabilities may be provided to support participation in the recruitment process when
  requested and indicated in the application.
  UNRWA Considerations
  UNRWA staff are expected to uphold the highest standards of efficiency, competence,
  neutrality, impartiality and integrity. This includes respect for and commitment to human
  rights, diversity and non-violent means of dealing with all kinds of conflict. Only persons who
  fully and unconditionally commit to these values should consider applying for UNRWA jobs.
  Candidates will not be considered for employment with UNRWA 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. Candidates who
  have committed crimes other than minor traffic offences may not be considered for
  employment. The Agency may disqualify applicants who have separated for reason of
  misconduct, who left a UN Agency while misconduct processes were pending, or who appear
  on the UN Sanctions List.
  UNRWA is a non-smoking work 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.