Org. Setting and Reporting

UN-Habitat, the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, is the coordinating agency within the United Nations System for human settlement activities and in collaboration with governments is responsible for promoting and consolidating collaboration with all partners, including local authorities, private and non-governmental organizations in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular, Goal 11 of “Making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable”. It is a focal point for the monitoring, evaluation and implementation of the New Urban Agenda adopted during the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III), in Ecuador, Quito, 2016. With its Headquarter in Nairobi, Kenya, UN-Habitat’s Regional Programmes Division (RPD) has a Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (ROAP) in Fukuoka, Japan, and a Bangkok Programme Office in Thailand. ROAP was established in 1997 as the second Regional Office of UN-Habitat. The Office oversees programme and project portfolios in the region, manages country teams undertaking country projects as part of UN country teams, engages with Member States at national level and in Bangkok, the regional UN center, and collaborates with the UN system and the Regional Commission. ROAP engages with over 30 developing countries in Asia and the Pacific and has 15 country offices. The ROAP office in Fukuoka has a dedicate team, currently of 15 professionals of whom 4 are international. Under the guidance of a Regional Representative (acting), the office employs a team of substantive and admin/finance specialists and staff. The NO-B responsibilities, which is for a Japanese national, requires intensive collaboration with local and national counterparts to promote partnerships and development cooperation, always in support of the ROAP programme and the Regional Representative. Counterparts include: various sections of national ministries, especially the Ministry of the Environment; and various relevant counterparts in local governments, academia, the private sector and civil society. The area of special, expertise relevant to this assignment, is sustainable solid waste management in the context of development cooperation, throughout the entire project and programme development cycle. The position is located in ROAP Fukuoka duty station. Under the direct supervision of the Senior Programme Manager and the Regional Representative, the Associate Programme Officer, Partnerships and Development Collaboration, will be responsible of the following duties:

Responsibilities

1. Assists substantively in maintaining existing and generating new high-impact partnerships • Provides substantive support, as assigned, to maintain existing partnerships in Japan relevant to ROAP; • Monitors and assesses the relevant parts of the ROAP strategy at regular intervals to harness emerging opportunities for new high-impact partnerships, to identify probable changes to the internal direction and external environment, and to make mid-term adjustments; • Provides substantive support to the ROAP team in identifying risks and opportunities related to specific partnerships, and suggests mitigation measures as relevant; • Prepares inputs on due diligence processes of potential investment and partnership opportunities, in accordance with UN regulations and procedures; • Contributes to dialogues with partners to improve development assistance policies and practice; • Assists in liaison and coordination with UN-Habitat entities at country, various regional levels and at HQ level, to help package and define relevant UN business strategies, including differentiated value propositions to attract partners, both traditional and non-traditional. 2. Participates in joint resource mobilization for ROAP and UN-Habitat as a whole • Provides substantive support to ROAP to develop and implement relevant locally-tailored partnerships and resource mobilization strategies and initiatives; and identify appropriate data and benchmarks to measure progress and success; • Provides substantive support to the UN-Habitat as a whole, to generate relevant earmarked resource programme resources with Japanese partners; • Monitors and analyzes relevant existing and new resource mobilization partnerships and relationships, of comparable regional and multi-country offices in the region and in other RPD regions; • Contributes to the design, formulation, implementation, monitoring and reporting of relevant joint programmes and programming processes for use in joint resource mobilization with Japanese partners; • Assists in the production and distribution of marketing materials to raise awareness about opportunities for working with the UN on relevant SDG investment; • Contributes to building the UN brand via relevant events, media and public relations opportunities targeted to the diverse partners, in close collaboration with ROAP’s information focal points group. 3. Provides substantive support to relevant development cooperation programmes • Provides substantive support on financing for subject-relevant development options, instruments, modalities to the ROAP, in alignment with the Common Country Analyses (CCAs), United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Frameworks (UNSDCFs), MAPS (Mainstreaming, Acceleration and Policy Support) and similar processes; • Analyzes trends and provides substantive support on new and innovative financing mechanisms for subject-relevant development and SDG acceleration; • Provides inputs, technical advice and mission support for subject-relevant requests, projects, programmes and collaborations; • Assists in engaging with relevant external stakeholders – including the national government, national and international financial institutions and others; • Contributes to the design and execution of innovative proposals to strengthen ROAP engagements and reputation, and to generate greater financial resources in support of relevant development cooperation; • Assists in the establishment and management of the country-based development cooperation initiatives. 4. Supports knowledge management and capacity development • Assists in the development, maintenance and sharing of knowledge and intelligence, to inform and position of ROAP to effectively generate and harness opportunities to meet its resource mobilization targets; • Contributes to ROAP’s and UN-Habitat’s knowledge networks and communities of practice at national, regional and global levels; • Undertakes activities to strengthen the capacity of ROAP and other regional offices to mainstream and promote subject-relevant projects, programmes and collaborations; • Provides substantive support for the discovery, evaluation and selection of partnership opportunities at the sourcing and origination stages. 5. Other • Contributes to the collection and analysis of data and identification of trends or patterns and provides draft insights through graphs, charts, tables and reports using data visualization methods for data-driven planning, decision-making, presentation and reporting. • Documents requirements and background information used for data analysis.

Competencies

PROFESSIONALISM: Knowledge and understanding of sustainable development theories, concepts and approaches. Ability to identify and develop sources for data collection. Ability to undertake research, analyse data, make recommendations and write draft reports on sustainable development issues. Able to analyze and interpret data in support of decision-making and convey resulting information to management. 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 and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work. 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. CLIENT ORIENTATION: Considers all those to whom services are provided to be “clients” and seeks to see things from clients’ point of view; establishes and maintains productive partnerships with clients by gaining their trust and respect; identifies clients’ needs and matches them to appropriate solutions; monitors ongoing developments inside and outside the clients’ environment to keep informed and anticipate problems; keeps clients informed of progress or setbacks in projects; meets timeline for delivery of products or services to client.

Education

Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent degree) in business or public administration, environmental management, sustainable development, social sciences or related area is required. A first-level university degree in combination with two (2) additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree. Successful completion of both degree and non-degree programs in data analytics, business analytics or data science programs is desirable.

Job – Specific Qualification

Not available.

Work Experience

A minimum of two (2) years of progressively responsible experience in providing strategic support to partnerships, project/programme management, resource mobilization or development finance in the context of development cooperation or related area is required. Experience in organizing relevant technical meetings involving academic, business, local government and national government partners, nationally and internationally is desirable. Experience delivering relevant expert support and advice to director-level staff is desirable. Experience in supporting projects and delivering technical advice on slum upgrading, basic service delivery or managing waste disposal in Asia and Africa is desirable. One (1) year or more of experience in data analytics or related area is desirable.

Languages

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the position advertised, fluency in English and in Japanese is required. Knowledge of another UN language is desirable. NOTE: “Fluency equals a rating of “fluent” in all four areas (read, write, speak, understand) and ” Knowledge of” equals a rating of ” confident” in two of the four areas.

Assessment

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

Special Notice

Appointment against this position is for an initial period of one (1) year and may be subject to extension. Candidates for the National Officer category shall be of the nationality of the country where this position is located. 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 Secretariat is committed to achieving 50/50 gender balance in its staff. Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply for this position. 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 or be appointed to any professional and higher temporary or fixed-term positions, within six months of the end of their current or most recent service. For such positions, at least six months need to have elapsed between the end of a consultancy or individual contract and the time of application and consideration for an appointment as a staff member under the Staff Rules and Regulations of the United Nations. 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. At the United Nations, 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. The United Nations is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. The United Nations recruits and employs staff regardless of gender identity, sexual orientation, race, religious, cultural and ethnic backgrounds or disabilities. Reasonable accommodation for applicants with disabilities may be provided to support participation in the recruitment process when requested and indicated in the application. 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 email acknowledgement within 24 hours of submission, your application may not have been received. In such cases, please resubmit the application, if necessary. If the problem persists, please seek technical assistance through the Inspira “Need Help?” link

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. Reasonable accommodation may be provided to applicants with disabilities upon request, to support their participation in the recruitment process. By accepting a letter of appointment, staff members are subject to the authority of the Secretary-General, who may assign them to any of the activities or offices of the United Nations in accordance with staff regulation 1.2 (c). Further, staff members in the Professional and higher category up to and including the D-2 level and the Field Service category are normally required to move periodically to discharge functions in different duty stations under conditions established in ST/AI/2023/3 on Mobility, as may be amended or revised. This condition of service applies to all position specific job openings and does not apply to temporary positions. Applicants are urged to carefully follow all instructions available in the online recruitment platform, inspira, and to refer to the Applicant Guide by clicking on “Manuals” in the “Help” tile 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.