Org. Setting and Reporting

The Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS) is responsible for leadership, operational support and oversight of the United Nations security management system (UNSMS) globally. As a global leader in security risk management principles, UNDSS enables the safe and effective delivery of United Nations programmes and activities in the most complex and challenging environments, while maximizing precious resources. To this end, the work of the Department is aligned under a clear mission, to enable United Nations system programme activities through trusted security leadership and solutions. This post leads the Strategic Planning Service (SPS) in the Office of the Under-Secretary-General for Safety and Security (OUSG). Under the general guidance of the USG, who is responsible for formulating the primary vision, strategic direction for the UN Security Management System (UNSMS), the Chief serves as principal adviser to UNDSS on these matters, collaborates with, coordinates, and creates coherence and cross-functionality among other Divisions, liaises with stakeholders and leads, manages and directs the work of the Strategic Planning Service, with responsibility for the overall functioning of the Service. The Service is responsible for strategic planning, communications, gender and inclusivity, risk management, compliance, evaluation and understanding our impact as a Department. This is a unique opportunity to join a diverse, dynamic and exciting organization gaining unique and valuable experience where security provides great value. Besides the opportunity to gain new skills and further advance security expertise, this position offers a fulfilling environment that gives you satisfaction by contributing directly or indirectly to peace and security, human rights, and achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. For more information on the Department, and how we make an impact on the world in enabling the achievement of SDGs, visit: https://www.un.org/undss/.

Responsibilities

Within delegated authority, the Chief of Strategic Planning Service is responsible for the following: • Formulates and implements the substantive work programme of the Strategic Planning Service. Oversees the management of activities undertaken by the Strategic Planning Service, ensures outcomes that support the Department’s results. Co-ordinates work in the different areas both within the Office of the Under-Secretary-General and Department, and with other organizations of the United Nations System, as appropriate. • Assists the USG in the executive direction and management of the Department, facilitating the translation of strategic intent and high-level direction of the Department’s leadership into viable tasks; work with Divisions and the Executive Office to support their effective implementation and resourcing. Preparing the work programme of the Department, determining priorities, allocating resources for the completion of outputs and their timely delivery; assists the USG with development and implementation of Departmental strategy and associated action with a focus on coordination and coherence of work across the Department; • Assists the USG and Department’s senior leadership with expert advice on the substance, design and implementation of forward-leaning strategies and approaches to support and enable the UN’s work, towards a Department that focuses on UN results and a HQ that supports partners and the field; assists the USG with driving organizational change across the Department and hand in hand with the Department’s Directors, including the identification of associated risk mitigation strategies; Co-ordinates and oversees implementation of the Department’s approach to results-oriented planning, linking UNDSS actions and input to UN results. • Leads, supervises and carries out the work programme of the Strategic Planning Service. Co-ordinates the work carried out by different work units under the Service and by other agencies and bodies of the United Nations system; provides programmatic/substantive reviews of the drafts prepared by others. • Reports to intergovernmental bodies on budget/programme performance or on programmatic/ substantive issues, as appropriate, particularly those presented in biannual and/or annual reports. • Ensures that the outputs produced by the Service maintain high-quality standards; that reports are clear, objective and based on comprehensive data. Ensures that all outputs produced by the Sections under his/her supervision meet required standards before completion to ensure they comply with the relevant mandates. • Ensures strategic alignment of the SPS programme of work to UN field programmes and UNDSS vision, with an objective of mainstreaming safety and security into the UN system’s programmes and activities. • Co-ordinates and oversees all aspects of the Department’s strategic communications including the communications strategy, including by working with other Divisions/Units to plan, coordinate and develop communications products, and oversee content management, in line with the Department’s vision and communications strategy. • Co-ordinates and oversees the Department’s approach to gender and inclusivity, including by anchoring all gender and inclusivity initiatives in a results-driven framework for tangible outcomes. • Co-ordinates and oversees the process of monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of, and compliance with, UNSMS policies and framework, procedures and guidelines; co-ordinates and oversees strategic and thematic evaluations and promote knowledge management, including lessons learned and best practices in safety and security-related matters. • Co-ordinates and oversees corporate planning, enterprise risk management, audit, etc. • Undertakes or oversees the programmatic tasks necessary for the functioning of the Service, including preparation of budgets, reporting on programme performance, evaluation of staff performance, interviews of candidates for job openings, evaluation of candidates and preparation of inputs for results-based budgeting. • Recruits staff, taking due account of geographical balance. • Manages, guides, develops and trains staff under his/her supervision. • Fosters teamwork and communication among staff in the Office of the USG, the Service, and across organizational boundaries. • Leads and supervises the organization of meetings, seminars, etc. on substantive issues. Manages the substantive preparation and organization of such meetings or seminars. • Participates in international, regional or national meetings and provides programmatic and substantive expertise, or holds programmatic/substantive and organizational discussions with representatives of other institutions, including to provide relevant specialized support and expertise across the UN system. • Represents the Department at international, regional or national meetings.

Competencies

• Professionalism: Demonstrates substantial knowledge of the priorities, working methods, and cultures of the UN system. Demonstrates effective interpersonal skills and creates an environment in which others can talk and act without fear of repercussion; places confidence in and builds trust with colleagues, staff members and stakeholders. Demonstrates strong strategic planning skills, sound judgment and vision. Demonstrates knowledge and experience in policy development, ability to develop and articulate policy and conceptual frameworks to enable operations. Possesses excellent drafting ability and strong communications skills. Demonstrates strong analytical and problem-solving skills to resolve a wide range of complex issues. Demonstrates networking skills and an ability to build and maintain good relations with all stakeholders; shows excellent negotiating skills and is able to influence others to reach agreements. Ability to apply UN rules, regulations, policies and guidelines in work situations. 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. Provides an environment in which others can talk and act without fear of repercussion; places confidence in and builds trust with colleagues, staff members and stakeholders. • Planning and 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. • 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. • 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 gain support; anticipates and resolves conflicts by pursuing mutually agreeable solutions; drives for change and improvements; does not accept the status quo; shows the courage to take unpopular stands. Provides leadership and takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work; demonstrates knowledge of strategies and commitment to the goal of gender balance in staffing. • 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

Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in risk, disaster or emergency management, business or public administration, social or political science, international relations, security management, law enforcement, law or related area. A first-level university degree in the aforementioned areas, in combination with two years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of an advanced university degree.

Job – Specific Qualification

Not available.

Work Experience

A minimum of fifteen years of progressively responsible experience in administration, international relations, international security, diplomacy, development, conflict resolution, law, humanitarian affairs or related field is required, at least five of which must be at the international level. A minimum of five years of management experience leading multidisciplinary strategic planning with effective and inclusive management of cross-functional teams in a multi-cultural setting within the UN common system or a similar international organization is required. A minimum of five years in development, humanitarian, and peace and security coordination management roles is required. Experience providing wide-ranging strategic advice and direct support to a senior public official in relation to international humanitarian, development, human rights, or peace and security programmes is required. Experience in change management and/or implementation of organizational development initiatives in a large international organization is required. Demonstrated leadership of wide-ranging risk management processes and strategies is required. A minimum of four years of field experience in the past ten years working within the UN Common System or similar international organization or nongovernmental organization in a conflict, post-conflict or natural disaster setting is desirable.

Languages

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the position advertised, fluency in English (oral and written) is required. Fluency in French (oral and written) is desirable. Knowledge of another official United Nations language is an advantage. 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

• This temporary job opening is available for an initial period of 364 days, with the possibility of extension. If the selected candidate is a staff member from the United Nations Secretariat, the selection will be administered as a temporary assignment. • 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 United Nations Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS) is taking efforts to improve gender parity, including full implementation of the UN-wide, and Departmental Gender Strategies. We are committed to providing an inclusive culture and exciting opportunities for women in the security and operations field. • 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. • 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. • Due to the temporary nature of the position and subject to the funding source, the eligibility for this temporary job opening may be limited to candidates based at the duty station. • An impeccable record for integrity and professional ethical standards is essential. • Staff members appointed to the current position may be required to submit a financial disclosure statement upon assignment or appointment and annually thereafter. • This temporary job opening may be limited to “internal candidates,” who have been recruited through a competitive examination administered according to staff rule 4.16 or staff selection process including the review of a central review body established according to staff rule 4.15. • 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. Submitting an application or selection for the current temporary job opening does not delay or increase the mandatory age of separation. • 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. • 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/2010/4Rev.1 on Temporary Appointments. • 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. • An external candidate selected for this position is bound by the prevailing condition of the staff selection system under ST/AI/2010/3/Rev.2, 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. • Applying to this job opening carries an expectation to accept the offer, if selected. 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. • Pursuant to section 7.11 of ST/AI/2012/2/Rev.1, candidates recruited through the young professionals programme who have not served for a minimum of two years in the position of their initial assignment are not eligible to apply to this position. • 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

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.