Special Assistant to the Deputy Executive Director, P-4
DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS:	10 Jul 2006
DATE OF ISSUANCE:	11 May 2006
ORGANIZATIONAL UNIT:	United Nations Centre for Human Settlements
DUTY STATION:	Nairobi
VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT NUMBER:	06-PGM-UN-HABITAT-409930-R-NAIROBI

Remuneration Depending on professional background, experience and family situation, a competitive compensation and benefits package is offered. More Info

United Nations Core Values: Integrity, Professionalism, Respect for Diversity

Responsibilities The post is in the Office of the Deputy Executive Director (ODED), United Nations Human Settlements Programme, UN-HABITAT, and the incumbent reports directly to the Deputy Executive Director (DED). The main duties are to provide strategic and policy advice and to assist the Deputy Executive Director in all her functions including the role as Deputy Administrator of the United Nations Habitat and Human Settlements Foundation (UNHHSF). The focus is on internal management, strategic and financial issues and external relations in the implementation of UN-HABITAT’s mandate and the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). Duties and responsibilities • Identify, analyse and review merging policy and strategy issues and advise the DED on how to approach them, in particular related to the management of UN-HABITAT and its Foundation; • Draft policies and strategies in consultation with relevant expertise inside and outside the Organization; • Advise and assist the DED in elaborating and implementing a medium-term strategy to strengthen the strategic focus and the overall cohesiveness between UN-HABITAT’s normative and operational activities; • Advise and assist the DED in devising and implementing a comprehensive resource mobilisation strategy, including the broadening of UN-HABITAT’s funding base, and undertake the necessary analysis and appraisal required for the establishment of a future fund raising unit; • Advise and assist the DED regarding external relations i. a. establishing, maintaining and expanding dialogue and negotiate partnerships with Member States and donors, other UN agencies, international financing institutions, foundations, NGOs and the private sector; • Organise programmatic meetings and official travel of the DED, including preparation of briefing notes, and represent the DED at meetings as appropriate; • Advise and assist the DED with regard to her/his role related to supervising information services, communications, and the servicing of the Committee of Permanent Representatives (CPR) and the Governing Council.

Competencies Professionalism: Good conceptual, analytical and evaluating skills, ability to conduct independent analysis, identify issues, carry out negotiations and formulate and make recommendations Planning and organizing: Ability to establish priorities, plan, coordinate and monitor own work plan. Communication (spoken and written) skills: Ability to draft/edit a variety of reports, studies and to articulate ideas in a clear style. Teamwork: Good interpersonal skills and ability to establish and maintain effective partnerships and working relations in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity.

QUALIFICATIONS

Education Advanced university degree in Economics, Business Administration, Social Sciences, Public Finance, or a first university degree with a relevant combination of academic and professional qualifications.

Work Experience Minimum of seven years professional experience in increasingly responsible positions dealing with international/inter governmental affairs, with a substantial part of that experience working with bilateral and/or multilateral donor organizations and agencies.

Languages English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the post advertised, fluency in written and spoken English is required. Knowledge of other official UN languages is an asset.

Other Skills Familiarity with internationally agreed development goals and policies and with strategic planning and development finance. Developing country experience is a plus as well as experience from international financial institutions.Also, knowledge of UN-HABITAT and its mandate is an additional advantage

The United Nations shall place 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. (Charter of the United Nations - Chapter 3, article 8).   English and French are the two working languages of the United Nations Secretariat.  The United Nations Secretariat is a non-smoking environment. PLEASE NOTE THAT APPLICATIONS RECEIVED AFTER THE DEADLINE WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED

How to apply All applicants are strongly encouraged to apply online as soon as possible after the vacancy has been posted and well before the deadline stated in the vacancy announcement. Because applications submitted by United Nations (UN) staff members are considered first, provided the eligibility requirements set out in ST/AI/2002/4 are met and the application is submitted in a timely fashion, staff members should apply within 15-day or 30-day mark. Online applications will be acknowledged where an email address has been provided. If you do not receive an e-mail acknowledgement within 24 hours of submission, your application may not have been received. In such cases, please go to “My UN” page and check the status of your application by clicking on “View Application History”, and resubmit the application, if necessary. To start the application process, applicants are required to register by opening a "My UN" account. Go to Login, and Register as a User. Fill in the form and choose a User Name and Password. After opening the account, applicants may apply for vacancies using the Personal History Profile (PHP) provided. Once the PHP has been completed for a particular vacancy, it can be saved and used for future applications. The PHP may be up-dated, when necessary, for future applications. In completing the PHP, please note that all fields marked with an asterisk must be completed. UN staff members must submit scanned copies of their two latest Performance Appraisal System (PAS) reports at the time of application to the appropriate Human Resources Office (HRO)/Personnel Office (PO) to the email address below, clearly indicating the vacancy announcement number. In case you have no access to the digitizing equipment, please submit hard copies of the two latest PAS reposts to the relevant HRO/PO via fax. E-mail: Recruitment@unon.org, Fax: 1-(254)-2-624-212 Please see the Frequently Asked Questions, if you encounter problems when applying. There is no application, processing or other fee at any stage of the process.