National Programme Officer with OHCHR

Under the guidance and supervision of the Head of Office, OHCHR Sana’a, Yemen, the National Programme Officer will provide direct advisory support to the Head of OHCHR’s Office.  This will involve the broad range of services but focusing on specific areas with advice and direction. He/she will also provide reliable secretarial services to other high-ranking UN officials, Experts and other UN staff members on mission in the country during which course he/she has to ensure highest standards of discretion, integrity and sense of responsibility. He/she has to demonstrate a client-oriented approach, courtesy, tact and ability to work with people of different national and cultural backgrounds.

Under the supervision of the OHCHR Head of  Yemen Office, the incumbent will;

• Assist in the executing of the Office’s work programme, monitor human rights violations, and co-ordinate technical cooperation activities with the Yemeni Government;
• Research and collect information pertaining to human rights matters from a variety of data sources (e.g. communications, publications, the press) to keep abreast of issues/events and provide up-to-date information; assist in the analysis of information, to include the impact on the countries and thematic mandates on the human rights situation in assigned area;
• Draft a variety of reports and correspondence relating to human rights matters;
• Maintain awareness of current human rights issues, to include relevant political and legal developments in the country concerned;
• Participate and serve as a resource person in human rights training programmes for national officials, national human rights institution and representatives of civil society in order to promote national capacity building;
• Review human rights issues, including gender considerations, and participates in discussions with other Human Rights Officers (HROs) on the integration of these issues into political, humanitarian and economic efforts and programmes;
• Assist in drafting specific programmes to strengthen capacities for implementing a rights based approach to development for national, regional and UN partners;
• Assist government bodies and human rights institutions in domesticating regional and international human rights norms and standards into national legislation;
• Participate with other HROs in discussions with relevant authorities and other influential actors with the aim of stopping or preventing human rights violations or seek other remedial action by the authorities to prevent similar violations occurring in the future;
• Liaise with government, NGOs, Civil Society organizations, UN agencies and other partners to create baseline data on the human rights situation, with special attention to vulnerable groups;
• Design and maintain database to track project progress;
• Perform other related duties as required.

Team Orientation:

• Be part of and contribute to OHCHR’s objectives in a cooperative way;
• Utilize the competencies detailed in the job description to produce the required outputs;
• Communicate with internal clients, service providers etc. to establish facts;
• Be an active learner taking the opportunity to develop own competence.

The incumbent of the position should avoid any kind of discriminatory behavior including gender discrimination and ensure that 

• human rights and gender equality is prioritized as an ethical principle within all actions;
• activities are designed and implemented in accordance with “Social and Environmental Standards of UNDP”;
• any kind of diversities based on ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, disability, religion, class, gender are respected within all implementations including data production;
• differentiated needs of women and men are considered;
• inclusive approach is reflected within all actions and implementations, in that sense an enabling and accessible setup in various senses such as disability gender language barrier is create;
• necessary arrangements to provide gender parity within all committees, meetings, trainings etc. introduced.

Functional Competencies:

• Be responsible for the implementation of the Office’s work programme, monitor human rights violations, and co-ordinate technical cooperation activities with the Yemeni Government;
• Promotes a knowledge sharing and learning culture in the office;
• In-depth knowledge on development issues;
• Ability to advocate and provide policy advice;
• Actively works towards continuing personal learning and development in one or more Practice Areas, acts on learning plan and applies newly acquired skills.

Core Competencies:

• Ability to lead strategic planning, results-based management and reporting;
• Ability to lead formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development programmes & projects and mobilize resources;
• Ability to lead implementation of new systems (business side), and affect staff behavioral/ attitudinal change;
• Focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback;
• Leads teams effectively and shows conflict resolution skills;
• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
• Demonstrates strong oral and written communication skills;
• Builds strong relationships with clients and external actors;
• Remains calm, in control and good humored even under pressure;
• Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities.

Education:

• Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in law, political science, international relations or other disciplines related to human rights.  

Experience:

• A minimum of 2 years’ experience of progressively responsible experience in human rights, political affairs, international relations, law or related areas;
• A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree;
• Good interpersonal skills in relationships with partners: government authorities, UN agencies, NGOs, and others;
• Proven experience in translation and interpretation;
• Excellent computer knowledge (MS, Word, Excel,  etc.).

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English and Arabic both written & spoken; 
• Knowledge of another official language of the UN is an asset.

Important applicant information

All posts in the GS categories are subject to local recruitment.

Applicant information about UNDP rosters

Note: UNDP reserves the right to select one or more candidates from this vacancy announcement.  We may also retain applications and consider candidates applying to this post for other similar positions with UNDP at the same grade level and with similar job description, experience and educational requirements.

Workforce diversity

UNDP is committed to achieving diversity within its workforce, and encourages all qualified applicants, irrespective of gender, nationality, disabilities, sexual orientation, culture, religious and ethnic backgrounds to apply. All applications will be treated in the strictest confidence.

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