PRINCIPAL ELECTORAL AFFAIRS OFFICER

These positions are located in the field in peace operations, special political missions, UNDP and UNOPS electoral projects in mission settings, or other UN entities providing electoral assistance (http://www.un.org/undpa/en/employment). Staff level D-1 is equivalent to the following International Civil Service and International Individual Contractor Agreement levels: ICS13 and IICA4.

The Principal Electoral Officer heads a section or project and will normally be the senior-most electoral officer of the mission or project, for example in the role of Chief Technical Advisor. The Principal Electoral Officer reports to the Head of Mission, Special Representative of the Secretary-General, the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General, or the designee, the Resident Coordinator, the UNDP Resident Representative or the UNOPS Country Director.

Within delegated authority, the Principal Electoral Officer will be responsible for the following duties: (These duties are generic and may not be carried out by all Principal Electoral Officers.)

Design, lead, supervise and contribute to the implementation of electoral programmes and processes in the following areas, as required: legal drafting and reform; complaints and dispute resolution; overall process management; planning and budgeting; infrastructure development; operations including field operations; procurement; logistics; security; information and communications technology; data processing and analysis; procedures; training; external relations; public information, outreach and media relations; civic and voter education; inclusion programmes; graphic design; administrative support; support to the media, political parties and civil society; gender mainstreaming; capacity-building; institutional reform and development as well as project and programme management and support.

Lead, coordinate and supervise the provision of technical assistance and advice to national counterparts and their institutions in the above areas.

Provide project and programme management and support, including budget management and monitoring, and reporting of results to national counterparts, donors and UN bodies.

Monitor the impact of domestic norms and processes on women’s political participation and representation, and the compliance with international norms and commitments on gender equality and women’s rights; and provide advice to the Electoral Management Bodies and other relevant national stakeholders on appropriate corrective measures.

Provide overall donor liaison and management.

Provide expert electoral/political advice to Head of the UN presence on the ground, and also to the international community and UNHQ as required/appropriate.

Supervise and manage the performance of national and international staff.

Establish and maintain professional and productive partnerships with national counterpart institutions and other key stakeholders in the electoral process.

Establish effective communication mechanisms; regularly brief senior UN officials, partners, donors, counterparts as well as well as other key stakeholders on the electoral process and provide regular reports, including to the head of the UN/Mission as well as senior officials in UN Headquarters.

Perform other related duties as required.

Work implies frequent interaction with the following: Senior UN Officials including Under-Secretary-General/Assistant Secretary-General, Special Representatives and Envoys of the Secretary-General and Resident Coordinators; managers and staff of the Mission and the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, the Department of Peace Operations and/or the Department of Operational Support, UNDP, UNOPS; managers and senior staff of the Mission or country office; senior staff of specialized agencies, senior representatives of international and regional organizations and governments; heads and senior staff of electoral management bodies and other national institutions involved in the electoral process; heads and senior staff of political parties, non-governmental organizations, academic institutions, institutes and foundations as well as media representatives.

CORE COMPETENCIES:

PROFESSIONALISM
Demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter, including in-depth understanding of and ability to evaluate the various stages of the electoral processes, and their technical and political implications; Able to offer solutions to electoral issues based on comparative experience and knowledge; Shows pride in work and in achievements; 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 perspective in all areas of work and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work; Demonstrates knowledge and leads by example with the commitment to the United Nations-wide Strategy on Gender Parity.

TEAMWORK
Works collaboratively with colleagues to achieve organizational goals; Solicits inputs 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 the team shortcomings.

PLANNING & 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.

MANAGERIAL COMPETENCIES:

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 gains support; Anticipates and resolves conflicts by pursuing mutually agreeable solutions; Drives for change and improvement; does not accept the status quo; Shows the courage to take unpopular stands.

JUDGEMENT/ DECISION-MAKING
Identifies the key issues in a complex situation, and comes to the heart of the problem quickly; Gathers relevant information before making a decision; Considers positive and negative impacts of decisions prior to making them; Takes decisions with an eye to the impact on others and on the organization; Proposes a course of action or makes a recommendation based on all available information; Checks assumptions against facts; Determines that the actions proposed will satisfy the expressed and underlying needs for the decision; Makes tough decisions when necessary.

Advanced university degree (Master's degree or equivalent) in Political Science, International Economics, International Relations, Law, Public Administration, or a related field is required. A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

A minimum of fifteen years of progressively responsible experience in elections and related areas is required.
Electoral experience in a field operation of the United Nations Common System or a comparable international organization or other relevant electoral experience is required.
Previous experience in managing a diverse team at senior level is required.
At least seven years of experience in supervising, implementing, supporting or advising on electoral processes is required.
Electoral experience in developing countries is desirable.
Work experience in post-conflict situations is desirable.
Experience in bilateral or multilateral negotiation is desirable.

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

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

The United Nations Secretarial maintains rosters of qualified and available candidates to fill anticipated job openings in peacekeeping operations, special political missions, and other field operations. The purpose of this job opening is to generate a list of qualified candidates for inclusion in the Principal Electoral Officer roster, at the D1 level. The entire assessment process takes an average of six months; all applicants will be notified in writing of the outcome of their application (whether successful or unsuccessful) within 14 days of the conclusion of the process. Successful candidates will be placed on the roster and subsequently will be invited to apply for field mission vacancies open only to roster members. Roster membership does not guarantee selection.

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.

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.

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.