Associate Project Support Officer

IMPORTANT NOTICE\: 

- The deadline for applications is indicated in local date and time.

- This post is a project post.

1. Organizational Setting

The post is located in the Madrid Registry, Brands and Designs Sector. The Madrid Registry is composed of four divisions\: Madrid Legal, Madrid Information and Promotion, Madrid Operations and Madrid Information Systems. The Madrid Registry is responsible for the management, promotion and future evolution of the Madrid System.

The Madrid System is administered by WIPO and facilitates the obtaining and subsequent management of trademarks in up to 124 countries by means of one single application, filed in one language, with one set of fees. The Madrid System therefore provides rights to holders with a cost effective solution by filing one application rather than individual national applications. The Madrid System does not specifically refer to an IT system but to the overall Madrid international trademarks mechanism.

2. Purpose Statement

The current Madrid IT system has a set of existing legacy applications, which support the ongoing activities of the Madrid System.  These systems must be continuously improved and maintained in an operable state at all times, as WIPO receives, processes and submits thousands of transactions per day, and downtime and/or unpredictable behavior is not acceptable.

The future IT system should be capable of supporting the defined long-term Madrid Strategy, and co-exist with the current IT system during any planned transition period.

The main objective of the incumbent is to support the New Madrid IT Platform project.

3. Reporting Lines

The incumbent works under the supervision of the Continuous Improvement Manager, the designated Project Manager of the New Madrid IT Platform Project in the Madrid Registry.

The incumbent will perform the following principal duties\:

a.   Contribute to the monitoring of specific aspects of project implementation, identify problems, propose actions to expedite project and service delivery, and identify and track follow-up actions.

b.   Assist the Project Manager in preparing and maintaining realistic project schedules and quality plans and track all activities against them.

c.   Ensure selected project management methodology and standards are clearly defined and used throughout the project.

d.   Ensure project documentation is consistently created, updated and made available to stakeholders.

e.   Contribute to the preparation of various written reports, as may be needed, including drafting, reviewing and revising sections or portions of project assessment documents, background papers, project and budget revisions, as well as contribute to the workplan exercises of the Division.

f.    Provide administrative and substantive support to project and program meetings, such as the preparation of background documents and presentations, handling logistics, writing meeting minutes, etc.

g.   Perform other related duties as required.

Education (Essential)

First-level university degree in business administration, finance, human resources management, information technology, computer science or a related discipline.

Certification in project management, e.g. PRINCE2, Agile or PMI.

Experience (Essential)

At least three years of relevant professional experience, including some experience in supporting the management of projects with direct business impact, by using industry standard project management methodologies, tools, and project planning and control techniques, including budget control.  An advanced university degree in one of the aforementioned disciplines may be accepted in lieu of two years of experience.

Experience (Desirable)

Experience working with medium scale, multi-functional IT projects/programs.

Experience with international IP registration systems.

Language (Essential)

Excellent knowledge of written and spoken English.

Language (Desirable)

Knowledge of other official UN languages.

Job Related Competencies (Essential)

Skills in project planning, including the ability to analyze, plan, execute and evaluate work to time, cost and quality targets, including the assessment and evaluation of risk.

Ability to anticipate and evaluate impact of action on dependencies and take appropriate action.

Ability to establish priorities and plan assigned work.

Excellent communication and interpersonal skills and ability to maintain effective partnerships and working relations in a multicultural environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity.

Ability to contribute to an efficient and transparent Project and Program Office environment through the establishment of processes, toolkits and documentation.

Proficient user of Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint).

1. Communicating effectively.
2. Showing team spirit.
3. Demonstrating integrity.
4. Valuing diversity.
5. Producing results.
6. Showing service orientation.
7. Seeing the big picture.
8. Seeking change and innovation.
9. Developing yourself and others.

Mobility\:  WIPO staff members are international civil servants subject to the authority of the Director General and may be assigned to any activities, office or duty station of the Organization.  Accordingly, the selected candidate may be required to move from time to time to new functions and/or to another duty station.

Annual salary\:

Total annual salary consists of a net annual salary (net of taxes and before medical insurance and pension fund deductions) in US dollars and a post adjustment.  Please note that this estimate is for information only.  The post adjustment multiplier (cost of living allowance) is variable and subject to change (increase or decrease) without notice.  The figures quoted below are based on the July 2021 rate of 83.6%.

Please refer to WIPO’s Staff Regulation and Rules for detailed information concerning salaries, benefits and allowances.

Additional Information

Initial period of one year, renewable, subject to funding and satisfactory performance.  Fixed-term appointments granted for approved projects shall be for a period whose minimum and maximum duration are tied to the funding and terms of reference of the project.  The overall duration of a fixed-term appointment for a project shall normally not exceed five years.  Fixed-term appointments granted for approved projects shall not be converted to a permanent or continuing appointment.

Applications from qualified women as well as from qualified nationals of unrepresented Member States of WIPO and underrepresented geographical regions are encouraged. Please click on the following links for the list of unrepresented Member States and the list of underrepresented regions and the WIPO Member States in these regions.

The Organization reserves the right to make an appointment at a grade lower than that advertised.

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By completing an application, candidates understand that any willful misrepresentation made on this web site, or on any other documents submitted to WIPO during the application, may result in disqualification from the recruitment process, or termination of employment with WIPO at a later date, if that employment resulted from such willful misrepresentations.

In the event that your candidature is shortlisted, you will be required to provide, in advance, a scanned copy of an identification and of the degree(s)/diploma(s)/certificate(s) required for this position. WIPO only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU) / United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed through the link\: http\://www.whed.net/. Some professional certificates may not appear in the WHED and these will be reviewed individually.

Additional testing/interviewing may be used as a form of screening.  Initial appointment is subject to satisfactory professional references.

Additional background checks may be required.