Reporting Officer

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.

UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

The United Nations has been assisting Iraq with the establishment of the Electoral Management Body (EMB) initially called the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq, 2003 and subsequently renamed Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC), and the development of the institution’s capacities to administer electoral processes. On 27 May 2021, the United Nations Security Council with the Resolution 2571 (2021) renewed the mandate of UNAMI to continue with the assistance to the Government of Iraq and the Electoral Bodies for the conduct of the electoral process of 2021.

UNAMI provided technical assistance, advice and support to the Government of Iraq and the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) that led to the conduct of a successful 2021 Council of Representative Electoral process. Further to this, and continuing with UNAMI’s mandate delivery, as planned in the project development stage, the UNAMI Office of Electoral Assistance (OEA) is transitioning its support to the IHEC capacity building phase necessary to reinforce the required knowledge and capabilities initiated during the implementation of the technical assistance to the 2021 COR elections.

For the successful implementation of the capacity building phase, the recruitment of a Reporting Officer is crucial to achieve the desired results and have the required impact for the implementation of the expected outcomes of the future technical capacity of IHEC, specifically taking into account the requirements, international best practices and risk mitigation strategies when holding electoral activities amid Covid-19.

The Reporting Officer will work under the supervision of the OEA Director.

The position is located in the Office of Electoral Assistance in the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), with duty station in Baghdad. The Reporting Officer works closely with Iraqi counterparts of the IHEC and other Iraqi stakeholders, as well as UNDP, UNAMI and other electoral advisors.

• Liaise and advocate as necessary with UN Agencies, government officials, technical advisors and experts, donors and civil society organizations, in coordination with the Country Office;
• Support the IHEC in monitoring electoral activities, especially during peak times leading up to and immediately after events such as voter registration and election day activities of all electoral and advisory staff, and advise the IEC electoral operations on implementation progress;
• Identify new approaches and modalities that are adaptable in order to achieve established targets
• Ensure timely production and submission of all partial and/or progress reports by all members of the project team, contractors and project partners;
• Prepare background document, briefs and issues’ papers, progress reports for the project meetings and for donor reporting;
• Prepare project work plans and progress reports in collaboration with the UNDP Democratic Governance;
• Ensure that the project’s quarterly progress reports are finalized and submitted on time and that risks and issues logs are updated quarterly;
• Take the lead in the development, management and implementation of a reporting system that collects inputs from across the integrated UN electoral support team and channel them in an organized, regular fashion to identified end recipients;
• Support a carefully coordinated internal communications strategy for the UN electoral support team;
• Assist in the day-to-day operation of the UN electoral support team, including through participation in the coordination of substantive administrative activities, interpretation of policy guidelines, work to improve the reporting system, whilst handle operational and administrative queries;
• Anchor information-sharing and coordination with international stakeholders on electoral issues, including through organizing a periodic forum for information-sharing
• Support to project visibility in terms of communication of results;
• Draft reports or proposals on behalf of the UN electoral support team for presentation to the IHEC in consultation with relevant electoral advisors and the Electoral Assistance Division;
• Provide regular inputs to UNAMI reporting structures as required, ensuring inputs are submitted in an efficient and timely manner;
• Perform any other relevant tasks as required.

Core

• Achieve Results;
• Think Innovatively;
• Learn Continuously;
• Adapt with Agility;
• Act with Determination;
• Engage and Partner;
• Enable Diversity and Inclusion.

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies 

Communication

• Ability to communicate in a clear, concise and unambiguous manner both through written and verbal communication; to tailor messages and choose communication methods depending on the audience;
• Ability to manage communications internally and externally, through media, social media and other appropriate channels.

• Ability to inspect, cleanse, transform and model data with the goal of discovering useful information, informing conclusions and supporting decision-making.

• Ability to respond timely and appropriately with a sense of urgency, provide consistent solutions, and deliver timely and quality results and/or solutions to fulfil and understand the real customers' needs;
• Proactively inputs to the development of customer service strategy;
• Look for ways to add value beyond clients' immediate requests;
• Ability to anticipate client's upcoming needs and concerns.

• Ability to build and maintain partnerships with wide networks of stakeholders, Governments, civil society and private sector partners, experts and others in line with the organization strategy and policies.

• Electoral Cycle Support .

Education

• Master’s degree in Media, Communication, Electoral Assistance, Political Science, International Relations, Law, Public Administration, or related field;
• A first level university degree in combination with additional 2 years of relevant experience will be given due consideration in lieu of the master’s degree.  

Experience

• Minimum 5 years relevant experience at the national or international level in media and communications;
• Demonstrated experience in the management of external liaison, reporting and networks, particularly for elections; at least three years relevant professional experience in the field of elections;
• Knowledge of UN rules, regulations, policies and procedures an asset; working experience in developing countries, and preferably in the Middle East region is desirable; 
• United Nations electoral experience in a peacekeeping operation, political mission and/or a UN agency or other relevant international electoral experience is required; previous experience working with teams of different backgrounds is desirable. regulations, policies and procedures an asset; working experience in developing countries, and preferably in the Middle East region is desirable; 
• United Nations electoral experience in a peacekeeping operation, political mission and/or a UN agency or other relevant international electoral experience is required; previous experience working with teams of different backgrounds is desirable.

Language Requirements

• Fluency in spoken and written English required; knowledge of Arabic language is an advantage.

Important information for US Permanent Residents ('Green Card' holders)

Under US immigration law, acceptance of a staff position with UNDP, an international organization, may have significant implications for US Permanent Residents. UNDP advises applicants for all professional level posts that they must relinquish their US Permanent Resident status and accept a G-4 visa, or have submitted a valid application for US citizenship prior to commencement of employment. 

UNDP is not in a position to provide advice or assistance on applying for US citizenship and therefore applicants are advised to seek the advice of competent immigration lawyers regarding any applications.

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.

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