REGIONAL OMBUDSMAN

Org. Setting and Reporting

UNRWA, the largest United Nations operation in the Middle East with over 30,000 staff working across five areas of operation, is looking for highly committed personnel wishing to make a change.

If you are looking for a rewarding opportunity to make a tangible difference for one of the most vulnerable communities in the world, UNRWA would like to hear from you.

The Regional Ombudsman acts in an autonomous way, reporting administratively to the Commissioner-General, and works under the general supervision of the United Nations Ombudsman.

Responsibilities

- Within the framework of informal mechanisms, provides support to all UNRWA staff, irrespective of their duty stations, by reviewing, examining and analysing conflicts or perceived conflicts raised by UNRWA staff members; proposes alternatives for resolutions while maintaining confidentiality.

- Builds outreach and conflict management competence for headquarters and field offices by developing staff awareness and providing training and coaching on how to prevent and manage conflicts effectively, fostering a respectful and harmonious workplace at UNRWA.

- Provides mediation services and assists parties in working towards the resolution of a conflict, with the parties themselves remaining in control of the final decision or resolution.

- May initiate action on concerns identified through his or her direct observation.

- Identifies, analyzes and reports to the Commissioner-General of UNRWA on broad systemic issues and provides feedback on policies, procedures, practices, and behaviors with a view to enabling a respectful and harmonious workplace.

- Issues and provides regular reports on the activities of the Office of the Regional Ombudsman to the Commissioner-General of UNRWA as well as to the United Nations Ombudsman, having direct access to the Commissioner-General of UNRWA and other stakeholders as deemed necessary.

Competencies

UN Core Values of Integrity, Professionalism and Respect for Diversity, and Core Competencies of Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results apply by default.

- Deciding and Initiating Action
- Persuading and Influencing
- Analyzing
- Delivering Results
- Demonstrating Self-Awareness

- Expertise: demonstrates ability to outline options on how to navigate the handling of a broad range of work-related concerns; shows knowledge of third-party neutral conflict resolution and mediation principles; demonstrates ability to identify visitors' needs, create a safe and confidential environment, and explore possible options; is able to establish trust and maintain productive partnerships with visitors and stakeholders, respecting the principles of neutrality and confidentiality; is able to negotiate difficult situations taking into account the interests of all sides; shows respect and empathy for individuals; 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. Provides leadership and takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work; demonstrates knowledge of strategies and commitment to the goal of gender balance in staffing.

- Client Orientation: considers all those to whom services are provided to be “clients” and seeks to see things from clients’ point of view; establishes and maintains productive partnerships with clients by gaining their trust and respect; identifies clients’ needs and matches them to appropriate solutions; monitors ongoing developments inside and outside the clients’ environment to keep informed and anticipate problems; keeps clients informed of progress or setbacks in projects; meets timeline for delivery of products or services to client.

- 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 the actions proposed will satisfy the expressed and underlying needs for the decision; makes tough decisions when necessary.

For guidance on how to prepare for competency-based interviews: https://careers.un.org/lbw/home.aspx?viewtype=AYI

Education

Advanced university degree (Master's degree or equivalent) from an accredited educational institution in public administration, dispute resolution, human resources management, human relations, law, management, organizational development, counseling or other related area.

Work Experience

At least ten years of progressively responsible and relevant professional experience, with proven track-record in dispute resolution, human resources management, law, or related field is required.

At least five years of relevant work experience at the international level with the UN, private sector, governmental or international organizations is required.

Unless already serving as an international staff member in the UN Common System, a
candidate for an international post must have at least two continuous years of relevant
international experience outside UNRWA, and outside the country(s) of which the candidate
is a national or holds citizenship, a passport, or a national identity number, is required.

Experience with informal dispute resolution in the workplace is desirable.

Experience working in the support of a field operation (inclusive of peacekeeping operations, special political missions, agencies, funds and programmes), or other similar international organizations is desirable.

Languages

- Excellent command of written and spoken English.
- Knowledge of Arabic and other UN official languages.

Assessment

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

Special Notice

Type of Contract and duration: 2 years, with the possibility of further extension.

Applicants have to complete the Personal History Profile (PHP) in inspira in order to be considered. The PHP should be completed with full relevant work experience as per the requirements in the Job Opening, in order to be considered.

UNRWA welcomes applications from qualified candidates with disabilities.

A roster may be created from the selection exercise, and successful candidates may become eligible for a temporary appointment to the same post or a similar post.

Equivalency:
A first level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of an advanced university degree.
NB: work experience alone or formal qualifications with no relevant work experience are not considered an acceptable combination.

UNRWA is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions from UN member states, regional bodies, business foundations and individual contributions. The mission of UNRWA is to help Palestine refugees achieve their full potential in human development under the difficult circumstances in which they live.

For more details on UNRWA, please visit: https://www.unrwa.org/

United Nations Considerations

Staff members are subject to the authority of the Commissioner-General of UNRWA and to assignment by him or her.

UNRWA is committed to achieving gender parity at all levels of staffing under the current UN-wide gender agenda and strongly encourages applications from qualified applicants from under-represented groups.

At UNRWA, the paramount consideration in the recruitment and employment of staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity, with due regard to geographic diversity. All employment decisions are made on the basis of qualifications and organizational needs. UNRWA is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. Reasonable accommodation for applicants with disabilities may be provided to support participation in the recruitment process when requested and indicated in the application.

UNRWA Considerations
UNRWA staff are expected to uphold the highest standards of efficiency, competence, neutrality, impartiality and integrity. This includes respect for and commitment to human rights, diversity and non-violent means of dealing with all kinds of conflict. Only persons who fully and unconditionally commit to these values should consider applying for UNRWA jobs. Candidates will not be considered for employment with UNRWA 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. Candidates who have committed crimes other than minor traffic offences may not be considered for employment. The Agency may disqualify applicants who have separated for reason of misconduct, who left a UN Agency while misconduct processes were pending, or who appear on the UN Sanctions List.
UNRWA is a non-smoking work 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.