Job Vacancies United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), May 2011

Job Vacancies United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS)
Position: Fellowship Programme Consultant
Location: United States of America (the), New York
Closing Date: Thursday, 12 May 2011

UNOPS helps its partners in the United Nations system meet the world’s needs for building peace, recovering from disaster, and creating sustainable development. UNOPS is known for its ability to implement complex projects in all types of environments around the globe. In an effort to promote organizational excellence, UNOPS seeks highly qualified individuals for the following position: Vacancy Details Vacancy Code Title Level Position status Project Title Org Unit Duty Station Duration Closing Date VA/2011/DG/NAO/AoC/FPC/28-04 Fellowship Programme Consultant International Individual Contractor – JR Specialist (IICA) Level 1 Non-rotational United Nations Alliance of Civilizations DG/NAO/AoC NY, USA Up to 6 months with a possibility of an extension 12 May 2011 Background The UN Alliance of Civilizations project was established in 2005, at the initiative of the Governments of Spain and Turkey, under the auspices of the United Nations. In April 2007, the United Nations SecretaryGeneral appointed Jorge Sampaio, former President of Portugal, as High Representative for the Alliance. The UNAOC is supported by a Group of Friends – a community of over 120 member countries and international organizations and bodies. Through preventive diplomacy initiatives, it works at grassroots level, promoting education, youth, media and migration projects aimed at building trust and respect among diverse communities. The UN Alliance of Civilizations seeks to reduce tensions across cultural divides that threaten to inflame existing political conflicts or trigger new ones. It serves as a bridge builder and convener, connecting people and organizations devoted to promoting trust and understanding between diverse communities, particularly between Muslim and Western societies.

The UNAoC Secretariat, based in New York, NY, is funded by multiple donors, with operations-level implementation is provided by UNOPS. The Alliance of Civilizations requires a Consultant who, under the supervision of the Senior Advisor, will manage the Fellowship Programme 2011. The Fellowship Programme is implemented by the Alliance and benefits from support of the following partners: the British Council, the Government of Qatar, Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) and the League of Arab States (LAS). It aims at facilitating mutual, substantive and meaningful exposure for emerging leaders from North America, Europe and Muslim-majority countries to media, culture, politics, institutions, civil society and religion in one another’s countries. 2011 phase of the Fellowship Programme will be carried out and completed before the UNAOC Forum in Doha, Qatar, 11-13 December, 2011. It is planned that two visits of fellows – one of emerging leaders from Arab countries to Europe and the US, one from emerging leaders of Europe and the US to Arab countries will be completed before December 2011. A Strategic Committee, composed of the representatives of partners, will make key decisions on the overall design of the Fellowship Program, its content, the fundraising strategy, the selection criteria for participants, the selection of countries to be visited and the overall communication.
The incumbent will be expected to lead the implementation of the Programme, based on the guidelines set by the Strategic Committee and under supervision of the Senior Advisor.

Duties and responsibilities Selection Process:
Draft a call for applications for the Fellowship Programme, criteria of selection and timeline of the call; Ensure that an approval of the call has been obtained from the Strategic Committee; post it online, widely advertize through social networks and media, partners networks and other communication channels; Screen applications and provide a list of short-listed candidates to the Strategic Committee; ensure that the selection process is duly recorded and filed; Announce the selection process results to applicants; liaise with the selected individuals on further steps.

Visits Programme:
In consultation with partners, draft the proposal for fellows’ visits (institutions, locations, timeline, core contacts to be made); ensure comments from partners are well-received and incorporated in the proposed visits programme; seek review and approval from the Strategic Committee; Liaise with the proposed institutions and contact points to coordinate preparations for the visits. Communications Strategy: Draft communications strategy of the Programme; following its approval, ensure implementation; coordinate with the Alliance’s media team; Together with the Webmaster, work on the design of a webpage, dedicated to the Fellowship Programme and ensure its timely updates; With partners’ assistance, explore media contacts in the geographic locations and ensure media coverage of the visits on the ground. Administration and Management: Provide technical and administrative support to fellows, including travel, insurance, accommodation, inner-city travel, etc; consult UNOPS on the UN travel regulations; Draft interim progress and final activity reports on the Programme implementation, for review and approval by the donor/Strategic Committee; In coordination with UNOPS, prepare financial reports on the Programme implementation and ensure their full compliance with provisions of the Grant Agreement, signed with the donor; Monitor and track stories about achievements reached by the fellows through the Programme; Prepare partnership proposal and resources mobilization effort for the development and scale up of the Programme as of 2012.

Required Selection Criteria
1. Competencies Excellent analytical and research skills Excellent interpersonal skills Excellent communication (spoken and written) skills; Strong attention to details Excellent drafting and reporting skills Capacity to handle in parallel a wide range of tasks of different nature Ability to work under pressure and to meet tight deadlines
2. Education / Experience / Language Masters Degree in law, international relations, social sciences, human rights, public policy and/or relevant professional experience in these fields From 0 to 4 years of relevant work experience Work experience in international organizations or with international partners is an asset Experience with non-for-profits and grassroots projects, research management, analysis and information gathering, preferably within a regional or international organization Knowledge of intercultural issues, including trends in the fields of cross-cultural dialogue and cooperation Ability to work in a multicultural and international environment, experience in work with diverse groups and individuals Proven experience in managing large-scale projects with multiple actors in a broad range of areas, including cross-cultural relations and intercultural dialogue Fluency in spoken and written English essential. Working knowledge of another UN language is desirable, knowledge of Arabic an asset. IT proficiency. Submission of Applications Qualified candidates may submit their application, including a letter of interest, complete Curriculum Vitae and an updated United Nations Personal History Form (P.11) (available on our website), to the following email address: dgvas@unops.org. Kindly indicate the vacancy number and the post title in the subject line when applying by email. Additional Considerations – Applications received after the closing date will not be considered. – Only those candidates that are short-listed for interviews will be notified. – Qualified female candidates

UNOPS North America Regional Office
The Chrysler Building
405 Lexington Avenue, 5th Floor
New York
Tel: +1 212 457-4000




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