Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Position: Executive Secretary of the Ozone Secretaiat (Deadline June 23, 2013)

I am actually a little puzzled by this job ad as I did not see this vacancy announcement previously and the current Executive Secretary's bio is still on the Ozone Secretariat's website.

In any event, the position is essentially as the head of the Secretariat which supports both ozone treaties (Vienna Convention and Montreal Protocol), located in Nairobi.



Job Title:                      EXECUTIVE SECRETARY, D2
Department/ Office:  United Nations Environment Programme
Duty Station:               NAIROBI
Posting Period:            24 April 2013-23 June 2013
Job Opening number: 13-ADM-UNEP-26646-D-NAIROBI (X)

Org. Setting and Reporting
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the United Nations system’s designated entity for addressing environmental issues at the global and regional level. Its mandate is to coordinate the development of environmental policy consensus by keeping the global environment under review and bringing emerging issues to the attention of the governments and the international community for action.   The Parties to the Vienna Convention (VC) for the Protection of the Ozone Layer (1985) and its Montreal Protocol (MP) on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (1987), designated UNEP as the Secretariat for these two international agreements in 1989.  This post is located in UNEP/Ozone Secretariat at the Nairobi duty station.  Under the overall supervision of the Executive Director, UNEP, USG, the incumbent of this post will be responsible for the following:

Responsibilities
1.  Responsible for accurate and wise thematic advice to the Parties to the MP and VC, as well as to the technical bodies of the two agreements and relevant partner organizations in the form of reports or other media.
  2.  Deliver speeches in the international meetings related to the Environment; statements and other information given at the policy level, on issues related to the ozone layer as a whole and the synergies amongst Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs), in particular on ozone-climate interface and on the implementation of such policies;  Conduct high level negotiations and persuasion when necessary to expedite the implementation of the MP, VC and decisions of the Parties and Ratification by non-Parties; Creation and maintaining of cordial diplomatic links with high level government officials and staff of other international organisations is needed; Establishing and maintaining partnerships with other MEAs and relevant UN/international organizations to explore synergies and collaborative actions in areas of common concerns is also needed.
3.  Creation and maintenance of  functional reporting systems for the production and consumption of controlled Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS); Analyse the data from the 197 Parties, identify non-compliance and prepare reports and action plans.
4.  Review decisions to form a work programme for the Secretariat; Manage the work programme; Negotiate, coordinate and agree on the necessary actions with other organisations implementing the decisions.
5.  In consultation with the Bureaux of the MOP and of the COP, agree on the substantive agenda of the meetings;  Through coordination with host governments, the Conference Services and other units and partners organize meetings of the Ozone Treaties.
6.  Participate in the assessment process as an expert member or ex-officio as appropriate;  Provide the necessary organizational support and substantive advice to the assessment bodies; Ensure high quality reporting back to the Parties.
7.  Develop the  management strategy for the Ozone Secretariat; Provide leadership to all staff of the Ozone Secretariat.
           
Competencies
Professionalism:   Develops strategic plans, operational policies and guidelines. Manages financial, human and material resources, implements and evaluates activities and projects.  Drafts policies that resolve corporate challenges emerging from the Secretariat's work.  Shows pride in work and in achievements.  Is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results.
Communication: Speaks and writes clearly and effectively; Listens to others, correctly interprets messages from others and responds appropriately; Asks questions to clarify, and exhibits interest in having two-way communication; Demonstrates openness in sharing information and keeping people informed.
Teamwork:  Works collaboratively with colleagues to achieve organizational goals; Solicits input by genuinely valuing others’ ideas and expertise; is willing to learn from others; Places team agenda before personal agenda.
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 gain 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.  Provides leadership and takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives into substantive work and commitment to the goal of achieving gender balance in staffing.
Managing Performance: Delegates the appropriate responsibility, accountability and decision-making authority; Makes sure that roles, responsibilities and reporting lines are clear to each staff member; Accurately judges the amount of time and resources needed to accomplish a task and matches task to skills; Monitors progress against milestones and deadlines; Regularly discusses performance and provides feedback and coaching to staff; Encourages risk-taking and supports creativity and initiative; Actively supports the development and career aspirations of staff; Appraises performance fairly.
           
Education
Advanced university degree (Master's degree or equivalent) in law, natural sciences, environmental management, economics, business/public administration or related disciplines.  A first university degree with a combination of two years professional and academic qualifications may be accepted in lieu of the advanced degree.
           
Work Experience
A minimum of 15 years of professional working experience of which some at national level with links to the international processes on environment; and 5 years professional experience at the international level is required.  Experience in facilitation and moderation of intergovernmental processes is required.  Experience in handling a multidisciplinary portfolio of tasks and duties and the ability to lead a team of specialists in interdisciplinary effort is required.   Qualifying years of experience are calculated following the receipt of the first level university degree recognised by the United Nations.
           
Languages
English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat.  For this post fluency in oral and written English is required.   Knowledge of another official UN language is an advantage.
           
Assessment Method
Evaluation of qualified candidates for this position may include a substantive assessment which will be followed by a competency-based interview.
           
Special Notice
1). Staff members are subject to the authority of the Secretary-General and to assignment by him or her.  In this context, all staff are expected to move periodically to new functions in their careers in accordance with established rules and procedures.
2). All applicants are strongly encouraged to apply online as soon as possible after the job opening has been posted and well before the deadline stated in the job opening.  Online applications will be acknowledged where an email address has been provided.
3). If you do not receive an email acknowledgement within 24 hours of submission, your application may not have been received.  In such cases, please resubmit the application, if necessary.  If the problem persists, please seek technical assistance through the Inspira "Need Help?" link.
           
United Nations Considerations
The United Nations shall place 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. (Charter of the United Nations - Chapter 3, article 8). The United Nations Secretariat is a non-smoking environment.
           
No Fee
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.

No comments: