Org. Setting and Reporting

These positions are located in the Regional Offices of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) – Bangkok, Beirut, Bishkek and Panama – under the direct supervision of the Head of Office of the particular duty station and the general guidance of the Coordinator of the Treaty Body Capacity Building Programme in the Human Rights Council and Treaty Mechanisms Division. Please ensure you indicate in your application which specific duty station you are interested in applying for.

Responsibilities

Within the delegated authority, the incumbent will be responsible for the following functions:

-Facilitate the liaison, coordination and follow-up to the engagement with the treaty bodies by Governments in the region, as well as stakeholders.

-Facilitate country-to-country exchanges of best practices in treaty reporting and follow-up; 

-Collect good practices from the region in the fulfilment by States of their treaty obligations and ensure the broad dissemination of treaty body concluding observations, tools, manuals, training materials and good practices in the countries of the region; 

– Develop tailored technical assistance projects for treaty body engagement upon the request of States parties in the region; 

-Conduct an analysis of the engagement of countries in the region with treaty bodies, using the treaty body database, with a special focus on treaty body reporting under the 9 treaties and 2 optional protocols, and reach out to States in the region to offer technical assistance;

-Undertake travel in the region as required and provide advice on the treaty body reporting process and its components, including report submission, list of issues, replies to list of issues, constructive dialogue, concluding observations and follow-up; and advise States in the region on the simplified reporting procedure; 

-Promote the systematic engagement of the United Nations Country Teams (UNCTs) throughout all stages of the State party review by treaty bodies, including follow-up to conclusions and recommendations, in close cooperation with governments, civil society and national human rights institutions;

-Promote a holistic approach for the implementation and follow-up to recommendations emanating from international human rights mechanisms; 

-Increase awareness of the importance of standing national coordination bodies for fulfilling reporting obligations, responding to individual communications and inquiries and ensuring integrated follow-up to recommendations from all human rights mechanisms;

-Conduct a preliminary assessment of requests for assistance by States from the region to develop institutional capacity for reporting through improved coordination of reporting at the national level or the establishment of a standing national reporting and follow-up mechanism; 

-Prepare draft lists of issues for State reports to be examined by human rights treaty bodies and/or draft concluding observations under the State reporting procedure; 

-Organize briefings and other information activities on treaty body engagement for Government officials, line ministries, parliament, the judiciary, national human rights institutions and civil society, tailored to the countries’ specific situation with respect to treaty body reporting; 

-Provide training on the use of the Universal Human Rights Index to cluster recommendations from the various international human rights mechanisms by country and by theme; 

-Assist with the identification of participants for the regional training-of-trainers and roster of experts on treaty body reporting and liaise with regional human rights mechanisms for the organizations of regional training-of-trainers seminars as appropriate;

-Contribute to the biennial report of the Secretary-General, mandated by the General Assembly resolution on treaty body strengthening, as pertains to capacity-building efforts and results achieved, as well as the situation in terms of ratifications and increased reporting; -Work in close coordination with OHCHR’s Treaties Branch and with the capacity building coordination cell at Headquarters; 

-Contribute with regional and national perspectives to the development of capacity building tools undertaken at HQ level,

– Perform other related duties as required.

Competencies

PROFESSIONALISM : Knowledge and understanding of institutional mandates, policies and guidelines related to human rights and in particular of the UN human rights treaty body mechanisms. Good knowledge of international human rights law and human rights issues in the respective region. Good knowledge of training methodologies as well as devising and delivering training materials is desirable. Ability to identify issues, analyze and participate in the resolution of issues/problems. Ability to conduct data collection using various methods. Conceptual analytical and evaluative skills to conduct independent research and analysis, including familiarity with and experience in the use of various research sources, including electronic sources on the Internet, intranet and other databases. Ability to apply judgment in the context of assignments given, plan own work and manage conflicting priorities. Shows pride in work and in achievements; demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter; 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. Takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work. 

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; tailors language, tone, style and format to match audience; demonstrates openness in sharing information and keeping people informed. 

PLANNING AND ORGANISING : Develops clear goals that are consistent with agreed strategies; identifies priority activities and assignments; adjusts priorities as required; allocates appropriate amount of time and resources for completing work; foresees risks and allows for contingencies when planning; monitors and adjusts plans and actions as necessary; uses time efficiently. 

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; supports and acts in accordance with final group decision, even when such decisions may not entirely reflect own position; shares credit for team accomplishments and accepts joint responsibility for team shortcomings.

Education

Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in law, political science, international relations or other disciplines related to human rights. A first-level university degree in combination with at least two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Work Experience

At least 5 years of progressively responsible work experience in human rights, political affairs, international relations, law or related area at national and international levels. Experience in relation to human rights issues in the respective region is required. Work experience in connection with the human rights treaty bodies and/or with capacity-building is desirable.

Languages

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this position, fluency in oral and written English is required. Fluency of another official language specific to the duty station (Arabic, Russian and Spanish) is desirable.

Assessment

Evaluation of qualified applicants may include an eliminatory assessment exercise which will be followed by a competency-based interview

Special Notice

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. 

The United Nations Secretariat is committed to achieving 50/50 gender balance in its staff. Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply for this position.

For this position, applicants from the following Member States, which are unrepresented or underrepresented in the UN Secretariat as of 30 September 2018, are strongly encouraged to apply: Afghanistan, Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahrain, Belarus, Belize, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Central African Republic, China, Comoros, Cyprus, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Dominica, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Grenada, Guinea-Bissau, Indonesia, Islamic Republic of Iran, Japan, Kiribati, Kuwait, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Monaco, Mozambique, Nauru, Norway, Oman, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Solomon Islands, South Sudan, Suriname, Syrian Arab Republic, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, United Arab Emirates, United States of America, Vanuatu, Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.

United Nations Considerations

According to article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity. Candidates will not be considered for employment with the United Nations if they have committed violations of international human rights law, violations of international humanitarian law, sexual exploitation or sexual abuse, or crimes other than minor traffic offences, or if there are reasonable grounds to believe that they have been involved in the commission of any of these acts. The term “sexual exploitation” means any actual or attempted abuse of a position of vulnerability, differential power, or trust, for sexual purposes, including, but not limited to, profiting monetarily, socially or politically from the sexual exploitation of another. The term “sexual abuse” means the actual or threatened physical intrusion of a sexual nature, whether by force or under unequal or coercive conditions.

Due regard will be paid to the importance of recruiting the staff on as wide a geographical basis as possible. The United Nations places 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. The United Nations Secretariat is a non-smoking 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.

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.