Programme Management Officer

Job Description

• The Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS) is responsible for leadership, operational support and oversight of the United Nations security management system (UNSMS) globally.
• As a global leader in security risk management principles, UNDSS enables the safe and effective delivery of United Nations programmes and activities in the most complex and challenging environments, while maximizing precious resources.
• To this end, the work of the Department is aligned under a clear mission, to enable United Nations system programme activities through trusted security leadership and solutions.
• The Department has embarked on a series of reforms to reconceptualize security as an enabler of UN programmes within acceptable risk.
• New strategic initiatives focus on improving the quality of evidence-based planning and foresight scenarios required to strengthen UNDSS response in the field and ensure continued programmatic delivery and support to UN organizations in complex emergencies and deteriorating security situations.
• This position is located in the Strategic Planning Unit (SPU), in the Strategic Planning Service (SPS), in the Office of the Under- Secretary-General for Safety and Security, based in New York and will report to the head of a unit.
• The Programme Officer Strategic Foresight will lead on collecting, analyzing and communicating trends on strategic issues of relevance to UNDSS that enhance the Department’s ability to anticipate, prepare for, and respond to complex security challenges that impact UN operations globally thus fostering stability, security, and progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and Sustained Peace agendas.
• This is a unique opportunity to join a diverse, dynamic and exciting organization gaining unique and valuable experience where security provides great value.
• Besides the opportunity to gain new skills and further advance security expertise, this position offers a fulfilling environment that gives you satisfaction by contributing directly or indirectly to peace and security, human rights, and achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.
• For more information on the Department, and how we make an impact on the world in enabling the achievement of SDGs, visit: https://www.un.org/undss

Within delegated authority, the Programme Officer will be responsible for the following duties:

• Participates in the development, implementation and evaluation of new analysis techniques and processes using internal and external data to identify global strategic trends of relevance to UNDSS and to inform DSS foresight planning; monitors and analyzes programme/project development and implementation; reviews relevant documents and reports; identifies problems and issues to be addressed and proposes corrective actions; liaises with relevant parties; identifies and tracks follow-up actions.
• Performs consulting assignments, in collaboration with the client, by planning facilitating workshops, developing solutions for data-related technical problems and data infrastructure needs through other interactive sessions and assisting in developing the action plan the client will use to manage the change.
• Researches, analyzes and presents information gathered from diverse sources and manages individual projects regarding the optimal extraction, transformation, and loading of data from a wide variety of sources into data pipelines.
• Assists in policy development, including the review and analysis of issues and trends, preparation of evaluations or other research activities and studies.
• Undertakes survey initiatives; designs data collection tools; reviews, analyzes and interprets responses, deploy resources to extract data features from complex datasets for data analysis, identifies problems/issues and prepares conclusions.
• Prepares various written outputs, e.g. draft background papers, analysis, sections of reports and studies, inputs to publications, etc.
• Provides substantive support to implement various analysis and reporting to foster and improve data analysis to include preparation of documents and presentations.
• Undertakes outreach activities; conducts training workshops, seminars, etc.; makes presentations on assigned topics/activities.
• Participates in or lead field missions, including provision of guidance to external consultants, government officials and other parties and drafting mission summaries, etc.
• Coordinates activities related to budget and funding (programme/project preparation and submissions, progress reports, financial statements, etc.) and prepares related documents/reports (pledging, work programme, programme budget, etc.).
• Performs other duties as required.

• Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in computer science, data management, information systems, social science, political science, business administration, management, economics or a related field.
• A first level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

• A minimum of five years of progressively responsible experience in project or programme management, administration or related area is required.
• At least five years of progressively responsible experience in data management, integration, modeling, optimization and other relevant areas is required.
• Experience in programming languages such as Python or R is required.
• Experience in designing data integration and pipeline architectures is required.
• Experience supporting cross-functional teams and collaborating with stakeholders in support of analytics initiatives is desirable.
• Experience in delivering big data use cases is desirable.
• Experience in Artificial Intelligence, particularly Machine Learning techniques for data mining and extraction of large amounts of data is desirable.

• English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat.
• For this position advertised, fluency in oral and written English is required.
• Knowledge of another UN official language is desirable.

NOTE: ”Fluency” equals a rating of ”fluent” in all four areas (read, write, speak, understand) and ”Knowledge of” equals a rating of ”confident” in two of the four areas.

• Appointment or assignment against this position is for an initial period of one year. The appointment or assignment and renewal thereof are subject to the availability of the post or funds, budgetary approval or extension of the mandate.
• For this position, applicants from the following Member States, which are unrepresented or underrepresented in the UN Secretariat as of 30 Nov 2024, are strongly encouraged to apply: Un-represented: Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Dominica, Equatorial Guinea, Grenada, Kiribati, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Liechtenstein, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Qatar, Sao Tome and Principe, Timor-Leste, Tuvalu, United Arab Emirates, Vanuatu. Under-represented: Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahrain, Belize, Brunei Darussalam, China, Cuba, Germany, Guinea-Bissau, Hungary, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Kuwait, Libya, Malta, Micronesia (Federated States of), Monaco, Oman, Panama, Paraguay, Republic of Korea, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Somalia, Turkmenistan, United States of America
• 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. The United Nations Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS) is taking efforts to improve gender parity, including full implementation of the UN-wide, and Departmental Gender Strategies. We are committed to providing an inclusive culture and exciting opportunities for women in the security and operations field.
• An impeccable record for integrity and professional ethical standards is essential.
• Those candidates who apply and are subsequently recommended and endorsed for the job opening, but are not selected for the current vacant position, will be placed on the roster for similar functions at the level and category of the job opening for possible future selection. Roster membership does not guarantee selection.
• Applying to this job opening carries an expectation to accept the offer, if selected. 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.
• Pursuant to section 7.11 of ST/AI/2012/2/Rev.1, candidates recruited through the young professionals programme who have not served for a minimum of two years in the position of their initial assignment are not eligible to apply to this position.
• The selection process for this job opening will be conducted pursuant to ST/AI/2010/3 on the “Staff Selection System” and include the compliance review process by a review body described in staff rule 4.15. The Staff Regulations, Staff Rules and administrative issuance governing staff appointments can be viewed at: http://www.un.org/hr_handbook/English.