Sénégal OHCHR recruits 01 Human Rights Officer

Job Opening
Posting Title: Human Rights Officer, P3
Job Code Title: HUMAN RIGHTS OFFICER
Department/Office: Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
Duty Station: DAKAR
Posting Period: 20 December 2019 – 02 February 2020
Job Opening Number: 19-Human Rights Affairs-OHCHR-128875-R-Dakar (G)
Staffing Exercise N/A

United Nations Core Values: Integrity, Professionalism, Respect for Diversity

Org. Setting and Reporting
This position is located in the Regional Office of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Dakar. The incumbent will report to the Head of Office of the duty station and to the Coordinator of the Treaty Body Capacity Building Programme in the Human Rights Council and Treaty Mechanisms Division.

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

– Facilitates the liaison, coordination and follow-up to the engagement with the treaty bodies by Governments in the region, as well as stakeholders. Facilitates country-to-country exchanges of best practices in treaty reporting and follow-up;

– Collects good practices from the region in the fulfillment 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;

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

– Conducts 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 reaches out to States in the region to offer technical assistance;

– Undertakes travel in the region as required and provides 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 advises States in the region on the simplified reporting procedure;

– Promotes 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;

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

– Increases 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;

– Conducts 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;

– Prepares 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;

– Organizes 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;

– Provides 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;

– Assists 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;

– Contributes 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 ratification and increased reporting;

– Works in close coordination with OHCHR’s Human Rights Treaties Division and with the capacity building coordination cell at Headquarters;

– Contributes with regional and national perspectives to the development of capacity building tools undertaken at HQ level;

– Performs 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. 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.

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

Work Experience
At least 5 years of progressively responsible work experience in the human rights or related fields at national and international levels is required.
Work experience in relation to human rights issues in Africa is required.
Work experience in connection with the human rights treaty bodies and/or capacity-building activities is desirable.

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

Assessment
Evaluation of qualified candidates may include an assessment exercise which will be followed by 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 31 October 2019, are strongly encouraged to apply: Afghanistan, Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahrain, Belize, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Central African Republic, China, Comoros, Cuba, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Dominica, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Grenada, Guinea-Bissau, 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, San Marino, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Solomon Islands, South Sudan, Suriname, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, United Arab Emirates, United States of America, Vanuatu, Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.

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.

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, 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. 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. The term “sexual harassment” means any unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature that might reasonably be expected or be perceived to cause offence or humiliation, when such conduct interferes with work, is made a condition of employment or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment, and when the gravity of the conduct warrants the termination of the perpetrator’s working relationship. Candidates who have committed crimes other than minor traffic offences may not be considered for employment.

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.