Political Affairs Officer, P4

The Political Affairs Officer serves in the Department of Peace Operations, providing political and operational advice, analysis, and support to peace operations. The role involves monitoring political developments, preparing analytical reports, coordinating with UN entities and Member States, and supporting senior UN officials in political strategy formulation and implementation.

Responsibilities

• Participates in the discussion and formulation of political and technical strategies in the field as needed.
• Reviews and monitors activities in the country or region assigned; assesses trends and developments which might affect the political and operational situation and their impact on relevant peace operations.
• Analyses political and other events in assigned area and monitors, analyses and reviews political, policy and cross-cutting issues related to peace operations, with a view to provide early warning advice to the USG and Chief of Office.
• Prepares analytical reports on electoral matters of concern to the Assembly, or other bodies; drafts notes, background papers, talking points and other correspondence for senior UN officials as required.
• Meets regularly with counterparts in the DPO, DPPA, DOS, DMSPC, and other departments, agencies and programmes of the UN System to plan projects and review project activities as needed.
• Ensures up-to-date information regarding substantive political matters and makes recommendations on actions to take.
• Makes contact with other sectors of the UN, other international organizations and governments on coordination and policy matters with regards to operations; briefs representatives and provides, as appropriate suggestions and recommendations as needed.
• Drafts notes, background papers, talking points, speeches and other correspondence for the USG DPO.
• Acts as focal point for collection and analysis of information on political, policy and crosscutting issues, as assigned.
• Maintains contacts and coordinates policy matters with relevant offices in the Secretariat and the UN system, with other international organizations, and with Member States; briefs Member State representatives.
• Carries out, in consultation with supervisors, administrative functions relating to the staffing, planning and budget of an operation; including the selection of staff assigned to missions.
• Performs other related duties and special assignments, as required.

Requirements

• Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in political science, international relations, law, public administration, or related field. A first-level university degree in combination with qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
• A minimum of seven years of progressively responsible experience in political science, international relations, law, conflict resolution or related area is required.
• A minimum of three years of experience working in a front office providing substantive policy advice and support to senior UN officials, or of a comparable international organization is required.
• Experience in a peacekeeping operation in Africa and another region is required.
• Experience in coordinating budget preparation is desirable.
• English and French are required at UN Level III proficiency in reading, writing, listening, and speaking.
• Spanish is desirable at UN Level I proficiency in reading, writing, listening, and speaking.

Skills

• Political Analysis
• Conflict Resolution
• Policy Advice
• Peacekeeping Operations
• International Relations
• Budget Preparation
• Report Writing
• Political Strategy Development
• Stakeholder Coordination
• Bilingual Communication
• Operational Support

Languages

English, French, Spanish