The United Nations Human Settlements Programme, UN-Habitat, is the UN agency for human settlements mandated by the UN General Assembly to promote socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities. The Special Assistant (Political Affairs) provides high-level support to the Executive Office, ensuring the effective development and implementation of UN-Habitat's Programme of Work.
Responsibilities
- Support the development and implementation of the UN-Habitat Programme of Work, including national, sub-regional, and regional strategies.
- Devise innovative mechanisms to enhance UN-Habitat's responsiveness to country and regional needs.
- Coordinate UN-Habitat's engagement and commitments in relevant UN system-wide processes, including the Quadrennial Comprehensive Policy Review (QCPR), the Chief Executive Board (CEB), and United Nations Sustainable Development Group (UNSDG) processes.
- Maintain liaison with and provide consolidated UN-Habitat inputs into relevant UNSDG Task Teams and Working Groups to strengthen the agency's leadership role in mainstreaming sustainable urbanization.
- Guide the identification and integration of relevant Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) priorities, policies, and plans into UN-Habitat's programming and country-level processes at strategic and operational levels.
Data-Related Responsibilities
- Collect and analyze data to identify trends or patterns and provide insights through graphs, charts, tables, and reports.
- Use data visualization methods to enable data-driven planning, decision-making, presentation, and reporting.
- Perform any other related duties as assigned by the Executive Director and the Chief of Staff.
Requirements and Qualifications
- Education: An advanced university degree (Master's or equivalent) in business administration, management, law, political science, or a related field is required. A first-level university degree in combination with two (2) additional years of qualifying work experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced degree.
- Certifications: Leadership or executive support certifications, such as Certified Administrative Professional (CAP) or Executive Assistant Professional credentials, are desirable. Completion of programs in data analytics or data science is also desirable.
- Experience:
- A minimum of seven (7) years of progressively responsible work experience in human settlements-related project/programme management, development, executive administration, or advisory roles.
- A minimum of three (3) years of relevant experience in an Executive Office of a Head of Entity in an international organization is required.
- A minimum of three (3) years of experience in international and multilateral relations is required.
- A minimum of three (3) years of experience in managing a busy front office is required.
- Experience within the United Nations common system or a similar international organization is desirable.
- Two (2) or more years of experience in data analytics or a related area is desirable.
How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should apply via the UN Careers portal at careers.un.org. You can access the specific application link via UN-Habitat on careers.un.org.
