Nuclear Safety Officer

Position description

Organizational Setting

The Department of Nuclear Safety and Security (NS) formulates and implements the IAEA’s nuclear safety and security programme, which encompasses the Agency’s activities to protect people and the environment from radiation exposure, and responds to the safety and security related needs of its Member States.
The objective of the Division of Nuclear Installation Safety (NSNI) is to achieve and maintain a high level of safety of nuclear installations worldwide that are under design or construction or in operation. The Division does this by establishing standards of safety for the protection of health, including standards for nuclear power plants and other nuclear installations and facilities, and by providing for the application of these standards through, among other things, support for the IAEA’s Technical Cooperation programme, the rendering of safety review services, the promotion of education and training, the fostering of information exchange and the coordination of research and development. In addition, the Division helps ensure safety at nuclear installations by supporting international safety instruments such as the Convention on Nuclear Safety and the Code of Conduct on the Safety of Research Reactors. NSNI comprises five Sections:
•External Events Safety Section
•Operational Safety Section
•Safety Assessment Section
•Regulatory Activities Section
•Research Reactor Safety Section

The main objective of the Regulatory Activities Section (RAS) is to help enhance effective regulatory infrastructures for nuclear safety in Member States based on IAEA safety standards and the use of self-assessment. The Section’s activities include safety review and advisory missions to Member States, the development and revision of safety standards, support for effective regulatory development for countries embarking on new nuclear power programmes, development of training programmes for regulators, and organizational aspects related to the Convention on Nuclear Safety.

 

Main Purpose

Reporting to the Section Head, the Nuclear Safety Officer plans and coordinates assigned projects to support specific Divisional programmes and services aimed at strengthening the safety of nuclear installation through proper site selection, installation design, systems design; and regulatory and operating policies and practices.

 

Role

The Nuclear Safety Officer is: 
(1) a project planner and implementer, contributing to the development and implementation of activities aimed at promoting the Divisional programmatic objectives;
(2) a scientific secretary and technical expert, planning and leading Technical Meetings and consultancies; 
(3) a mission leader, planning and leading technical safety reviews and follow-up missions; and
(4) a technical officer, leading and evaluating technical cooperation and extra-budgetary operational and coordinated research projects.

 

Functions / Key Results Expected

Depending on the Section focus, functions may include to:

Lead projects of internal and external experts to develop, implement and evaluate safety standards.
Provide Member States with advice and assistance in the application of safety assessment methodologies and safety standards, including to organize peer review missions to determine the effectiveness of regulatory oversight and to formulate an action plan for the Member State to address identified deficiencies.
Provide advice and assistance to Member State and industry association reviews of operating organization management systems, safety culture, human resources management and scientific and technical capacity including participation as an expert advisor and technical expert on Member State and industry association review missions. 
Organize and manage capacity building projects, including education, training and exercises at the national, regional and international levels to address all the nuclear safety related areas, including safe operation, emergency preparedness and response, and regulatory effectiveness.
Provide expert technical input and maintain / operate nuclear safety information systems such as the Incident Reporting System (IRS), and Incident Reporting System for Research Reactors (IRSRR) and Fuel Incident Notification and Analysis System (FINAS); provide support and relevant expertise for the Incident Emergency System (IES); and participate in associated training events and exercises.
Participate as an active member and IAEA representative in professional meetings, conferences and projects.

Competencies and Expertise

Core Competencies(Competency Framework)

NameDefinition
Planning and OrganizingPlans and organizes his/her own work in support of achieving the team or Section’s priorities. Takes into account potential changes and proposes contingency plans.
CommunicationCommunicates orally and in writing in a clear, concise and impartial manner. Takes time to listen to and understand the perspectives of others and proposes solutions.
Achieving ResultsTakes initiative in defining realistic outputs and clarifying roles, responsibilities and expected results in the context of the Department/Division’s programme. Evaluates his/her results realistically, drawing conclusions from lessons learned.
TeamworkActively contributes to achieving team results. Supports team decisions.

Functional Competencies

NameDefinition
Judgement/decision makingConsults with supervisor/manager and takes decisions in full compliance with the Agency’s regulations and rules. Makes decisions reflecting best practice and professional theories and standards.
Partnership buildingIdentifies and builds partnerships. Develops and maintains long lasting partnerships to strengthen relationships. Delivers programmatic outputs and acquires resources in support of Agency goals.
Technical/scientific credibilityEnsures that work is in compliance with internationally accepted professional standards and scientific methods. Provides scientifically/technically accepted information that is credible and reliable.

Required Expertise

FunctionNameExpertise Description

Nuclear SafetyIAEA Safety StandardsKnowledge of the development of IAEA Safety Standards and their application for the assistance of Member States.

Nuclear SafetyRegulatory Oversight of Nuclear InstallationsIn-depth experience in the regulatory oversight of nuclear installations, applied during authorization, review and assessment, and inspection and enforcement processes.

Nuclear SafetyRegulatory Safety Infrastructure for Nuclear InstallationsExperience in the development of safety infrastructure elements for nuclear installations and regulatory capacity building.

 

Qualifications, Experience and Language skills

Master’s Degree – Advanced university degree in engineering/physical/nuclear/chemical/mathematical/behavioural science/social psychology or a related field.

Bachelor’s Degree – University degree in engineering/physical/nuclear/chemical/mathematical/behavioural science/social psychology or a related field, with two additional years of relevant experience may be considered in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Minimum of seven years of relevant experience, of which five years at international level. 
Experience applying nuclear safety principles and state-of-the-art nuclear safety techniques. 
Experience organizing and leading technical meetings, capacity building missions, and other expert and advisory missions. 
Experience drafting and finalizing publication of relevant technical reports guidelines, manuals, publications and other resources.
Experience in international projects an asset, particularly with developing countries. 
Excellent interpersonal skills, including the ability to operate effectively across organizational boundaries and the ability to establish and maintain effective partnerships and working relations in a multicultural, multi-ethnic environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity. 
Excellent oral and written command of English. Knowledge of other official IAEA languages (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish) is an asset.

 

Remuneration

The IAEA offers an attractive remuneration package including a tax-free annual net base salary starting at US $77326 (subject to mandatory deductions for pension contributions and health insurance), a variable post adjustment which currently amounts to US $ 38431*, dependency benefits, rental subsidy, education grant, relocation and repatriation expenses; Other benefits include 6 weeks’ annual leave, home leave travel, pension plan and health insurance.More information on the conditions of employment can be found at: https://www.iaea.org/about/employment/professional-staff/conditions

 

General Information

• The IAEA’s paramount consideration in the recruitment of staff member is to secure employees of the highest standards of efficiency, technical competence and integrity.
• Staff Members shall be selected without any unfair treatment or arbitrary distinction based on a person’s race, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, religion, nationality, ethnic origin, disability, age, language, social origin or other similar shared characteristic or trait.
• The IAEA is committed to gender equality and to promoting a diverse workforce. Applications from qualified women and candidates from developing countries are strongly encouraged.
• Applicants should be aware that IAEA staff members are international civil servants and may not accept instructions from any other authority. The IAEA is committed to applying the highest ethical standards in carrying out its mandate. As part of the United Nations common system, the IAEA subscribes to the following core ethical standards (or values): Integrity, Professionalism and Respect for diversity.
• The IAEA has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and the IAEA, including sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination.

Evaluation process

• The evaluation of applicants will be conducted on the basis of the information submitted in the application according to the selection criteria stated in the vacancy announcement. Applicants must provide complete and accurate information. Evaluation of qualified candidates may include an assessment exercise, which may be followed by a competency-based interview.
• Candidates under serious consideration for selection may be subject to reference and background checks as part of the recruitment process.

 

 

 

 

Application instructions

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