Political Affairs Officer

Details

Mission and objectives

Concerned with the security, humanitarian, human rights and political crisis in the Central African Republic and its regional implications, the Security Council authorized in April 2014 the deployment of a multidimensional United Nations peacekeeping operation, MINUSCA, with the protection of civilians as its utmost priority. Its other initial tasks included support for the transition process; facilitating humanitarian assistance; promotion and protection of human rights; support for justice and the rule of law; and disarmament, demobilization, reintegration and repatriation processes. The newly established mission subsumed the UN Integrated Peace building Office in the Central African Republic (BINUCA). MINUSCA current uniformed personnel levels stand at 11,650 military personnel and 2,080 police personnel, and are tasked with the strategic objective of creating the political, security and institutional conditions conducive to sustainably reducing the presence of — and threat posed by — armed groups. See http://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/missions/minusca/.

Context

Assignment is renewable on an annual basis (1 July – 30 June) up to a maximum of 4 years. Contract renewals are granted based on Mission mandate, availability of budget, operational necessity and satisfactory performance.
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Duty station can change in the course of an assignment based on operational necessity; UN Volunteers may be required to work and travel anywhere in the area of operations of the host organization, including in remote locations.

Task description

The UN Volunteer Political Affairs Officer will report directly to the PAD Team Leader in a given Field Office and will be responsible for the following duties under the latter’s supervision:
1) Political Analysis and Advice:
– Provide country- specific and regional analysis on the impact of developments in CAR and in the region and make policy recommendations for UN response.
– Support the Mission’s work to enhance inter-mission cooperation where required, to address cross-border issues and prevent escalation of political and security tensions.
– Identify, analyze, and monitor political developments and emerging issues with respect to the implementation of the Mission’s mandate – Assess implications and make recommendations on policies, strategies and other measures to address the issues of concern and to advance mandated objectives.
– Provide support to the follow-up and implementation of the Political Peace Agreement signed on 6 February 2019 and the 2021 International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) joint roadmap.
2) Reporting and Information Management:
– Prepare summary and analytical reports including, but not limited to, daily and weekly situation reports, briefing notes, options papers, code cables and input for the reports of the Secretary-General to the Security Council, General Assembly or other bodies.
– Provide timely updates to the Political Affairs Division including through active participation to regular meetings and weekly inputs.
– Prepare contextual information material, such as background notes, political profiles, and databases of relevance to the assigned portfolio. – Manage information to ensure its accessibility and utility.
3) Planning, Coordination and Facilitation:
– Develop and maintain collaborative relationships with UN Common System colleagues and counterparts, Government representatives, civil society actors, military and law enforcement actors, academic and research institutions, and other national and international partners on information sharing, policy and coordination matters.
– Participate in the overall work of the Field Office to support prefectural efforts to develop inclusive political dialogue through the follow-up and implementation mechanisms of the Political Peace Agreement to address root causes of conflict with all main stakeholders, including signatories.
– Consult and cooperate with partners as appropriate, to develop strategies.
4) Program and Project Management:
– Draft, monitor, and implement programmatic funding project proposals.
– Participate in the planning, the implementation, and the assessment of programmatic activities funds in line with the Results Based Budgeting (RBB) and the Comprehensive Performance Assessment Systems (CPAS).