Main purpose of job: 

The British Government’s Mission to the United Nations in New York has an exciting opportunity for an experienced, dynamic and driven person to join the Humanitarian, Peacebuilding and Development Section, working also across Political Section, as the UK Mission’s Peacebuilding, Agencies, Funds and Programmes Senior Adviser. This opportunity is a rewarding role that supports and advances the UK’s priorities at the United Nations, working at the forefront of multilateral diplomacy to make a real difference to international peace and security and international development.  

The UK Mission to the United Nations offers a unique career enhancing opportunity and is committed to supporting its staff through a variety of benefits including generous leave, insurance packages and a highly competitive 401k programme.  It also promotes a culture of flexibility, which enables people better to maintain wellness through a work/life balance approach that encompasses hybrid working, including working from home. In this role, you would be working in a diverse international environment with UK diplomats, armed forces personnel and other country based staff, UK government officials based in the UK and across the UK overseas network, foreign diplomats and UN officials.  

The successful candidate will manage the development and delivery of the UK mission’s strategy on conflict, mediation and stabilisation, working across policy teams to advance the UK’s objectives through the multilateral/UN architecture. They will lead the UK’s global conflict policy engagement at the UN, with responsibility for delivering UK priorities in the 2025 Peacebuilding Architecture Review and beyond. They will work with UK mission geographic and thematic desk officers and direct report(s) to mainstream conflict prevention and peacebuilding best practices in UN Security Council, Peacebuilding Commission and General Assembly products and processes.  

They will also directly manage the Agencies, Funds and Programmes team, providing oversight and guidance of the work with the UN based agencies, including through the UN boards and through senior engagement with agency heads.  

The successful candidate will feed into UK strategy and engagement on UN80/ UN reform with regards to the peacebuilding and UN agency, funds and programmes perspectives.  

The ideal candidate will be an experienced development/peacebuilding practitioner, with a strong history of working in the UN arena. They will be a clear, effective communicator, with attention to detail, strong strategic thinker with an ability to influence others. 

Roles and responsibilities:

• Management: Directly manage three colleagues, providing strategic oversight of and guidance to, policy advisers in the UK Mission’s Peacebuilding and UN Funds and Programmes Teams. Support colleagues carry out their jobs to a high standard and provide strong leadership to support a happy, healthy and high-performing team and culture.
• Technical leadership: Advise UK Mission seniors and desk officers in the UK Mission’s Political, and Humanitarian, Peacebuilding and Development Sections on mainstreaming conflict prevention and peacebuilding into their work, including through UN Security Council, Peacebuilding Commission and General Assembly products and processes.
• Strategic: Drive the UK’s global policy engagement on conflict/peacebuilding at the UN, including efforts to shape and deliver UK priorities in the context of the 2025 Peacebuilding Architecture Review and UN80/UN reform, influencing a wide network of key contacts on these issues amongst Member States, the UN system and NGOs.
• Strategic leadership: Oversee the UK’s engagement on and with New York-based UN Agencies, Funds & Programmes. Build and maintain strong and effective relationships with HQ leads, to ensure co-creation and execution of an effective strategic approach to working with NY based UN Agencies, Funds and Programmes (UNDP, UNICEF, UNFPA and UN Women), delivering UK priorities in the context of UN80/ UN reform.
• Supporting seniors: Assist and advise government ministers and officials visiting New York, including support to UKMIS activities and planning for UK Security Council presidencies and High-Level Week at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in September each year.
• Corporate: Perform other duties as required and work flexibly, adjusting to changing priorities as needed, including corporate tasks that contribute to the wider UKMIS team.

Resources managed:

The successful candidate will manage and oversee the work of one policy adviser on peacebuilding and of two senior policy advisors on Agencies, Funds and Programmes.  

• A proven record of accomplishment in development policy and conflict prevention/peacebuilding.
• Strong knowledge of the United Nations system and recent UN reform initiatives.
• Policy-making experience in a UN context and politically challenging environment.
• Having an extensive and relevant network in the UN, development and peacebuilding fields.
• Experience of managing teams, vertically and horizontally.
• The ability to bring creative ideas and thinking to move issues forward.
• Excellent analysis, negotiation, influencing and communication skills, including written communications and public speaking, in English.
• Ability to deliver high quality results on multiple areas of work to tight deadlines, while maintaining strength of judgement, calm and a team-player attitude.