Closing date: Saturday, 9 May 2015

Posting Title: SENIOR PROGRAMME MANAGEMENT OFFICER, P5

Job Code Title: SENIOR PROGRAMME MANAGEMENT OFFICER

Department/ Office: United Nations Environment Programme

Duty Station: GENEVA

Posting Period: 10 March 2015-9 May 2015

Job Opening number: 15-PGM-UNEP-39001-R-GENEVA (X)

United Nations Core Values: Integrity, Professionalism, Respect for Diversity

Special Notice

Appointment against this post is for an initial period of one year and may be subject to extension. Staff members are subject to the authority of the Secretary-General and to assignment by him or her. In this context, all staff are expected to move periodically to new functions in their careers in accordance with established rules and procedures. All applicants are strongly encouraged to apply on-line as soon as possible after the job opening has been posted and well before the deadline stated in the job opening. On-line applications will be acknowledged where an email address has been provided. If you do not receive an e-mail acknowledgement within 24 hours of submission, your application may not have been received. In such cases, please resubmit the application, if necessary. If the problem persists, please seek technical assistance through the Inspira 'Need Help?' link.

Organizational Setting and Reporting

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the United Nations system's designated entity for addressing environmental issues at the global and regional level. Its mandate is to coordinate the development of environmental policy consensus by keeping the global environment under review and bringing emerging issues to the attention of governments and the international community for action. CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) is an international agreement between states. Its aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival (www.cites.org). The CITES Secretariat is administered by UNEP and is located in Geneva, Switzerland. This post is located in the CITES Secretariat at the Geneva duty station.

Responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of the Secretary-General of CITES, the incumbent will perform the following functions: 1. Manage and coordinate the activities of the Knowledge Management and Outreach Services team by:

• Managing programmatic/administrative tasks necessary for the functioning of the Team, including preparation of budgets, assigning and monitoring of performance parameters and critical indicators, reporting on budget/programme performance, preparation of inputs for results-based budgeting, evaluation of staff performance (PAS), interviews of candidates for job openings.
• Providing authoritative technical and policy advice to senior managers on knowledge management in a changing business environment and the implications of various alternatives, on business applications and other related issues; identifying and planning for future needs; developing and disseminating best practices.
• Conceptualizing and developing strategies for and overseeing the administration, new design and implementation of the CITES website, including the establishment of web-based databases, Web 2.0 tools and other communication systems, graphical user interface and information dissemination mechanisms while focusing on the objectives of the CITES Secretariat communications strategy and outreach services.
• Ensuring that CITES Secretariat activities and institutional memory are adequately documented and archived and that records of continuing value are available for internal and external research use.
• Managing hardware and software procurements, including conducting needs assessments and benchmarks, preparing bid documents and arranging contracts; supervising, coordinating and negotiating the services required to enable the management and operation of information management systems.
• Developing and monitoring performance measures; ensuring that projects meet established time and cost parameters and standards of technical quality and preparing and monitoring the budget, work program, and spending plan of the Team.
• Using a knowledge management approach to develop innovative solutions to resolve intricate problems that impact a critical area of the organization's work and ensuring the development of standards, procedures and practices, particularly with regard to information and knowledge exchange and sharing, to facilitate a stable and effective systems environment.

2. Participate in and contribute to the capacity building programme of the CITES Secretariat by:

• Developing the strategic framework for the provision of electronic capacity building services and tools, including the establishment of a CITES virtual college.
• Conceptualizing and overseeing the development of interactive web-based training and instructional materials for use by CITES Parties and community, and developing instructional strategies.

3. Develop outreach services, including through the media and traditional media), offer research advice and provide research support by:

• Managing all library, in-house and electronic, and information activities with respect to a specialized programme/collection.
• Serve as the Secretariat's focal point for traditional media (television, print media, radio).
• Providing expert advice and guidance on difficult reference collection development, and information processing issues, using seasoned knowledge of professional principles and standards; actively monitoring issues of relevance to the Organization's staff to design information products and current awareness services tailored to meet the Organization's management and information technology information needs and outreach objectives.

Competencies

Judgment/Decision-making: Identifies the key issues in a complex situation, and comes to the heart of the problem quickly; gathers relevant information before making a decision; considers positive and negative impacts of decisions prior to making them; takes decisions with an eye to the impact on others and on the Organization; proposes a course of action or makes a recommendation based on all available information; checks assumptions against facts; determines that the actions proposed will satisfy the expressed and underlying needs for the decision, and; makes tough decisions when necessary. Professionalism:Shows pride in work and in achievements. Demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter. Is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results. Is motivated by professional rather, than personal concerns. Shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges. Remains calm in stressful situations. Leadership: Serves as a role model that other people want to follow. Empowers others to translate vision into results. Is proactive in developing strategies to accomplish objectives. Establishes and maintains relationships with a broad range of people to understand needs and gain support. Anticipates and resolves conflicts by pursuing mutually agreeable solutions. Drives for change and improvement; does not accept the status quo. Shows the courage to take unpopular stands. Client Orientation: Considers all those to whom services are provided to be 'clients' and seeks to see thing from clients' point of view. Establishes and maintains productive partnerships with clients by gaining their trust and respect. Identifies clients' needs and matches them to appropriate solutions. Monitors ongoing developments inside and outside the clients' environment to keep informed and anticipate problems. Keeps clients informed of progress or setbacks in projects. Meets timeline for delivery of products or services to client. Technological Awareness: Keeps abreast of available technology. Understands applicability and limitations of technology to the work of the office. Actively seeks to apply technology to appropriate tasks. Shows willingness to learn new technology.

Education

Advanced university degree (Master's degree or equivalent) in information science, computer science, environmental science or educational technologies, or related area. A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Work Experience

A minimum of ten years of progressively responsible experience in modern information and knowledge management, capacity building and education, or related area. Experience in an international environment is desirable. Qualifying years of experience are calculated following the receipt of the first level university degree recognized by the United Nations.

Languages

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this post, fluency in written and oral English is required. Working knowledge of other UN official languages is desirable

Assessment Method

Evaluation of qualified candidates for this position may include a substantive assessment which will be followed by a competency-based interview.

United Nations Considerations

Job openings posted on the Careers Portal are taken off at midnight (New York time) on the deadline date.

Applications are automatically pre-screened according to the published evaluation criteria of the job opening on the basis of the information provided by applicants. Applications cannot be amended following submission and incomplete applications shall not be considered. The selected candidate will be subject to a reference checking process to verify the information provided in the application.

Applicants are urged to follow carefully all instructions available in the online recruitment platform, inspira. For more detailed guidance, applicants may refer to the At-a-Glance on 'The Application Process' and the Instructional Manual for the Applicants, which can be accessed by clicking on 'Manuals' on the upper right side of the browser on Inspira.

The United Nations shall place no restrictions on the eligibility of men and women to participate in any capacity and under conditions of equality in its principal and subsidiary organs. (Charter of the United Nations - Chapter 3, article 8). The United Nations Secretariat is a non-smoking environment.

Candidates will be required to meet the requirements of Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter as well as the requirements of the position. The United Nations is committed to the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity for all its human resources, including but not limited to respect for international human rights and humanitarian law. Candidates may be subject to screening against these standards, including but not limited to whether they have committed, or are alleged to have committed criminal offences and/or violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law.

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS' BANK ACCOUNTS.

Application Information: https://inspira.un.org/psc/UNCAREERS/EMPLOYEE/HRMS/c/UN_CUSTOMIZATIONS.UN_JOB_DETAIL.GBL?Page=UN_JOB_DETAIL&Action=A&JobOpeningId=39001&