Project Management Support Senior Assistant – [Sport for Peace]

United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) is a United Nations initiative, launched in 2005 by the United Nations Secretary-General. The status and mandate of UNAOC have been recognized by the United Nations General Assembly in its Resolutions A/RES/64/14 of 10 November 2009 and A/RES/69/312 of 6 July 2015. UNAOC serves as a soft-power political tool of the United Nations Secretary-General for conflict prevention and conflict resolution. It aims to improve understanding and cooperation among nations and peoples across cultures and to reduce polarization at local and global levels. It helps develop more inclusive societies, in which diversity is experienced as an asset.

The United Nations Alliance of Civilizations High Representative and Secretariat are based and operating from New York. The Alliance maintains a global network of partners including states, international and regional organizations, civil society groups, foundations, and the private sector to improve cross-cultural relations between diverse nations and communities.

In its 2006 report, the High-Level Group identified four priority areas for action: Education, Youth, Migration, Media. UNAOC project activities, fashioned around these four areas, which can play a critical role in helping to reduce cross-cultural tensions and to build bridges between communities.

The UNAOC Plan of Action 2019-2023 defined three strategic priority areas for UNAOC – prevention, mediation, preventing and countering violent extremism conducive to terrorism. In each of those priorities, UNAOC implements targeted projects that will have an impact on the ground and new approaches and initiatives that are measurable and results-oriented. Under the strategic priority area of prevention, sport has been identified as one of the new action areas.  

Sport has the power to convey essential human values, such as respect, discipline, inclusion, solidarity, courage and ethics. These values seem more critical today than ever—particularly in the resolution of significant global issues. Recognizing the importance of sport as a tool to foster social inclusion and cohesion, understanding and diversity, UNAOC has focused on deepening collaboration with a variety of United Nations Agencies and entities and promoting joint programming in the areas of sport for peace, youth and education. UNAOC has also been developing new partnerships and collaborations with the private sector to promote new initiatives, where UNAOC also acts as the knowledge partner. 

Embarking on new partnerships in the area of sport for peace, UNAOC is collaborating with the private sector on a new initiative entitled “Sport for Peace”. Sport for Peace Initiative is proposed as an international awareness- raising and capacity building initiative within the context of the sport for development and peace agenda. The initiative will highlight noteworthy sports activities that promote peace, mutual respect and inclusion, and provide capacity-building training to civil society and other non-profit organizations engaging in the fields of sport, peace and development.

The incumbent of this position will be personnel of UNOPS under its full administrative and financial responsibility.

Under the coordination of the Head of the Programming Unit and the direct supervision of the UNAOC senior management , the Project Management Support – Senior Assistant, will work in coordination with the Strategic Partnerships Specialist.

Functional Responsibilities:

• Provide support in developing project’s documents and procedures and in conceptualizing and designing relevant activities connected to the different phases of the project;

• Provide administrative support to the planning and implementation of project in an efficient and effective manner, in line with the agreed timeline and requirements;

• Assist and provide administrative and substantive support in the organization of capacity building workshops, project related events, meetings, conferences etc.;

• Monitor the status of the project implementation and budget execution on a regular basis, ensure documentation of assigned activities and keep programme files up-to-date;

• Provide assistance in periodic reporting during the implementation of the programme and support the completion the final evaluation report; 

• Provide assistance in the production and dissemination of UNAOC communication products in relation to the project, by helping draft evidence-based articles, web stories, case studies, presentations, social media posts, talking points, press releases and others as required;

Other duties:

• Support in conducting researches and collecting data as requested; 

• Provide logistical and coordination support in the office as needed;

• Contribute to the overall work of the UNAOC Secretariat;

• Performs other duties as may be reasonably required and in line with the incumbent’s scope of services above

*FEMALE CANDIDATES ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED TO APPLY

• Secondary education is required
• Advanced university degree in the social/behavioral sciences (international relations, sports related fields, marketing and communications) or in a related technical field may substitute for some of the required years of experience
• A bachelor’s degree in the social/behavioral sciences (international relations, sports related fields, marketing and communications) or in a related technical field may substitute for some of the required years of experience

Experience:

•  5 years of experience in project management support, operations or administration is required. relevant experience in the field of sport for development and peace is desirable;

• Ability to work in a multicultural and international environment; good knowledge of the UN system mechanisms and UN agencies’ mandates, knowledge and experience in UN rules and procedures are assets;

• Excellent computer skills, including MS Word, Excel, Power Point and databases;

• Experience in advocacy, communications, organizing capacity building, training and events is desirable.   

Language:

• Fluency in oral and written English is required. 

• Knowledge of a second UN official language will be considered as an asset.

• Please note that the closing date is midnight Copenhagen time
• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.
• Only those candidates that are short-listed for interviews will be notified.
• Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
• UNOPS seeks to reasonably accommodate candidates with special needs, upon request.
• Work life harmonization - UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands. We have a progressive policy on work-life harmonization and offer several flexible working options. This policy applies to UNOPS personnel on all contract types
• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post
• For retainer contracts, you must complete a few Mandatory Courses (around 4 hours) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS.
• The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS.  

It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential recruits/interns.
Recruitment/internship in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.