Communications Officer (Interpreter) - Retainer, Multiple positions

*** THIS IS A LOCAL POSITION FOR WHICH ONLY APPLICANTS WHO POSSESS THE SUDANIAN NATIONALITY ARE ELIGIBLE FOR CONSIDERATION *** 


The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) is an operational arm of the United Nations, supporting the successful implementation of its partners' peacebuilding, humanitarian, and development projects around the world.  UNOPS supports partners to build a better future by providing services that increase the efficiency, effectiveness, and sustainability of peacebuilding, humanitarian, and development projects.  Mandated as a central resource of the United Nations, UNOPS provides sustainable project management, procurement, and infrastructure services to a wide range of governments, donors, and United Nations organizations. 

New York Service Cluster (NYSC) supports the United Nations Secretariat, as well as other New York-based United Nations organizations, bilateral and multilateral partners in the delivery of UNOPS mandate in project management, infrastructure management, and procurement management

Sustainable Development Cluster (SDC) supports diverse partners with their peacebuilding, humanitarian, and development operations. It was formed by combining the following portfolios: Grants Management Services (GMS), UN Technology Support Services (UNTSS), Development and Special Initiatives Portfolio (DSIP) It provides Services to partners' programmes that are designed, structured, and managed with a global perspective and primarily serving partners that are headquartered in New York.  The SDC has a footprint of approximately 125 countries.

The United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT)/the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Centre (UNCCT) Global Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (PCVE) Programme provides integrated capacity-building packages, institutional development, and technical assistance to requesting the Member States, civil society, and the UN system to strengthen individual, community and national resilience to violent extremism and reduced threat of terrorism. The Programme engages in nine substantive and mutually reinforcing portfolios: policy assistance, strategic communications, youth engagement, education, mental health, new frontiers, gender, human rights, and coordination.  

This position will primarily support the PCVE Programme workshops, which provide practical, evidence-based, and locally relevant training on strategic communication, including campaign development, audience analysis, measurement, and evaluation, coupled with timely analysis of the latest trends in terrorist and violent extremist exploitation of communication methods.

This is a position in UNOPS for supporting projects carried out for or in the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT). The incumbent of this position will be a personnel of UNOPS under its full responsibility

Under the supervision of the Project Manager, the contractor is expected to provide Interpretation services on a need basis - from English to Arabic, and vice versa for the PCVE workshops. The target audience for the translated content will include government officials, as well as, other stakeholders. Specific responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Produce high-quality Interpretation services from English to Arabic and Arabic to English.

• Routinely covers sensitive workshops.

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

Monitoring and Progress Controls

The Communications Officer will:

• Ensures efficient interpretation services, focusing on achievement of the following result:

  • Full and precise delivery of bi-directional English – Arabic verbal communications between the programme and external programme partners on subject matters (Preventing Counter-Violence Extremist);

  • Accompany the programme team members to different Sudan states to deliver interpretation support between beneficiaries and the programme team.

• Ensures effective recording and retention of information relevant to the programme delivery, focusing on achievement of the following results:

  • Provide accurate, faithful, and timely translation of reports, minutes, visibility items, official and unofficial communications, other documents, and texts for the programme team into the target language. Respecting the source layout when required;

  • Perform other related duties as assigned.

• Impact of Results:

  • The key results have an impact on the efficiency of the programme delivery. Accurate and precise interpretation and translation, as well as the recording of the communication and presentation of information, is one of the keys to the success of the programme.

*FEMALE CANDIDATES ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED TO APPLY

• A Bachelor’s degree preferably in communications, political science, international relations, public administration, strategic public relations, or another relevant field is required.

Work Experience 

Required: 

• A minimum of two (2) years of progressively responsible experience in interpreting is required. 

• Two years (2) of professional interpreting experience in international organizations is highly desirable.

• Experience translating strategic communications products, materials, and guidelines is desirable.

• Experience with an international organization and or working in the UN is desirable.

Language

• Fluency in English and Arabic (write, read, talk) is required. 

• Knowledge of other UN working languages is desirable.

Contract type: Local Individual Contractor Agreement  (LICA) Retainer - A retainer contract is issued for a period of time during which the services of the individual contractor are required intermittently. The individual contractor agreement on retainer basis will specify a “unit price” per day worked. For budgetary purposes, a monetary cap will be determined when the contract is awarded and issued. Please note that the retainer contract will not provide for a minimum, and payment will be made only after completion of work

Contract level: Local Individual Contractor Agreement (L-ICA 8) 
Contract duration: Open-ended (renewable subject to funds availability and satisfactory performance)

For more details about the ICA contractual modality, please follow this link: https://www.unops.org/english/Opportunities/job-opportunities/what-we-offer/Pages/Individual-Contractor-Agreements.aspx

• 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.

UNOPS is an operational arm of the United Nations, supporting the successful implementation of its partners’ peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world. Our mission is to help people build better lives and countries achieve sustainable development.

UNOPS areas of expertise cover infrastructure, procurement, project management, financial management and human resources.

Working with us

UNOPS offers short- and long-term work opportunities in diverse and challenging environments across the globe. We are looking for creative, results-focused professionals with skills in a range of disciplines.

Diversity

With over 4,000 UNOPS personnel and approximately 7,000 personnel recruited on behalf of UNOPS partners spread across 80 countries, our workforce represents a wide range of nationalities and cultures. We promote a balanced, diverse workforce — a strength that helps us better understand and address our partners’ needs, and continually strive to improve our gender balance through initiatives and policies that encourage recruitment of qualified female candidates.

Work life harmonization

UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands.