Director, Political Affairs

Position: DIRECTOR, POLITICAL AFFAIRS
Org. Setting and reporting

This position is located in the single regional political-operational structure shared by the departments of political and peace building affairs and of peace operations (dppa-dpo), in the northern africa division. The director reports directly to the assistant secretary-general (asg) for africa in dppa-dpo, and through her to the under-secretary-general for political and peace building affairs and the under-secretary-general for peace operations.

Responsibilities

Within delegated authority, the director will be responsible for the following:
• direct and manage the work of the northern africa division of the departments of political and peace building affairs and of peace operations; formulate and implement the substantive work programme of the division under his/her supervision, determining priorities, and allocating resources for the completion of outputs and their timely delivery.
• oversee the management of activities undertaken by the division, including the formulation and implementation of its annual workplan ensuring that programmed activities are carried out in a timely fashion, and coordinate work in the different areas, both within the division and department, and with other organizations of the united nations system, donors and agencies, as appropriate.
• contribute to the formulation of the departments overall strategies and policies by participating in various committees, preparing documents on policy issues, and acting, as required, in an advisory capacity to the usgs/asg; contribute to the overall management of the departments' activities and operations.
• follow political, security and other developments in the countries of the northern africa region to provide early warning of tensions and potential conflicts, in support of the secretary-general's responsibilities in the maintenance of international peace and security.
• exercise overall management of timely provision of political analyses, briefing notes, background papers and talking points to the secretary-general, the under-secretary-generals and the assistant secretary-general, and of reports to the general assembly and security council, and other policy making organs, as appropriate.
• provide experienced counsel and support to special representatives, heads of mission, coordinators or envoys of the secretary-general. Maintain regular contacts with field missions (both peacekeeping and special political missions) and engage in monitoring and support to those missions.
• provide senior assistance, analysis, advice and recommendations for possible actions to the assistant secretary-general and the relevant under-secretary-generals on preventative diplomacy and peacemaking, as well as peacekeeping, in relation to political and security developments in northern africa and relevant regional and subregional organizations.
• coordinate and maintain regular contacts with member states, regional and sub-regional organizations, other relevant departments and offices of the un secretariat, and un agencies, funds and programmes on issues under the purview of the division. Lead related inter-agency task forces and working groups.
• reports to intergovernmental bodies on budget/programme performance or on programmatic/substantive issues, as appropriate, particularly those presented in biannual and/or annual reports.
• coordinate and oversee the preparation of reports for presentation to the security council and other policy-making organs, as appropriate.
• ensure that the outputs produced by the division maintain high-quality standards; that reports are clear, objective and based on comprehensive data. Ensure that all outputs produced by the division meet required standards before completion to ensure they comply with the relevant mandates.
• undertake or oversee the programmatic/administrative tasks necessary for the functioning of the division, including preparation of inputs to the 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.
• oversee the…