Political Affairs Officer

The Political Affairs Officer will work in the Reporting and Analysis Pillar of the Political Affairs Section at the United Nations Regional Office for Central Africa (UNOCA) in Libreville, Gabon. The role involves gathering and analyzing political and peace and security information, preparing reports and briefing notes, supporting coordination activities, and maintaining contacts with UN and regional organizations.

Responsibilities

• Gathers, selects and analyses information contained in communications and publications received from different sources, in order to keep the leadership of UNOCA regularly informed of peace and security developments and trends in the sub region.
• Carries out regular in-depth research on emerging or persisting peace and security challenges facing the Central Africa region or the countries under the purview of UNOCA and recommends options for good offices and other UN actions.
• Monitors national and regional level political developments and provides advice to Headquarter and field mission/UN agencies active on the ground, through the preparation of regional, country-specific and thematic reports including weekly situation reports, briefing notes, analytical notes, options papers, code cables and reports of the Secretary-General to the Security Council, General Assembly or other bodies.
• Compiles background notes and talking points for the SRSG’s engagements and that of the Chief, Political Affairs Section.
• Supports the Chief, Political Affairs Service, in the overall coordination of the Section, especially in following up on the substantive issues requiring his attention/action.
• Supports activities organized by UNOCA in the framework of its partnership with ECCAS, the provision of secretariat services to the United Nations Standing Advisory Committee on Security Questions in Central Africa (UNSAC) or other activities to enhance the capacity of subregional actors in the field of prevention.
• Maintains up-to-date knowledge of events relating to political issues, in general, and in particular as they affect the countries under the purview of UNOCA and thematic areas pertaining to the mandate of the Office.
• Maintains contacts with other sectors of the UN, other international organizations and governments on coordination and policy matters.
• Monitors actions taken by intergovernmental groups, UN organizations, government and non-governmental organizations.
• Participates in fact-finding and other missions to countries within assigned area of responsibility.
• Prepares meetings of visiting senior UN officials in the subregion or with officials from countries under the purview of UNOCA.
• Performs other related duties as required.

Requirements

• An advanced university degree (Master’s or Doctorate degree, or equivalent) in political sciences or related fields is required.
• A first-level degree (Bachelor’s degree or equivalent) in the specified fields of studies with two additional years of relevant work experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
• A minimum of five years of progressively responsible experience in political science, international relations, law, disarmament, security, development management, conflict resolution or related area is required.
• Experience working in Africa on peace and security issues is required.
• Experience in conducting research and analyses on political or peace and security issues in Africa is required.
• Experience in front office is desirable.
• Experience on partnerships with regional or sub-regional organisations is desirable.
• Experience working in and/or on Central Africa is desirable.
• English and French are required at UN Level II for reading, writing, listening, and speaking.

Skills

• Political Science
• International Relations
• Conflict Resolution
• Peace and Security Analysis
• Research and Analysis
• Report Writing
• Briefing Note Preparation
• Coordination Support
• Partnership Development
• Regional Organization Engagement
• Experience in Africa
• Experience in Central Africa
• Disarmament
• Security Studies
• Development Management
• Front Office Experience
• English Language Proficiency
• Language Proficiency in French

Languages

English, French