SENIOR HUMAN RIGHTS OFFICER, P5

Org. Setting and Reporting

This position is located in the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Regional Hub for East and Southern Africa, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The incumbent operates under the delegated authority of the Regional Director and reports to the Regional Director.

Responsibilities

Within delegated authority, the Senior Human Rights Officer will be responsible for the following duties: • Provide strategic oversight and final clearance for the drafting and dissemination of human rights reports, briefings, and other communications, with legal analysis as appropriate, and ensure the preparation of analytical papers to inform strategies, policies, programmes, crisis management, guidance, and strategic decision-making processes, with attention to gender integration and leave-no-one-behind perspectives. • Provide strategic direction and exercise senior-level oversight of the collection, verification, and analysis of multi-source information relevant to the human rights thematic and/or country-specific situation, ensuring data quality and methodological compliance, while integrating gender perspectives and leaving no one behind principles into all technical outputs. • Exercise strategic oversight and provide authoritative direction for the preparation of analytical papers, including on lessons learned, ensuring integration into human rights strategies, crisis management, prevention, and response policies, programmes, and other strategic decision-making processes. • Provide authoritative senior-level advice and exercise institutional oversight of the delivery of technical support to national counterparts in drafting complex legislation and security-sector reforms that meet international human rights norms and standards. • Provide senior-level guidance to national and/or regional counterparts to strengthen their human rights systems, institutions, and frameworks, including complaint mechanisms, victim and witness support services, and engagement with human rights mechanisms, including reporting and implementation of recommendations. • Provide strategic direction and exercise senior-level oversight of human rights capacity-building programmes for State institutions, security forces, NHRIs, civil society, and other stakeholders, including on human rights-based approaches with attention to gender integration and leave-no-one-behind perspectives. • Exercise institutional accountability for human rights mainstreaming and the integration of human rights norms and standards into political, peace and security, humanitarian, development, and economic frameworks and processes, to tackle impunity and address socio-economic, development, and other human rights challenges. • Provide authoritative senior-level guidance to UN leadership and UN partners on the integration of human rights into protection, rule of law, human rights economy, transitional justice, and accountability. • Represent the human rights function at the highest levels in senior management and other UN coordination fora, integrated analysis and planning processes, and/or joint funding opportunities, ensuring coherent information flow and timely integration of human rights analysis into UN decision-making and programmatic responses. • Provide strategic direction and exercise institutional accountability for the development of strategies on protection of civilians, conflict-related sexual violence, and child protection, ensuring early warning is translated into coordinated responses. • Exercise strategic oversight and provide authoritative guidance on support to treaty bodies, special procedures, the UPR, and/or commissions of inquiry, exercising accountability for quality and consistency of outputs. • Provide strategic direction and exercise oversight of research, analysis, and policy advice on human rights issues in the context of economic policy and sustainable development, with a focus on poverty, inequalities, and development financing, including as relevant to UN Common Country Analysis and the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Frameworks. • Provide strategic direction and authoritative policy advice to prevent and combat racism, xenophobia, and all forms of discrimination, with a leave-no-one-behind perspective, applying a gender and intersectional analysis throughout. • Oversee and steer the resource mobilization strategy and its implementation to advance the Office's goals, providing senior-level guidance, ensuring alignment with strategic priorities, and exercising accountability for performance and outcomes. • Set the strategic direction and provide senior-level oversight for advocacy and impactful outreach activities for the promotion of Human Rights, ensuring institutional coherence. • Oversee and steer the implementation of an Office-wide partnerships strategy, providing senior-level guidance and ensuring partner engagement and results. • Direct the implementation of an effective communication strategy to amplify human rights messaging and outreach, exercising strategic oversight to ensure coherence, reach, and impact. • Maintain confidentiality and integrity and handle sensitive information with discretion, ensuring compliance with the UN data privacy, security requirements, and standards. • Manage and coordinate the activities of the team, including hiring, training, assigning tasks and responsibilities, and ensuring that deadlines are met. • Plan and manage required resources to implement the responsibilities, projects, and activities. • Provide guidance to team members to promote professional development and a positive team culture.

Competencies

PROFESSIONALISM Strategic thinking skills.Working collaboratively.Ability to build and maintain partnerships.Planning, organising, and coordination skills in a large multi-stakeholder environment.Skills to integrate a human rights-based approach, leave no one behind, gender equality, and women's empowerment into all areas of work.Critical thinking skills.Knowledge of regional and international human rights mechanisms.Knowledge of the application of the promotion and protection of economic, social and cultural rights, including within the context of addressing inequalities.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. Takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work. TEAMWORK Works collaboratively with colleagues to achieve organizational goals; solicits input by genuinely valuing others’ ideas and expertise; is willing to learn from others; places team agenda before personal agenda; supports and acts in accordance with final group decision, even when such decisions may not entirely reflect own position; shares credit for team accomplishments and accepts joint responsibility for team shortcomings. PLANNING AND ORGANIZING Develops clear goals that are consistent with agreed strategies; identifies priority activities and assignments; adjusts priorities as required; allocates appropriate amount of time and resources for completing work; foresees risks and allows for contingencies when planning; monitors and adjusts plans and actions as necessary; uses time efficiently. MANAGING PERFORMANCE Delegates the appropriate responsibility, accountability and decision-making authority. Makes sure that roles, responsibilities and reporting lines are clear to each staff member. Accurately judges the amount of time and resources needed to accomplish a task and matches task to skills. Monitors progress against milestones and deadlines. Regularly discusses performance and provides feedback and coaching to staff. Encourages risk-taking and supports creativity and initiative. Actively supports the development and career aspirations of staff. Appraises performance fairly. JUDGEMENT/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 the actions proposed will satisfy the expressed and underlying needs for the decision; makes tough decisions when necessary.

Education

An advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in law, political science, international relations, social sciences or related field is required. A first-level or advanced degree (Bachelor’s, Master’s or Doctorate degree, or equivalent) in any fields of studies with two additional years of relevant work experience may be accepted in lieu of an advanced university degree in the specified fields of studies.

Job - Specific Qualification

Not available.

Work Experience

A minimum of 10 years of progressively responsible experience in human rights or related areas is required. Relevant experience may include, but is not limited to political affairs, public affairs, international relations, law, social sciences, economics, development, humanitarian affairs, or other related areas. Strategic thinking skills is required. Planning, organising, and coordination skills in a large multi-stakeholder environment is required Skills to integrate a human rights-based approach, leave no one behind, gender equality and women's empowerment into all areas of work is required. Knowledge of regional and international human rights mechanisms is required. Knowledge of the application of the promotion and protection of economic, social and cultural rights, including within the context of addressing inequalities is desirable. Working collaboratively is desirable Ability to build and maintain partnerships is desirable Critical thinking skills is desirable

Languages

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this job opening, English is required. Arabic and French are desirable. The table below shows the minimum required level for each skill in these languages, according to the UN Language Framework (please consult https://languages.un.org for details).

Required Languages LanguageReadingWritingListeningSpeakingEnglishUN Level IIIUN Level IIIUN Level IIIUN Level III

Desirable Languages

LanguageReadingWritingListeningSpeakingArabicUN Level IUN Level IUN Level IUN Level IFrenchUN Level IUN Level IUN Level IUN Level I

Assessment

Evaluation of qualified candidates may include an assessment exercise, which will be followed by a competency-based interview.

Special Notice

This position is available for an initial period of one year and is subject to the availability of funding. Staff members of the United Nations Secretariat must fulfill the lateral move requirements to be eligible to apply for this vacancy. Staff members are requested to indicate all qualifying lateral moves in their Personal History Profile (PHP) and cover note. At the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the recruitment and employment of staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity, with due regard to geographic diversity. All employment decisions are made on the basis of qualifications and organizational needs. The United Nations is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. The United Nations recruits and employs staff regardless of gender identity, sexual orientation, race, religious, cultural and ethnic backgrounds, or disabilities. Reasonable accommodation for applicants with disabilities may be provided to support participation in the recruitment process when requested and indicated in the application. The United Nations Secretariat is committed to achieving 50/50 gender balance in its staff. Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply for this position.

United Nations Considerations

According to article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity. Candidates will not be considered for employment with the United Nations if they have committed violations of international human rights law, violations of international humanitarian law, sexual exploitation, sexual abuse, or sexual harassment, or if there are reasonable grounds to believe that they have been involved in the commission of any of these acts. The term “sexual exploitation” means any actual or attempted abuse of a position of vulnerability, differential power, or trust, for sexual purposes, including, but not limited to, profiting monetarily, socially or politically from the sexual exploitation of another. The term “sexual abuse” means the actual or threatened physical intrusion of a sexual nature, whether by force or under unequal or coercive conditions. The term “sexual harassment” means any unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature that might reasonably be expected or be perceived to cause offence or humiliation, when such conduct interferes with work, is made a condition of employment or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment, and when the gravity of the conduct warrants the termination of the perpetrator’s working relationship. Candidates who have committed crimes other than minor traffic offences may not be considered for employment. Due regard will be paid to the importance of recruiting the staff on as wide a geographical basis as possible. The United Nations places 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. The United Nations Secretariat is a non-smoking environment. Reasonable accommodation may be provided to applicants with disabilities upon request, to support their participation in the recruitment process. By accepting a letter of appointment, staff members are subject to the authority of the Secretary-General, who may assign them to any of the activities or offices of the United Nations in accordance with staff regulation 1.2 (c). Further, staff members in the Professional and higher category up to and including the D-2 level and the Field Service category are normally required to move periodically to discharge functions in different duty stations under conditions established in ST/AI/2023/3 on Mobility, as may be amended or revised. This condition of service applies to all position specific job openings and does not apply to temporary positions. Applicants are urged to carefully follow all instructions available in the online recruitment platform, inspira, and to refer to the Applicant Guide by clicking on “Manuals” in the “Help” tile of the inspira account-holder homepage. The evaluation of applicants will be conducted on the basis of the information submitted in the application according to the evaluation criteria of the job opening and the applicable internal legislations of the United Nations including the Charter of the United Nations, resolutions of the General Assembly, the Staff Regulations and Rules, administrative issuances and guidelines. Applicants must provide complete and accurate information pertaining to their personal profile and qualifications according to the instructions provided in inspira to be considered for the current job opening. No amendment, addition, deletion, revision or modification shall be made to applications that have been submitted. Candidates under serious consideration for selection will be subject to reference checks to verify the information provided in the application. All external candidates recruited in accordance with section ‎2.2 (a) of ST/AI/2025/3 for a fixed term appointment without limitation and all external candidates recruited in accordance with section 2.2. (c) of ST/AI/2025/3 for a fixed term appointment limited to the entity are subject to an initial probationary period of one year under a fixed-term appointment. Job openings advertised on the Careers Portal will be removed at 11:59 p.m. (New York time) on the deadline date.

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.