Org. Setting and Reporting

The Independent Institution on Missing Persons in the Syrian Arab Republic (IIMP) was established by the General Assembly in its resolution 77/301, adopted on 29 June 2023. Please note that while the position is currently located in Geneva, Switzerland, the duty station may be subject to change. Applicants should be aware that the position may be relocated to Damascus, Syria, or to another location relevant to the Institutions operations. By applying, candidates confirm their willingness to accept such a reassignment in accordance with UN regulations and rules, should such a decision be made. The incumbent reports to the Head of Entity, or his/her designee, in the Participation and Family Support Section.

Responsibilities

Within delegated authority, the Senior Human Rights Officer will be responsible for the following duties:

• Formulates human rights strategies, including from a gender equality perspective; develops a vision or direction for the work of the section, including institutional approaches to the safe and meaningful participation of victims, survivors and families of missing or disappeared persons, and creates the conditions for implementing that vision or direction.
• Advises the Head on human rights matters relating to missing persons, enforced disappearance, victim participation and safeguarding frameworks.
• Negotiates directly with relevant parties the human rights elements of peace accords or the human rights concerns while long range solutions are sought.
• Proposes policy directives and plan of action to appropriate United Nations bodies for immediate and long- range solutions to human rights problems in general and specific geographical areas.
• Designs, develops and implements significant policy and program changes to address regional or global human rights issues, including their gender dimensions.
• Formulates the programme of work, budget and medium-term plan of the Section and participates in the overall formulation and approval of the programme of work, and administrative matters concerning the Section/Division or mission.
• Prepares human rights reports on key sectors or key regional developments.
• Develops and maintains relations with officials at the highest levels of governments and national accountability bodies and provides strategic advice on institutional responses to missing persons and enforced disappearance.
• Coordinates and oversees human rights research initiatives.
• Manages, coordinates, organizes and supervises other human rights officers or organizational segments as assigned.
• Leads team members efforts to collect and analyze data and provides insight to identify trends or patterns for data-driven planning, decision-making, presentation and reporting. Ensures that everyone can discover, access, integrate and share the data they need.
• Performs other related duties as required. Competencies Professionalism: Knowledge of and exposure to a range of human rights issues including approaches and techniques to address and advise on highly sensitive and complex problems in their political, ethnic, racial, gender and socio-economic dimensions. Knowledge of institutional mandates of human rights organizations, prevailing policies and procedures. Ability to evaluate and integrate information from a variety of sources and assess impact on the human rights situation in the region or country of assignment, including the political environment and legal statutes as they pertain to human rights. Ability to complete in-depth studies and reach conclusions on possible causes and solutions to human rights problems in specific societies and systems. Ability to relate and advise on human rights issues and perspectives, including their gender equality dimensions, to political, social, economic and humanitarian programmes in affected countries and areas. 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. Able to analyze and interpret data in support of decision-making and convey resulting information to management. Provides leadership and takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work; demonstrates knowledge of strategies and commitment to the goal of gender balance in staffing. Communication: Speaks and writes clearly and effectively; listens to others, correctly interprets messages from others and responds appropriately; asks questions to clarify, and exhibits interest in having two-way communication; tailors language, tone, style and format to match audience; demonstrates openness in sharing information and keeping people informed. Client Orientation: Considers all those to whom services are provided to be clients and seeks to see things from clients point of view; establishes and maintains productive partnerships with clients by gaining their trust and respect; identifies clients needs and matches them to appropriate solutions; monitors ongoing developments inside and outside the clients environment to keep informed and anticipate problems; keeps clients informed of progress or setbacks in projects; meets timeline for delivery of products or services to client. Leadership: Serves as a role model that other people want to follow: empowers others to translate vision into results; is proactive in developing strategies to accomplish objectives; establishes and maintains relationships with a broad range of people to understand needs and gain support; anticipates and resolves conflicts by pursuing mutually agreeable solutions; drives for change and improvements; does not accept the status quo; shows the courage to take unpopular stands. Provides leadership and takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work; demonstrates knowledge of strategies and commitment to the goal of gender balance in staffing. 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. Education Advanced university degree (Masters degree or equivalent) in law, political science, international relations, social sciences or related area. A first-level university degree A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree. Job – Specific Qualification Not available. Work Experience A minimum of ten years of progressively responsible experience in human rights, political affairs, international relations, law or related area is required. A minimum of five (5) years of professional experience directly engaging with victims, survivors, and/or families of missing or disappeared persons is required. A minimum of three (3) years of experience providing formal technical or strategic advice to national bodies addressing missing persons or enforced disappearance is required. A minimum of three (3) years of experience contributing to the design, establishment, or operationalization of transitional justice or accountability mechanisms is required. Experience drafting and implementing institutional victim protection frameworks, including confidentiality and informed consent procedures, risk assessments…