Org. Setting and Reporting

The Office of the United Nations Ombudsman and Mediation Services (UNOMS) is headquartered in New York, USA. This position leads the Regional Ombudsman Office in Beirut, one of seven regional branches of UNOMS. UNOMS was established as the informal pillar of the United Nations internal system of administration of justice. Its mandate is to provide staff members and affiliated personnel with access to impartial and neutral services to address work-related concerns. The Beirut Regional Office delivers informal conflict resolution services to UN personnel within its designated area of coverage. The Regional Ombudsman reports directly to the Chief of Service and operates under the overall supervision of the United Nations Ombudsman.

Responsibilities

The Regional Ombudsman is responsible for the following: Lead and manage the Regional Ombudsman Office in Beirut, ensuring the effective delivery of services within the assigned area of coverage. Provide independent, impartial, confidential and informal conflict resolution services to staff members and affiliated personnel on employment-related concerns. Advise staff members and affiliated personnel on available options and avenues for resolution, taking into account the respective rights, obligations and interests of the Organization and its personnel. Facilitate dialogue, conduct mediations, undertake shuttle diplomacy and information-gathering, and provide conflict coaching to support constructive resolution of disputes involving staff members and affiliated personnel. Engage, as an independent and neutral actor, with leadership and other stakeholders in peacekeeping missions and offices within the region to help address work-related concerns raised by staff members and affiliated personnel. Design and deliver outreach initiatives to promote awareness of informal conflict resolution services and conduct skill-building activities to strengthen conflict competence among staff members and affiliated personnel. Identify, analyze and raise awareness of systemic issues, including policies, procedures and practices that may contribute to workplace tension or conflict affecting staff members and affiliated personnel, and provide upward feedback to senior management, as appropriate. Maintain close coordination with the Office of the United Nations Ombudsman and Mediation Services at Headquarters, consulting as necessary on sensitive matters and systemic trends. Prepare periodic activity reports, including qualitative and quantitative data on case trends, outreach activities and systemic observations. Supervise regional staff, including performance management, professional development and team leadership. Undertake regular travel, including virtual missions, to peacekeeping operations and offices within the region to provide in-person services, outreach and conflict competence training. Contribute to office-wide initiatives, projects and policy development efforts. Perform other related duties as required.

Competencies

• Professionalism: Demonstrates ability to outline options on how to navigate the handling of a broad range of work-related concerns; shows knowledge of third-party neutral conflict resolution and mediation principles; demonstrates ability to identify visitors’ needs, create a safe and confidential environment, and explore possible options; is able to establish trust and maintain productive partnerships with visitors and stakeholders, respecting the principles of neutrality and confidentiality; is able to negotiate difficult situations taking into account the interests of all sides; shows respect and empathy for individuals; 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. 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.
• 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.
• 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 An Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent degree) in public administration, dispute resolution, human resources management, human relations, law, management, organizational development, counseling or other related area is required. A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree in the specific areas. Job – Specific Qualification A combination of mediation training, conflict coaching training and ombudsman training is required. Work Experience A minimum of ten years of progressively responsible experience, including at least five years at the international level in dispute resolution, human resources management, law, or related field is required. Experience providing informal conflict resolution services in the workplace is desirable Experience with conflict resolution in the region is desirable Experience working in the United Nations or other similar international organization is desirable. Languages English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this job opening, either English or French is required. Arabic is 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 Language Reading Writing Listening Speaking English UN Level III UN Level III UN Level III UN Level III French UN Level III UN Level III UN Level III UN Level III Desirable Languages Language Reading Writing Listening Speaking Arabic UN Level I UN Level I…