Org. Setting and Reporting

The Political Affairs Officer is located in the Office of the Assistant Secretary-General for Peacebuilding Support in the Peacebuilding and Peace Support Office (PBPSO) in a Shared Structure under the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA) and Department of Peace Operations (DPO). The Political Affairs Officer and reports to the Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary-General. PBPSO was established under A/43S/80/242 of 31 December 2025 to lead on Peacebuilding and Peace Support of the United Nations, forming the Office of the Assistant Secretary-General with six components. The three components under Rule of Law: Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration Section, Justice and Corrections Service, Security Sector Reform Unit were originally established in 2007, to provide strategic guidance and backstopping support in the areas of justice and Corrections, disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of ex-combatants and security sector reform. The three components under Peacebuilding: Peacebuilding Commission Support Branch, Financing for Peacebuilding Branch and Peacebuilding Strategy & Partnership Branch were established in 2005, original founding resolutions (A/RES/60/180 and S/RES/1645) establishing the Peacebuilding Commission. PBPSO is headed by an Assistant Secretary-General (ASG) with reporting duties to both the Under Secretary-General DPO and Under Secretary-General DPPA.

Responsibilities

Within delegated authority, the Political Affairs Officer will be responsible for the following duties:

• Reviews and monitors activities in the country or region assigned; assesses trends which might affect the political situation and the political impact of intra-regional issues such as refugees, drug control and natural resources; recommends solutions/possible action by United Nations in the areas related to the rule of law, justice and security field, particularly in fragile and conflict-affected context.
• Analyses political and related events within assigned area with a view to provide early warning advice to ASG/USG on key rule of law, justice and security matters.
• Coordinates, in close cooperation with PBPSO Seniors, the planning and implementation of PBPSO’s advisory activities in Africa, with a particular focus on the expert missions to support UN Resident Coordinators.
• Provides strategic guidance to experts on mission to advise national authorities in fragile countries.
• Provides briefings to UN senior officials including at the ASG, RC and Director-level on the rule of law initiative as well as to senior external partners including Member States.
• Prepares analytical reports and papers on sensitive and high profile matters of concern to the General Assembly, Security Council, or other bodies; drafts notes, background papers, talking points, speeches and other correspondence for senior UN officials.
• Participates in the organization and supervision of Secretariat services required by the Security Council and to other committees and bodies related to its work.
• Acts as focal point for collection and analyses of information on political issues of assignment with a particular focus on PBPSO’s support to Resident Coordinators and national authorities in non-mission settings
• Arranges and participates in negotiations, peacekeeping operations and fact-finding missions as well as in scoping visits to non-mission settings
• Meets regularly with operational teams including UN staff, national officials as well as Military and Civilian Police officers to plan projects and review project activities.
• Provides up-to-date information to senior officials regarding substantive political matters and country or regional issues and makes recommendations on actions to take, particularly related to key challenges in the areas of rule of law, justice and security matters.
• Maintains contacts with other sectors of the UN, other international organizations and governments on coordination and policy matters; briefs representatives and provides, as appropriate suggestions and recommendations.
• Participates in conferences, seminars and academic fora related to his/her assigned area of expertise.
• Provides input for assessment of staff to be deployed to important posts in the field, especially to Offices of Resident Coordinators.
• Carries out, in consultation with the Chief of the Section, administrative functions relating to the staff planning and budget.
• Drafts plans for start-up of operations and participates in the activities of implementation.
• Performs other related duties as required. Competencies
• Professionalism Shows ability to complete in-depth studies and reach conclusions on possible causes and solutions to political problems in specific areas and/or countries. Shows ability to relate to various issues and perspectives 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. Takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work.
• 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.
• 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. Education Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in political science, international relations, international economics, law, public administration or other related area. 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 seven years of progressively responsible experience in political science, international relations, law, disarmament, security, development management, conflict resolution or related area is required. A minimum of two years of experience working in a peacekeeping operation or related field operation is required. Experience working in the West African region is desirable. Languages English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this job opening, English and French are required. 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 II UN Level II UN Level II UN Level II French UN Level III UN Level III UN Level III UN Level III Assessment Evaluation of qualified candidates may include an assessment exercise which may be followed by competency-based interview. Special Notice
• This position is temporarily available until 31 August 2026. If the selected candidate is a staff member from the United Nations Secretariat, the selection will be administered as a temporary assignment.
• While this temporary assignment may provide the successful applicant with an opportunity to gain new work experience, the selection for this…