United Nations Office at Nairobi Jobs for Conference Affairs Officer, P3

Job Title: - Conference Affairs Officer, P3

Department/ Office: - United Nations Office at Nairobi

Duty Station: - Nairobi

Posting Period: - 19 July 2011-17 September 2011

Job Opening number: - 11-CON-UN OFFICE AT NAIROBI-20324-R-NAIROBI

United Nations Core Values: Integrity, Professionalism, Respect for Diversity Org. Setting and Reporting

The United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON) is the UN headquarters in Africa and the representative office of the Secretary-General. UNON supports programme implementation of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) globally, as well as other UN offices in Kenya, by providing administrative, conference and information services (www.unon.org). This post is located in the meeting Coordination Unit in the Planning and Coordination Section within the Division of Conference Services (DCS).

Responsibilities:

Under the supervision of the Chief of the Meeting Coordination Unit, the incumbent will perform the following duties;

1. Planning and Coordination of Meetings:

• Analyzing requests from substantive offices for meetings and conferences to be serviced in Nairobi and elsewhere;
• Planning and coordinating meetings, allocating conference facilities and services in accordance with established procedures;
• Negotiating changes in dates, venues and/or provision of conference services as deemed appropriate;
• Monitoring the substantive and organizational preparations of meetings and conferences for efficient utilization of conference resources;
• Confirming the services and staff requirements for meetings away from Headquarters. For the latter, liaising with the duty stations for loans and determining optimal mix of conference services staff in line with the Integrated Global Management of meetings;
• Scheduling additional and urgent meetings and ensuring proper servicing by evaluating their needs and availability of additional resources as required;
• Undertaking missions with overall responsibility for the planning of designated conferences away from established Headquarters and serving as the representative of the Division;
• Advising host government on logistics and other requirements and negotiating the terms of the Host Country Agreement.

2. Servicing of Meetings:

Supervising short-term staff servicing the meeting and overseeing smooth flow of documentation;

• Liaising with the substantive offices, the meeting organizers and the host government in the case of meetings held outside headquarters to ensure that appropriate equipments are installed and operational and that sufficient local staff and other requirements are availed throughout the meeting;
• Dealing with delegates and other emerging issues during the meetings relating to physical facilities, meeting duration, voting and other matters ensuring that appropriate and satisfactory arrangements are made to address each situation.
• Advising on and overseeing seating arrangements and other meeting servicing protocols.

3. Deputizing for the Chief of Unit during absences on missions and performing other duties may be required

Competencies

• Professionalism: Knowledge of organization's policies, procedures and practices; ability to conduct independent research, select, organize and summarize information required for the planning and preparation of meetings and conferences; Is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results; shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges; remains calm in stressful situations.
• Planning and Organizing: Allocates appropriate amount of time and resources for completing work; ability to identify priority activities and assignments; adjusts priorities as required; foresees risks and allows for contingencies when planning.
• Communication: Speaks and writes clearly and effectively; 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; identifies clients' needs and matches them to appropriate solutions; establishes and maintains productive partnerships with clients by gaining their trust and respect; keeps clients informed of progress or setbacks in projects.

Education

• Advanced university degree (Master's degree or equivalent) in Business Administration, Management or related area. A first-level university degree in combination with qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Work Experience

• A minimum of five years of experience in the fields of public relations, administration, international outreach events organization, intergovernmental conference organization and management.

Languages

• English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the post advertised, fluency in oral and written English is required. Knowledge of another UN official language will be an advantage.

Assessment Method

Evaluation of qualified candidates for this position may include a substantive assessment which will be followed by a competency-based interview.

Special Notice

Staff members are subject to the authority of Secretary-General and to assignment by him or her. In this context, all staff are expected to move periodically to new functions in their careers in accordance with established rules and procedures.

All applicants are strongly encouraged to apply online as soon as possible after the job opening has been posted and well before the deadline stated in the job opening. Online applications will be acknowledged where an email address has been provided.

If you do not receive an e-mail acknowledgement within 24 hours of submission, your application may not have been received. In such cases, please resubmit the application, if necessary. If the problem persists, please send an email to recruitment@unon.org, quoting the job opening number in the subject header of your email.

United Nations Considerations

The United Nations shall place no restriction on the eligibility of men and women to participate in any capacity and under conditions of equality in its principal and subsidiary organs. (Charter of the United Nations – Chapter 3, article 8). The United Nations Secretariat is a non-smoking environment.

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSNG, TRAINING OR ANY OTHER FEES). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON BANK ACCOUNTS.

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