National Human Rights Officer

Job Purpose and Organizational Context

The Resident Coordinator Office in Burundi accommodates a Cluster headed by the Senior Human Rights with the assignments of championing human rights actions and contributing to the UN Country Team programming endeavours as well as the individual agencies’ programmes and activities. The unique mandate of the Cluster within the RCO and the UNCT associated with the scope of human rights challenges in the country call for professional capacity to meet delivery requirements.

The National Human Rights Officer will lead the efforts of the Cluster from the substantive point of view both within the UNCT and vis-à-vis the national counterparts. He/she will play a pivotal role in participating in various internal and external thematic working groups.

Under the overall guidance and supervision of the Senior Human Rights Adviser (SHRA), the National Human Rights Officer will support the capacity building of national human rights actors aiming at ensuring ownership of the human rights expertise. He/she will be responsible for developing and implementing programmes and workplans as they pertain to the RCO/UNCT human rights commitment and OHCHR engagement in Burundi. He/she will conduct reviews of existing legislation and frameworks through the lenses of the international human rights standards and propose necessary reforms in cooperation with all the stakeholders. The incumbent will ensure that any UN interventions in the area of human rights are tailored to the national context and specific needs, working closely with the Government departments, national institutions, civil society organisations, etc.
Duties and Responsibilities
1. Research and analysis:

Conducts substantive research and analysis of human rights issues/events and assesses their impact on the human rights situation in Burundi;
Collects and analyses human rights data and indicators in Burundi, including gender-specific data and indicators;

2. Programme planning and delivery:

Ensures human rights issues, including their gender equality dimensions considerations, are integrated into political, humanitarian and economic efforts and programmes;
Defines and implements work plan for area assigned in accordance with established terms of reference. Advocate with relevant authorities, security sector institutions and other State departments and organs, on human rights compliance;
Ensures integration of human rights in the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) and joint programmes, including their gender dimensions; ensures that the achievement of the Leaving No One Behind and the SDGs is fully informed by the human rights principles;

3. Technical cooperation and capacity building:

Works with a variety of human rights actors, including government and local authorities, national human rights institutions, civil society organisations, the justice system, the Parliament, UN agencies and other actors in advancing human in the country;
Assists military and police in the country to develop and implement training programs in the field of human rights, international humanitarian law and the rule of law, with attention to gender perspectives;
Undertakes field verification work through periodic visits, follow up on human rights developments and make recommendations on measures for improvement;
Participates in various UN and external thematic and working groups; reports on the deliberations and follows up on progress.

4. Reporting and support to staff development:

Writes a variety of reports, communications, briefings, statements, etc., including to policy-making bodies;
Trains and provides guidance to new/junior staff.
Performs other related duties as required.

Competencies
Core behavioural competencies

Achieve Results - LEVEL 2: Scale up solutions and simplifies processes, balances speed and accuracy in doing work
Think Innovatively- LEVEL 2: Offer new ideas/open to new approaches, demonstrate systemic/integrated thinking
Learn Continuously- LEVEL 2: Go outside comfort zone, learn from others and support their learning
Adapt with Agility- LEVEL 2: Adapt processes/approaches to new situations, involve others in change process
Act with Determination- LEVEL 2: Able to persevere and deal with multiple sources of pressure simultaneously
Engage and Partner-LEVEL 2: Is facilitator/integrator, bring people together, build/maintain coalitions/partnerships
Enable Diversity and Inclusion-LEVEL 2: Facilitate conversations to bridge differences, considers in decision making

People Management competencies

UNDP People Management Competencies can be found in the dedicated site.

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies

Operations Management

Ability to effectively plan, organize, and oversee the Organisation’s business processes in order to convert its assets into the best results in the most efficient manner.

Communication

Ability to communicate in a clear, concise and unambiguous manner both through written and verbal communication; to tailor messages and choose communication methods depending on the audience
Ability to manage communications internally and externally, through media, social media and other appropriate channels.

Collective Intelligence

Ability to bringing together diverse groups of people, data, information or ideas, and technology to design services or solutions.

Evaluation

Ability to make an independent judgement based on set criteria and benchmarks
Ability to anticipate client's upcoming needs and concerns.

Partnerships Management

Ability to build and maintain partnerships with wide networks of stakeholders, Governments, civil society and private sector partners, experts and others in line with OHCHR strategy and policies;
Ability to engage with a wide range of public and private partners, build, sustain and/or strengthen working relations, trust and mutual understanding.

Required Skills and Experience
Education:

Advanced university degree (Master's degree or equivalent) in law, political science, international relations, social sciences or related area.
A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying work experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

A minimum of two years of progressively responsible experience in human rights, political affairs, international relations, law or related area is required;
Experience in the research on the causes and peaceful resolution of conflicts associated with human rights violations is desirable;
Sound knowledge of the Burundian political context, functioning of the judicial organs and national legal human rights instruments, in particular as they apply to the situation of vulnerable groups is desirable.
Experience and exposure to the definition and implementation of work plans and programmes in the area of human rights is desirable

Languages:

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this position, fluency in English and French (both oral and written) are required.