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Capacity Building Specialist for Accession Negotiations Horizontal Issues Including Clusters 1 (Fundamentals) and 6 (External Relations) - retainer position
Details
Deadline: May 12, 2025 Deadline for applications has passed
Location: Home Based
Organization:United Nations Office for Project Services (HQ)
Job type:Contract, up to 4 months
Languages:
English
Work experience:Min 5 years
Date posted: Apr 29, 2025
Description
Job categories: Project Management
Vacancy code: VA/2025/B5109/30079
Level: ICS-10
Department/office: ECR, RSMCO, Serbia
Duty station: Home based
Contract type: International ICA
Contract level: IICA-2
Duration: Up to 60 working days, during a period of one year
Application period: 29-Apr-2025 to 12-May-2025
Applications to vacancies must be received before midnight Copenhagen time (CET) on the closing date of the announcement.
Please note that UNOPS will at no stage of the recruitment process request candidates to make payments of any kind.
Please note that UNOPS will at no stage of the recruitment process request candidates to make payments of any kind.
The Project “Support to European Integration of North Macedonia” is designed to support North Macedonia's accession negotiations and successful management of the overall European Union (EU) integration process. The Project is funded by Sweden through the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), Swiss Government through the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and Ministry for European Affairs and implemented by the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS).
This Project will enhance the institutional, technical, and administrative capacity of the Government to conduct EU accession. It will support the Government's action to combat corruption and contribute to increased engagement of civil society, media, youth and the general public in the process. This objective will be achieved through delivery of four coherent results that encompass provision of technical assistance (TA), capacity building and grant support.
Specifically, it will strengthen capacities of national institutions supporting the EU accession through provision of TA and capacity building to the Government Coordination Mechanism for Accession Negotiation. Support will facilitate effective alignment of national legislation with the EU acquis and its implementation. Support will include strengthening of MEA capacities, considering its leading role in coordination, planning, monitoring and management of the EU accession. The Project will also contribute to enhanced communication of the EU accession process, EU values and benefits. It envisages support for implementation of priority actions, which will enhance public’s understanding and interest for the EU accession.
Under the direct supervision of the Project Manager, the Capacity Building Specialist for Accession Negotiations horizontal issues including clusters 1 (Fundamentals) and 6 (External Relations) will provide technical expertise to the Ministry for European Affairs (MEA) and Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and the negotiation structure and will conduct capacity building workshops with the aim to strengthen the capacities of the personnel of these institutions.
In particular, the Specialist will undertake following activities/responsibilities:
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Design, develop and deliver capacity building workshops on horizontal issues pertaining to preparing relevant negotiating documents (negotiation positions, benchmarks, addendums etc.)
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Provide expert advice to MEA in the process of drafting all relevant documents in the area of expertise of this ToR, by the request of the beneficiary, such as road maps, analyses, negotiating positions, talking points etc.
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Design, develop and deliver capacity building workshops within cluster 1 (Fundamentals) in particular rule of law, functioning of democratic institutions, public administration reform and cluster 6 (External Relations), with emphasis on but not limited to: scope, content, documents in these areas; main challenges in the course of accession negotiations; open issues and latest developments in the EU, different rules and responsibility of MEA and MFA organisational structures.
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Provide structured guidance on how to integrate horizontal issues (e.g., public administration reform, rule of law, anti-corruption, democratic institutions) across other negotiation clusters.
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Ensure that cross-cutting themes are consistently mainstreamed in negotiation positions and sector documents.
Education
- Advanced University Degree preferably in Law, EU integration, International Relations, Public Administration, Management, Developments Studies, Sociology, Political Sciences, Human Rights, Social Sciences or other relevant discipline is required.
- University Degree (Bachelor’s degree / first level) with two additional years of relevant professional experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
- Minimum five years of experience in working for/with an EU institution and/or working for/with the beneficiary countries on EU accession related elements is required.
- Experience in capacity building activities in one or more areas covered by cluster 1 and 6 is required
- Experience in EU accession process in one or more Western Balkans countries will be considered an asset
- Fluency in English (speaking, reading and writing) is required
Contract type: Individual Contractor Agreement (ICA) - retainer*
Contract level: IICA 2 (ICS 10)
Contract duration: Up to 60 working days during a period of one year
*If the selected candidate is based in a duty station where there is a national scale, s/he may be offered the local equivalent position.
For more details about the ICA contractual modality, please follow this link:
https://www.unops.org/english/Opportunities/job-opportunities/what-we-offer/Pages/Individual-Contractor-Agreements.aspx -
Please note that UNOPS does not accept unsolicited resumes.
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Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.
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Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process, which involves various assessments.
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UNOPS embraces diversity and is committed to equal employment opportunity. Our workforce consists of many diverse nationalities, cultures, languages, races, gender identities, sexual orientations, and abilities. UNOPS seeks to sustain and strengthen this diversity to ensure equal opportunities as well as an inclusive working environment for its entire workforce.
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Qualified women and candidates from groups which are underrepresented in the UNOPS workforce are encouraged to apply. These include in particular candidates from racialized and/or indigenous groups, members of minority gender identities and sexual orientations, and people with disabilities.
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We would like to ensure all candidates perform at their best during the assessment process. If you are shortlisted and require additional assistance to complete any assessment, including reasonable accommodation, please inform our human resources team when you receive an invitation.
Terms and Conditions
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For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post.
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For retainer contracts, you must complete a few mandatory courses ( they take around 4 hours to complete) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS. Refreshers or new mandatory courses may be required during your contract. Please note that you will not receive any compensation for taking courses and refreshers. For more information on a retainer contract here.
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All UNOPS personnel are responsible for performing their duties in accordance with the UN Charter and UNOPS Policies and Instructions, as well as other relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, all personnel must demonstrate an understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a manner consistent with UN core values and the UN Common Agenda.
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It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential personnel. Recruitment in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.
The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) is an independent United Nations (UN) organisation since 1995 (Resolution 48/501, 1994), which succeeded two decades of its operations as a part of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) since 1974 when it was established.
The mission of UNOPS is to help people build better lives and countries achieve peace and sustainable development. As a part of the United Nations family, and as the only self-financed UN organisation, UNOPS is committed to UN values and private sector efficiency.
In Serbia, UNOPS has been active since 2000 and the organisation provides support in conducting demanding socio-economic reforms and facilitating accession to the European Union. The projects focus on sustainable local development, good governance, the rule of law, social cohesion, environment and emergency response. The projects are implemented with funding from the European Union (EU), the Governments of Switzerland, Sweden, Serbia, and the UN organisations.
UNOPS Serbia Multi-Country Office (RSMCO) also covers Montenegro and North Macedonia, as well as Bosnia and Herzegovina, where the need for support and potential engagements are being assessed. The work of UNOPS and the projects it implements is contextualised within the broader Sustainable Development Goals frameworks and objectives of the countries of its operations.
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