Director of UNRWA Representative Office New York

Org. Setting and Reporting

UNRWA, the largest United Nations operation in the Middle East with over 30,000 staff working across five areas of operation, is looking for highly committed personnel wishing to make a change. If you are looking for a rewarding opportunity at a senior leadership role to make a tangible difference for one of the most vulnerable communities in the world, UNRWA would like to hear from you. The incumbent serves as the Agency’s senior representative to the United Nations and other stakeholders in New York. The incumbent leads the Representative Office, ensuring that the mandate and strategic priorities of the Agency as well as the interests of Palestine refugees are effectively promoted through engagement with Member States, UN entities, and other key partners. The Director reports to the Chief of Staff and works in close coordination with the Deputy Commissioners-General, and other senior officials

Responsibilities

Representation Functions • Represents and advocates for UNRWA’s mandate, strategic priorities, and operations in New York, engaging with Member States on a bilateral and multilateral basis, including regional groupings, the UN General Assembly, the UN Security Council, and other intergovernmental fora. • Represents the Agency in senior inter-agency meetings and UN bodies, ensuring that UNRWA’s perspectives and operational priorities are reflected in relevant deliberations. • Leads engagement with the UN Secretariat, in particular the Executive Office of the Secretary-General (EOSG), the Controller, and the Programme Planning and Budget Division (PPBD), on issues related to the Agency’s budget, financing, and policy matters. • Engages with other international organizations, think tanks, and advocacy groups based in New York to strengthen support for UNRWA and Palestine refugees. Head of Office Functions • Manages the UNRWA Representative Office in New York, ensuring effective oversight of financial, administrative, and human resources matters. • Provides strategic leadership to the Office’s staff, fostering a results-oriented and collaborative work environment aligned with UNRWA’s mission and values. • Ensures compliance with UNRWA’s policies and procedures in the administration and operation of the Representative Office. • Oversees budget planning and execution for the Office, ensuring efficient resource allocation and financial stewardship. Engagement and Outreach • Oversees and manages the networking functions of the Representative Office and builds and sustains strong relationships with the diplomatic community, including Permanent Representatives and Missions of Member States to the United Nations, to foster political and financial support for UNRWA’s mandate and operations. • Supports UNRWA’s engagement with key UN entities in New York, including the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA), the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the Department of Global Communications (DGC), and other relevant departments to ensure alignment with UN system-wide initiatives and policies. • Works closely with the UNRWA Director of Communications to support the Agency’s strategic communications and media efforts in New York, including briefing journalists and participating in public events. • Represents UNRWA in conferences and UN or Member State-hosted events to raise awareness and mobilize political and financial support for the Agency’s work. • Coordinates closely with other UNRWA Representative Offices in Washington and Brussels, with ERCD, as well as other UNRWA offices to ensure coherence in external relations and advocacy efforts. Coordination and Information Sharing • Facilitates the missions of UNRWA’s senior leadership to New York, including engagements with key stakeholders across the UN and Member States. • Ensures regular communication and coordination with UNRWA headquarters and other UNRWA Representative Offices, as well as with UNRWA field offices, to align messaging and advocacy efforts. • Disseminates timely and relevant information on developments in New York that impact UNRWA’s mandate, operations, and financial sustainability. • Advises and keeps UNRWA’s senior leadership informed on UN reform matters and other important UN initiatives that could either impact or benefit UNRWA or pose organizational risks. • Maintains strong working relationships with UN Permanent Missions, UN Secretariat officials, and key stakeholders to enhance support for UNRWA and its beneficiaries.

Competencies

UN Core Values of lntegrity, Professionalism and Respect for Diversity, and Core Competencies of Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results apply by default. Default managerial competencies may apply. Relating and Networking Creating and Maintaining Impact and Partnership Analyzing Engaging and Nurturing Deciding and Initiating Action Persuading and Influencing Entrepreneurial Thinking Sound judgment on political, media and diplomatic matters, including on high profile issues of international policy, and the capacity for rigorous respect for confidentiality. Ability to handle media relations competently and effectively.

Education

An advanced university degree (Masters’ or equivalent) from an accredited educational institution in political science, international relations, international law, public or business administration or a related field.

Job - Specific Qualification

Not available.

Work Experience

At least 15 years of progressively responsible and relevant experience in political or administrative affairs is required. At least 10 years of professional work experience in a large governmental or international organization is required. At least five years of work experience in, or in close association with, a United Nations organization is required. Unless already serving as an international staff member in the UN Common System, a candidate for an international post must have at least 2 continuous years of relevant international experience outside UNRWA, and outside the country(s) of which the candidate is a national or holds citizenship, a passport or a national identity number is required. An advanced university degree (Masters’ or equivalent) from an accredited educational institution in political science, international relations, international law, public or business administration or a related field is required. Working knowledge of written and spoken Arabic is desired. Familiarity with political affairs in the Middle East is desired. Knowledge of United Nations political, budgetary and administrative procedures is desired. Knowledge of the Middle East history and Palestine refugee issues is desired. Indicate your current involvement in any outside activities, as it is required. Including but not limited to employment, independent contractor/freelance consultant, board member (corporate, academic, etc), expert group, lobby, public speaking/writing (article, book, blog, social media etc), teaching, conferences, training, press statement, voluntary work, political activity, fundraising/donation for non-UNRWA entity, running for public office, role in political party or orgs., owning business, work for gov./NGO/private company/charity, UNRWA partner/vendor, full/part-time, paid or not. A “yes” answer doesn’t necessarily lead to exclusion from future work at UNRWA, yet misrepresentation in providing accurate/complete info can lead to disqualification/termination of appointment, if hired.

Languages

Excellent command of written and spoken English is required. Working knowledge of written and spoken Arabic is desirable.

Assessment

Evaluation of qualified candidates may include an assessment exercise which may be followed by competency-based interview.

Special Notice

This is a UN Regular Budget post. Type of Contract and duration: 2 years, with the possibility of further extension. Only applications that have been fully completed in UNRWA's online e-recruitment system inspira will be considered and no late applications will be accepted. The Personal History Profile (PHP) should be completed with full work experience under the experience tabs as per the requirements in the Job Opening. All university degrees must also be stated, where applicable. UNRWA personnel must ensure adding their contract type and grade level. Given the large pool of applicants, only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for further assessment. Providing incorrect or misleading information on an application form will result in the immediate disqualification of the candidate. UNRWA welcomes applications from qualified candidates with disabilities. A roster may be created from the selection exercise, and successful candidates may become eligible for appointment to the same post or a similar post, when the need arises. Equivalency: A first level university degree in combination with additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of an advanced university degree. NB: work experience alone or formal qualifications with no relevant work experience are not considered an acceptable combination. Join our eco-friendly organization dedicated to environment sustainability and targeting to be plastic free by 2025. The Agency disqualifies applicants whose name appears on the UN Sanctions List or a UN database of staff separated for reason of misconduct or of staff who separated while a misconduct process was pending. UNRWA shares investigation and misconduct information with other UN Agencies, and past and prospective employers about staff members who have been separated for misconduct, or who have separated while an investigation and/or disciplinary process for misconduct is underway; and those individuals may be prohibited from employment with the United Nations. UNRWA is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions from UN member states, regional bodies, business foundations and individual contributions. The mission of UNRWA is to help Palestine refugees achieve their full potential in human development under the difficult circumstances in which they live. For more details on UNRWA, please visit: https://www.unrwa.org/

United Nations Considerations

Staff members are subject to the authority of the Commissioner-General of UNRWA and to assignment by him or her. UNRWA is committed to achieving gender parity at all levels of staffing under the current UN-wide gender agenda and strongly encourages applications from qualified applicants from under-represented groups. At UNRWA, the paramount consideration in the recruitment and employment of staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity, with due regard to geographic diversity. All employment decisions are made on the basis of qualifications and organizational needs. UNRWA is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. Reasonable accommodation for applicants with disabilities may be provided to support participation in the recruitment process when requested and indicated in the application. UNRWA Considerations UNRWA staff are expected to uphold the highest standards of efficiency, competence, neutrality, impartiality and integrity. This includes respect for and commitment to human rights, diversity and non-violent means of dealing with all kinds of conflict. Only persons who fully and unconditionally commit to these values should consider applying for UNRWA jobs. Candidates will not be considered for employment with UNRWA if they have committed violations of international human rights law, violations of international humanitarian law, sexual exploitation, sexual abuse, or sexual harassment, or if there are reasonable grounds to believe that they have been involved in the commission of any of these acts. Candidates who have committed crimes other than minor traffic offences may not be considered for employment. The Agency may disqualify applicants who have separated for reason of misconduct, who left a UN Agency while misconduct processes were pending, or who appear on the UN Sanctions List. UNRWA is a non-smoking work environment. Applicants are urged to follow carefully all instructions available in the online recruitment platform, inspira. For more detailed guidance, applicants may refer to the Manual for the Applicant, which can be accessed by clicking on “Manuals” hyper-link on the upper right side of the inspira account-holder homepage. The evaluation of applicants will be conducted on the basis of the information submitted in the application according to the evaluation criteria of the job opening and the applicable internal legislations of the United Nations including the Charter of the United Nations, resolutions of the General Assembly, the Staff Regulations and Rules, administrative issuances and guidelines. Applicants must provide complete and accurate information pertaining to their personal profile and qualifications according to the instructions provided in inspira to be considered for the current job opening. No amendment, addition, deletion, revision or modification shall be made to applications that have been submitted. Candidates under serious consideration for selection will be subject to reference checks to verify the information provided in the application. Job openings advertised on the Careers Portal will be removed at 11:59 p.m. (New York time) on the deadline date.

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS RELIEF AND WORKS AGENCY FOR PALESTINE REFUGEES IN THE NEAR EAST (UNRWA) DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE OR REQUEST MONEY FROM CANDIDATES AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT AND ONBOARDING PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING, ONBOARDING). UNRWA DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.