CHIEF, HOSTAGE INCIDENT MANAGEMENT

The Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS) is responsible for providing leadership, operational support and oversight of the United Nations security management system (UNSMS) globally. As a global leader in security risk management principles, UNDSS enables the safe and effective delivery of United Nations programmes and activities in the most complex and challenging environments, while maximizing precious resources. To this end, the work of the Department is aligned under a clear mission, to enable United Nations system programme activities through trusted security leadership and solutions. This is a unique opportunity to join a diverse, dynamic and exciting organization gaining unique and valuable experience where security provides great value. Besides the opportunity to gain new skills and further advance security expertise, this position offers a fulfilling environment that gives you satisfaction by contributing directly or indirectly to peace and security, human rights, and achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. For more information on the Department, and how we make an impact on the world in enabling the achievement of SDGs, visit: https://www.un.org/undss/ The Chief, Hostage Incident Management Unit (HIMU) will report directly to the Deputy Director of Field Operations at UN Headquarters in New York. The post is currently located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. However, the duty station may be subject to change due to the operational needs. Dubai is designated by the International Civil Service Commission as "A" hardship and a family duty station. The incumbent will be expected to travel up to nine months a year outside his/her duty station.

Within delegated authority, the Chief, Hostage Incident Management Unit (HIMU) may be responsible for the following duties: • Serves as principal UNDSS focal point for HIMU preparedness and response across the United Nations Security Management System organizations on all HIMU matters, policies and procedures. • Identifies members of the Hostage Incident Management Team. • Chairs the HIMU team, building consensus to ensure alignment and support, providing strategic guidance to security professionals during HIMU-related incidents, including liaison with Member States and host governments. • Leads the development of the global UNSMS HIMU strategies and oversees its planning, execution, monitoring, evaluation, and reporting. Identifies the strengths and weaknesses of different solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems. • Leads the preparation, development, review, and implementation of the HIMU strategic framework, Action Plan, policy, guidelines, SOPs, and response protocols in consultation with UNSMS organizations. Ensures alignment of Hostage Management initiatives with broader UNSMS policies. • Participates in meetings, committees, and task forces; prepares papers and detailed reports; delivers briefings and presentations for UNDSS leadership, as needed. • Advises on the inclusion of security in all stages of United Nations activities and programmes. Provides operational and strategic advice and support to line managers responsible for security. Enables the delivery of mandates and programmes through direct operational assistance. • Oversees complex HIMU cases, prioritizing work to meet deadlines and following defined processes, policies, procedures, and guidance, fostering alignment with colleagues and across organizations. • Monitors and leads activities related to the implementation and evaluation of performance indicators and monitors milestones to ensure effective implementation of the HIMU Strategy; drives the development of lessons-learned activities that help support operational efficiency and effectiveness. Guides the definition of policies, methodology, and processes for the implementation of the substantive activities of the relevant teams (Security Team, Division, Unit, or Section). • Ensures effective communication and trust through active collaboration, consultation, and exchanges with UN system organizations and other stakeholders for information sharing, coordination of responses, and provision of security briefings, taking into account operational activities and risks. • Collaborates closely with peers and colleagues, non-governmental organizations, diplomatic missions, Host Government representatives, and external experts to strengthen hostage coordination and exchange on policy. • Strengthens awareness and capacity of personnel by designing and implementing HM training programmes and simulation exercises for UNSMS personnel, including Designated Officials (DOs), Desk Officers, Stress Counsellors, and Security Professionals; advises and represents UNDSS in inter-agency working groups, training forums, and relevant international conferences. • Ensures the conduct of HIMU surveys and assessments; facilitates debriefs and after-action reviews following hostage incidents to extract lessons learned and improve future responses; creatively leverages tools and processes, identifying and recommending simple, reasonable, inclusive, effective, and efficient HIMU measures, including when there is incomplete, contradictory, and/or fluid information. • Ensures implementation and maintenance of a functioning HIMU System. • Ensures conduct of budget, finance, and logistical planning for the security office and participation in relevant United Nations administration, finance, and logistics forums. Supports resource mobilization. • Leads and manages the HIMU team; develops strategic goals, objectives, and plans for the delivery of the substantive activities of the unit or section and implements corresponding outputs; anticipates human resources needs through workforce planning; assesses performance and supports the development of security personnel under his/her supervision. • Ensures implementation of departmental approaches to mainstreaming gender, diversity, and inclusion into all aspects of the work, as well as ensuring the implementation of people-centred security risk management approaches considering specific threats or vulnerabilities of personnel and adapting practices and measures in support of diversity and inclusion. • Leads team members’ efforts to collect and analyze data and provides insight to identify trends or patterns for data-driven planning, decision-making, presentation, and reporting. Ensures that everyone can discover, access, integrate, and share the data they need. • Performs other functions as directed.

Professionalism: Demonstrates respect and sensitivity towards diversity in all its forms, in all cultural, gender, and religious settings. Takes responsibility for incorporating different perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work. Contributes to an environment in which others can speak and act without fear of repercussion; places confidence in and builds trust with colleagues and stakeholders. Demonstrates effective interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence, including self-awareness and contextual intelligence. Shows openness to learning and commitment to self‑development. Identifies issues, researches, collects data, demonstrates situational awareness, and applies conceptual, analytical, and evaluative skills; participates in the resolution of issues and problems, demonstrating critical thinking, perceptiveness, judgement, and decision‑making. Demonstrates an ability to implement policies. Shows the ability to make quick decisions in emergencies or when rapid response is needed. Communicates complex concepts effectively both verbally and in writing. Shows pride in work and in achievements. Demonstrates professional competence and mastery of Hostage Incident Management strategies, tools, and practices in an international environment. Is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines, and achieving results. Shows the ability to prioritize, manage, and implement multiple high‑level projects in a timely manner, even in fast‑changing contexts. Is motivated by professional rather than personal concerns. Takes ownership of accountability and supports strategies to ensure compliance with all security risk management decisions and regulations. Shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges; remains calm in stressful situations. Is able to analyze and interpret data in support of decision‑making and convey resulting information to management. 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. •Creativity: Actively seeks to improve programmes or services; offers new and different options to solve problems or meet client needs; promotes and persuades others to consider new ideas; takes calculated risks on new and unusual ideas; thinks “outside the box”; takes an interest in new ideas and new ways of doing things; is not bound by current thinking or traditional approaches. Leadership: Serves as a role model that other people want to follow: empowers others to translate vision into results; is proactive in developing strategies to accomplish objectives; establishes and maintains relationships with a broad range of people to understand needs and gain support; anticipates and resolves conflicts by pursuing mutually agreeable solutions; drives for change and improvements; does not accept the status quo; shows the courage to take unpopular stands. Takes responsibility for incorporating different perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work. Judgement/Decision-making: Identifies the key issues in a complex situation, and comes to the heart of the problem quickly; gathers relevant information before making a decision; considers positive and negative impacts of decisions prior to making them; takes decisions with an eye to the impact on others and on the Organization; proposes a course of action or makes a recommendation based on all available information; checks assumptions against facts; determines the actions proposed will satisfy the expressed and underlying needs for the decision; makes tough decisions when necessary.

Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in business or public administration, political/social science, psychology, criminal justice, law, international relations, security management or a related field is required. A relevant first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree. A first-level university degree may be substituted with a diploma from a police or military education institution, college or academy obtained over a minimum of a three-year period.

Specialized training in hostage management is required.

A minimum of ten years of progressively responsible experience in international relations, disarmament affairs, conflict resolution, crime or terrorism prevention, security, risk or disaster or emergency management and preparedness in the public or private sector areas responsible for responding to emergency situations that directly impact security is required. Experience in planning, design, implementation, or review of risk mitigation measures related to operations impacted by insecurity is required. At least two (2) years of Experience in hostage incident management is required. At least three (3) years of international experience in field security operations is required. At least three (3) years of experience managing security personnel or teams is required. Experience in developing and facilitating training programmes, including scenario-based simulations, in the security area is required

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).

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Required Languages

Language

Reading

Writing

Listening

Speaking

English

UN Level III

UN Level III

UN Level III

UN Level III

French

UN Level III

UN Level III

UN Level III

UN Level III

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

• This position is funded through General Temporary Assistance (GTA) funding available through 31 December 2026 and is subject to the availability of funds. Extension of the appointment is subject to extension of mandate and funding availability. If the selected candidate is a staff member from the United Nations Secretariat, the selection will be administered as a temporary assignment. • The United Nations Secretariat is committed to achieving 50/50 gender balance in its staff. Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply. The United Nations Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS) is taking efforts to improve gender parity, including full implementation of the UN-wide, and Departmental Gender Strategies. We are committed to providing an inclusive culture and exciting opportunities for women in the security and operations field. • While this temporary job opening may provide the successful applicant with an opportunity to gain new work experience, the selection for this position is for a limited period and has no bearing on the future incumbency of the post. • A current staff member who holds a fixed-term, permanent or continuing appointment may apply for temporary positions no more than one level above his or her current grade. • Due to the temporary nature of the position, the eligibility for this temporary job opening may be limited to candidates based at the duty station. • This temporary job opening may be limited to "internal candidates," who have been recruited through a competitive examination administered according to staff rule 4.16 or staff selection process including the review of a central review body established according to staff rule 4.15. • A staff member holding a temporary appointment shall be regarded as an external candidate when applying for other positions and may apply for other temporary positions at any level, subject to section 5.7 below and staff rule 4.16 (b) (ii). Therefore, a staff member holding a temporary appointment in the General Service or related categories may only apply to positions within those categories. For full information on eligibility requirements, please refer to section 5 of ST/AI/2010/4Rev.1 on Temporary Appointments. In its resolution 66/234, the General Assembly further "stressed that the Secretary-General should not recur to the practice of temporarily filling posts in the Professional and higher categories with General Service staff members who have not passed the General Service to Professional category examination other than on an exceptional basis, and requests the Secretary-General to ensure that temporary occupation of such posts by the General Service staff shall not exceed a period of one year, effective 1 January 2013…" Consequently, eligible candidates in the General Service or related categories for temporary job openings in the Professional category that have not passed the competitive examination may be selected only on an exceptional basis endorsed by the Office of Human Resources Management where no other suitable candidate could be identified. • An impeccable record for integrity and professional ethical standards is essential. • Staff members of the United Nations common system organizations who will reach the mandatory age of separation or retirement within the duration of the current temporary need period are not eligible to apply. Submitting an application or selection for the current temporary job opening does not delay or increase the mandatory age of separation. • Retirees above the mandatory age of separation who wish to be considered for the current temporary job opening must indicate the reason for their last separation as "retirement." Such retirees shall not be employed by the Organization, unless (a) the operational requirements of the Organization cannot be met by staff members who are qualified and available to perform the required functions; and (b) the proposed employment would not adversely affect the career development or redeployment opportunities of other staff members and represents both a cost-effective and operationally sound solution to meet the needs of the service. • Upon separation from service, including, but not limited to, expiration or termination of, or resignation from, a fixed-term, continuing or permanent appointment, a former staff member will be ineligible for re-employment on the basis of a temporary appointment for a period of 31 days following the separation. In the case of separation from service on retirement, a former staff member will be ineligible for re-employment for a period of three months following the separation. This equally applies, mutatis mutandis, with respect to a former or current staff member who has held or holds an appointment in another entity applying the United Nations Staff Regulations and Rules and who applies for a temporary position with the Secretariat. • An external candidate selected for this position is bound by the prevailing condition of the staff selection system under ST/AI/2010/3, as amended, and ST/AI/2010/4/Rev.1. A staff member holding a temporary appointment who is recruited in the Professional and above categories on a temporary appointment, and placed on a position authorized for one year or longer may not apply for or be reappointed to his/her current position within six months of the end of his/her current service. This provision does not apply to staff members holding temporary appointments and placed on positions authorized for one year or more in duty stations authorized for peacekeeping operations or special political missions. • Applying to this job opening carries an expectation to accept the offer, if selected. Staff members are subject to the authority of the 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. • Pursuant to section 7.11 of ST/AI/2012/2/Rev.1, candidates recruited through the young professionals programme who have not served for a minimum of two years in the position of their initial assignment are not eligible to apply to this position. • The Staff Regulations, Staff Rules and administrative issuances governing staff appointments can be viewed at: http://www.un.org/hr_handbook.

According to article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity. Candidates will not be considered for employment with the United Nations 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. The term “sexual exploitation” means any actual or attempted abuse of a position of vulnerability, differential power, or trust, for sexual purposes, including, but not limited to, profiting monetarily, socially or politically from the sexual exploitation of another. The term “sexual abuse” means the actual or threatened physical intrusion of a sexual nature, whether by force or under unequal or coercive conditions. The term “sexual harassment” means any unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature that might reasonably be expected or be perceived to cause offence or humiliation, when such conduct interferes with work, is made a condition of employment or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment, and when the gravity of the conduct warrants the termination of the perpetrator’s working relationship. Candidates who have committed crimes other than minor traffic offences may not be considered for employment. Due regard will be paid to the importance of recruiting the staff on as wide a geographical basis as possible. The United Nations places no restrictions on the eligibility of men and women to participate in any capacity and under conditions of equality in its principal and subsidiary organs. The United Nations Secretariat is a non-smoking environment. Reasonable accommodation may be provided to applicants with disabilities upon request, to support their participation in the recruitment process. By accepting a letter of appointment, staff members are subject to the authority of the Secretary-General, who may assign them to any of the activities or offices of the United Nations in accordance with staff regulation 1.2 (c). Further, staff members in the Professional and higher category up to and including the D-2 level and the Field Service category are normally required to move periodically to discharge functions in different duty stations under conditions established in ST/AI/2023/3 on Mobility, as may be amended or revised. This condition of service applies to all position specific job openings and does not apply to temporary positions. Applicants are urged to carefully follow all instructions available in the online recruitment platform, inspira, and to refer to the Applicant Guide by clicking on “Manuals” in the “Help” tile 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. All external candidates recruited in accordance with section ‎2.2 (a) of ST/AI/2025/3 for a fixed term appointment without limitation and all external candidates recruited in accordance with section 2.2. (c) of ST/AI/2025/3 for a fixed term appointment limited to the entity are subject to an initial probationary period of one year under a fixed-term appointment. Job openings advertised on the Careers Portal will be removed at 11:59 p.m. (New York time) on the deadline date.

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