Contractual Translation Officer Vacancy at United Nations Office, Nairobi (UNOB)

Contractual Translation Officer Vacancy at United Nations Office, Nairobi (UNOB)
CONTRACTUAL TRANSLATION OFFICER, P3

Department/ Office
UNITED NATIONS OFFICE AT NAIROBI
Duty Station
NAIROBI
Posting Period
24 November 2010-23 January 2011
Job Opening number
10-ADM-UN OFFICE AT NAIROBI-16060-R-NAIROBI

United Nations Core Values: Integrity, Professionalism, Respect for Diversity

Organizational 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 Contractual Services Unit within the Planning and Coordination Section Branch, Division of Conference Services (DCS).

Responsibilities
Under the general supervision of the Chief, Translation and Editorial Section, and the direct supervision of the Chief, Contractual Services/Documents Management Unit, in close collaboration with the Chiefs of Language Units and Human Resources Management Service, the incumbent will:

1. Coordinate the selection of best candidates for addition to the UN common roster of contractual translators; maintain and update that roster.
2. In consultation with the Document Control and Language Units:
(a) Arrange for the contracting-out of selected types of translation jobs; ensure provision of appropriate tools to the contractual translators and ascertain that uniform quality control procedures are applied.
(b) Monitor the dates of completion of jobs contracted out and advise the Chiefs of Language Units accordingly.

3. Assume responsibility for the establishment of contracts for external staff as well as the compilation of data on their performance; coordinate evaluation of contractual translators.
4. Monitor and report on the use of resources earmarked for contractual translation.
5. Participate in the process of competitive bidding aimed at the selection of institutional contractors, for the processing of UN documentation.
6. Participate, with counterparts at other duty stations, in further development of policies and procedures governing contractual translation, through exchange of information and propose recommendations on the improvement of current procedures.
7. Compile and maintain statistics relevant to contractual translation.

Competencies
Professionalism: Knowledge of language and administrative issues in general. Shows pride in work and in achievements; demonstrates professional competence and mastery of the subject matter; is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results.

Planning and Organising: Develops clear goals that are consistent with agreed strategies; identifies priority activities and assignments; allocates appropriate amount of time and resources for completing work; foresees risks and allows for contingencies when planning; monitors and adjusts plans and actions as necessary.

Teamwork: Works collaboratively with colleagues to achieve organizational goals; places team agenda before personal agenda; shares credit for team accomplishments and accepts joint responsibility for team shortcomings.

Communication: Good communication skills; ability to produce reports on matters relating to documentation processing. Demonstrates openness in sharing information and keeping people informed.

Education
Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in administration, management, or languages from a university or institution of equivalent status. 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 relevant professional or language-related fields, of which three should be within the United Nations or a specialized agency.

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. Excellent knowledge of at least one other official language required.

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.

Assessment Method
Competency-based interviews

Special Notice
Staff members are subjected 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.

No Fee

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