Senior Programme Officer

Organizational Context

The United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) in New York aims to build bridges between societies, promote dialogue, and foster mutual respect. Operating across five pillars—Education, Youth, Migration, Media, and Women as peace makers—UNAOC works to diminish hostility and promote harmony globally. This Senior Programme Officer role reports directly to the Director of the UNAOC Secretariat.

Job Purpose

The Senior Programme Officer is responsible for leading the development, implementation, and evaluation of UNAOC's awareness-raising and advocacy initiatives. This includes advancing intercultural and interreligious dialogue, promoting mutual respect, tolerance, and global solidarity, and countering racism and xenophobia. The role involves gender mainstreaming, conducting research, and evaluating programme effectiveness. The officer will propose policy directives, analyze trends, and provide substantive support for meetings and events. Key contributions include managing outreach activities, leading field missions, developing programme proposals, fostering strategic partnerships, and ensuring data-driven planning and reporting to meet donor expectations and deliver programme outcomes.

Responsibilities

Lead the development, implementation, and evaluation of awareness-raising and advocacy initiatives aligned with UNAOC's mandate for intercultural and interreligious dialogue, mutual respect, tolerance, and global solidarity. Ensure gender mainstreaming by assessing implications for men and women in all planned actions. Conduct research and programme evaluations related to intercultural dialogue, analyzing findings and making recommendations. Propose policy development directives and action plans, reviewing trends and preparing evaluations. Undertake survey initiatives, design data collection instruments, and interpret responses. Provide senior management with written outputs, including background papers, analyses, and reports. Offer substantive support for meetings and conferences, including agenda development and document preparation. Manage outreach activities, conduct training workshops, and deliver presentations. Lead field missions and provide guidance. Develop activities related to dialogue among civilizations, including proposal preparation and donor reporting. Establish and maintain strategic partnerships with international organizations, civil society, the private sector, academia, and media. Collect and analyze data for planning, decision-making, and reporting, ensuring data accessibility. Ultimately responsible for delivering programme capabilities and outcomes, meeting donor expectations.

Work Experience

A minimum of ten years of progressively responsible experience in project or programme management, administration, or a related area is required. Seven years of experience within the UN Common System or a comparable international organization is needed. Five years of experience establishing and maintaining relations with UN entities or comparable international organizations is required. Experience in resource mobilization, donor reporting, and managing large funding grants is necessary. Experience in developing intercultural and interreligious dialogue initiatives at the international level is desirable.

Skills

Professionalism, communication, accountability, vision, judgment, and decision-making. Ability to identify strategic issues, assess regional dynamics, and understand UN mandates. Skill in drafting policy guidance, analytical briefings, and substantive reports. Competence in managing multi-stakeholder processes, events, and partnerships. Ability to analyze and interpret data for decision-making. Commitment to gender equality and mainstreaming. Effective verbal and written communication. Ability to negotiate and apply good judgment. Persistence and ability to remain calm under stress.

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