[Hiring] NY-Washington Liaison Officer @CANADEM

Role Description

The NY-Washington Liaison Officer reports to the Chief of Staff and is based in New York, USA. The Liaison Officer will develop their own work plan for approval by the Chief of Staff.

• Serve as the principal New York-based liaison capacity for the GSF, maintaining regular contact with the Standing Group of Partners, Permanent Missions, United Nations Secretariat entities, relevant UN agencies, funds and programmes, and other partners engaged on Haiti.
• Maintain structured liaison with Washington, D.C.-based stakeholders, including relevant United States Government counterparts, the OAS, policy institutions, donors and other partners, as directed by the Special Representative.
• Support the Special Representative's engagement with the Standing Group of Partners, including preparation of briefs, agendas, talking points, records of discussion, follow-up matrices and decision trackers.
• Monitor and analyze Security Council developments, Member State positions, donor discussions, policy debates and other New York/Washington processes relevant to the GSF mandate and provide timely advice to GSF leadership.
• Coordinate the preparation of strategic briefing materials, background notes, talking points, correspondence, readouts and analytical updates for meetings involving the Special Representative, senior GSF leadership, SGP members, Member States, UN counterparts and other partners.
• Facilitate timely communication between Haiti-based GSF leadership and New York/Washington stakeholders on mandate implementation, operational support requirements, resource mobilization, force generation, human rights due diligence, protection issues and other priority matters.
• Support the preparation of GSF inputs for regular reporting to the Standing Group of Partners, the Security Council and other stakeholders, ensuring consistency with the GSF mission strategy, approved messaging and reporting timelines.
• Track commitments, requests for information, decisions and follow-up actions emerging from New York and Washington engagements and ensure that responsible GSF offices are informed of deadlines and deliverables.
• Support the planning and conduct of high-level visits by the Special Representative and GSF senior leadership to New York and Washington, including meeting programmes, briefing books, stakeholder mapping, protocol coordination and post-visit follow-up.
• Develop and maintain stakeholder maps, contact lists, engagement calendars and political/donor outreach trackers for New York and Washington interlocutors.
• Identify opportunities to strengthen political support, donor engagement, strategic partnerships and public understanding of the GSF mandate, in consultation with the Office of the Special Representative and relevant partners.
• Facilitate coordination with UNSOH, BINUH, OAS and other partners to ensure coherent messaging and alignment of support related to the GSF mandate, operational support, technical assistance and partner engagement.
• Contribute to strategic planning processes by providing analysis of New York/Washington political dynamics, partner priorities, resourcing discussions and emerging risks or opportunities affecting mission implementation.
• Ensure that sensitive information received through liaison channels is handled in accordance with applicable confidentiality, information management and security requirements.
• Produce handover notes and maintain well-organized records to ensure continuity and institutional knowledge for incoming or replacement Liaison Officers.
• The Liaison Officer may be requested by the Chief of Staff to perform other duties, as required.

Qualifications

• A minimum of seven (7) years of progressively responsible experience within an international organisation or in the private sector at the national or international level in the field of political science, international relations, law, disarmament, security, development management, conflict resolution is required.
• Experience providing political analysis, strategic advice, reporting, liaison support, and coordination with Member States, UN entities, international organizations, or government counterparts is required.
• Experience supporting senior officials in intergovernmental, diplomatic or multilateral settings is required.
• Experience preparing strategic briefs, talking points, background notes is required.
• Experience working in a conflict or post-conflict field mission is desirable.
• Experience working with or supporting peace operations, special political missions, multinational security arrangements, or Haiti-related political/security files is desirable.
• Experience liaising with Permanent Missions, host governments, donors, or Washington-based institutions is also desirable.
• An advanced university degree (Master's degree or equivalent) in political science, international relations, law, public administration, security studies, conflict studies, social sciences, development studies, management or a related field is required.
• A first-level university degree in combination with two (2) additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Requirements

• Fluency in English (both oral and written) is required.
• Fluency in French is desirable.

Benefits

• This position is home-based in New York.
• The employer does not intend to rent or provide dedicated office space for this role.

Additional Notes

• CANADEM and its partners have a no-tolerance policy for inaction to prevent, respond to and follow up on alleged cases of Sexual Exploitation, Abuse, and Harassment (SEAH).
• For this reason, we adhere to all policies, procedures and training of the United Nations on The Prevention of Sexual Exploitation, Abuse, and Harassment (PSEAH).
• CANADEM mandates all deployees successfully complete the PSEA online course. This e-learning course is composed of a set of lessons designed to raise awareness about SEAH, become familiar with a range of measures to combat SEAH, understand the impact on victims and the consequences for UN Personnel who commit Sexual Exploitation, Abuse, and Harassment.