2015 Lce English-language Editor, P-2/P-3

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Posting Title:

2015 LCE ENGLISH-LANGUAGE EDITOR, P-2/P-3, P3

Job Code Title:

EDITOR, ENGLISH

Department/ Office

Department for General Assembly and Conference Management

Duty Station

VIENNA; NAIROBI; NEW YORK; GENEVA

Posting Period

22 February 2015-14 April 2015

Job Opening number

15-LAN-DGACM-40071-L-MULTIPLE D/S (L)

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

Special Notice

The purpose of the present job opening is to invite applications from qualified external and internal candidates who wish to take the competitive examination for English-language editors, to be held in three parts: (1) a written test conducted online and remotely, to be taken at the time of the candidate's choosing between midnight on 20 April and midnight on 22 April 2015, New York time; (2) written tests held at designated testing sites in New York, Geneva and at other locations determined by the number and location of qualified applicants and the availability of technical and logistical support, on 7 July 2015; and (3) interviews (see "Assessment Method" below). Each stage is eliminatory: only those successful in part 1 will be invited to sit part 2; only those successful in part 2 will be interviewed (part 3); and only those successful in part 3 will be placed on the roster for recruitment.

Candidates successful in parts 1, 2 and 3 will be placed on a roster from which current and future vacancies for English-language editors will be filled, subject to the requirements of the recruiting department or office, including expertise and language combination.

Rostered candidates may be selected to fill vacancies in the language services of United Nations offices in New York, Geneva, Vienna, Nairobi, Addis Ababa, Bangkok and Beirut. After recruitment or placement, rostered candidates are expected to serve for at least five years in language posts, provided that they complete successfully their two-year probationary or trial period, as appropriate, before being eligible to be assigned to or selected for a post other than a language post. During that period, they may be reassigned to language posts at other duty stations and may be called upon to work outside normal working hours, including weekends and holidays, according to the needs of the Organization.

Applications must be submitted online through the United Nations Secretariat online recruitment system, Inspira, using the "Apply Now" link. APPLICANTS ARE REQUIRED TO PROVIDE AS A COVER NOTE A WRITTEN EXPLANATION OF 150 TO 250 WORDS, IN ENGLISH, OF WHY THEY WISH TO WORK AS AN ENGLISH-LANGUAGE EDITOR AT THE UNITED NATIONS.

All applications will be reviewed by the Board of Examiners. In instances where a large number of applications are received, the Board reserves the right to admit to the examination only the most qualified applicants, based on a review of qualifications over and above the minimum criteria. All applicants will be notified in writing of the Board's decision with respect to their application. The Board's decisions are final.

Candidates who are successful in part 2 of the examination will be invited to take the oral component, a competency-based interview (see https://careers.un.org/lbw/home.aspx?viewtype=AYI), to assess whether they possess the competencies required for the position. The interview is an integral part of the examination. Candidates invited for an interview should therefore not assume that they will be automatically placed on a roster or offered an appointment.

Rostered candidates who are offered an appointment are strongly encouraged to accept it, as declining two offers will result in a change in the candidate's roster status from "active" to "inactive".

Candidates selected from the roster to fill vacancies are normally offered an initial two-year fixed-term appointment at the P-2 level. Upon the satisfactory completion of this probationary period, the appointment may be converted to a continuing appointment and the staff member may be promoted to the P-3 level. The fixed-term appointment of English-language editors whose performance proves unsatisfactory will not be extended. Fully qualified editors with several years of internationally recognized professional language experience and demonstrated ability to perform high-quality work may be recruited at the P-3 level. Information on United Nations salary and entitlements may be found at: www.un.org/Depts/OHRM/salaries_allowances/index.html.

Incomplete or late applications will not be considered. No extensions of the application deadline (the date and time - local time at United Nations Headquarters, New York - specified in Inspira will be granted.

SPECIAL NOTICE FOR INTERNAL CANDIDATES

The purpose of the present job opening is to invite applications from staff members of the United Nations Secretariat at the P-3 level and below who meet the eligibility requirements to take the competitive examination for English-language editors in 2015, in accordance with the provisions of ST/AI/1998/7 and Amend.1 and ST/AI/2000/1, as amended by ST/AI/2003/1, as well as from external candidates.

The assignment of staff members of the United Nations Secretariat who are successful in the examination and are selected to fill vacancies will be subject to the following conditions:

1. Staff members of the United Nations Secretariat selected to fill vacancies will be assigned as English-language editors for a trial period of two years. Staff members of the United Nations Secretariat below the P-2 level or in the General Service category will receive a special post allowance to the P-2 level. Staff members of the United Nations Secretariat at the P-2 and P-3 levels will be assigned at their respective levels.

2. Staff members of the United Nations Secretariat with a special post allowance to the P-2 level and those already at the P-2 level who successfully complete the trial period and are recommended by the Department for General Assembly and Conference Management at Headquarters or the respective office away from Headquarters and the Office of Human Resources Management may be promoted to the P-3 level. Staff members of the United Nations Secretariat already at the P-3 level who successfully complete the trial period will be confirmed in their functions at the P-3 level. After two years of satisfactory service on a fixed-term appointment, the candidate will be considered for a continuing appointment. The candidate will have to demonstrate within that time that he or she possesses the requisite qualifications to serve as a career staff member of the United Nations in order to receive such an appointment. Staff members who do not successfully complete the trial period will be reassigned to posts at their previous levels, and the special post allowance, if any, will be discontinued.

Staff members of subsidiary organs of the United Nations and staff members whose service is limited to a particular organ, fund or programme of the United Nations or to special missions are considered external candidates for the purpose of this examination. Such candidates, if successful in the examination, will be offered a new appointment with the United Nations, subject to normal United Nations recruitment procedures and standards.

On the basis of the overall results of the examination, the Board of Examiners will recommend to the Assistant Secretary-General for Human Resources Management the names of candidates who qualify for inclusion in the roster. All examinees will be informed in writing of the Board's final recommendation in respect of their candidature. The Board's recommendations are not subject to appeal. The Board does not release individual scores or results.

Staff members selected to fill vacancies will be recruited as English-language editors in accordance with the staff rules in force at the time of selection.

Organizational Setting and Reporting

Editing positions may be located at United Nations Headquarters in the Department for General Assembly and Conference Management, in the United Nations Offices at Geneva, Vienna and Nairobi and in the Economic Commission for Europe in Geneva, the Economic Commission for Africa in Addis Ababa, the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia in Beirut and the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific in Bangkok. These positions are under the general supervision of the Chief of the Editing Section at Headquarters or the respective Chief of Section/Unit at duty stations away from Headquarters. Further details can be found at the language careers portal (www.unlanguage.org).

Responsibilities

Editors may be responsible for the following duties (these descriptions are generic and may not apply to all editors):

Ensures that material adheres to established editorial standards and conforms to United Nations policy and practices.

Ensures that the phraseology, the terminology and, where appropriate, the translation are correct and that the style is appropriate to the audience.

Edits for continuity, logic, completeness, relevance of material, readability, clarity of expression and consistency, as well as spelling, punctuation and grammar.

Verifies the accuracy of facts, figures and references through research and consultation.

Identifies unclear or ambiguous statements and proposes amendments for consideration by the author, the supervising editor or the relevant translation service.

Acts as head of a team of multilingual editors, organizing its work, determining and enforcing deadlines and providing guidance to its members.

Produces the master copy of a text to be followed by a multilingual team of editors.

Performs other related duties as required.

Competencies

Candidates who are successful in parts 1 and 2 of the examination will be assessed for the following competencies at the oral examination (interview) stage:

Professionalism: Knowledge of a broad range of the subjects dealt with by the United Nations, including political, social, legal, economic, financial, administrative, scientific and technical subjects; pride in work and in achievements; professional competence; diligence and efficiency in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results; motivated by professional rather than personal concerns; persistence in the face of difficult problems or challenges; remains calm under stress; and takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work.

Client Orientation: Considers all those to whom services are provided to be "clients" and seeks to see things from the client's point of view; establishes and maintains productive partnerships with clients by earning their trust and respect; identifies clients' needs and matches them to appropriate solutions; monitors ongoing developments inside and outside the clients' environment in order to keep himself/herself informed and to anticipate problems; keeps clients informed of progress or setbacks in projects; meets timeline for delivery of products or services to clients.

Accountability: Takes ownership of all responsibilities and honours commitments; delivers outputs for which he/she has responsibility within prescribed time, cost and quality standards; operates in compliance with organizational regulations and rules; supports subordinates; provides oversight and takes responsibility for delegated assignments; takes personal responsibility for his/her own shortcomings and for those of the work unit, where applicable.

Education

Minimum of a three-year first-level degree or equivalent qualification from a university or institution of equivalent status in which English is the language of instruction.

The requirement for a university degree or equivalent from a university or institution of equivalent status may be waived for staff members of the United Nations Secretariat who, in the judgement of the Board of Examiners, have adequate post-secondary educational qualifications from a university or institution of equivalent status and adequate secondary educational qualifications from an establishment at which the principal language of instruction is English, in addition to five years of continuous service with the United Nations Secretariat by 31 December 1989.

Work Experience

Experience in on-screen editing and online research is required.

Languages

Candidates must have English as their main language (understood to be the language in which the candidate is best able to work).

Candidates must also have excellent knowledge of at least two of the other official languages of the United Nations (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish). Applicants' claims to knowledge of official languages must be supported by relevant documentation attached to their application. Further evidence of degrees or diplomas, knowledge of languages and/or relevant experience may be required prior to convocation to sit the examination.

Assessment Method

Applications, which must include a written explanation of 150 to 250 words, in English, of why the candidate wishes to work as an English-language editor at the United Nations, will be assessed and screened on the basis of the eligibility criteria listed above, and only those applicants deemed to be qualified will be invited to take the examination.

In part 1 of the examination—the preliminary assessment--to be administered remotely, the candidate will edit a text in English. Candidates must have access to a computer and the Internet. They will be able to take the test at the time of their choosing between midnight on 20 April, 2015 and midnight on 22 April 2015, New York time. Details will be sent to those who qualify to take the examination.

Only those candidates who are successful in part 1 will be invited to take part 2. Part 2 of the examination--the on-site computer-based test--will be held at different locations on 7 July 2015 and will consist of four papers:

(a) Editing of a general text in English (1 hour and 30 minutes). This paper is eliminatory; only candidates who are successful in this paper will have their other papers marked;

(b) Editing of a technical text in English (1 hour and 30 minutes);

(c) Summary in English of an English text (1 hour);

(d) A revision of a translation into English from any two of the following languages: Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish, chosen by the candidate (1 hour and 30 minutes).

Sample papers and details of any changes to the format of the test will be posted on the LCE section of the United Nations careers portal (https://careers.un.org/lbw/home.aspx?viewtype=LE) in due course. Candidates are advised to check it regularly.

Part 3 of the examination will be a competency-based interview. Only those candidates who are successful in part 2 of the examination will be invited to part 3, which will consist of questions from a panel of interviewers designed to gauge the interviewee's ability to demonstrate the competencies defined for the job.

United Nations Considerations

Job openings posted on the Careers Portal are taken off at midnight (New York time) on the deadline date.

Applications are automatically pre-screened according to the published evaluation criteria of the job opening on the basis of the information provided by applicants. Applications cannot be amended following submission and incomplete applications shall not be considered. The selected candidate will be subject to a reference checking process to verify the information provided in the application.

Applicants are urged to follow carefully all instructions available in the online recruitment platform, inspira. For more detailed guidance, applicants may refer to the At-a-Glance on "The Application Process" and the Instructional Manual for the Applicants, which can be accessed by clicking on "Manuals" on the upper right side of the browser on Inspira.

The United Nations shall place 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. (Charter of the United Nations - Chapter 3, article 8). The United Nations Secretariat is a non-smoking environment.

Candidates will be required to meet the requirements of Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter as well as the requirements of the position. The United Nations is committed to the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity for all its human resources, including but not limited to respect for international human rights and humanitarian law. Candidates may be subject to screening against these standards, including but not limited to whether they have committed, or are alleged to have committed criminal offences and/or violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law.

No Fee

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.

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