Under the overall authority of the Assistant Director-General for Culture (ADG/CLT), the general supervision of the Chief of the Living Heritage Entity and the direct supervision of the Head of the Capacity Building and Heritage Policy Unit, the incumbent will contribute to the development, management and evaluation of activities and projects related to intangible cultural heritage, in the framework of the implementation of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (hereafter ‘the Convention). The Associate Project Officer will in particular strengthen the Convention’s global capacity-building programme and support thematic and intersectoral work to facilitate the integration of intangible cultural heritage in development plans, policies and programmes of importance to the Entity and as a contribution to attaining the 2030 Agenda with its international sustainable development goals (SDGs).
In particular, the incumbent will:
Assist with all substantive and organizational tasks required for the coordination, development and reorientation of the global capacity-building strategy to translate the principles of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage into policies and programmes at country level. This involves coordinating the programme’s global facilitators network by developing its activities and communication at global level, participating in the process of elaborating, testing and disseminating conceptual and pedagogical (online) materials, methods and tools, and supporting the smooth running of the programme’s Learning Management System by administrating user rights, facilitating, monitoring and tracking system developments, and liaising with the users, the knowledge manager in the Entity and the platform company.
Contribute to the implementation of the capacity-building programme by assisting with carrying out training and support activities for experts, officials and young people in the field of living heritage; assuming backstopping with field offices, category 2 centres and universities, engaged in planning, implementing, following-up and evaluating capacity-building activities, and assisting with the monitoring and reporting by maintaining up-to-date information on the implementation progress, utilizing the Entity’s data base and monitoring tools.
Assist with interdisciplinary and intersectoral activities aimed at building and strengthening collaboration and exchanges with relevant partners to integrate the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage into their programmes, by identifying the partners, assisting with organizing consultation and information exchange, and providing input to joint projects, as appropriate.
As regional officer in the Living Heritage Entity for a set of countries and alternate for another set of countries assist with programme implementation by maintaining frequent contact with field offices, Permanent Delegations, national counterparts and colleagues to promote effective communication for the successful implementation of projects and activities; gathering and maintaining accurate and up-to-date information concerning the safeguarding activities in those countries; preparing briefings, contributions, reports, recommendations etc. concerning the countries of the region; responding to deadlines and requests in a timely and effective manner; and providing support to the statutory meetings as required.
Required Qualifications:
Education:
Advanced university degree (Masters or equivalent) in a field of culture, intangible cultural heritage or a related field.
Work Experience:
Minimum of two (2) years of relevant professional experience in the field of culture, safeguarding intangible cultural heritage, or a related discipline, of which preferably one (1) year acquired at international.
Skills:
Ability to elaborate and manage programmes/projects in the field of living heritage;
Ability to collect, synthesise and analyse information from various sources;
Strong oral and written communication skills;
Excellent coordination and interpersonal skills;
Ability to manage a heavy workload and meet tight deadlines, paying close attention to detail and quality of work;
Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships within a multi-cultural environment and to work effectively in a team environment;
Good IT skills, including knowledge of MS software (Word, Excel etc.).
Languages:
Excellent knowledge of either English or French and good knowledge of the other working language.
