In response to the request of the Mexican Government, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights (UNOHCHR) decided to support a project focusing on the search of missing persons in Mexico, which is a major national priority. UNFPA is the lead agent in this project and has contracted the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) for the contracting of international personnel to be involved in the project. Under its agreement with UNFPA, UNOHCHR will be co-responsible for the substantive coordination of this group of international experts.

The international experts contracted by UNOPS will be part of the Coordinating Group for the Implementation of the Special Mechanism for Forensic Identification (Mecanismo Extraordinario de Identificación Forense | MEIF).

Data show that disappearances are profoundly linked with gender based violence, and violence directed at children, adolescents and youth. It also tends to affect at the more vulnerable people, such as indigenous people and migrants, as well as human rights activists, environmentalists and those fighting organised crime in a disproportionate manner.

In a world where fundamental human rights are at risk, we need people who embody these international norms and standards, and who will defend them with full conviction. For this project we are seeking candidates that transform, inspire and deliver high impact and sustained results; people who are transparent and exceptional in how they manage the resources entrusted to them.

About the MEIF

The Extraordinary Forensic Identification Mechanism (MEIF), officially created by the National Persons Searching System in December 2019, has as mandate the identification, notification and dignified restitution of more than 37,000 bodies with pending identification in Mexico. The MEIF will initially be integrated by a Coordinating Group composed of:

• 4 Forensic identification specialists;
• 1 Specialist in legal and judicial matters in forced disappearance;
• 1 Specialist in international technical cooperation and
• 1 Specialist in psychosocial approaches and family support.

The Coordinating group will have the following main functions:

• Elaborate the internal working guidelines of the MEIF, which will include its action procedures, including monitoring and evaluation mechanisms;
• Develop the MEIF work plan;
• Engage with relatives of the victims, their representatives, victims' groups, experts, activists, legislators and representatives of institutions, civil society organizations and the national and international public organisms necessary for the development, transmission and fulfillment of the mandate and functions of the MEIF;
• Ensure that the MEIF periodically has a strategic planning and evaluation exercise, with the participation of family members;
• Promote the MEIF's involvement against the national and international context with different political and governmental actors, international agencies, relatives of missing persons, their representatives, and civil society organisations, and
• Identify and periodically report on the main challenges of forensic identification in Mexico, based on the interventions and the information provided by family members and collectives.

About the position:

The International Technical Cooperation Specialist will be one of the seven members of the MEIF Coordinating Group, and as such contributes to the planning, organization and supervision of all MEIF activities; and is in charge of promoting technical and financial cooperation for the mechanism.

Purpose of the post:

The person selected for the position will actively contribute in the identification of opportunities, generating proposals and managing the technical and financial cooperation necessary to strengthen the MEIF. In the same way, she/he will contribute to the identification of good international practices, as well as the systematization of international recommendations, including those of human rights mechanisms and experts in the field, among other responsibilities

Reporting lines:

The person selected will operate under the general coordination of the UNFPA and UNOHCHR Representatives in Mexico and reports directly, to the UNOHCHR Human Rights Officer in Mexico and to the UNFPA National Officer in charge of the project.

Additionally, as part of the Coordinating Group and within the framework of the MEIF Creation Agreement, she/he will prepare the reports for consideration of the National System for the Search of Missing Persons, in accordance with the mechanisms established within the MEIF.

Responsibilities:

• Contribute and actively participate in the planning, organization and supervision processes of MEIF activities, in coordination with the members of the Coordinating Group.
• Lead the planning processes and promote the MEIF´s financial and technical international cooperation agenda, as appropriate in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Relations.
• Identify opportunities, as well as develop and present, to the members of the Coordinating Group, proposals for collaboration and entailment with international entities for technical, scientific and financial cooperation in forensic identification, as appropriate for their formalization in coordination with the Secretary of Foreign Affairs.
• Present to the other members of the MEIF projects and proposed international cooperation agreements.
• Propose to the MEIF the celebration of international cooperation agreements and conventions that are necessary for the fulfillment of its mandate, as appropriate through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
• Follow up on the international agreements and instruments signed for the fulfillment of the MEIF mandate.
• Contribute to the management of the technical and financial support obtained to accompany the field work by experts who participate in the activities of the MEIF, as derived from the signed international agreements and conventions.
• Coordinate the integration and presentation of reports by the MEIF to the competent authorities and families on the international technical cooperation assistance carried out to comply with the applicable national and international norms and regulations, and the procedures stipulated in the MEIF mandate.
• Identify and promote the incorporation of and attention to research findings, international recommendations, and good practices in forensic matters and enforced disappearance, in the actions of the MEIF.

Qualifications and Experience:

• Bachelor's degree or its equivalent.
• Masters, Doctorate, Specialty or Postgraduate studies in International Cooperation, International Affairs, Social Sciences, Political Sciences, Forensic Sciences, or related areas.
• Demonstrable and recognizable experience at national and/or international level of at least 7 years in management, planning, and technical and administrative monitoring of international cooperation projects, preferably in topics related to forensic sciences, law enforcement and human rights, or at least 10 years of experience in the case of not having completed postgraduate studies.
• Management and negotiation capacity in international and multicultural environments.
• Knowledge of the policies, norms and regulations regarding international cooperation.
• Knowledge of the context and regulatory framework regarding missing persons in Mexico is considered desirable.
• Knowledge of transparency and anti-corruption strategies, international cooperation in matters of security and justice, as well as the context and practices of organized crime in Mexico will be valued.
• Respect and dignified treatment of victims.
• Management skills: strategic vision, teamwork, personnel and budget management, leadership, assertive communication and negotiation skills.
• Capacity for inter-institutional coordination and working synergies with victims, collectives of family members of disappeared persons, civil society organizations, legal representatives, authorities at different levels of government and international organizations.
• Ability to coordinate, dialogue and taking decisions under pressure in complex scenarios.
• Professional ethics.
  

Languages:

Fluency in Spanish and English, both verbal and written.

More information (in Spanish):

UNFPA Mexico | Especialista en Cooperación Técnica Internacional (MEIF)