Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons vacancy search engine
View all vacancies
RSS and other feeds

Senior Industry Officer (P-4)


Principal Functions

    Under the general direction of the Head of the Industry Verification Branch and in accordance with the OPCW Core Values of Integrity, Professionalism and Respect for Diversity/Gender Equality, the Senior Industry Officer performs the following duties;

     

    1. Executes short-term planning of allocated inspections under Article VI (Activities not Prohibited) of the Convention, supervises their execution and facilitates the production of Final Inspection Reports (FIRs) by the Inspection Teams (ITs) within the provisions of the OPCW Confidentiality Regime and the timelines of the Convention by:

      1. Accessing all declarations and other documentation relevant to the inspection site using the SCN (Secure Critical Network) and/or hard-copies from the Secure Archives;
      2. Evaluating the declared information and deciding on whether the chemicals are scheduled and thresholds are appropriate for inspection;
      3. Deciding the requirement for number of inspectors for specific mission;
      4. Reviewing the Draft Warning Order prepared by the Inspectorate, negotiating any changes necessary and recommending the Draft Warning Order to Head IVB;
      5. Drafting of the Inspection Mandate on the SCN using the Mandates Workflow, arranging for translation as necessary, obtaining approval from VER Management; and submitting it for signature of the Director-General;
      6. Briefing the IT on technical, treaty-related and policy issues in relation to the inspection, emphasising special features of the plant site/facility and advising the IT in its preparation for the inspection;
      7. Populate the Mission Folder with signed Inspection Mandate, declarations, previous inspection reports and other relevant documents and send it to the IT Leader;
      8. Monitoring the on-site progress of the inspection through Situation Reports and telephone contact;
      9. Guiding and advising the IT while on-site to meet its mandate and to resolve all problematic issues during the mission. Record and share the discussions with the IT;
      10. Debriefing the IT upon its return to The Hague on technical, treaty-related and/or policy issues;
      11. Advising on issues requiring further attention, uncertainties and/or possible violations of provisions of the Convention and guiding the IT in converting the Preliminary Findings Report into the FIR within the timelines of the Convention. This guidance is a quality assurance function that normalises the conclusions of inspections against one another;
      12. Deciding on which issues, if any, are to be brought to the attention of top-management in relation to the inspection (memorandum to the Director-General);
      13. Drafting the letter to the inspected State Party on the inspection. This supporting documentation, including the memorandum to the Director-General, is the "bottom line" assessment of the inspection in terms of technical, treaty compliance and policy issues, which includes recommendations for specific actions for the Director-General's consideration;
      14. Obtaining approval from VER Management for the signed FIR and the supporting documentation according to the relevant SOP;
      15. Reviewing the Risk Assessment for Schedule 1 facilities and Schedule 2 plant sites performed by the IT;
      16. Communicating and meeting with the inspected State Party representatives to resolve issues requiring further attention (IRFA) and/or uncertainties arising from an inspection; making recommendations to management in relation to such issues;
      17. Drafting closure correspondence for inspections not closed with the FIR (through the relevant SCN workflow), after the resolution of the IRFAs and taking into account the FIR, comments received from the inspected State Party and any amendments to declarations arising from the inspection findings;
      18. Participating in Technical Visits to States Parties resulting from inspection activities;
      19. Negotiating to conclude or update Facility Agreements with the States Parties;
      20. Acting as Chief Technical Planning Officer when assigned in the case of challenge inspections at industrial facilities.

     

    1. Support other Verification Branches as required.

      1. Developing, supporting and implementing a consistent verification regime at chemical weapons production facilities (CWPF) and at chemical weapons destruction facilities (CWDF) in support to CDB when needed.

     

    1. Supports Management of the Branch, the Division and the Secretariat by:

      1. Making recommendations and advising Management on chemistry and industry-related technical issues on the basis of acquired expertise;
      2. Making recommendations and advising Management on treaty compliance and/or policy matters to facilitate the political decision-taking process;
      3. Creating and maintaining selected industry-related databases;
      4. Selecting plant sites and facilities declared under Article VI of the Convention for the medium term inspection plan and preparing and updating the schedule of inspections to be carried out at these sites;
      5. Drafting Verification 's contribution to the Verification Implementation Reports and the Annual Budget;
      6. Writing papers on industry-related and Convention-related subjects for briefing of or use by Management;
      7. Advising and making recommendations to representatives of States Parties, Industry Associations, individual industrial companies and/or groups, NGOs and other outside organisations on industry-related and Convention-related subjects;
      8. Developing SOPs, guidelines and other working procedures related to the activities of the Branch and Division;
      9. Making recommendations on the implementation of the OPCW Confidentiality Regime on the basis of practical experience in working in the Security Critical Area;
      10. Acting as Branch Head when designated to do so;
      11. Serving on various Secretariat Committees and/or Councils;
      12. Providing background information for consideration by the various Secretariat Management Committees and carrying out decisions taken by these Committees.

     

    1. Supports the work of the Policy Making Organs (PMOs) of the OPCW by:

      1. Advising and assisting the designated Facilitators of the Industry Cluster Consultations of the Executive Council on issues within their purview;
      2. Attending Industry Cluster Consultations as Secretariat expert and acting as Secretary at such meetings;
      3. Drafting Secretariat Notes, Non-Papers, Draft Decisions etc. relating to Article IV, V and VI issues for submission to the Executive Council;
      4. Discussing issues relating to the work of the PMOs with Delegations and providing advice to the delegates;
      5. Attending consultations on issues relating to the activities of the Scientific Advisory Board and drafting documents on these issues.

     

    1. Represents the Secretariat in contacts with outside organisations and provides inputs to Secretariat training programs by:

      1. Initiating and/or maintaining contact at working level with other designated organisations and groups;
      2. Attending meetings, conferences, seminars etc. of other designated international organisations, actively participating by making appropriate presentations and reporting back on the proceedings of and issues arising from these events;
      3. Developing training materials for industry inspector training, National Authority training, Regional and National Seminars, etc. and making presentations/teaching at such events;
      4. Identifying and obtaining approval for attendance at outside training events and participating in such events.

     

    1. International Duty Travel to be undertaken as per the requirement of the assignment.
    1. Performs other duties as required.

    Knowledge and Experience

    Education

    Essential

    An advanced university degree in the fields of chemical engineering and/or organic chemistry, or a closely related field, from an accredited college or university. Qualifications in both chemical engineering and organic chemistry would be an asset. A relevant first level university degree in combination with qualifying experience (minimum nine years) may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree. Equivalent or specialized training in combination with at least thirteen years of relevant professional experience may be accepted in lieu of a university degree.


    Desirable

    An additional degree in business or management (MBA) would be an asset.


    Experience

    Essential

    A minimum of 7 years relevant experience (preferably hands-on, practical in-plant experience) with operations in the chemical industry with advanced degree, 9 years relevant experience with first level degree, 13 years relevant experience with equivalent or specialized training. The experience should preferably involve:

    1. Industrial chemistry support for product development or chemical production; or
    2. conduct of plant operations; or
    3. chemical process design/development/optimisation; or
    4. process safety activities, including quantitative risk assessment, hazard and operability studies, auditing, etc.; or
    5. R&D chemical development or R&D chemical process design in agrochemicals or pharmaceuticals; or
    6. plant design or scale-up.
    7. Experience in multiple types of chemical operations
    8. Experience with multiple chemical technologies.
    9. Expertise in the use of MS Office packages (databases, spreadsheet, and word processing).
    10. Experience working in a toxic environment while wearing personal protective equipment (PPE).

Desirable

International experience; experience receiving or otherwise supporting Article VI inspections under the CWC.



Skills and Abilities (key competencies):

  1. Excellent communication skills (verbal and written) including the ability to prepare reports.
  2. Strong analytical and conceptual skills.
  3. Tact, discretion, and the ability to work harmoniously in a multi-cultural environment.
  4. Demonstrable ability to work with the confines of a strict confidentiality regime.

Language Requirements

Fluency in English is essential and a good working knowledge of one of the other official languages (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, and Spanish) is desirable.


Back to the list of jobs