Team Leader (Environmental Sampling) (P5)

Organizational Setting

The Department of Safeguards is the organizational hub for the implementation of IAEA safeguards. The IAEA implements nuclear verification activities for some 180 States in accordance with their safeguards agreements. The safeguards activities are undertaken within a dynamic and technically challenging environment including advanced nuclear fuel cycle facilities and complemented by the political diversity of the countries.

The Department of Safeguards consists of six Divisions\: three Operations Divisions\: A, B and C, for the implementation of verification activities around the world; three Technical Divisions\: Division of Concepts and Planning, Division of Information Management, and Division of Technical and Scientific Services; as well as two Offices\: the Office of Safeguards Analytical Services and the Office of Information and Communication Services.

The main objective of the Department is to maintain and further develop an effective and efficient verification system in order to draw independent, impartial and timely safeguards conclusions, thus providing credible assurances to the international community that States are in compliance with their safeguards obligations. The departmental operating environment is interactive, participative and dynamic with continuous inputs received from the Board of Governors, the General Conference, policy- and decision-makers, as well as counterparts in Member States and in the international development community.

The Division of Information Management comprises four Sections and provides the Department of Safeguards with data processing services, secure information distribution, information analysis and knowledge generation necessary to draw independent, impartial and soundly based safeguards conclusions.

Main Purpose

Reporting to the Section Head, the Team Leader (Environment Sampling) manages and leads a team of safeguards data analysts and technicians in terms of planning, supervision and implementation of activities in the most efficient manner to meet Divisional and Departmental strategic objectives. The Team Leader (Environmental Sampling) contributes to the IAEA's overall objectives by maintaining and further developing an effective and efficient verification system through the implementation and further expansion of the environmental sampling programme for safeguards.

Role

The Team Leader (Environment Sampling) is\: 1) a manager and team leader of safeguards data analysts and technicians utilizing innovative and effective management practices to achieve objectives; 2) a specialist, providing comprehensive advice on more efficient and effective methods of implementation of environmental sampling; 3) an expert analyst, leading the regular review of environmental sampling and material characterization evaluations and ensuring that information is efficiently processed and disseminated within the Department; 4) an adviser to other team leaders, the Section Head, the Divisional Director and other Departmental counterparts on environmental sampling collection, analysis and evaluation; and 5) a mentor providing guidance, training, and direction to team members on the best methods for sound and timely interpretation and evaluation of analytical results from environmental samples.

Functions / Key Results Expected

• Manage the evaluation of NWAL analytical results for nuclear forensic significance of material present on environmental samples collected by safeguards inspectors and the timely preparation of evaluation reports for operations divisions.
• Guide the design of improvements to optimize verification schemes based on environmental sampling collection strategies, procedures and sample processing.
• Lead the planning of environmental sample collections under the Additional Protocol and procedures related to illicit trafficking to optimize their value and timeliness.
• Ensure the timely production of high quality environmental sampling reports and the liaison with the Safeguards Office of Analytical Services (SGAS).
• Coordinate the team’s contributions to the yearly Safeguards Implementation Report (SIR) and the State Evaluation Reports.
• Serve as project manager for Member State Support Programme tasks to investigate, develop, and/or improve analytical methods, sampling procedures or strategies, QA/QC measures, and evaluation approaches.
• Perform safeguards inspections, carry out complementary access and undertake other in-field verification activities, as required, thereby fostering understanding of both the needs and constraints of inspectors, as well as promoting best practices for quality environmental sample collections.
• Participate as a lecturer in conferences and training courses.
• Plan and manage the programmatic direction and the development of the team and ensure that an appropriate balance of skills and resources is maintained through training, mentoring and recruitment.

Competencies and Expertise

Core Competencies

Functional Competencies

Required Expertise

Qualifications, Experience and Language skills

• Advanced university degree in chemistry, physics, nuclear engineering or a related discipline.
• Minimum of 10 years of experience in nuclear fuel cycle analysis and the evaluation of environmental and nuclear material samples, utilizing both destructive and non-destructive analytical techniques, with a minimum of five years of supervisory and managerial experience of implementation activities and technical projects. 
• In-depth experience in evaluating nuclear data sets and modelling of nuclear processes related to the nuclear fuel cycle.
• Experience in providing sampling advice to prepare inspection activities such as Design Information Verification (DIV) and complementary access (CA).
• Experience in planning environmental sampling campaigns an asset.
• Excellent oral and written command of English. Knowledge of other official IAEA languages (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish) is an asset.

Remuneration

The IAEA offers an attractive remuneration package including a tax-free annual net base salary starting at US $87108 (subject to mandatory deductions for pension contributions and health insurance), a variable post adjustment which currently amounts to US $ 35888, dependency benefits, rental subsidy, education grant, relocation and repatriation expenses; 6 weeks' annual vacation, home leave, pension plan and health insurance

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Applications from qualified women and candidates from developing countries are encouraged

Applicants should be aware that IAEA staff members are international civil servants and may not accept instructions from any other authority. The IAEA is committed to applying the highest ethical standards in carrying out its mandate. As part of the United Nations common system, the IAEA subscribes to the following core ethical standards (or values)\: Integrity, Professionalism and Respect for diversity. Staff members may be assigned to any location. The IAEA retains the discretion not to make any appointment to this vacancy, to make an appointment at a lower grade or with a different contract type, or to make an appointment with a modified job description or for shorter duration than indicated above. Testing may be part of the recruitment process
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