Response Officer(P3)new
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) · UN agency
- IAEA Headquarters, Austria
- Grade P3
Closes in 17 days — 26 Jul 2026
This selection exercise may be used to generate a roster of pre-approved candidates to address future staffing needs for similar functions in any of the Departments and Offices of the Organization.
IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING APPLICATION DEADLINE: Please note that the closing date for submission of applications is indicated in local time as per the time zone of the applicant's location.
Organizational Setting
The Department of Nuclear Safety and Security (NS) formulates and implements the IAEA's nuclear safety and security programme, which encompasses the IAEA's activities to protect people and the environment from radiation exposure, and responds to the needs of its Member States related to nuclear safety and nuclear security.The Incident and Emergency Centre (IEC) is part of the Department of Nuclear Safety and Security and reports to the Deputy Director General, Head of the Department. The IEC serves as the IAEA's focal point for preparedness and response to nuclear and radiological incidents and emergencies regardless of their cause, and for strengthening Member States' preparedness for response.
Main Purpose
The Response Officer develops or supports the development of new arrangements in the operational area, and its alternate location, of the Incident and Emergency Centre, maintains them and supports the development of associated training material. He/she prepares, supports the conduct and evaluates internal exercises as well as exercises with Member States' contact points designated for emergency communication. The Response Officer manages the administration of the on-call system of the IAEA's Incident and Emergency System. The Response Officer manages the maintenance and further enhancement of the communication and information technology and management tools of the IAEA's incident and emergency system. Additionally, he/she participates in the Incident and Emergency System as a responder.
Role
The Response Officer is: (1) an analyst reviewing response arrangements and proposing solutions for problems identified in feedback from actual responses, trainings and exercises; (2) a technical expert for the development and maintenance of custom software solutions used in the IAEA's Incident and Emergency System for emergency preparedness and response; (3) a project manager for maintaining the business continuity arrangements of the IEC’s operational area.
Functions / Key Results Expected
- Enhance arrangements on internal and external information management of the incident and emergency system.
- Develop functional requirements for software solutions, plan their implementation and support the development of instructions on how to use these applications during emergency responses.
- Develop emergency exercise scenarios, including the master events list for the scenario and the necessary emergency data and exercise injects, and contribute to the evaluation of exercises.
- Maintain and enhance the Business Continuity Arrangements for the Incident and Emergency System.
- Increase the efficiency of the processes for the administration of the on-call system.
Competencies and Expertise
Core Competencies (Competency Framework)
| Name | Definition |
|---|---|
| Communication | Communicates orally and in writing in a clear, concise and impartial manner. Takes time to listen to and understand the perspectives of others and proposes solutions. |
| Achieving Results | Takes initiative in defining realistic outputs and clarifying roles, responsibilities and expected results in the context of the Department/Division’s programme. Evaluates his/her results realistically, drawing conclusions from lessons learned. |
| Teamwork | Actively contributes to achieving team results. Supports team decisions. |
| Planning and Organizing | Plans and organizes his/her own work in support of achieving the team or Section’s priorities. Takes into account potential changes and proposes contingency plans. |
Functional Competencies
| Name | Definition |
|---|---|
| Commitment to continuous process improvement | Plans and executes activities in the context of quality and risk management and identifies opportunities for process, system and structural improvement, as well as improving current practices. Analyses processes and procedures, and proposes improvements. |
| Judgement/decision making | Consults with supervisor/manager and takes decisions in full compliance with the Agency’s regulations and rules. Makes decisions reflecting best practice and professional theories and standards. |
| Knowledge sharing and learning | Actively seeks learning opportunities and actively shares knowledge and information with others; shares specialized knowledge, skills and learning from experience across different situations and contexts effectively. |
Required Expertise
| Function | Name | Expertise Description |
|---|---|---|
| Emergency Preparedness and Response | Emergency Response Exercise Planning | Expertise in preparing, conducting and evaluating nuclear or radiological emergency exercises. |
| Emergency Preparedness and Response | Nuclear Physics | Knowledge of nuclear physics issues in emergency preparedness, and strong ability to apply this knowledge in development of nuclear or radiological emergency exercises. |
| Emergency Preparedness and Response | Response Operations | Expertise in emergency preparedness and response to nuclear and radiological emergencies at an advanced level. |
| Emergency Preparedness and Response | System Evaluation, Maintenance, Improvement and Implementation | Ability to identify efficient ways to improve existing or develop new response procedures based on feedback from responders, trainees and evaluators. |
Asset Expertise
| Function | Name | Expertise Description |
|---|---|---|
| Emergency Preparedness and Response | Information Management and Technology | Ability to identify improvements to information management, display and reporting. |
Qualifications, Experience and Language skills
University degree in nuclear science, nuclear engineering or physics or equivalent. Advanced university degree in nuclear science, nuclear engineering or physics is an asset.
Five years of experience in emergency preparedness and response with focus on maintaining an emergency operations room.
Experience in the documentation of emergency response arrangements and the development of emergency response checklists.
Proven experience in the development and maintenance of custom software solutions for systems and tools used in emergency preparedness and response.
Experience with low-code platforms like: Power Automate, Power Apps, and Power BI is an asset.
Emergency preparedness experience at a nuclear power plant is an asset.
Comprehensive understanding of business continuity management according to ISO22301 is an asset.
Excellent oral and written command of English. Knowledge of other official IAEA languages (Arabic, Chinese, English, 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 $71335 (subject to mandatory deductions for pension contributions and health insurance), a variable post adjustment which currently amounts to US $ 37166*, dependency benefits, rental subsidy, education grant, relocation and repatriation expenses; Other benefits include 6 weeks' annual leave, home leave travel, pension plan and health insurance. More information on the conditions of employment can be found at: https://www.iaea.org/about/employment/professional-staff/conditions
General Information
- The IAEA's paramount consideration in the recruitment of staff member is to secure employees of the highest standards of efficiency, technical competence and integrity.
- Staff Members shall be selected without any unfair treatment or arbitrary distinction based on a person's race, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, religion, nationality, ethnic origin, disability, age, language, social origin or other similar shared characteristic or trait.
- The IAEA is committed to gender equality and to promoting a diverse workforce. Applications from qualified women and candidates from developing countries are strongly 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.
- The IAEA has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and the IAEA, including sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination.
Evaluation process
- The evaluation of applicants will be conducted on the basis of the information submitted in the application according to the selection criteria stated in the vacancy announcement. Applicants must provide complete and accurate information. Evaluation of qualified candidates may include an assessment exercise, which may be followed by a competency-based interview.
- Candidates under serious consideration for selection may be subject to reference and background checks as part of the recruitment process.
Appointment information
- Appointment is subject to a satisfactory medical report.
- Staff members may be assigned to any location.
- Candidates appointed to posts in the Professional and higher categories are subject to IAEA rotation policy and their maximum tour of service shall normally be seven years.
- 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.