Org. Setting and Reporting

The United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON) is the UN headquarters in Africa and the Director-General of UNON is the representative of the Secretary-General in Kenya. UNON supports programme implementation of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) and the Resident Coordination System (RCS) globally, as well as other UN offices in Kenya, by providing administrative, security, conference and information services (www.unon.org).

This position is located in the United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON) in the Division of Administrative Services (DAS), Office of the Director of Administration (ODA). The Programme Management Officer, will report to the Senior Coordination Officer in the Office of the Director of Administration (ODA), to provide support to UNON in the transition, implementation and scaling of the Common Back Office Project. The incumbent will be responsible for the following duties:

Responsibilities

1. Provide substantive support in the development, transition and implementation of the services provided by UNON as part of the Common Back Offices (CBO) in Kenya.
2. Establish together with the UNON ODA Team the baselines, cost avoidance goals and implementation plans for CBO.
3. Provide Quality Assurance of the CBO in alignment with the country strategy and UNON CBO proposal, in close collaboration with RCO, CBO Governance mechanism and the UNDCO CBS team.
4. Monitor CBO implementation, identifying and documenting bottlenecks and facilitating solutions, and contribute to scaling up of innovations at country level.
5. Liaise with the UNON Team on issues that need resolution and recommends solutions supporting collaboration, co-evolution, and co-creation to drive innovations while reporting and documenting best practices including the conduct of client satisfaction surveys against service performance key performance indicator and service level agreements.
6. Undertake CBO outreach activities; conduct training workshops, seminars, etc.; make presentations across Kenya as may be required from time to time.
7. Participate in or lead CBO outreach, including provision of guidance to external consultants, and other parties and drafting summaries, etc.
8. Undertake surveys of CBO initiatives; design data collection tools; review, analyse and interpret responses, identify problems/issues, and prepare conclusions.
9. Research, analyse and present information gathered from diverse sources about CBOs; perform analysis and modelling; promote common data sets at country and field levels.
10. Monitor and review the implementation plan by conducting regular reviews to assess progress of actual work versus the programme plan.
11. Supports CBO Governance structure in annual reporting of UNON’s CBO implementation measured from the base line and providing evidence of cost avoidance.
12. Support other areas of the Efficiency agenda, such as BOS, Common Premises and Global Shared Services as needed.
13. Provide substantive support to consultative and other meetings, conferences, etc., to include proposing agenda topics, identifying participants, preparation of documents and presentations, etc.
14. Supervises and monitors the work of any support staff assigned.
15. Collects and analyzes data to identify trends or patterns and provide insights through graphs, charts, tables and reports using data visualization methods to enable data-driven planning, decision-making, presentation and reporting.
16. Perform other related duties as required.

Competencies

PROFESSIONALISM: Knowledge and understanding of international development and UN harmonized operation issues and discussions. Knowledge and understanding of UN reform, including country level programming and the efficiency initiatives. Practical experience in programme/project management and oversight and good analytical and problem-solving skills, including ability to identify and participate in the resolution of issues/problems. Ability to apply good judgment in the context of assignments given; ability to plan own work and manage conflicting priorities. Shows pride in work and in achievements. Demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter. Conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines, and achieving results. Motivated by professional rather than personal concerns. Shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges; remains calm in stressful situations. Takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work.

CLIENT ORIENATION: Considers all those to whom services are provided to be “clients” and seeks to see things from clients’ point of view. Establishes and maintains productive partnerships with clients by gaining their trust and respect; identifies clients’ needs and matches them to appropriate solutions. Monitors ongoing developments inside and outside the clients’ environment to keep informed and anticipate problems. Keeps clients informed of progress or setbacks in projects; meets timeline for delivery of products or services to client.

TEAMWORK: Good interpersonal skills and ability to establish and maintain effective partnerships and working relationship in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity, including gender balance. Works collaboratively with colleagues to achieve organizational goals. Solicits input by genuinely valuing others’ ideas and expertise; is willing to learn from others. Places team agenda before personal agenda. Supports and acts in accordance with final group decision, even when such decisions may not entirely reflect own position. Shares credit for team accomplishments and accepts joint responsibility for team shortcomings.

Education

Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in business administration, management, economics or a related field is required. A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Successful completion of both degree and non-degree programs in data analytics, business analytics or data science programs is desirable.

Work Experience

A minimum of five (5) years of progressively responsible work experience in project or programme management, administration, or a related area is required.

Experience in an international organization or the UN inter-agency collaboration and development cooperation is desirable.

Experience in Business Operations Strategy and common back-office operations is desirable.

Experience in operations management is desirable.

Experience in the UN system or a comparable international organization is desirable.

Experience working at the headquarters or regional office of a development cooperation organization is desirable.

Two (2) years or more of experience in data analytics or related area is desirable.

Languages

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this post, fluency in oral and written English is required.

NOTE: “fluency equals a rating of “fluent” in all four areas (read, write, speak, understand) and ” Knowledge of” equals a rating of ” confident” in two of the four areas.

Assessment

Evaluation of qualified candidates for this position may include a substantive assessment which will be followed by a competency-based interview.

Special Notice

Appointment against this post is for a period of 6 months and may be subject to extension based on the availability of funds. A limited duration and does not carry any expectancy, legal or otherwise, of renewal. Staff Members are subject to the authority of the Secretary-General and to assignment by him or her. In this context, all staffs are expected to move periodically to new functions in their careers in accordance with established rules and procedures.

The United Nations is Secretariat is committed to achieving 50/50 gender balance in its staff. Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply for this position.

Internal Applicants – when completing the PHP, ensure ALL fields, ALL professional experience and contact information are completed and up to date. This information is the basis for the hiring manager to assess your eligibility and suitability for the position and to contact you.

Individual Contractors and Consultants who have worked within the UN Secretariat in the last six months, irrespective of the administering entity, are ineligible to apply for or be appointed to any professional and higher temporary or fixed-term positions, within six months of the end of their current or most recent service. For such positions, at least six months need to have elapsed between the end of a consultancy or individual contract and the time of application and consideration for an appointment as a staff member under the Staff Rules and Regulations of the United Nations.

At the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the recruitment and employment of staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity, with due regard to geographic diversity. All employment decisions are made on the basis of qualifications and organizational needs. The United Nations is committed to creating a diverse
and inclusive environment of mutual respect. The United Nations recruits and employs staff regardless of gender identity, sexual orientation, race, religious, cultural and ethnic backgrounds or disabilities. Reasonable accommodation for applicants with disabilities may be provided to support participation in the recruitment process when requested and indicated in the application.

All applicants are strongly encouraged to apply on-line as soon as possible after the job opening has been posted and well before the deadline stated in the job opening. On-line applications will be acknowledged where an email address has been provided. If you do not receive an e-mail acknowledgement within 24 hours of submission, your application may not have been received. In such cases, please resubmit the application, if necessary. If the problem persists, please seek technical assistance through the Inspira “Need Help?” link.

United Nations Considerations

According to article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity. Candidates will not be considered for employment with the United Nations if they have committed violations of international human rights law, violations of international humanitarian law, sexual exploitation, sexual abuse, or sexual harassment, or if there are reasonable grounds to believe that they have been involved in the commission of any of these acts. The term “sexual exploitation” means any actual or attempted abuse of a position of vulnerability, differential power, or trust, for sexual purposes, including, but not limited to, profiting monetarily, socially or politically from the sexual exploitation of another. The term “sexual abuse” means the actual or threatened physical intrusion of a sexual nature, whether by force or under unequal or coercive conditions. The term “sexual harassment” means any unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature that might reasonably be expected or be perceived to cause offence or humiliation, when such conduct interferes with work, is made a condition of employment or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment, and when the gravity of the conduct warrants the termination of the perpetrator’s working relationship. Candidates who have committed crimes other than minor traffic offences may not be considered for employment.

Due regard will be paid to the importance of recruiting the staff on as wide a geographical basis as possible. The United Nations places no restrictions on the eligibility of men and women to participate in any capacity and under conditions of equality in its principal and subsidiary organs. The United Nations Secretariat is a non-smoking environment.

Reasonable accommodation may be provided to applicants with disabilities upon request, to support their participation in the recruitment process.

The paramount consideration in the appointment, transfer, or promotion of staff shall be the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity. By accepting an offer of appointment, United Nations staff members are subject to the authority of the Secretary-General and assignment by him or her to any activities or offices of the United Nations in accordance with staff regulation 1.2 (c). In this context, all internationally recruited staff members shall be required to move periodically to discharge new functions within or across duty stations under conditions established by the Secretary-General.

Applicants are urged to follow carefully all instructions available in the online recruitment platform, inspira. For more detailed guidance, applicants may refer to the Manual for the Applicant, which can be accessed by clicking on “Manuals” hyper-link on the upper right side of the inspira account-holder homepage.

The evaluation of applicants will be conducted on the basis of the information submitted in the application according to the evaluation criteria of the job opening and the applicable internal legislations of the United Nations including the Charter of the United Nations, resolutions of the General Assembly, the Staff Regulations and Rules, administrative issuances and guidelines. Applicants must provide complete and accurate information pertaining to their personal profile and qualifications according to the instructions provided in inspira to be considered for the current job opening. No amendment, addition, deletion, revision or modification shall be made to applications that have been submitted. Candidates under serious consideration for selection will be subject to reference checks to verify the information provided in the application.

Job openings advertised on the Careers Portal will be removed at 11:59 p.m. (New York time) on the deadline date.

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.