Senior Programme Associate, (GS7), Budapest, Hungary
JOB DETAIL
UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, to defend their rights, and to help them fulfil their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.
At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate and proud of what we do. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.
UNICEF is a place where careers are built – we offer our staff diverse opportunities for personal and professional development that will help them develop a fulfilling career, while delivering on a rewarding mission. We pride ourselves on a culture that helps staff thrive, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.
Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.
For every child, a future
How can you make a difference?
The Public Partnerships Division (PPD) works to strengthen UNICEF’s position as a partner of choice for children’s rights among governments and inter-governmental actors around the world. The division is doing this by positioning children’s rights in the intergovernmental and multilateral fora and engaging with governments and public institutions as resource, policy, and programme partners. A key premise for PPD is that the engagement with countries should be holistic based on multiple aspects of partnerships, including policy advocacy and resource mobilization. This post sits within the Europe Team of PPD and is responsible for the overall contributions management roles pertaining to relationship with European partners. The Programme Associate reports to the Senior Adviser in New York and supports different sub-teams in New York and in outposts in the UK, Germany, Belgium, Italy, and Denmark.
1. Supporting funding negotiations and managing requests for information and support from internal and external stakeholders:
- Respond timely to requests from country offices, regional offices, and Headquarters (HQ) divisions (i.e., PG, DFAM, PFP, etc.) and other PPD teams for guidance and information related to grant management policies and procedures, including contributions and grant-specific issues.
- Research and understand donor countries/regions in order to prepare correspondence, based on knowledge of the PPD Europe team’s work.
- Monitor and keep financial and other funding data up to date (reports and financial updates) across all platforms, including UNISON, Service Gateway, Insight, Cube and Vision.
2. Monitoring of opportunities negotiations and tracking in-pipeline funding opportunities in UNISON:
- Ensure monitoring system of OR funding, including opportunities and agreements in pipeline are up to date in UNISON; monitor grants implementation status through Insight, Cube and other tools and dashboards; update Europe team specific funding management tracking system.
3. Quality assurance of grant agreements:
- Initiate grant creation and amendment, including reporting and extension requests.
- Review and ensure conditions and accountabilities of grants are translated and applied correctly and reflected into UNICEF systems.
4. Collection and application of funds and clearance of unapplied receipts:
- Follow up on disbursements and outstanding payments from contributions with country offices and donors and ensure that disbursement requests have been submitted to donors by country offices or at HQ level.
- Respond to all donor/region/country office/GSSC and DFAM queries in relation to the funding application/disbursement/receipts.
5. Donor reporting:
- Monitor timely and quality submission of narrative and uncertified financial utilization reports, and annual certified statements. Provide guidance and follow up with country, regional office, and HQ. Update reporting schedule monitoring in the Fiori Donor Report Tracker.
- Download and share draft reports from Donor Report Tracker with relevant teams, and support with review of donor reports to ensure quality reporting in line with donor conditions/requirements, including format, as required.
6. Unspent balances and grant closure:
- After financial closure and issuance of final certified financial statements by DFAM, follow-up with donor and or/country office on refund/reprogramming as required.
- Follow up with DFAM/GSSC accordingly until completion of refund or reprogramming process is confirmed.
If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here: JD – Senior Programme Associate, GS-7.pdf
To qualify as a champion for every child you will have…
- Minimum requirements
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- Education: Completion of secondary education. University level courses in the field of management and business is an asset.
- Work Experience: Minimum of 7 years of relevant work experience is required. Prior experience in programme or partnerships support functions is an asset.
- Skills: Grants management & administration, Partnerships, Research, Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, Donor reporting, Quality assurance, Analyzing, Persuading and influencing, Planning and organizing.
- Language Requirements: Fluency in English; Knowledge of an additional UN Language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish), or local language of the duty station, is considered an asset.
- Desirables
- Good knowledge of UN and /or UNICEF automated systems and software applications (SAP, Service Gateway, Fiori, Sales Force/UNISON).
For every child, you demonstrate ․․․
UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values
The UNICEF competencies required for this post are ․․․
(1) Builds and maintains partnerships
(2) Demonstrates self awareness and ethical awareness
(3) Drives to achieve impactful results
(4) Innovates and embraces change
(5) Manages ambiguity and complexity
(6) Thinks and acts strategically
(7) Works collaboratively with others
Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels
UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.
We offer a wide range of measures to include a more diverse workforce, such as paid parental leave, time off for breastfeeding purposes, and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements.
UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority, and discrimination. UNICEF is committed to promoting the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.
UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance. Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station is required for IP positions and will be facilitated by UNICEF. Appointments may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Should you be selected for a position with UNICEF, you either must be inoculated as required or receive a medical exemption from the relevant department of the UN. Otherwise, the selection will be canceled.
Remarks:
As per 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.
UNICEF’s active commitment to diversity and inclusion is critical to deliver the best results for children. For this position, all eligible and suitable candidates are encouraged to apply.
Government employees who are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government positions before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason.
In this role, you will collaborate with colleagues across multiple locations. For effective collaboration, we encourage flexible working hours that accommodate different time zones while prioritizing staff wellbeing.
UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants’ bank account information.
Visa residence requirements: i.e. UNICEF shall not facilitate the issuance of a visa and working authorization for candidates under consideration for positions at the national officer and general service category.
General Service (GS) staff are locally recruited staff and therefore, candidates are personally responsible for any travel and accommodation arrangements. UNICEF does not facilitate Ministry of Foreign Affairs ‘MFA) accreditation for locally recruited staff. Applicants must be nationals of EU countries or in possession of a valid work permit. Please attach a copy of your work permit to your application submission.
All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. An internal candidate performing at the level of the post in the relevant functional area, or an internal/external candidate in the corresponding Talent Group, may be selected, if suitable for the post, without assessment of other candidates.
Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.
