Budget Specialist (Polio), Fixed Term, P-3, Nairobi, Kenya, Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office (ESARO)

Contract

This is a P-3 contract. This kind of contract is known as Professional and Director staff. It is normally internationally recruited only. It's a staff contract. It usually requires 5 years of experience, depending on education.

Salary

The salary for this job should be between 114,288 USD and 149,651 USD.

Please keep in mind that the salary displayed here is an estimation by UN Talent based on the location and the type of contract. It may vary depending on the organization. The recruiter should be able to inform you about the exact salary range. In case the job description contains another salary information, please refer to this one.

UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill 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, hope.

Despite the encouraging progress made in Africa towards polio eradication where Africa continent was certified Polio Free in 2020, the ESA region continues to be affected by circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 1 and type 2 outbreaks, after Malawi and Mozambique have struggled to stop the wild polio virus in 2022. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic which weakened the health system and made on hold vaccination activities including polio campaigns, the number of unimmunized children increased leading to a widespread of the derived polio virus. The introduction of the “novel Oral Polio Vaccine type 2 (nOPV2) in 2020 meant to stop the cVDPV2 circulation. Implementing these campaigns requires a strong financial support.

How can you make a difference?

Under the general guidance of the Regional Coordinator (Polio), the Budget Specialist will provide oversight and support to ESARO Country Offices (COs) in managing polio resources from donors including the development of donor proposals and reports, and effectively and efficiently developing, monitoring, and reporting on grant-specific budgets in line with program, UNICEF, and donor requirements. In collaboration with Outbreak Response & Preparedness Group (ORPG), he/she will facilitate the approval process of country budgets. She/He will provide supports for effective management of all Health grants and assists in the development of budgets and technical reports when necessary. The incumbent will be deployed to polio outbreak countries, as a member of the Regional Rapid Response team to provide required support according to Rapid Response Team (RRT) working plan and GPEI outbreak response SOPs as necessary.

Key functions, accountabilities, and related duties/tasks:

The Budget Specialist provides the following key functions:

1. Effective financial analysis, reviewing costs and polio programme data, analyzing, and interpreting financial information and preparing financial reports, including strategic reports in analyzing spending as required at regional and country offices level.
2. Effective management of all Health grants, advisor to the health sections programs, to identify financial gaps and optimize the use of funds.
3. Guide health programs including Polio to ensure optimal budget planning, management, monitoring and control of transactions (transfer, adjustments, reprogramming and liquidation) supporting documents to ensure the expenditure is broadly reasonable and in accordance with UNICEF policy and procedures.
4. Actors capacitated on budget management through presential support to the RO colleagues and CO teams and / or by facilitating training, following the growth in the staffing structure and partners, providing one-on-one follow-up support and knowledge sharing.
5. Other assigned duties and responsibilities related to Polio or health section budget / finance management are effectively performed.

Support to financial planning and management

1. Provide support to the ESARO health section programs with focus on polio (RO & CO offices) in the collation of data and analysis of polio grant information and progress reports.
2. Support to ESARO health section programs in maintaining the polio and other programs grants overview table with income and expenditure/disbursement, remaining balance, and time remaining.
3. The incumbent is expected to be deployed to disease outbreak countries within 72 hours after the confirmation of the outbreak, as necessary.
4. Provide guidance to programme sections, programme managers, and programme assistants/associates on any conditionalities and effective use of the resources, including ensuring that guidelines, policies, rules, and regulations are fully understood and correctly applied.
5. Coordinate with the senior management, section chiefs, Output managers and programme assistants/associates to ensure timely utilization of funds; closely monitor due dates for any financial reports and deadlines for utilization of all contributions.
6. Contribute to capacity building of the health section staff (RO and COs) in budget management and monitoring capacities. Serve as the focal point for country offices budgetary advice, changes in country programme ceilings, and liaison with HQ and RO on budgetary management and monitoring.
7. Prepare monthly contribution management reports, financial reports and analytical reports as required. Ensure quality information management through regular maintenance of contribution-related information in VISION and collection of good practices in relation to contribution management in SharePoint.
8. Conduct strategic analyses to inform the polio coordinator and chief of health. Participate in the review of programme reports for management, budget reviews (Surge and Operational costs), programme analysis, and program annual report, amongst others.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

Minimum requirements:

Education: An advanced university degree (master’s or higher) in one of the following fields is required: Business Administration or Finance/Accounts Management or Project Management, or similar.

Work Experience: A minimum of five years of progressively responsible experience in programme and budget contribution management.

Skills:

• Good knowledge of UNICEF budget and accounting procedures, policies, rules and regulations is required.
• Good knowledge and experience in using budget and financial systems as well as UNICEF standard software packages, especially spreadsheets, Vision UNICEF financial and databases and the development of donor reports and proposals is essential.
• Experience in Immunization / polio resources mobilization and management is an asset.
• Strong ability to work with others, balancing the oversight, advisory and support functions.

Language Requirements: Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (French, Arabic) is an asset.

Desirables:

• Developing country work experience and/or familiarity with emergency.

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) Drive to achieve results for impact

(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, eligible and suitable male and female candidates from underrepresented regions (Latin America and The Caribbean, East Asia and the Pacific, Middle East & North Africa) are encouraged to apply.

Nationals of Kenya can be considered for positions in the Regional Office, provided they have at least two years of experience outside the country of at least one year duration.

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.

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.

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

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.