Operations Manager, P-4, Office of Innovation (Giga), Geneva, Switzerland, 364 days

Contract

This is a P-4 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 7 years of experience, depending on education.

Salary

The salary for this job should be between 168,113 USD and 216,746 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 some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

And we never give up.

For every child, hope

Launched in 2019 as a joint initiative between UNICEF and ITU, Giga has set the ambitious goal to connect every school in the world to the internet. Half of the world’s population has no regular access to the Internet. Millions of children leave school without any digital skills, making it much more difficult for them to thrive and contribute to local and global economies. This has created a digital divide between those who are connected and those who are not, a divide that has become even wider during the Covid-19 pandemic. UNICEF and ITU have therefore joined forces to create Giga, an initiative to connect every school in the world to the Internet and address this new form of inequality.

Giga focuses on connecting schools so that children and young people have access to information, opportunity, and choice. It also uses schools as anchor points for their surrounding communities: if you connect the school, you can also connect local businesses and services. This creates opportunities for service providers to generate revenue from paying users, making connectivity more sustainable. A 2021 report by the Economist Intelligence Unit found that a 10% increase in school connectivity can increase effective years of schooling by 0.6% and increase GDP per capita by 1.1%.

Based in Switzerland with an open-source technology centre in Barcelona, Giga not only aims to provide children and young people with access to information but also envisions schools as anchor points to uplift entire communities.

How can you make a difference?

As a strategic business partner and functional expert of Giga's operational and administrative services, the Operations Manager is accountable for the provision of managerial leadership and policy guidance to ensure the seamless execution of Giga's mission. The role serves to ensure that Giga's operational strategies, encompassing Operational Oversight, Procurement, Asset Management, and Risk Management, are robust, efficient, and scalable, supporting both the Switzerland base and the Barcelona technology centre. The Operations Manager is responsible for ensuring these services are cost-effective, of high quality, able to harness the power of digital technologies and in compliance with the organization's policies, procedures, rules, and regulations, fostering operational integrity and excellence across all levels.

Policy, Procedures, and Strategies:

• As the technical manager, the Operations Manager is accountable for the correct and consistent application of policies and procedures in the management of Giga's operational functions, providing technical leadership, guidance, and support. Advise on the appropriate application and interpretation of operational rules, regulations, policies, and procedures, ensuring all operations are in compliance with UNICEF and ITU operational procedures and the effective operation of internal controls across all Giga implementation
• Contribute strategic planning on operational matters, providing technical input and ensuring alignment with Giga's mission and objectives.
• Identify, design, develop and implement business intelligence to capture, consolidate, organize, analyze and report financial and non-financial information for Giga.
• Review key Operations processes for Giga and in coordination with the OOI Chief of Operations, to minimize cost, simplify and reduce duplication of work and maximize efficiencies while creating an environment of smarter controls to enhance agility and resilience.
• Provide innovative and comprehensive tools, data, and analysis to internal and external stakeholders to make strategic decisions and maximize funds utilization for Giga, e.g. data science approach to process optimization, use of technology for team efficiency, technology enabled strategies for managing globally distributed teams, technology tools for onboarding/managing vendors, etc.
• Play an advisory role, in coordination with OOI Chief of Operations, on effective risk analysis and mitigation for new approaches, solutions and initiatives to implement Giga’s objectives, including appropriate, risk-informed due diligence
• Provide key contribution in reviewing operational and organizational structures for Giga in collaboration with OOI Chief of Operations.

Budget Preparation and Implementation:

• Manage the budget to ensure that objectives are realized for the smooth operations of Giga in line with the Office of Innovation/UNICEF guidelines.
• Recommend and prepare estimates for operational needs, ensuring cost-effectiveness and alignment with Giga's goals. Monitor and control the operational budget, ensuring transparency and accountability.
• Support Giga budget process, including planning, preparation, implementation, monitoring and reporting (Giga work plan, strategic plan development). This also includes to:
  • Ensure coordinated preparation and consolidation process for the section's budgets.
  • Ensure timely issuance of budget allotments.
  • Ensure budget control and budget implementation reporting are effective for the Giga initiative.

Administrative Support and Services:

• Oversee administrative support and services to Giga Geneva office and Giga Barcelona Technology Centre, including preparation and funding of service contracts, and guidance on administrative procedures.
• Ensure timely and effective delivery of administrative support and services for Geneva and Barcelona Offices, including space management, transport services, ICT and other equipment use and maintenance, conference and travel arrangements, document reproduction, communications, mail and delivery services, local procurement and bill payments of utilities.
• Support initiatives for enhancing operational efficiency and cost-effectiveness, including coordination with other agencies and partners or the use of technology for process improvement.
• Acts as Security and business continuity focal point for OOI offices in Geneva and Barcelona

Property Management:

• Manage properties, updating inventory, and ensuring proper maintenance and utilization of assets.
• In partnership with ITU for the Geneva centre, oversee the maintenance of premises in Geneva and Barcelona in accordance with organizational standards for accessibility and environmental sustainability

Contract Arrangement and Control:

• In coordination with OOI Operations, act as the Giga focal point with Supply Division for institutional contracting and procurement
  • Annual planning
  • PCM dashboard oversight
  • Low value PO creation & LTA support
• Ensure all contractual arrangements are in compliance with applicable policies and procedures.
• Review and monitor contracts and advise on effective contract management.

Geneva/Barcelona Office and Coordination:

• Coordinate between Geneva and Barcelona's operational functions, ensuring seamless integration and alignment with Giga's objectives.
• Provide support for administrative management, ensuring consistency and compliance across all locations.
• Act as key focal point for administrative support from UNICEF Geneva offices
• Guide on protocol issues for Barcelona, in liaison with OOI Chief of Operations and the ICTD office in Valencia

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

• An Advanced University Degree (Master’s and above) in one of the following areas is required: Business management; Financial management; Accounting; Public Finance; and related operations function (Supply Chain, Human Resources, Information Technology, International Business, etc.) or a full professional accounting designation (CA, ACA, ACCA, CPA, CIMA, CPFA, Expert Comptable) from an internationally recognized institute/body of accountancy with valid membership in good standing is required.
• A minimum of 8 years of professional experience, at the national and international level, is required, specifically in implementing strategic organizational initiatives in one or more operations management area including budget; financial management and reporting; facilities management; administration; supply and logistics management; information and communication technology; human resources.
• Prior experience in the development sector or UN system/ international NGOs would be an asset.
• Additional experience in one or more of the following areas, would be desired:
  • Audit and investigations
  • Safety and security
  • Grant Management
  • Enterprise Risk Management
• Experience with open-source tech communities or previous exposure to such work is an asset.
• Experience with working in or managing distributed teams is an asset.
• Experience in a UN system agency, large private or public company, or experience working in a developing country and/or humanitarian/ emergency context is an asset.
• Experience in working with corporate ERPs (Enterprise Resource Planning) and IPSAS (International Public Sector Accounting Standards) is highly desirable.
• Experience in Results Based Management is a requirement.
• Experience in supporting successful client-oriented work units is an asset.
• Previous hands-on experience in strategic operations is a strong asset,
• Familiarity with Microsoft Office applications is required.
• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.

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

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 (8) Nurtures, leads and manages people

During the recruitment process, we test candidates following the competency framework. Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels: competency framework here.

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 benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements. 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 promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, 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.

Remarks:

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance. Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station, which will be facilitated by UNICEF, is required for IP positions. Appointments are also subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Government employees that are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government 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.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.