Operations Officer, P-2, Division of Human Resources (DHR), Istanbul, Turkey # 122461 (REQ #560935)

Entry Mid Human Resources

Overview

Facilitate effective operations for UNICEF's mission.

You have:

• A University Degree (Bachelor's) in one of the following areas is required: Business management, Financial management, Accounting, Public Finance, Related operations function.
• A professional license from internationally recognized institutions is an asset.
• A minimum of 2 years of professional experience in operations management areas is required.
• Experience in a UN system agency or related is an asset.
• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language is an asset.
• Familiarity with Microsoft Office applications is required.
• Experience working with corporate ERPs and IPSAS is highly desirable.
• Understanding of Results Based Management is a requirement.

Contract

This is a P-2 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 2 years of experience, depending on education. More about P-2 contracts and their salaries.

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

UNICEF is the leading humanitarian and development agency working globally for the rights of every child. Child rights begin with safe shelter, nutrition, protection from disaster and conflict and traverse the life cycle: pre-natal care for healthy births, clean water and sanitation, health care and education. For UNICEF to meet this mandate and its Core Commitments for Children, in the context of overcoming challenges of a fast-changing global context, there must be effective systems and practices in place to identify potential gaps, improve efficiency and effectiveness to better adapt to changes in the external and internal environment, and increase productivity and foster a positive and healthy work culture.

How can you make a difference?

The Operations function is a strategic Business Partner role, assuring the best use of UNICEF assets in alignment with sound management practices, office priorities and goals to deliver results for children. The position is based in the Operation Section, Division of Human Resources (DHR) and the incumbent will operate under the direct supervision of the Operations Manager.

As a Strategic Business Partner, the incumbent will be accountable for operations functions, facilitate change, provide risk-informed, solution-focused analysis, advice and services, and contribute to management decisions for delivering results for children in specific operational contexts.

Operations Officer will accomplish this by:

• Facilitating services in the functional areas of operations support: budget, financial management and reporting, facilities management, administration, supply and logistics management, information and communications technology, safety and security.
• Monitor the consultancy contracts and other commitments to ensure the effective use of budgets within the division.
• Supporting the line manager to implement career development opportunities for staff.
• Understanding business needs for the office to propose viable solutions.
• Providing contribution to Office Management Plan development and IBCS submission for the PBR review.
• Supporting supply and logistics strategies and interventions to meet the office needs while ensuring Value for Money (VfM), including procurement of fit-for-purpose products and services.
• Providing regular feedback on risks and achievements of operations functions in the office.
• Supporting the management of office premises and facilities with a specific focus on inclusive accessibility, eco sustainability and common premises.
• Supporting the division during external and internal audit reviews, contributing to address audit observations and monitoring the implementation of recommendations.
• Facilitating business transactions processed by GSSC from a perspective of Efficiency, Performance, Risk Management and Fraud prevention.

The Operations Officer will be entrusted with the following five pillars, the core focus of all operations functions: Valuing People, Valuing Money, Valuing Risk Management, Valuing Systems and Structures, Valuing Partners.

Valuing People: Implement people resources strategies to promote technical competence and foster career progression and retention of a “fit for purpose”/ agile workforce:

• Facilitate an environment of management excellence, staff well-being and accessibility and inclusion through implementation of strategies, policies, procedures.
• Implement solutions related to people management and office culture.
• Support training strategy and requisite plans to bring about changes in knowledge, skills, abilities and mind sets for Operations staff.
• Keep abreast of industry standards in management and finance and share best practices and knowledge learned within the office.
• Support Excellence in Operations in UNICEF derived from the five strategic pillars.

Valuing Money: Champion strategic resources to achieve organizational goals and ensure Value for Money (VfM):

• Ensure effective identification and use of resources in various concrete Value for Money (VfM) areas, including common premises, costing, financial monitoring, etc.
• Support the financial oversight management, monitoring and reporting of the division’s budgets and various fund commitments, make analysis and recommendations as needed.
• Implement Supply plan for the office and stay abreast of the regional strategies.

Valuing Risk Management: Enhance Risk Management to increase organizational performance and strengthen internal control:

• Support the office with up-to-date information to make operational and programmatic risk informed decisions and improve performance, with the support of the enterprise Governance, Risk and Compliance (eGRC) platform.
• Contribute and participate in testing of business continuity plans to ensure UNICEF organizational resilience to disaster, risks and staff safety and security as well as Emergency Preparedness and Response to humanitarian situations.
• Participate in review of internal controls and policies/guidance included in the Regulatory Framework, support appropriate implementation policies and procedures and provide feedback on policy and internal controls as appropriate.

• Support implementation mandatory anti-fraud systems, processes and actions, and share anti-fraud achievements within the office.

• Support mitigation of risks of engagement with external partners via appropriate, risk-informed due diligence.

Valuing Systems and Structures: Ensure further operational centralization and optimization for maximized efficiency gains:

• Participate in the review of Operations processes and recommend measures to minimize cost, reduce duplication of work and maximize efficiencies while creating an environment of smarter controls
• Contribute to improving IT-enabled business processes to increase productivity and collaboration, better knowledge management, and ensure effective use of UNICEF assets.

Valuing Partners: Strengthen****ing internal and external-facing partnerships and leveraging UNICEF’s oversight and understanding of financial management across all areas of the office:

• Contribute to various discussions and agreements with Vendors and external partners

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

Education

• A University Degree (Bachelor’s) in one of the following areas is required: Business management, Financial management, Accounting, Public Finance, Related operations function (Supply Chain, Human Resources, Information Technology, International Business, Project management, etc.).
• A professional license from internationally recognized institutions is an asset.

Experience

• A minimum of 2 years of professional experience, at the national and/or international level, is required, specifically 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.
• 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.
• Understanding of Results Based Management is a requirement.
• Experience in supporting successful client-oriented work units is an asset.
• Familiarity with Microsoft Office applications is required.

Language

• 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, 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...

• Nurtures, Leads and Manages People (1)
• Demonstrates Self Awareness and Ethical Awareness (2)
• Works Collaboratively with others (2)
• Builds and Maintains Partnerships (2)
• Innovates and Embraces Change (2)
• Thinks and Acts Strategically (2)
• Drive to achieve impactful results (2)
• Manages ambiguity and complexity (2)

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:

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

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.

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Potential interview questions

Added 3 years ago - Updated 1 year ago - Source: unicef.org