Planning Officer, P-2, Office of Innovation (Giga), Geneva, Switzerland, 364 days

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.

Salary

The salary for this job should be between 107,192 USD and 145,593 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

Giga (giga.global) is a partnership between UNICEF (unicef.org) and the ITU (itu.int) working to connect every school in the world. The team (https://giga.global/about-us/) has experience and background in building technology products, finance and investment, design, and infrastructure. It’s a global team, with two “centers of gravity” (in Barcelona, Spain and Geneva, Switzerland) but with many team members located around the world.

Giga is broken into three main areas: Mapping, Finance, Procurement, supported by cross-cutting support services. The Country Engagement Team supports the initiation and implementation of all three areas of Giga’s support in countries. The Mapping team maps schools and their connectivity, creating a real-time display of access and need on Project Connect (https://projectconnect.unicef.org/map). The Finance team works to create the financing (grant, loan, and investment) for connectivity. The Procurement works closely with UNICEF Supply Division to support governments through public procurement processes for contracting sustainable, high quality and affordable school connectivity. There are also crosscutting teams that support on communications, partnerships, staff wellbeing, operations and finance.

We aim to have agility and flexibility in how we work, and to be driven by realtime data about what we’re doing. We also work within the political and global framework of the UN, which means that we can collaborate with policy makers and regulators, governments, civil society, and of course, most closely with our 135 country offices, in everything we do.

How can you make a difference?

The Planning Officer is a vital part of the Management Team at Giga, bridging the technical and planning aspects to ensure coherent and aligned operational planning and execution. Reporting to the Senior Adviser (Giga Financing and Market Shaping), the Planning Officer is expected to utilize their strong technology background, understanding of open-source ecosystems, tech planning cycles, and UN planning frameworks to contribute effectively towards Giga's mission.

Technology-Driven Planning:

• Integrate technology planning cycles with UN planning frameworks to ensure aligned and coherent operational planning.
• Utilize understanding of open-source ecosystems to contribute to technology-related planning and strategy formulation.

Operational Planning and Coordination:

• Develop, maintain, and refine the operational plans, ensuring they are in sync with Giga's technological roadmaps and UN planning frameworks.
• Coordinate with tech teams and other units within Giga to ensure seamless planning and execution of tech-driven initiatives.

Monitoring and Evaluation Support:

• Provide support in monitoring the implementation of tech-driven initiatives against set plans, identifying deviations and proposing corrective actions.
• Assist in evaluating the impact and effectiveness of tech initiatives, ensuring they are in line with Giga's objectives and UN standards.

Knowledge Sharing and Capacity Building:

• Share insights on tech planning cycles and open-source ecosystems with the team to enhance understanding and integration in planning processes.

• Build the capacity of Giga team members on technology-driven planning, open-source technologies, and UN planning frameworks.

  Stakeholder Engagement and Communication:

• Engage with internal and external stakeholders to ensure alignment in planning and execution of tech-driven initiatives.

• Communicate effectively with tech teams, management, and external partners to ensure shared understanding and collaborative planning.

  Documentation and Reporting:

• Document planning processes, methodologies, and tech-driven initiatives meticulously for future reference and sharing with stakeholders.

• Prepare and submit timely reports on planning, implementation, and evaluation of tech initiatives, ensuring clarity and accessibility for a diverse audience.

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

• A Bachelor’s degree in Technology Management, Information Systems, Computer Science, Business Administration or a related field is required.
• A minimum of 2 years of relevant work experience in technology-driven planning, open-source ecosystems, and UN planning frameworks is required.
• Proficiency in technology planning cycles, open-source technologies, and project coordination.
• Strong understanding of UN planning frameworks and how they integrate with technology-driven initiatives.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to work collaboratively with diverse teams and stakeholders.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with meticulous attention to detail.
• Ability to adapt to a fast-paced, evolving environment and to work independently and as part of a team.
• 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.