Programme Assistant (GS-5), WASH Section, PD - NYHQ

Contract

This is a G-5 contract. This kind of contract is known as General Service and related categories. It is normally only for nationals. It usually requires 5 years of experience, depending on education. More about G-5 contracts.

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.

Under the Strategic Plan 2018-2021, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) is an integral part of Goal 4 ensuring that “every child lives in a safe and clean environment”. UNICEF WASH focuses its efforts and contribution to the SDGs through supporting increase sustainable access to safe drinking water, ending open defecation, improving access to adequate sanitation and promoting hand washing and good hygienic practices, including in schools and healthcare facilities and with particular attention to girls and to children with disabilities. Leveraging its presence before, during and after emergencies, UNICEF WASH provides support to increase access to safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene among children and families in humanitarian situations. UNICEF supports WASH programming across a range of countries, from stable to fragile contexts, and with emphasis technical support to strengthening the WASH enabling environment, from sub-national to global levels. This requires technical expertise and leadership role in critical areas beyond a UNICEF WASH programme towards more WASH sector support as sector policy and strategy; institutional arrangements (coordination, service delivery arrangements, accountability and regulation); budgeting and financing; planning, monitoring and review; and capacity development.

For every child, a childhood……

You will be responsible for executing a broad variety of routine tasks and some specialized for the respective section, requiring thorough knowledge of UNICEF administrative procedures, processes and policies in the section.

How can you make a difference?

Budget Monitoring

• Monitor budgets and financial expenditures of section, ensuring compliance with UNICEF rules and regulations, keeping supervisor informed and advised on actions for decision/follow up.
• Provide support on budget revision/preparation, implementation status, determination position of funding utilization, operational, and financial closure.
• Prepare and maintains records, documents and control plans for the budget monitoring of project/programme implementation.
• Carry out transactions in VISION pertaining to grants for his/her section such as registering grant allotments and tracking expiring programme grants.

Office Planning & Project Management

• Ensure the availability of timely, complete and accurate information and data for preparing section work plans and project management plans.
• Undertake basic research and performs comparative analysis of project/programme related data.
• Monitor project implementation against established milestones and makes recommendations to improve performance.
• Help ensure timely compliance with agreed deadlines.
• Act as focal point in the review of the completeness of data reports with key monitoring and evaluation information.

Procurement

• Guide managers in the process of PCA/SSAs in line with the policies and guidance issued by FRG, supply division and DHR.
• Facilitate the processing of contracts for consultants and external partners that provide a service to the section. This includes preparing and filing documents, completing necessary forms and templates, uploading TOR’s in VISION, and making necessary logistical arrangements.
• Maintain up-to-date vendor lists, partners, and consultant rosters.

Communications & Workflow

• Facilitates the communications and workflow of the organizational unit to enhance the efficiency and timeliness of operations and outputs.
• Manages incoming and outgoing correspondence, e-mails and telephone calls.
• Communicates routine and some non-routine information pertaining to the work of the team.
• Establishes and maintains the office filing and reference systems, both traditional and digital; and ensures the inter/intra-net websites are up to date and accurate.

Calendar/Meetings/Correspondence Management

• Maintains office calendar and arranges meetings
• Takes minutes of meetings, ensuring accuracy, attention to detail and coherence.

Events/Logistics

• Support capacity development activities and conferences by making the logistical arrangements, through engaging with facilitators, caterers and hosts.
• Arrange times through liaising with participants over availability.
• Liaise with budget focal points and section over costs and needs.
• Prepare background materials for participants and uploads cleared materials on the intranet.
• Prepare and maintains agendas on meetings and events related to the work group commitments.

Travel

• Provide travel assistance to staff members in section for travel arrangements and entitlements based on the organization’s rules and policies. Liaises with relevant travel focal points to ensure that the organization obtains the best service and price for all travel.
• Brief/de-brief staff members on issues relating to related administrative matters such as visas, security clearance, and documentation procedures.
• Extract, input, maintain, and verify correctness of travel records in the organization’s travel system to ensure accurate transactions related to travel costs and staff travel.
• Assist in the preparation of budgets on travel costs and maintain travel plan and budgetary control records.
• Monitor travel certification and report back to the team.

Invoice Processing

• Responsible for collecting invoices and filing documents for approval and, thereafter processing in VISION.
• Upload electronic files and verifies results to destination system.
• Respond to client transaction status and other inquiries.

Supplies/Equipment

• Supports management of administrative supplies, office equipment, and updating inventory of items.
• Monitors and supervises adequate and appropriate use of supplies. Ensures that services and maintenance of premises are in accordance with organizational standards.

• Arranges for the purchase and timely distribution of office supplies.

  To qualify as a champion for every child, the candidate must have…

• Completion of Secondary Education (e.g. High School Diploma) is a minimum requirement.

• A minimum of five (5) years of relevant work experience, preferably with one year closely related to programme /clerical support activities in an international organization and providing knowledge management and e-filing support is required.
• Non-US candidates must be in possession of an existing US G4 visa or be a US permanent resident/citizen.
• Fluency in English (written & verbal) is required. Knowledge of an additional UN Language (Arabic, Chinese, Russian and Spanish) is considered an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s core values of Care, Respective, Integrity, Trust and Accountability.

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

“UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, race, sexual orientation, nationality, culture, appearance, socio-economic status, ability, age, religious, and ethnic backgrounds, to apply to become a part of the organization.”

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 also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles.