Programme Budget Specialist, P3, TA, Warsaw Poland

Overview

Support financial management and budgeting for UNICEF programmes in Poland.

You have:

• Advanced University degree in Social Sciences, Statistics, Engineering, Business Administration, Project Management, Finance/Accounts Management or related area of study.
• Minimum of five years of professional experience in programme finance and budget management, operations, monitoring and reporting, programme management, resource mobilization, external relations, or other relevant area.
• Experience in managing donors and partnerships and multi-year grants.
• Experience in setting up and managing financial trackers and dashboards.
• Fluency in English is required; Knowledge of another official UN language is an asset.

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 74,649 USD and 97,747 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, A CHAMPION****.

The current Ukrainian crisis had a significant impact on the lives of children and families in communities throughout the country. According to official statistics, around 1.2 million refugees have been registered in Poland. Around 50% of them are children under 18 years and around 75% of them are women and children. UNICEF has established an emergency response office in Poland and initiated a cooperation agreement with the national and municipality authorities and local NGOs to provide crisis support to the Ukrainian Refugees.

How can you make a difference? Under the guidance of the Deputy Country Coordinator the position contributes towards the programme planning function, formulation of strategies related to programmes and budget monitoring, and financial reporting on programmes and activities. The Office manages diverse grants and grant types with a demanding set of donors requiring strong financial and budget management. The incumbent will support the supervisor to develop financial management processes and manage dashboards and with the support of the Programme Assistants, plans, allocates, monitors, and provides other financial oversight and support the different programmes in collaboration with the Section Chiefs.

Key functions, accountabilities and related duties/tasks

Strategic planning and implementation (budget and finances)

• Contributes to the Poland Emergency Response Office programme planning with a focus on financial and budgeting aspects.
• Contributes towards the Sections strategic planning and formulation of strategies on the financial and budgeting.
• Participates in the preparation of the HAC, the CRP and the RRP in collaboration with the Emergency and the Planning and Monitoring Specialists.

Budget & financial monitoring

• Responsible for the financial planning, allocations to programme budgets, monitoring and reporting of the grants.
• Maintains and improves upon dashboard to present immediate summary of the financial data.
• Safeguards financial resources by advising on and managing financial assets, financial planning, and regular reporting.
• Monitors programme/project budgets versus actual expenditure; ensures that expenditure recorded meets donor requirements for eligible expenditure items and that the level of documentation meets their specified requirements and advice on budget performance and, if applicable, suggests budget revisions.
• Ensures all finance and budget-related bottlenecks are resolved for the efficient functioning of the programme.
• Provides internal operations/ administrative functions including salary forecasting and cost distribution, verification and quality control of reprogramming, extension and pull back cash requests, etc.
• Ensures compliance with closure of grants, including final financial reporting, external audit and updating UNICEF financial accounts.

Partnerships & reporting (budgets and financials)

• Supports effective partnerships and collaboration for Programme by coordinating and providing timely required information and reports with a focus on budgets and finance.
• Facilitates partnerships and collaboration with external and internal counterparts in order through improving exchange of data on programme / project implementation, particularly budget and financial elements. Participates in teleconferences, meetings and periodic face-to-face meetings with RO and other stakeholders as necessary.
• Works closely with the Monitoring Specialist and relevant workstreams on financial/budget component of donor reporting.
• Participate in coordination meetings sections and contributes by presenting financial reporting updates and insights.

Grants management

• Monitors financial donor reports schedule, key financial information and data as necessary.
• Provides accurate and timely monitoring of financial utilization and programme implementation of globally managed grants.
• Provides timely updated information on financial utilization and programme implementation to relevant Senior Management, and Section colleagues.

Capacity building

• Builds the capacity of Programme Assistants and colleagues on financial monitoring and grant management.

As a champion for every child, qualifications are…

• Advanced University degree in Social Sciences, Statistics, Engineering, Business Administration, Project Management, Finance/Accounts Management or related area of study. University degree with additional three years of relevant work experience is accepted in lieu of advanced degree.
• Minimum of five years of professional experience in one or more of the following areas is required: programme finance and budget management, operations, monitoring and reporting, programme management, resource mobilization, external relations, or other relevant area.
• Experience in managing donors and partnerships and multi-year grants.
• Experience in setting up and managing financial trackers and dashboards.
• Fluency in English is required; Knowledge of another official UN language is an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate...

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability (CRITA) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: https://uni.cf/UNICEFValues

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.

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 committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

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

This position is classified as temporary and does not carry any expectancy of renewal and will not be converted to any other type of appointment.

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 may also be 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.

Potential interview questions