Programme Officer (Common Back Office) for Asia Pacific

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 128,723 USD and 165,961 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.

Org. Setting and Reporting This position is located in the Division of Administration in the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and is shared with the Asia Pacific Regional Desk in the United Nations Development Coordination Office (UNDCO).

The incumbent reports to the Chief Financial Officer of ESCAP and works in coordination with the Senior Programme Officer (Regional Coordination) in UNDCO as an additional supervisor. Additional coordination occurs with the Business Management Branch and Country Business Strategy Section at DCO HQ.

Responsibilities Within delegated authority, the Programme Officer will be responsible for the following duties: Additionally and within delegated authority, the Programme Officer (Common Back Office) provides substantive support to Regional Operations Management Team (R-OMT), in particular with the scaling of the Business Operations Strategy (BOS), Common Back Office (CBO) and Common Premises (CP).

•Provide substantive support to the Regional Operations Management Teams in the development of BOS, CBO as well as the establishment of Common Premises. •Provide capacity development services and advisory support for RCs, UNCTs, RCOs and Operational Management Teams (OMTs) on Business Operations Strategies (BOS), CBO and CP. •Provide Quality Assurance of the BOS, CBO and CP frameworks relevant to the region, in close collaboration with UNDCO HQ and the UNSDG BOS TWG. •Monitor BOS, CBO and CP implementation in countries, identifying bottlenecks and facilitating solutions. •Organizes and prepares written outputs, and facilitate reporting related to BOS, CBO, CP at the field and regional level. •Provides substantive identify opportunities for scaling-up innovations and assess capacity development needs for RC/UNCT/OMT/RCOs and regional inter-agency working groups. •Initiates and coordinates outreach activities; conducts training workshops, seminars, etc.; makes presentations on assigned topics/activities. •Leads and/or participates in large complex CBO review and Performs regional analysis and modeling; contribute to the development and collection of data at country and regional levels in support of BOS, CBO and CP. •Coordinates activities related to budget funding (programme/project preparation and submissions, progress reports, financial statements, etc.) and prepares related documents/reports (pledging, work programme, programme budget, etc.). Contribute to the piloting and scaling-up of innovations aimed to reduce cost or enhance quality of business operations interventions at country-and regional levels. •Provides service management support to ESCAP’s service desk for clients of administrative services, including Resident Coordinator Offices in the Asia-Pacific region. •Monitors and controls budgetary allocations through regular reviews; drafts routine and ad hoc outputs; and provides effective monitoring reports and data. Identifies deviations from plans and proposes corrective measures. •Supervises a staff team and/or provide advice to others on human resource administration, financial administration and management information issues and practices to colleagues. •Produces major/complex reports for management. •Provides expert guidance and leadership to more junior staff. •Performs other duties as required.

Competencies •Professionalism: Knowledge and understanding of theories, concepts and approaches relevant to particular sector, functional area or other specialized field. Ability to identify issues, analyze and participate in the resolution of issues/problems. Ability to conduct data collection using various methods. Conceptual analytical and evaluative skills to conduct independent research and analysis, including familiarity with and experience in the use of various research sources, including electronic sources on the internet, intranet and other databases. Ability to apply judgment in the context of assignments given, plan own work and manage conflicting priorities. Shows pride in work and in achievements; demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter; is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results; is motivated by professional rather than personal concerns; shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges; remains calm in stressful situations. Takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work.

•Teamwork: Works collaboratively with colleagues to achieve organizational goals; solicits input by genuinely valuing others’ ideas and expertise; is willing to learn from others; places team agenda before personal agenda; supports and acts in accordance with final group decision, even when such decisions may not entirely reflect own position; shares credit for team accomplishments and accepts joint responsibility for team shortcomings.

•Planning & Organizing: Develops clear goals that are consistent with agreed strategies; identifies priority activities and assignments; adjusts priorities as required; allocates appropriate amount of time and resources for completing work; foresees risks and allows for contingencies when planning; monitors and adjusts plans and actions as necessary; uses time efficiently.

•Client Orientation: Considers all those to whom services are provided to be “clients” and seeks to see things from clients’ point of view; establishes and maintains productive partnerships with clients by gaining their trust and respect; identifies clients’ needs and matches them to appropriate solutions; monitors ongoing developments inside and outside the clients’ environment to keep informed and anticipate problems; keeps clients informed of progress or setbacks in projects; meets timeline for delivery of products or services to client.

Education Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in business administration, management, economics or a related field.

A first-level university degree in the above fields in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Work Experience A minimum of seven years of progressively responsible experience in project or programme management, administration or related area is required. Experience in service management, including assessing the administrative service requirements of clients and drafting service agreements, is required. Experience with exposure to the development and implementation of the Common Premises, CBO and/or BOS and common services, including client centric operational delivery models is desirable. Experience in the United Nations Common System or international organizations is desirable. Experience with change management, including the design and implementation of change processes regarding service delivery is desirable. Experience with inter-agency or inter-organizational collaboration in the development sector is desirable. Experience with development and delivering of Training and Capacity Development in support of change management processes is desirable. Experience working with the UN Systems policies, practices and procedures is desirable. Experience in gathering, analyzing and reporting on business operations data in development cooperation context is desirable.

Languages English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the post advertised, fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another UN official language is an advantage.

Assessment Qualified applicants may be evaluated through a competency-based interview and/or other assessment methods.

Special Notice This is a temporary position and will be available for 364 days. If selected, an internal candidate will be on temporary assignment to the post; an external candidate will initially be offered a temporary appointment. Any extension of appointment is subject to satisfactory performance and continued availability of the post.

ESCAP is committed to promoting diversity and gender equality within the Secretariat. Women candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.

United Nations Considerations According to article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity. Candidates will not be considered for employment with the United Nations if they have committed violations of international human rights law, violations of international humanitarian law, sexual exploitation, sexual abuse, or sexual harassment, or if there are reasonable grounds to believe that they have been involved in the commission of any of these acts. The term “sexual exploitation” means any actual or attempted abuse of a position of vulnerability, differential power, or trust, for sexual purposes, including, but not limited to, profiting monetarily, socially or politically from the sexual exploitation of another. The term “sexual abuse” means the actual or threatened physical intrusion of a sexual nature, whether by force or under unequal or coercive conditions. The term “sexual harassment” means any unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature that might reasonably be expected or be perceived to cause offence or humiliation, when such conduct interferes with work, is made a condition of employment or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment, and when the gravity of the conduct warrants the termination of the perpetrator’s working relationship. Candidates who have committed crimes other than minor traffic offences may not be considered for employment.

Due regard will be paid to the importance of recruiting the staff on as wide a geographical basis as possible. The United Nations places no restrictions on the eligibility of men and women to participate in any capacity and under conditions of equality in its principal and subsidiary organs. The United Nations Secretariat is a non-smoking environment.

The paramount consideration in the appointment, transfer, or promotion of staff shall be the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity. By accepting an offer of appointment, United Nations staff members are subject to the authority of the Secretary-General and assignment by him or her to any activities or offices of the United Nations in accordance with staff regulation 1.2 (c). In this context, all internationally recruited staff members shall be required to move periodically to discharge new functions within or across duty stations under conditions established by the Secretary-General.

Applicants are urged to follow carefully all instructions available in the online recruitment platform, inspira. For more detailed guidance, applicants may refer to the Manual for the Applicant, which can be accessed by clicking on “Manuals” hyper-link on the upper right side of the inspira account-holder homepage.

The evaluation of applicants will be conducted on the basis of the information submitted in the application according to the evaluation criteria of the job opening and the applicable internal legislations of the United Nations including the Charter of the United Nations, resolutions of the General Assembly, the Staff Regulations and Rules, administrative issuances and guidelines. Applicants must provide complete and accurate information pertaining to their personal profile and qualifications according to the instructions provided in inspira to be considered for the current job opening. No amendment, addition, deletion, revision or modification shall be made to applications that have been submitted. Candidates under serious consideration for selection will be subject to reference checks to verify the information provided in the application.

Job openings advertised on the Careers Portal will be removed at 11:59 p.m. (New York time) on the deadline date.

No Fee THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.