SENIOR ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER

Contract

This is a P-5 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 10 years of experience, depending on education. More about P-5 contracts and their salaries.

Org. Setting and Reporting The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the leading global environmental authority that sets the global environmental agenda, promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United Nations system and serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment. UN Environment's Ecosystems Division works with international and national partners, providing technical assistance and advisory services for the implementation of environmental policy, and strengthening the environmental management capacity of developing countries and countries with economies in transition.

This post is located in UNEP/ Ecosystems Division, at the Nairobi duty station.Under the general supervision of the Deputy Director, the incumbent will be responsible for the following functions:

Responsibilities 1) Division Financial Management: - Organizing and ensuring that funds entrusted to the Division are managed with due diligence, within UN Rules and Regulations and fiduciary standards, ensure optimization and alignment of the resources with the expected output of the Division, applying result-based budgeting (RBB); - Keeping the management team informed on the fund management situation and forecast; - Bringing to the attention of the Division Director and Deputy all emerging issues implying an increased financial exposure to risk by the Division and proposing mitigating strategies; - Preparing and delivering financial presentations and reports for UNEP management as well as to the United Nations Environment Assembly and other Governing Bodies, and donors as required; - Organizing the contribution from Ecosystems Division to Office of Internal Oversight Services/United Nations Board of Auditors, audit missions, and ensure implementation of accepted audit queries.

2) Division project portfolio: - Providing direction and support to the Fund Management Team to keep the project portfolio under strict control; - Supervising the Fund Management staff team to support the Ecosystems Division branches and units in the project budgeting process, fund raising, legal contracting, fund programming and reporting; - Organizing and ensuring that all externally implemented projects are audited every year and at the end of the project.

3) Division Human Resources: - Supervising HR staff team and ensure compliance to the prevailing UN rules and procedures; - Ensuring the establishment and maintenance of a set of sound HR policies, procedures, standards and tools in the Ecosystems Division which are consistent with UN policy, procedures and practice.

4) Division Administrative operations: - Supervising the Administrative staff team and overseeing general administration issues of the Division; - Producing reports and recommendations for management on the implementation of administrative rules, procedures, and circulars; - Monitoring the adequacy of office space, office arrangements and technology for the Division and proposing an improvement plan when necessary.

5) Division Offices Away from Headquarters - Serving as general liaison between Nairobi and Divisional Offices away from Headquarters on financial, administrative and human resources information, and compile inputs to corporate requests; - Supporting Regional Seas Secretariats in financial matters. - Upon request, representing UNEP in the Convention of Parties (COPs) of the Regional Seas.

6) Management of the Administrative Services Unit: - Developing the work plan of the unit, building the case for the allocation of the unit resources; - Managing a team of Professional and General Service staff and providing leadership by jointly setting objectives and standards, managing performance, identifying training needs, and facilitating team work and high productivity environment; - Mentoring staff under supervision in accomplishing the objectives and outputs of the Unit and realizing individual personal goals, fostering harmonious interpersonal relations in the Unit, Division and across organizational boundaries; - Overseeing and managing performance as additional reporting officer of the Administrative Finance Management Officers in Divisional Offices away from Headquarters - Ensuring compliance, effective and efficient use of the corporate information system; - Performing any other relevant duties as requested.

Competencies - Professionalism: Knowledge of administrative, budgetary, financial and human resources policies and procedures. Ability to apply various United Nations administrative rules and regulations in work situations. Conceptual analytical and evaluative skills to conduct independent research and analysis. Ability to identify issues, formulate opinions, make conclusions and recommendations. 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.

• Client Orientation: Good interpersonal skills and ability to establish and maintain effective partnerships and working relationship in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity, including gender balance; identifies clients' needs and matches them to appropriate solutions; monitors ongoing developments inside and outside the clients' environment, anticipates problems and keeps clients informed.

• Accountability: Takes ownership of all responsibilities and honours commitments; delivers outputs for which one has responsibility within prescribed time, cost and quality standards; operates in compliance with organizational regulations and rules; takes personal responsibility for his/her own shortcomings, where applicable.

• Leadership: Serves as a role model that other people want to follow: Empowers others to translate vision into results; Is proactive in developing strategies to accomplish objectives; Establishes and maintains relationships with a broad range of people to understand needs and gain support; Anticipates and resolves conflicts by pursuing mutually agreeable solutions; Drives for change and improvements; does not accept the status quo; Shows the courage to take unpopular stands. Provides leadership and takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work; Demonstrates knowledge of strategies and commitment to the goal of gender balance in staffing.

• Managing Performance: Delegates the appropriate responsibility, accountability and decision-making authority; makes sure that roles, responsibilities and reporting lines are clear to each staff member; accurately judges the amount of time and resources needed to accomplish a task and matches task to skills; monitors progress against milestones and deadlines; regularly discusses performance and provides feedback and coaching to staff; encourages risk-taking and supports creativity and initiative; actively supports the development and career aspirations of staff; appraises performance fairly.

  Education Advanced university degree (Master's degree or equivalent) in business administration, finance, accounting, management or related area is required. A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying work experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

  Work Experience A minimum of ten (10) years of progressively responsible work experience in financial management, administration and planning of which five (5) years should have been at the international level in a supervisory capacity is required. Experience with managing multiple types of donor funding (trust funds, donor contributions, multilateral funding mechanisms) is required. Experience working with intergovernmental organizations and Enterprise Resources Planning (ERP) systems is desirable.

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

NOTE: ''Fluency'' equals a rating of ''fluent'' in all four areas (read, write, speak, understand) and ''Knowledge of'' equals a rating of ''confident'' in two of the four areas.

Assessment Evaluation of qualified candidates for this position may include a substantive assessment which will be followed by a competency-based interview.

Special Notice - This position is temporarily available for six months. If the selected candidate is a staff member from the United Nations Secretariat, the selection will be administered as a temporary assignment.

• While this temporary assignment may provide the successful applicant with an opportunity to gain new work experience, the selection for this position is for a limited period and has no bearing on the future incumbency of the post.

• Subject to the funding source of the position, the eligibility for this temporary job opening may be limited to candidates based at the duty station.

• This temporary job opening may be limited to “internal candidates,” who have been recruited through a competitive examination administered according to staff rule 4.16 or staff selection process including the review of a central review body established according to staff rule 4.15.

• Staff members of the United Nations common system organizations who will reach the mandatory age of separation or retirement within the duration of the current temporary need period are not eligible to apply.Submitting an application or selection for the current temporary job opening does not delay or increase the mandatory age of separation.

• Retirees above the mandatory age of separation who wish to be considered for the current temporary job opening must indicate the reason for their last separation as "retirement." Such retirees shall not be employed by the Organization, unless (a) the operational requirements of the Organization cannot be met by staff members who are qualified and available to perform the required functions; and (b) the proposed employment would not adversely affect the career development or redeployment opportunities of other staff members and represents both a cost-effective and operationally sound solution to meet the needs of the service.

• The United Nations Secretariat is committed to achieving 50/50 gender balance in its staff. Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply for this position. All applicants are strongly encouraged to apply on-line as soon as possible after the job opening has been posted and well before the deadline stated in the job opening.

• Internal Applicants – when completing the PHP, ensure ALL fields, ALL professional experience and contact information are completed and up to date. This information is the basis for the hiring manager to assess your eligibility and suitability for the position and to contact you.

• Individual contractors and consultants who have worked within the UN Secretariat in the last six months, irrespective of the administering entity, are ineligible to apply for professional and higher temporary or fixed-term positions and their applications will not be considered.

• On-line applications will be acknowledged where an email address has been provided. All applicants are strongly encouraged to apply on-line as soon as possible after the job opening has been posted and well before the deadline stated in the job opening. If you do not receive an e-mail acknowledgement within 24 hours of submission, your application may not have been received. If the problem persists, please seek technical assistance through the Inspira "Contact Us" link.

  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.

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.