Organization: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Country: Switzerland
Closing date:
26 Sep 2018
Org. Setting and Reporting
This position is located in the Finance and Budget Section of the Executive Office (EO) of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Geneva. The incumbent will report to the Executive Officer. The Budget and Finance Section in the Executive Office oversees the administration and management of OCHA’s financial resources. OCHA coordinates the global emergency response to save lives and protect people in humanitarian crises. We advocate for effective and principled humanitarian action by all, for all.
Responsibilities
Within delegated authority, the incumbent will be responsible for the following duties:
Budget preparation:
• Plans and co-ordinates review of budget submissions.
• Reviews, analyses and finalizes cost estimates and budget proposals, in terms of staff and non-staff requirements from (a) Departments/offices at Headquarters and b) Offices in the field, including programmatic aspects;
• Co-ordinates the preparation of budget submissions from managers.
• Reviews, analyses and finalizes programme budget/financial implications in light of additional mandates.
• Serves as lead financial officer to the Department, providing guidance and direction on business and resource planning. Formulates strategic direction and evaluates strategic options, particularly in terms of resource implications.
• Assumes the lead role in monitoring and supporting the execution of these strategies to achieve maximum impact.
• Prepares internal financial reports and responses to Internal and External Audit observations in compliance with the Financial Rules and Regulations
Budget administration:
• Manages/issues allotments, authorizes sub-allotments, including redeployment of funds when necessary, ensuring appropriate expenditures.
• Monitors expenditures to ensure that they remain within authorized levels. Exercises control over budgetary expenditures from these resources and advise more senior staff regarding the allocation/availability of budget resources.
• Administers and monitors extra-budgetary resources, including review of agreements and cost plans, ensuring compliance with regulations and rules and established policies and procedures.
• Oversees the review and finalization of budget performance reports; monitors variances between approved budgets and actual expenditures.
General:
• Provides advice and guidance, including training, to Headquarters and field staff on budgetary and financial policies and procedures, including results-based budgeting.
• Participates in inter-departmental meetings and/or technical survey missions on matters related to resource requirements, programming and budgetary issues.
• Keeps up-to-date on documents/reports/guidelines that have a bearing on matters related to programme and/or peacekeeping budgets, ensuring compliance with intergovernmental recommendations and decisions as well as with United Nations policies and procedures.
• Prepares/finalizes reports for intergovernmental bodies and for management on budgetary issues, and correspondence, including guidelines, instructions.
• Reviews and analyses budgetary policies and procedures, makes recommendations for changes and/or modifications and support the Assistant Secretary-General with the management of the Budget Review Committee.
• Acts as Certifying Officer under Financial Rule 110.4 to ensure that proposed obligations and expenditures are in accordance with budgets and established regulations and rules.
• Ensures the integrity of financial and management systems and the controls that underpin them.
• Represents the Under-Secretary-General in meetings of legislative organs; represents OPPBA or ACABQ
• Plans, organizes and manages staff and work programme; plans and discusses individual work programmes with staff and evaluates their performance.
• May act as Officer-in-Charge of the Administrative Service Branch, in absence of the Executive Officer.
• Performs other related duties, as assigned.
Competencies
• Professionalism: Knowledge of financial and budgetary principles and practices, budget management and financial administration of resources. Proven analytical skills and ability to provide technical advice in budget management to managers. Ability to manage a programme in a field operation and formulate new strategies and approaches to budget management issues. 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.
• Communication: Speaks and writes clearly and effectively; listens to others, correctly interprets messages from others and responds appropriately; asks questions to clarify, and exhibits interest in having two-way communication; tailors language, tone, style and format to match audience; demonstrates openness in sharing information and keeping people 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; supports subordinates, provides oversight and takes responsibility for delegated assignments; takes personal responsibility for his/her own shortcomings and those of the work unit, where applicable.
Managerial Competencies
• 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.
• Judgement/Decision-making: Identifies the key issues in a complex situation, and comes to the heart of the problem quickly; gathers relevant information before making a decision; considers positive and negative impacts of decisions prior to making them; takes decisions with an eye to the impact on others and on the Organization; proposes a course of action or makes a recommendation based on all available information; checks assumptions against facts; determines the actions proposed will satisfy the expressed and underlying needs for the decision; makes tough decisions when necessary.
Education
Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent degree) in business administration, finance, or related field. A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
Work Experience
A minimum of ten years of progressively responsible experience in finance, administration, budget, business administration or related area is required. Relevant experience within the the UN Common System or other international organization is desirable. Experience in relation to complex administrative systems (e.g. Enterprise Resource Planning Software) or workflow improvement is desirable. Relevant field-based experience within the United Nations Common System or a similar international organization 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
Evaluation of qualified candidates may include an assessment exercise which may be followed by a competency-based interview.
Special Notice
The position is available for four (4) months with the possibility of extension.
Staff members are subject to the authority of the Secretary-General and to assignment by him or her. In this context, all staff are expected to move periodically to new functions in their careers in accordance with established rules and procedures.
Staff members of the United Nations Secretariat must fulfill the lateral move requirements to be eligible to apply for this vacancy. Staff members are requested to indicate all qualifying lateral moves in their Personal History Profile (PHP) and cover note.
For this position, applicants from the following Member States, which are unrepresented or underrepresented in the UN Secretariat as of 31 May 2018, are strongly encouraged to apply: Afghanistan, Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahrain, Belarus, Belize, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Central African Republic, China, Comoros, Cyprus, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Dominica, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Grenada, Guinea-Bissau, Indonesia, Islamic Republic of Iran, Japan, Kiribati, Kuwait, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Monaco, Mozambique, Nauru, Norway, Oman, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Qatar, Russian Federation, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Solomon Islands, South Sudan, Suriname, Syrian Arab Republic, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, United Arab Emirates, United States of America, Vanuatu, Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
The United Nations is Secretariat is committed to achieving 50/50 gender balance in its staff. Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply for this position.
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 or sexual abuse, or crimes other than minor traffic offences, 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.
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.
How to apply:
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