Batch Recruitment: Programme Associate

UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.

At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.

UNICEF is a place where careers are built: we offer our staff diverse opportunities for personal and professional development that will help them develop a fulfilling career while delivering on a rewarding mission. We pride ourselves on a culture that helps staff thrive, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

For every child, Hope

Giga (giga.global) is a partnership between UNICEF (unicef.org) and the ITU (itu.int) working to connect every school in the world. The team has experience and background in building technology products, finance and investment, design, and infrastructure. It’s a global team, with two “centers of gravity” (in Barcelona, Spain and Geneva, Switzerland) but with many team members located around the world.

You would be part of the world’s leading organization for children, with more than 75 years of expertise delivering emergency assistance, technical advice, and building health, education, and protection systems in 190 countries. In addition to the UNICEF Core Competencies, we take pride in hiring a diverse and global team with four major characteristics: technical excellence, humility, honesty, and a good sense of humor.

The programme associate is accountable for communications, programme and operations, and administrative support services to enhance the smooth running of the supervisor’s day-to-day activities. This involves management of information and coordination of matters within a substantive team. The post is a key interface with a broad range of contacts including high-ranking officials, both within and outside the Organization. The post prioritizes tasks and organizes work independently based on general direction from the supervisor.

Key Functions:

Procurement Support

• 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 TORs in VISION, and making necessary logistical arrangements.
• Guide managers in the process of PCA/SSAs in line with the policies and guidance issued by FRI, supply division and DHR.
• Facilitate the processing of institutional contracts in collaboration with HQ supply Division. This includes preparing and filing documents, completing necessary forms and templates, and making necessary logistical arrangements.
• Keep abreast of activities of importance, latest policies, procedures, and organizational changes affecting the team.
• Maintain up-to-date vendor lists, partners, and consultant rosters.
• Support management of administrative supplies, office equipment, and updating the inventory of items.

Budget Monitoring

• Contribute to monitoring budgets and financial expenditures of section, ensuring compliance with UNICEF rules and regulations, keeping supervisor informed and advised on actions for decision/follow up.
• Provides support on budget revision/preparation, implementation status, determination position of funding utilization, operational, and financial closure.
• Prepares and maintains records, documents and control plans for the budget monitoring of project/programme implementation.

Administrative Support

• Maintains office calendar and arrange appointments and meetings, including with high-ranking partners and counterparts with a particular focus on the Head of Initiative/Giga.
• Support organization of internal as well as high-level meetings including taking responsibility for finalization of the meeting agenda, invitations, the production and distribution of documentation, and preparation of minutes of meetings.
• Provide travel assistance to the supervisor as well as the other team members including the visa/hotel arrangements.
• Prepare, collect, and share briefing materials for supervisor concerning official trips or meetings with external counterparts. Select and make pertinent abstracts and undertake searches for information. Brief supervisor of important developments.
• Prepare documentation for the supervisor’s signature reviewing for style, factual and grammatical accuracy. Draft non-substantive correspondence based on first-hand knowledge of work schedule or events, rough notes, or verbal instructions, for supervisor's approval.

Communication Support

• On behalf of supervisor, manage incoming and outgoing correspondence, e-mails, and telephone calls. Apprise the supervisor of urgent and important issues. This includes continuous monitoring of correspondences and actions requiring his personal attention and preparing responses as appropriate.
• Determine routing-for-action to senior staff, follow-up on the actions taken and provide information updates regarding subsequent developments and issues. Establish/manage follow-up system for timely response.
• Establish and maintain a records management system containing reference materials and confidential records as required.
• Communicate sensitive information to senior level managers and coordinate responses on behalf of the supervisor.
• Follow up on established deadlines and ensure timely submissions by staff of reports, correspondence, briefing notes and other documents for supervisor's reference.
• As appropriate, provide information and guidance to staff at all levels within the organizational unit to ensure understanding of intent and deadlines.

Travel and Invoice Processing Support

• Provides travel assistance to staff members in the 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.
• Briefs/de-briefs staff members on issues relating to related administrative matters such as visas, security clearance, and documentation procedures.
• Extracts, inputs, maintains, and verifies correctness of travel records in the organization’s travel system to ensure accurate transactions related to travel costs and staff travel.
• Assists in the preparation of budgets on travel costs and maintain travel plan and budgetary control records.
• Monitors travel certification and report back to the team.
• Responsible for collecting invoices and filing documents for approval and thereafter processing in VISION.
• Uploads electronic files and verifies results to destination system.
• Responds to client transaction status and other inquiries.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

Minimum requirements:

Education:

• Completion of secondary education is required, preferably supplemented by technical or university courses related to the work of the organization.

Work Experience:

• At least 6 years of relevant work experience in administrative or clerical work.
• Training and experience using MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and other UNICEF software such as SharePoint; knowledge of integrated management information systems required.
• Strong organizational, planning, and prioritizing skills and abilities is considered an asset.
• Ability to work effectively with people of different national and cultural backgrounds.
• Ability to work in a team environment to achieve common goals and to provide guidance to more junior support staff.
• Relevant experience in a UN system agency or organization is considered as an asset.

Language Requirements: Fluency in English is required.

Desirables:

• Knowledge of French is highly desirable.
• Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.
• Developing country work experience and/or familiarity with emergency situations.

For every Child, you demonstrate...

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it.

The 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

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. UNICEF’s active commitment to diversity and inclusion is critical to deliver the best results for children.