Senior Administrative Officer/Chief of Administration and Finance Unit (TJO), P5 at United Nations

Job Opening Number: 17-Administration-OCHA-79613-J-Abuja (X)
Location: Abuja
Job code title: Chief of Mission Support
Department/Office: Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Job type: Temporary
Staffing Exercise: N/A

Special Notice

• This temporary position is intended to fill the functions of short-term duration for six months, with the possibility of extension. The selected candidate is expected to start as soon as possible.
• The duration of the appointment is subject to the availability of funds.
• Candidates should have no expectation of any fixed-term appointment possibility after the end of this temporary assignment. If the selected candidate is an internal staff member of the UN Secretariat, the selection will be recorded as a temporary assignment.
• Subsequent to the initial temporary appointment, new and successive temporary appointments may be granted for service in the same office or in a different office any number of times, for any duration, provided that the length of service does not exceed the period of 364 calendar days.
• Upon separation from service, including, but not limited to, expiration or termination of, or resignation from, a fixed-term, continuing or permanent appointment, a former staff member will be ineligible for re-employment on the basis of a temporary appointment for a period of 31 days following the separation. In the case of separation from service on retirement, a former staff member will be ineligible for re-employment for a period of three months following the separation. This equally applies, mutatis mutandis, with respect to a former or current staff member who has held or holds an appointment in another entity applying the United Nations Staff Regulations and Rules and who applies for a temporary position with the Secretariat.
• A current staff member who holds a fixed-term, permanent or continuing appointment may apply for temporary positions no more than one level above his or her current grade. However, a current staff member who holds an appointment at the G-6 or G-7 level may also apply to temporary positions in the Professional category up to and including the P-3 level, subject to meeting all eligibility and other requirements for the position.
• A staff member holding a temporary appointment shall be regarded as an external candidate when applying for other positions, and may apply for other temporary positions at any level, subject to section 5.7 below and staff rule 4.16 (b) (ii). Therefore, a staff member holding a temporary appointment in the General Service or related categories may only apply to positions within those categories.
• For full information on eligibility requirements, please refer to section 5 of ST/AI/2010/4Rev.1 on Temporary Appointments. In its resolution 66/234, the General Assembly further "stressed that the Secretary-General should not recur to the practice of temporarily filling posts in the Professional and higher categories with General Service staff members who have not passed the General Service to Professional category examination other than on an exceptional basis, and requests the Secretary-General to ensure that temporary occupation of such posts by the General Service staff shall not exceed a period of one year, effective 1 January 2013…"
• Consequently, eligible candidates in the General Service or related categories for temporary job openings in the Professional category that have not passed the competitive examination may be selected only on an exceptional basis endorsed by the Office of Human Resources Management where no other suitable candidate could be identified.
• 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.
• An external candidate selected for this position is bound by the prevailing conditions of the staff selection system under ST/AI/2010/3, as amended, and ST/AI/2010/4/Rev.1.
• A staff member holding a temporary appointment who is recruited in the Professional and above categories on a temporary appointment, and placed on a position authorized for one year or longer may not apply for or be reappointed to his/her current position within six months of the end of his/her current service.
• This provision does not apply to staff members holding temporary appointments and placed on positions authorized for one year or more in duty stations authorized for peacekeeping operations or special political missions.
• The expression "Internal candidates", shall mean staff members who have been recruited after a competitive examination under staff rule 4.16 or after the advice of a central review body under staff rule 4.15.
• For more details on the administration of temporary appointments please refer to ST/AI/2010/4/Rev.1.
• For information on special post allowance, please refer to ST/AI/1999/17. The Staff Regulations, Staff Rules and administrative issuances governing staff appointments can be viewed at: http://www.un.org/hr_handbook/English
• 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 screening and 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, including but not limited to, their education, work experience, and language skills, according to the instructions provided on Inspira.
• Applicants will be disqualified from consideration if they do not demonstrate in their application that they meet the evaluation criteria of the job opening and the applicable internal legislations of the United Nations.
• Candidates under serious consideration for selection will be subject to a reference-checking process to verify the information provided in the application.

Org. Setting and Reporting

• This positions is located in the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Nigeria, based in Abuja. The Senior Administrative Officer/Chief of Administration and Finance Unit reports to the Head of Office.

Responsibilities
Within delegated authority, the Senior Administrative Officer will be responsible for the following:

• Provides policy guidance to the Head of Office, on conceptual strategy development and management of the implementation of overall strategies and intra and inter-divisional/departmental policies and procedures.
• Plans and oversees the management of activities undertaken by the Administration and Finance Unit; ensures that substantive work programmes and programmed activities are carried out in a timely fashion, coordinating diverse projects in the Unit/Section, and, in liaison with other organizations of the United Nations System, donors and agencies as appropriate.
• Manages, supervises and carries out the work programme of the Administration and Finance Unit under his/her responsibility. Co-ordinates the work carried out by the Administration and Finance Unit; provides programmatic and substantive reviews of drafts prepared by others.
• Provides substantive input in the preparation of position papers and reports for presentation to intergovernmental bodies such as the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budget Questions, Committee for Programme Coordination, Economic and Social Council, the General Assembly and other policy-making organs, as appropriate.
• Contributes to the reporting to intergovernmental bodies on budget/programme performance or on programmatic/ substantive issues, as appropriate, particularly those presented in biannual and/or annual reports.
• Ensures that the outputs produced by the Administration and Finance Unit maintain high-quality standards; that reports are clear, objective and based on comprehensive data. Ensures that all outputs produced by the Administration and Finance Unit under his/her supervision meet required standards before completion to ensure they comply with the relevant mandates.
• Prepares inputs for the work programme of the Country Office, determining priorities, and allocating resources for the completion of outputs and their timely delivery.
• Carries out programmatic/administrative tasks necessary for the functioning of the Administration and Finance Unit, including preparation of budgets, assigning and monitoring of performance parameters and critical indicators, reporting on budget/programme performance, preparation of inputs for results-based budgeting, evaluation of staff performance (PAS), interviews of candidates for job openings and evaluation of candidates.
• Manages, guides, develops and trains staff under his/her supervision.
• Fosters teamwork and communication among staff in the Unit/Section and across organizational boundaries.
• Represents the Organization at inter-agency meetings, seminars, etc. on substantive-related issues.

Competencies
Professionalism:

• Knowledge of the substantive field of work in general and of specific areas being supervised.
• Ability to produce reports and papers on technical issues and to review and edit the work of others.
• Ability to apply UN rules, regulations, policies and guidelines in work situations.
• 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.

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.

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.

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) in Business or Public Administration, Finance, Accounting, Law or related area is required.
• A first-level university degree in combination with at least two 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 administration, budget, finance, human resources management or related field is required.
• Field experience in emergency situations is desirable.
• Experience within the United Nations common system handling finance-related matters is desirable.

Languages:

• English and French are the working languages of the United Nations.
• For this position, fluency in English (both oral and written) is required, knowledge of another UN official language is an advantage.

Assessment:

• Evaluation of qualified candidates may include a desk review of the applications, an assessment exercise and/or competency-based interview.

United Nations Considerations

• The United Nations shall place 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. (Charter of the United Nations - Chapter 3, article 8).
• The United Nations Secretariat is a non-smoking environment.