Senior Programme Associate – UNICEF

Deadline: 30 Dec 2021 India Standard Time

UNICEF is fully committed to working with the Government of India to ensure that each child born in this vast and complex country gets the best start in life, thrives and develops to his or her full potential.

UNICEF has been working in India since 1949 advocating for the rights of children and young people. The organisation began its work in India with three staff members and established an office in Delhi three years later. Currently, it advocates for the rights of India’s children in 16 states.

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children.

Across 190 countries and territories to protect the rights of every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone. UNICEF has spent 70 years working to improve the lives of children and their families. Defending children’s rights throughout their lives requires a global presence, aiming to produce results and understand their effects. UNICEF believes all children have a right to survive, thrive and fulfill their potential – to the benefit of a better world. And we never give up!

Click here to learn more about what makes us proud working for UNICEF!

For Every Child, AN ADVOCATE:

In an effort to measurably improve UNICEF’s ability to deliver better results for children, there is growing evidence that investing in the health, education and protection of a society’s most disadvantaged citizens — addressing inequity — not only will give all children the opportunity to fulfill their potential but also will lead to sustained growth and stability of countries. This is why the focus on equity is so vital. It accelerates progress towards realizing the human rights of all children, which is the universal mandate of UNICEF, as outlined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, while also supporting the equitable development of nations.

How can you make a difference?

The purpose of the Senior Programme Associate (PA), Temporary Appointment (TA) is to provide day-to-day administrative and operational support to SPME section by carrying out a range of programme support functions to help develop, implement and monitor their country programme, ensuring effective and timely delivery that is consistent with UNICEF rules and regulations.

The Senior Programme Associate works in close collaboration with a range of staff in the SPME section as well as other programme/cross-cutting and operations sections (e.g. Admin, Finance, Supply, HR) in the India Country Office; these include external partners and agency counterparts in support of programme design and delivery. The Senior PA also provides regular support in the planning and monitoring of the status of projects particularly by supporting to initiate partnerships agreements and partnerships with Government, as well as use of contracts with various institutions and individual experts for Social Policy. A key duty is related to regular monitoring of utilization of funds and contracts, to keep SPME activities on track.

Job no: 546954
Contract type: Temporary Appointment
Level: G-7
Location: India
Categories: Social and Economic Policy

Major duties and responsibilities:

As key CSO partnerships and contracting focal point for SPME, facilitate the development of programme cooperation agreements (PCAs) as well as relevant consultancy and institutional contracts, by providing information, drafting selected sections, and well as performing quality control as per UNICEF Civil Society Organizations (CSO) and UNICEF contracting guidelines, to support specialists and officers in the section.

Responsible for timely and accurate recording and administrative processing of government & NGOs’ proposals and requests for direct cash transfers (DCTs), in coordination with specialists and officers in the section.
Coordinate for the section, follow-up on programme assurance activities including micro-assessments, programmatic visits, regular spot checks of partner’s projects to assess their financial record-keeping, expenditure controls and reporting systems through coordination with UNICEF’s HACT (Harmonized Approach to Cash Transfers) team under Managing for Results (M4R) section.

Support the section in researching, compiling and analyzing qualitative and quantitative data and information from a variety of sources on subject matters relevant to the work of the section to facilitate programme delivery as well as preparation of reports, working papers and presentations, including graphs/tables.
Prepare regular monitoring and reporting information against office wide management and operational Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for Chief including and team on agreed performance indicators (fund utilization, contracting, HR) to drive more efficient management and accountability for results.

Carry out routine transactions in UNICEF’s Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system- VISION, ensuring planned programme results, activities and programme coding are as per rolling work plans (RWPs) and making amendments and alterations as per section revisions when necessary.

Carry out timely transactions in VISION pertaining to grants and programme-related items for the section including but not limited to registering grant allotments and tracking expiring programme grants, in coordination with relevant sections. Provides orientation on VISION and related ERP tools for new SPME staff.

Regularly monitoring budgets and financial expenditures of section by employing applicable tools such as VISION, InSight fund utilization cubes, use of dashboards using excel and other relevant tools, ensuring compliance with UNICEF rules and regulations, keeping the Chief informed and advised on actions for decision and/or follow up.

Prepare periodic or ad-hoc financial analysis reports relating to country office and donors to support the office in optimizing use of programme funds. Advise Chief, SPME team members and state networks as appropriate on donor conditionality of SPME grants; and contributes to donor reports and relevant briefing materials.
Organizes various workshops, seminars and high-level events of SPME by preparing the agenda, logistics and related coordination tasks; and participates in network meetings and prepare summary of proceedings and minutes.

Carry out other relevant administrative /management support to the Chief of section, including work planning (including budgeting), travel planning, section travel and leave plans, and attendance records for SPME team.

Keep abreast of key UNICEF CSO and procurement/administrative guidelines and templates and share and brief SPME specialists and network.

As KM focal point, oversee the implementation of the SPME Enterprise Content Management (ECM) project, by ensuring user-friendly site for users maintained with updated key documentation particularly workplans, strategic guidance note, partnerships, contracts and budgets and meeting reports, including photos and case studies as part of the SPME KM team, with the SPME Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Specialist.

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

Work Experience / Specialized Knowledge

• At least 7 years-experience in administrative services or related area is required.
• Experience working within a development organization is desirable.
• Experience working with development of partnerships documents, concepts and assets is desirable.
• Excellent working knowledge of UNICEF electronic systems (VISION, etc) is desirable.
• Excellent in using and maintaining databases.
• Excellent working knowledge of computer applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint).
• Very good written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to work in a team

Education

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

Languages

Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.

Kindly Note 

• This position is based in New Delhi (India).
• This is a Temporary Appointment for 364 days. The vacancy is open to Indian Nationals only.
• Only shortlisted candidates will be notified and advance to the next stage of the selection process, which involves various assessments.
• UNICEF does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process including application, interview, meeting, traveling, processing, training etc. UNICEF is a non-smoking working environment.
• UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply. Our workplace policies promote flexible work arrangements, to support all staff in maintaining a healthy life balance, both in and out of the office.

Core Values and Competencies

Core Values (Required) For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA).

The UNICEF competencies required for this post are:

• Demonstrates Self Awareness and Ethical Awareness (1)
• Works Collaboratively with others (1)
• Builds and Maintains Partnerships (1)
• Innovates and Embraces Change (1)
• Thinks and Acts Strategically (1)
• Drive to achieve impactful results (1)
• Manages ambiguity and complexity (1)

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles.

All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.

UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children.

To Apply : Click Here