Associate Administrative Officer, NOB

Job Opening number: 18-Administration-UNISDR-95893-R-PANAMA CITY (X)

Note: This position is subject to local recruitment pursuant to staff rule 4.4 of the United Nations Staff Rules. All staff in the National Professional Officer category shall be recruited nationals of the country where the position is located. You must be a Panamanian national to apply.

Org. Setting and Reporting

Created in December 1999, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) is the designated focal point in the United Nations system for the coordination of efforts to reduce disasters and to ensure synergies among the disaster reduction activities of the United Nations and regional organizations and activities in both developed and less developed countries. Led by the United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction (SRSG), UNISDR has over 100 staff located in its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, and in regional offices. Specifically, UNISDR guides, monitors, analyses and reports on progress in the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, supports regional and national implementation of the Framework and catalyses action and increases global awareness to reduce disaster risk working with U.N. Member States and a broad range of partners and stakeholders, including civil society, the private sector, parliamentarians and the science and technology community.

The position is located in the UNISDR Regional Office for Americas, Panama. The incumbent reports to the Deputy Chief of the Regional Office.

Responsibilities

Under the supervision of the Deputy Chief of Office, the incumbent performs the following duties:

Contributes to the work programme of the administrative unit, determining priorities, and allocating resources for the completion of outputs and their timely delivery, setting clear targets and indicators for his/her unit, and monitoring performance of the unit against these targets. Ensures that the outputs produced by his/her unit maintain high-quality standards and reflect a strong client orientation. Gathers and documents regular and systematic feedback from clients, and proposes corrective action to address identified gaps and challenges.

Acts as the regional office’ reference point on all administrative matters including travel, human resources, procurement, finance and budget. Provides authoritative advice to staff and management in the office on matters related to administration, by liaising with the Resource Planning and Management Section in Geneva, as needed. Contributes to Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) developed by the Resource Planning and Management Section and ensures that SOPs are circulated and understood by staff members in the regional office. Liaises with internal and external partners on matters related to administration, human resources, procurement, finance and budget, as per delegated authority.

In close cooperation with the Administrative management unit in Geneva, is responsible for all activities related to the opening and closing of offices and presences in the region, as needed; Contributes and reviews the local contracts including MoUs with service providers, contracts for cleaning services, IT support, photocopier, printing, etc. in line with the UN rules and standard practices; Oversees records management in the regional office that includes ensuring filing and record keeping of all MoUs, contracts and consultancies; Reviews the contract-related invoices before approval by the Chief of Office/Deputy Chief of Office and payment by the Finance and Budget unit in Geneva. Develops and maintains travel guides for the duty stations in the region including all relevant information.

Oversees the organization of meetings and conferences by the regional office including the registration of meeting participants, ensuring the registration of meeting participants in UMOJA, including travel and related-expense reports, and the logistics surrounding the organization of meetings and conferences (room booking, invitations, security, visas, protocol, hospitality…etc).

Supports the regional office’s leadership with the preparation and regular updates of the regional office’s cost plan; prepares budget updates for ongoing projects; reviews and analyses expenditures, in close collaboration with the Budget and Finance unit in Geneva; Identifies issues and proposes corrective action. Contributes the review of unliquidated obligations, for the regional office. Initiates low-value procurement by preparing vendor profiles in Umoja and raising the shopping carts for purchases up to 10,000 USD for the regional office and offices in the region; Prepares service entry sheets and vendor and service provider’s payments; Prepares bills to service providers and vendors, including utility bills.

Works closely with the Human Resources Unit in Geneva to ensure efficient management of human resources, including staff, consultants and other non-staff resources. In particular, drafts job descriptions for new positions for review by the Human Resources Unit in Geneva and assists the hiring manager with the recruitment in Inspira for staff, consultants and interns. Prepares and implements the induction of new staff members at the regional level including the provision of office equipment, ID, visas, work permit, etc. and relevant databases/emails accesses. Provides guidance to staff members on benefits and entitlements, contractual status, performance management and staff development. Maintains personnel records for each staff member; Raises shopping carts for consultants and ICs in UMOJA. Monitors the contracts of staff members and consultants in the region and liaises with the Human Resources Unit in Geneva to request extensions and/or separations, as needed. Assists staff members in the separation and clearance process. Assists with the monitoring of performance management compliance and with career support and staff development through reporting training attendance for staff in the region, including the mandatory UN training courses.

Acts as the regional UMOJA regional super user. Oversees the implementation and compliance with UMOJA processes in the region.Provides guidance, training and UMOJA assistance to staff members on issues related to log-in, the processing of their benefits and entitlements in Employee self-service, travel administration, finance and procurement processes. Focal point for UMOJA role mapping in the region.

May be asked to perform other related duties.

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. Takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work.

TEAMWORK: Works collaboratively with colleagues to achieve organizational goals; solicits input by genuinely valuing others' ideas and expertise; is willing to learn from others; places team agenda before personal agenda; supports and acts in accordance with final group decision, even when such decisions may not entirely reflect own position; shares credit for team accomplishments and accepts joint responsibility for team shortcomings.

CLIENT ORIENTATION: Considers all those to whom services are provided to be "clients" and seeks to see things from clients' point of view; establishes and maintains productive partnerships with clients by gaining their trust and respect; identifies clients' needs and matches them to appropriate solutions; monitors ongoing developments inside and outside the clients' environment to keep informed and anticipate problems; keeps clients informed of progress or setbacks in projects; meets timeline for delivery of products or services to client.

Education

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

Work Experience

A minimum of two years of progressively responsible experience in finance, administration, human resources, procurement or related field. Experience working with ERP systems such as SAP is required. Experience working in international organizations such as the United Nations is desirable. Experience using MS Excel is desirable. Experience supervising a team is desirable.

Languages

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this position, fluency in English (both oral and written) is required. Fluency in Spanish, the language of the duty station, is also required. Knowledge of another UN official language is an advantage.

Assessment

Evaluation of qualified candidates may include an assessment exercise which will be followed by competency-based interview.

Special Notice

This position is subject to local recruitment pursuant to staff rule 4.4 of the United Nations Staff Rules. All staff in the National Professional Officer category shall be recruited nationals of the country where the position is located. A staff member subject to local recruitment shall not be eligible for the allowances or benefits exclusively applicable to international recruitment.

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.

Extension of the appointment is subject to extension of the mandate and/or the availability of the funds.

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.