Org. Setting and Reporting
The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) is the leading global environmental authority that sets the global environmental agenda, promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United Nations system and serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment. This post is located in UNEP’s West Asia Office at the Beirut duty station. Under the supervision of the Regional Director of UNEP’s West Asia Office. The incumbent will perform the following duties:
Responsibilities
1. Policy, planning and programme implementation: – Advises the Regional Director and provides inputs on the implementation of corporate policies and initiatives as related to administrative and financial arrangements. – Advises senior management on budgeting, financial, human resources, general administration, management information issues, and practices. – Produces reports for management, headquarters and donors as required. – Provides advice and support to senior and programme management on operational aspects and implications of programme implementation, project budgeting, review of project documents, proposals, audit, monitoring & evaluation, clearance of legal instruments, special reviews of operational objectives and related administrative policies/procedures as applicable. -Participates, on behalf of the Regional Office, in task forces, meetings and events on administrative issues. – Actively monitors the regional office portfolio including Regular Budget, Environment Fund, Overhead Account and extra budgetary resources and advises on allocation and efficient use of funds in compliance with the programme manual and United Nations Financial Rules and regulations. 2. Human Resource Management: – Takes the lead in coordinating the full range of staff and human resource administration-related issues in the region, ensuring the regional office’s requirements are met, overseeing development and maintenance of staffing table records; interpretation and application of staff rules relating to human resource issues. – Identifies potential management reviews of high sensitivity and complexity. – Defines problems to be addressed in management reviews and oversee the work of review teams through all stages. – Ensures all actions follow operational procedures for recruitment, transfer, placement and separation of staff promotions as well as mobility and career development; gender equality and staff-management relations. – Provides expert advice with respect to conditions of service, duties and responsibilities, and privileges and entitlements under the Staff Rules and Regulations. – Provides advice on recruitment of consultants, interns, non-reimbursable loan agreements and other non-staff modalities. 3. Budget and Finance: – Ensure strategic and efficient management of Environment Fund, overhead trust account and extra budgetary financial resources. – Review and certify projects’ budgets and costs estimates. – Prepare and certify budget and financial reports to senior management, headquarters and donors. – Review and certify financial transactions and reporting. – Regularly inform substantive officers and senior management on sub-regional and country offices budget expenditures and rates of delivery. – Liaise and negotiate with headquarters in relation to resources allocations to the regional office. – Monitors expenditures to ensure that they remain within authorized levels. – Exercises control over budgetary expenditures from these resources and advise senior management regarding the allocation / availability of budget resources. – Serves as lead financial officer to the Regional Office, providing guidance and direction on business and resource planning. – Evaluate and advice on the resource implications on proposed strategic direction and plans. – Prepares responses to Internal and – External Audit observations in compliance with the Financial Rules and Regulations. Troubleshoot issues and take corrective actions when needed. -Review and clear legal instruments and associated budget taking into account human resource and procurement implications. 4.General Administration: – Oversee, certify and approve travel requests, procurement, information technologies, asset and facilities management, and host country functions in the region. – Liaises and leads on strategic relationships with main service providers. – Manages and supervises staff of the Administrative and Financial Management Section. – Prepares performance reports and medium-term plans for administrative staff. – Acts as First Reporting Officer (FRO) to all administrative and finance staff in the region and Second Reporting Officer (SRO) to support staff. – Mentors administrative staff in accomplishing their goals and objectives and fosters harmonious working relationships. – Collects and analyzes data to identify trends or patterns and provide insights through graphs, charts, tables and reports using data visualization methods to enable data-driven planning, decision-making, presentation and reporting. – Perform any other relevant duties.
Competencies
PROFESSIONALISM: Knowledge of administrative, budgetary, financial and human resources policies and procedures. Ability to apply various 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. The ability to analyze and interpret data in support of decision-making and convey resulting information to management. 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. PLANNING AND 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. 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, finance, accounting or related area is required. A first-level degree (Bachelor’ s or equivalent) in the specified fields with two additional years of relevant work experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree. Successful completion of both degree and non-degree programs in data analytics, business analytics or data science programs is an advantage.
Job – Specific Qualification
Relevant training in professional qualification such as ACA, ACCA is desirable.
Work Experience
A minimum of seven (7) years of progressively responsible experience in Business Administration, Budget, Finance, Human Resources Management, or related field is required. Prior experience in regional and/or country offices at the UN or a comparable international organization is desirable. Experience in Enterprise Resource Planning Systems particularly Systems Applications and Products (SAP) is desirable. Experience in applying administrative, financial rules and regulations, human resources and budgetary procedures at the UN or in a comparable international organization is desirable. 2 years or more of experience in data analytics or related area is desirable.
Languages
English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the position advertised, fluency in English and Arabic is required. NOTE: ”Fluency” equals a rating of ”fluent” in all four areas (read, write, speak, understand) and ”Knowledge of” equals a rating of ”confident” in two of the four area.
Assessment
Evaluation of qualified candidates may include an assessment exercise which may be followed by competency-based interview.
Special Notice
Appointment against this position is for an initial period of one year and may be subject to 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. The United Nations Secretariat is committed to achieving 50/50 gender balance and geographical diversity in its staff. Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply for this position. Internal Applicants – When completing the Candidate Profile form, ensure ALL fields, ALL professional experience and contact information are completed and up to date. This information is the basis for the hiring manager to assess your eligibility and suitability for the position and to contact you. Individual Contractors and Consultants who have worked within the UN Secretariat in the last six months, irrespective of the administering entity, are ineligible to apply for or be appointed to any professional and higher temporary or fixed-term positions, within six months of the end of their current or most recent service. For such positions, at least six months need to have elapsed between the end of a consultancy or individual contract and the time of application and consideration for an appointment as a staff member under the Staff Rules and Regulations of the United Nations. Applicants, who successfully go through a competitive recruitment process and are recommended for selection and/or inclusion in the roster of pre-approved candidates for subsequent job openings at the same level and with similar functions, may have their application information and roster status shared with other UN Organizations. Such applicants may be contacted by other UN Organizations for similar job openings, subject to the confirmation of their interest. Placement on the roster is no guarantee of a future selection. At the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the recruitment and employment of staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity, with due regard to geographic diversity. All employment decisions are made on the basis of qualifications and organizational needs. The United Nations is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. The United Nations recruits and employs staff regardless of gender identity, sexual orientation, race, religious, cultural and ethnic backgrounds or disabilities. Reasonable accommodation for applicants with disabilities may be provided to support participation in the recruitment process when requested and indicated in the application. On-line applications will be acknowledged where an email address has been provided. All applicants are strongly encouraged to apply on-line as soon as possible after the job opening has been posted and well before the deadline stated in the job opening. If you do not receive an e-mail acknowledgement within 24 hours of submission, your application may not have been received. If the problem persists, please seek technical assistance through the Inspira “Contact Us” link.
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, sexual abuse, or sexual harassment, 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. The term “sexual harassment” means any unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature that might reasonably be expected or be perceived to cause offence or humiliation, when such conduct interferes with work, is made a condition of employment or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment, and when the gravity of the conduct warrants the termination of the perpetrator’s working relationship. Candidates who have committed crimes other than minor traffic offences may not be considered for employment. 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. Reasonable accommodation may be provided to applicants with disabilities upon request, to support their participation in the recruitment process. By accepting a letter of appointment, staff members are subject to the authority of the Secretary-General, who may assign them to any of the activities or offices of the United Nations in accordance with staff regulation 1.2 (c). Further, staff members in the Professional and higher category up to and including the D-2 level and the Field Service category are normally required to move periodically to discharge functions in different duty stations under conditions established in ST/AI/2023/3 on Mobility, as may be amended or revised. This condition of service applies to all position specific job openings and does not apply to temporary positions. Applicants are urged to carefully follow all instructions available in the online recruitment platform, inspira, and to refer to the Applicant Guide by clicking on “Manuals” in the “Help” tile 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.