Deputy Representative Operations, P-5, Beijing, China #2994

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.

Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

For every child, dedication

The fundamental and primary mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programs, in advocacy and in operations. The equity strategy, emphasizing the most disadvantaged and excluded children and families, translates this commitment to children’s rights into action. For UNICEF, equity means that all children have an opportunity to survive, develop and reach their full potential, without discrimination, bias or favoritism. To the degree that any child has an unequal chance in life — in its social, political, economic, civic and cultural dimensions — her or his rights are violated. There is growing evidence that investing in child survival, 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. In fragile and humanitarian contexts, UNICEF action is guided by its global Policy and Framework for humanitarian action:  Where humanitarian clusters are activated, UNICEF is accountable to fulfill its responsibilities as Cluster Lead Agency (CLA) for Nutrition, WASH, Education (co-lead with Save the Children), and Child Protection Area of Responsibility (CP AoR) within the Protection Cluster.

The Operations function supports the Head of the Office on managing the office and monitoring operations and programmes as needed, while providing advice on best and innovative management practices to enhance office performance. The function is a strategic Business Partner role within the Senior Management team, assuring the best use of UNICEF assets in alignment with sound management practices, office priorities and goals to deliver results for children.

How can you make a difference?

As a Strategic Business Partner and Deputy for the Head of Office, the incumbent will be responsible to lead for results, drive change, provide risk informed, solution-focused analysis, advice and services and contribute to programme and management decisions for delivering results for children in all operational contexts. 

Strategic Operations will accomplish this by:

• Leading by example and supporting the Head of Office on managing the office;
• Acting as Officer in Charge in the absence of the Head of Office;
• Supporting the Head of Office in external relationship with the Government and other counterparts in China as well as contributing to the strategic positioning of China CO within the UN community in China and within UNICEF globally.
• Managing services in the functional areas of operations support: budget, financial management and reporting, facilities management, administration, supply and logistics management, information and communications technology, human resources, and safety and security and convening the other functions to arrive at a unified vision;
• Ensuring processes are in place to identify, promote and empower the potential in staff through career development, opportunities for stretch assignments and succession planning;
• Acting as member of the Country and Senior Management Teams, representing the organizational risk, governance systems and policies perspective in management discussions, and promoting results based management.
• Understanding business needs for the Country Programme, to anticipate challenges, propose viable solutions, provide creative and innovative ideas aimed at a solution- focused approach to include value for money strategies, all underpinned by quality assurance measures;
• Providing key contribution to CPD, CPMP, AMP and support to Results Based Management and implementation using Value for Money criteria;
• Supporting UNICEF Supply Division (SD) engagement in the China market and contributing to the engagement of the SD and the Government of China In the localization and local production agenda;
• Leveraging technology for results and programme accountabilities, making effective adoption of tools and promoting the fundamentals of ICT management, information security and controls;
• Supporting the country office during external and internal audit reviews and responding to audit observations and monitoring implementation of recommendations;
• Guiding Supply and Logistics strategies and interventions to meet programmatic needs while ensuring Value for Money (VfM), including procurement of fit for purpose products and services, and providing advisory support to governments, national systems and partners on supply chain management;
• Leveraging governance, systems, and tools to provide regular feedback on risks and achievements of operations functions in the country;
• Leading on facility management with a specific focus on inclusive accessibility, eco sustainability and common premises;
• Overseeing business transactions processed by GSSC from a perspective of Efficiency, Performance, Risk Management and Fraud prevention;
• Supporting the management of PSFR operations and promoting efficiency across systems and processes, where applicable;
• In fragile context and humanitarian contexts, ensure that UNICEF offices are fit for purpose to enable the timely delivery of humanitarian assistance by UNICEF and its partners – in compliance with the commitments and standards enshrined in the Core Commitments for Children in Humanitarian Action – and of its role as CLA (where clusters are activated). This includes ensuring the mandatory use and application of the Emergency Procedures, as applicable.

The Deputy Representative, Operations will be entrusted with the following five pillars, the core focus of all operations functions: Valuing People, Valuing Money, Valuing Risk Management, Valuing Systems and Structures, Valuing Partners.
 Deputy Representative Operations Level 5.pdf

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

The following minimum requirements:

Education:

• An Advanced University Degree (Master’s and above) in one of the following areas is required: Business management; Financial management; Accounting; Public Finance; and related operations function (Supply Chain, Human Resources, Information Technology, International Business, Project management, etc.) or a full professional accounting designation (CA, ACA, ACCA, CPA, CIMA, CPFA, Expert Comptable) from an internationally recognized institute/body of accountancy with valid membership in good standing is required.

Work Experience:

• A minimum of 10 years of professional experience, at the national and international level, is required, specifically in advocating and implementing strategic organizational initiatives in one or more operations management area including budget; financial management and reporting; facilities management; administration; supply and logistics management; information and communication technology; human resources.

Skills

• Emotional Intelligence
• Negotiation skills
• Risk-taking ability
• Soft skills required in sensitive political settings
• Works well under pressure in high threat environments
• Previous hands-on experience in strategic and managerial leadership is required.
• Familiarity with Microsoft Office applications is required.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English is required.

The following desirables:

• Developing country work experience and/or familiarity with emergency.
• Prior experience in the development sector or UN system/ international NGOs would be an asset.
• Significant private sector fundraising operation, prior experience working with or in the private sector, and supporting private sector fundraising, is desirable
• Experience in a UN system agency, large private or public company, or experience working in a developing country and/or humanitarian/ emergency context is an asset.
• Experience in working with corporate ERPs (Enterprise Resource Planning) and IPSAS (International Public Sector Accounting Standards) is highly desirable.
• Experience in Results Based Management is a requirement.
• Experience in managing successful client-oriented work units is an asset.
• Experience in co-creating policy is desirable.
• Prior experience working with diverse stakeholder groups or multi-stakeholder partnership is highly desirable.
• Additional experience in one or more of the following areas, would be desired:
  • Audit and investigations
  • Supplies operations
  • Grant Management
  • Enterprise Risk Management
• Language: Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language.

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. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

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 (8) Nurtures, leads and manages people.

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

This position has been assessed as an elevated risk role for Child Safeguarding purposes as it is: a role with direct contact with children, works directly with children, or is a safeguarding response role. Additional vetting and assessment for elevated risk roles in child safeguarding (potentially including additional criminal background checks) apply.

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks, and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements.

UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). 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 is committed to promoting the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. 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 appointments are subject to medical clearance.  Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station is required for IP positions and will be facilitated by UNICEF. Appointments may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Should you be selected for a position with UNICEF, you either must be inoculated as required or receive a medical exemption from the relevant department of the UN. Otherwise, the selection will be canceled.

Remarks:

As per 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.

UNICEF’s active commitment to diversity and inclusion is critical to deliver the best results for children. For this position, eligible and suitable Female candidates from Industrial countries are encouraged to apply.

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

Government employees who are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government positions before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason. 

UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants’ bank account information.

All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. An internal candidate performing at the level of the post in the relevant functional area, or an internal/external candidate in the corresponding Talent Group, may be selected, if suitable for the post, without assessment of other candidates.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.