Programme Management Assistant

UN-Habitat is the agency for human settlements. It is mandated by the UN General Assembly to promote socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities with the goal of providing adequate shelter for all. The New York Office represents UN-Habitat in North America. It works with Member States and the UN system, the Governments of the United States and Canada, as well as select cities and other constituencies of the New Urban Agenda to promote adequate housing and sustainable urban development. The office facilitates cooperation between the Office of the Executive Director of UN-Habitat, the Executive Office of the Secretary-General, and New York-based UN entities to advance the UN systemwide strategy for sustainable urban development. It represents UN-Habitat at inter-agency platforms and in intergovernmental processes including high-level meetings of the General Assembly and sessions convened by Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). The position is located in Montreal, Canada, at the UN-Habitat Montreal Office for Green, Resilient and Sustainable Cities. The Montreal Office fosters linkages among research, policy, and action to advance sustainable urban development globally. The office will activate a network of key partners to accelerate the quality and scale of urban sustainability solutions to implement the UN-Habitat Strategic Plan, with a focus on climate and biodiversity solutions to enhance urban resilience and protect vulnerable groups. It will promote the development and synthesis of science, data, innovation, and solutions on urban sustainability to improve the urban environment. In addition, the Montreal Office will establish close working relations with Canadian and North American local governments. The focus of this position is to supports the office’s effective establishment and administrative management of its operations, programmes and projects. Based in Montreal, Canada, the Programme Management Assistant reports to the Lead, Montreal Office, under the overall guidance of the Director of the UN-Habitat New York Office and will be responsible for the following duties:

Responsibilities

• Liaise with local host organizations to ensure effective office hosting arrangements including where necessary, office provisions, procurement processes, security,
• Support the Head of Unit by providing necessary documents, assistance in navigating shared drives and communication platforms and internal operating procedures, such as processing of letters and notifications.
• Act as a critical interface between unit colleagues by keeping colleagues abreast of cross-cutting issues.
• Assist in the coordination of programme/project planning and preparation; monitor status of programme/project proposals; take necessary action to ensure project documents are completed and submitted to relevant parties for approval.
• Assist in the preparation and analysis of programme/project budget proposals; provide assistance in the interpretation of budget guidelines; review and coordinate submissions of programme proposals and budget estimates, ensuring that requisite information is included and justified in terms of proposed activities; propose adjustments as necessary; prepare reports and ensure that outputs/services are properly categorized.
• Assist in the monitoring and evaluation of programmes/projects; categorizes, updates, track and analyse data related to programmes/projects, e.g. accounting records, outputs, resources utilized, deviations/revisions; carry out periodic status reviews, identify issues and initiate requisite follow-up actions; prepare revised budget estimates; report on budget revisions, expenditures and obligations, verify availability of funds; ensure necessary approval and entry in computerized budget system; initiate financial authorizations for expenditures.
• Collaborate with programme/project managers on performance reporting; provide assistance on reporting requirements, guidelines, rules and procedures and ensure completeness and accuracy of data submitted.
• Serve as focal point for coordination, monitoring and expedition of programme/project implementation activities, involving extensive liaison with a diverse organizational units to initiate requests, prepare standard terms of reference against programme/project objectives, obtain necessary clearances, process and follow-up on administrative actions and resolve issues related to project implementation, e.g. recruitment and appointment of personnel, travel arrangements, organization of and participation in training/study tours, authorization of payments, disbursement of funds, procurement of equipment and services.
• Prepares, maintains and updates files (electronic and paper) and internal databases; designs and generates a variety of periodic and ad hoc reports, statistical tables, graphic content, and other background materials/notes to facilitate inspection and other reviews.
• Drafts correspondence and communications related to all aspects of programme/project administration, including work plan and budgets, revisions and other related issues, as well as prepares unit contributions for a variety of periodic reports.
• Provide guidance and training to new/junior staff.
• Compile information for travel plans, including flight and DSA estimates.
• Perform a variety of administrative duties (e.g. meeting organization, reservations, procurement requests for catering and other services), including preparing and/or processing administrative requests/documents (e.g., travel requests, expense reports, vouchers, visa applications, organization of daily subsistence allowance (DSA) distribution to eligible participants requests for the Manager and other staff) using Umoja.
• Assists with the collection and analysis of data as well as preparation of data presentations and reports for information sharing, responding to queries, knowledge management, planning and decision making.
• Assists with visualizations and updating information material such as web pages or brochures.
• May perform other duties as required.

Education

• Completion of High school diploma or equivalent is required.

Work Experience

• A minimum of seven (7) years of experience in administrative services, human resources, finance or related area is required. The minimum years of relevant experience is reduced to five (5) years for candidates who possess a first level university degree or higher. Experience in coordinating and monitoring of programmes / projects activities is desirable. Experience in the United Nations System or other comparable international organization is desirable Experience in using Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system e.g., Umoja is desirable Experience organizing and servicing the holding of meetings is desirable. One (1) year or more of experience in data analytics or related area is desirable

Languages

• English and French are the official languages of the Secretariat. For the post advertised, fluency in English and French is required. Knowledge of another UN official language is desirable. 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 areas.

Source: https://careers.un.org/jobSearchDescription/232541?language=en