Programme Officer

Org. Setting and Reporting

The mandate of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) is to promote sustainable and inclusive development and regional connectivity in the Asian and Pacific region. ESCAP’s role as a regional development arm of the United Nations Secretariat is to support its membership with policy oriented research and analysis, normative support and technical assistance and capacity building, to respond to the development priorities and changing needs of the Asian and Pacific region. This position is located in the Programme Planning and Budget Section, in the Strategy and Programme Management Division (SPMD).

Responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of the Finance and Budget Officer, and overall supervision of the Chief of Programme Planning and Budget Section, the Programme Officer will be responsible for the following duties:

Participates in the development, implementation and evaluation of assigned programmes/projects, participates in the engagement with partners and negotiations of trust fund agreements, memoranda of understanding and other partnership agreements ; reviews relevant documents and reports; identifies problems and issues to be addressed and proposes corrective actions; liaises with substantive divisions/offices and relevant parties; identifies and tracks follow-up actions.

• Performs consulting assignments, in collaboration with the client, by planning facilitating workshops, through other interactive sessions and assisting in developing the action plan the client will use to manage the change and performs funds allocations and relocations and monitors budget implementation and expenditures to ensure they remain within authorized levels.
• Researches, analyzes selected aspects of grants, partnerships, programs, operations, and presents statistical data and other information gathered from diverse sources.
• Assists in policy development, including the review, analysis and administration of extra-budgetary resources,and reviews agreements and cost plans, ensuring compliance with regulations and policies.
• Undertakes survey initiatives; designs data collection tools; reviews, analyzes and interprets responses, identifies problems/issues and prepares conclusions. Prepares various written outputs, e.g. draft background papers, analysis, sections of reports and studies, inputs to publications, and contributes to the preparation of proposed program budgets.
• Provides substantive support to managers with respect to the elaboration of extra-budgetary resource requirements for budget submissions and support to consultative and other meetings, conferences, etc., to include proposing agenda topics, identifying participants, preparation of documents and presentations, etc.
• Undertakes outreach activities; conducts training workshops, seminars, etc.; makes presentations on assigned topics/activities in particular on grants and budget. Coordinates activities related to budget and funding (programme/project preparation and submissions, progress reports, financial statements, etc.) and prepares related documents/reports (pledging, work programme, programme budget, etc.).
• Collects, reviews and analyzes data related to projects funded from extra-budgetary resources; monitors and recommends utilization of funds from completed /closed projects for both earmarked and unearmarked funds with respect to the finalization of cost estimates and budget proposals, in terms of staff and non-staff requirements 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.
• Performs other related duties as required.

Education

• Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in business administration, management, economics or a related field is required. A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying 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.

Work Experience

• A minimum of five years of progressively responsible experience in programme management, administration, finance, accounting, or related field is required. Experience with result-based management is required. Experience with the international Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems is desirable. Experience in international organization in programme management is desirable. Experience working with UN financial rules and regulations and knowledge of intergovernmental approval process for programme and budget is desirable. Two years of proven experience in data science, data analytics, information management, or related area is desirable.

Languages

• English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the post advertised, fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another UN official language is an advantage.

Source: https://careers.un.org/jobSearchDescription/236212?language=en