Programme Officer (NO-1), UNICEF B&H, #127630, temporary appointment, 364 days (for BiH nationals only)

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

And we never give up.

 

For every child, health

Why working for UNICEF video

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programmes, 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 the health, 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.

The vision of the proposed country programme is that all children in Bosnia and Herzegovina will benefit from an equitable realization of their rights to health, education, protection, and participation, overcoming the existing bottlenecks and in line with the Sustainable Development Goals. The Theory of Change is that children will have more chances to survive, thrive and develop to their full potential if more children, from birth through adolescence, enjoy greater access to and use of strengthened service-delivery systems in health, nutrition, early childhood development, inclusive education, social protection, care and justice systems, and if parents and communities are enabled to fulfil children’s rights through positive social norms and practices.

 

How can you make a difference?

The Programe Officer for Nutrition component in UNICEF BiH Health Section reports to the Health Specialist in matrix with Early Childhood Development (ECD) Officer for close guidance and supervision.The post bears responsibility for executing a broad variety of procedural and specialized administrative tasks for the respective section requiring in-depth knowledge of UNICEF administrative procedures, processes and policies.

The Programe Officer is responsible for programe management, monitoring and delivery of results, innovation, knowledge management, as well technical, operational and administrative assistance throughout the programming process through the application of theoretical and technical skills in researching, collecting, analyzing and presenting technical programe information and learning organizational rules, regulations and procedures, and budget monitoring to support the programe management and implementation within the Country Programe.

 

Key function, accountabilities and related duties/tasks

1. Support to programe development and planning

• Prepare required documentations and materials to facilitate the programe review and approval process including:
• Facilitating the development of programme cooperation agreements (PCAs) by providing information and drafting selected sections of it and
• Ensuring the timely and accurate recording and administrative processing of government & NGO’s proposals and requests for direct cash transfers (DCTs).
• Prepare technical reports and inputs for programe preparation and documentation, ensuring accuracy, timeliness and relevancy of information.
• Provide technical and administrative support throughout all stages of programming processes by executing and administering a variety of technical programe transactions, preparing materials and documentations, and complying with organizational processes and management systems, to support programe planning, results based planning (RBM) and monitoring and evaluating of results.

2. Programme management, monitoring and delivery of results

• Carrying out transactions in SAP ensuring programme results, activities and programme coding are as per annual work plans (AWPs), and making amendments and alterations as per section revisions when necessary.
• Work closely and collaboratively with colleagues and partners to collect/analyze/share information on implementation issues, suggest solutions on routine programe implementation and submit report to alert appropriate officials and stakeholders for higher-level intervention and/or decision. Keep record of reports and assessments for easy reference and/or to capture and institutionalize lessons learned.
• Participate in monitoring and evaluation exercises, programe reviews and annual programe reviews with government and other counterparts and prepare minutes/reports on results for follow up action by higher management and other stakeholders.
• Monitor and report on the use of nutrition programe resources (financial, administrative and other assets), verify compliance with approved allocation/goals, organizational rules, regulations/procedures and donor commitments, standards of accountability and integrity. Report on issues identified to ensure timely resolution by management/stakeholders. Follow up on unresolved issues to ensure resolution.
• Prepare inputs for programe/donor reporting including preparing periodic or ad-hoc financial reports relating to country office and donors to support the office in optimizing use of programe funds.

3. Technical and operational support to programme implementation

• Undertake field visits and surveys and share information with partners/stakeholders to assess progress and provide technical support to relevant officials for resolution. Report on critical issues, bottlenecks and potential problems for timely action to achieve results.
• Provide technical and operational support to government counterparts, NGO partners, UN system partners and other country office partners/donors on the application and understanding of UNICEF and adolescent development and participation policies, strategies, processes and best practices to support programme implementation, operations and delivery of results.

4. Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building

• Identify, capture, synthesize and share lessons learned for knowledge development and to build the capacity of stakeholders.
• Apply innovative approaches and promote good practice to support the implementation and delivery of concrete and sustainable programme results.
• Research, benchmark and report on best and cutting edge practices for development planning of knowledge products and systems.
• Participate as resource person in capacity building initiatives to enhance the competencies of clients/stakeholders.

5. Budget Monitoring

• Monitors budgets and financial expenditures within Adolescent Development and Participation activities, ensuring compliance with UNICEF rules and regulations, keeping supervisor informed and advised on actions for decision/follow up.
• Provides support on budget revision/preparation, implementation status, determination position of funding utilization, operational, and financial closure.
• Prepares and maintains records, documents and control plans for the budget monitoring of project/programme implementation.
• Carries out transactions in VISION pertaining to grants for his/her section such as registering grant allotments and tracking expiring programme grants.

 

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

Education:

• A university degree in one of the following fields is required: Social Sciences, International Relations, Government, Public Administration, Public Policy, Social Policy, Social Development, Community Development, or another relevant technical field.

Work Experience:

• A minimum of two years of professional experience in social development planning and management is required.
• A minimum of 6 years of relevant administrative or clerical work experience is required.
• Experience working in a developing country is considered as an asset.
• Relevant experience in a UN system agency or organization is considered as an asset.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English and BHS is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) is an asset.

 

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

 UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

• Demonstrates Self Awareness and Ethical Awareness (1)
• Works Collaboratively with others (1)
• Builds and Maintains Partnerships (1)
• Innovates and Embraces Change (1)
• Thinks and Acts Strategically (1)
• Drive to achieve impactful results (1)
• Manages ambiguity and complexity (1)

During the recruitment process, we test candidates following the competency framework. Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels: competency framework here.

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 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 promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, 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.

Remarks:

UNICEF’s active commitment towards diversity and inclusion is critical to deliver the best results for children.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance. 

Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station, which will be facilitated by UNICEF, is required for IP positions. Appointments are also subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Government employees that are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government 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.

For further details please contact Human Resources at UNICEF Office in Sarajevo, Ms. Aldijana Brezovac, abrezovac@unicef.org.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.