Special Notice
Notes: This is a temporary Job Opening. Appointment against this post is for 364 days, a limited duration that does not carry any expectancy, legal or otherwise, of renewal.
A current staff member who holds a fixed-term, permanent or continuing appointment may apply for temporary positions no more than one level above his or her current grade. However, a current staff member who holds an appointment at the G-6 or G-7 level may also apply to temporary positions in the Professional category up to and including the P-3 level, subject to meeting all eligibility and other requirements for the position.
A staff member holding a temporary appointment shall be regarded as an external candidate when applying for other positions, and may apply for other temporary positions at any level, subject to section 5.7 below and staff rule 4.16 (b) (ii). Therefore, a staff member holding a temporary appointment in the General Service or related categories may only apply to positions within those categories.
For full information on eligibility requirements, please refer to section 5 of ST/AI/2010/4Rev.1 on Temporary Appointments. In its resolution 66/234, the General Assembly further ‘stressed that the Secretary-General should not recur to the practice of temporarily filling posts in the Professional and higher categories with General Service staff members who have not passed the General Service to Professional category examination other than on an exceptional basis, and requests the Secretary-General to ensure that temporary occupation of such posts by the General Service staff shall not exceed a period of one year, effective 1 January 2013…’ Consequently, eligible candidates in the General Service or related categories for temporary job openings in the Professional category that have not passed the competitive examination may be selected only on an exceptional basis endorsed by the Office of Human Resources Management where no other suitable candidate could be identified.
Upon separation from service, including, but not limited to, expiration or termination of, or resignation from, a fixed-term, continuing or permanent appointment, a former staff member will be ineligible for re-employment on the basis of a temporary appointment for a period of 31 days following the separation. In the case of separation from service on retirement, a former staff member will be ineligible for re-employment for a period of three months following the separation. This equally applies, mutatis mutandis, with respect to a former or current staff member who has held or holds an appointment in another entity applying the United Nations Staff Regulations and Rules and who applies for a temporary position with the Secretariat.
Subject to the funding source of the position, this temporary job opening may be limited to candidates based at the duty station.
While this temporary assignment may provide the successful applicant with an opportunity to gain new work experience, the selection for this position is for a limited period and has no bearing on the future incumbency of the post. An external candidate selected for this position is bound by the prevailing condition of the staff selection system under ST/AI/2010/3, as amended, and ST/AI/2010/4/Rev.1.
A staff member holding a temporary appointment who is recruited in the Professional and above categories on a temporary appointment, and placed on a position authorized for one year or longer may not apply for or be reappointed to his/her current position within six months of the end of his/her current service.
This provision does not apply to staff members holding temporary appointments and placed on positions authorized for one year or more in duty stations authorized for peacekeeping operations or special political missions.
The expression ‘Internal candidates’, shall mean staff members who have been recruited after a competitive examination under staff rule 4.16 or after the advice of a central review body under staff rule 4.15.
For information on special post allowance, please refer to ST/AI/1999/17.
For more details on the administration of temporary appointments please refer to ST/AI/2010/4/Rev.1.
The Staff Regulations, Staff Rules and administrative issuances governing staff appointments can be viewed at: http://www.un.org/hr_handbook/English.
Organizational Setting and Reporting
The United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON) is the UN Headquarters in Africa and the representative office of the Secretary-General. UNON supports programme implementation of
the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the UN Human Settlements Programme (UNHabitat) globally, as well as other UN offices in Kenya, by providing administrative, conference and information services (www.unon.org). The post is located in the Pan-African Masters Consortium in Interpretation and Translation (PAMCIT) within the Division of Conference Services (DCS), UNON, Nairobi and is open for a period of 364 days. Under direct supervision and day-to-day guidance of the Coordination Officer and overall supervision of the Chief of the Division of Conference Services, UNON, the incumbent will assist the Coordination Officer to carry out the following duties and responsibilities as follows
Responsibilities
Project management
- Organize events such as Training for Trainers seminars, Pan-African conferences on translation and interpretation.
- Organize and convene the annual meetings of the Executive Committee in the country of each member University on a rotational basis and Bureau Meetings.
- Invite Consortium members to relevant meetings, seminars and conferences convened by PAMCIT and provide them with all relevant information.
- Organize, co-ordinate and manage the different components necessary for the events to take place.
- Launch calls for tender for the accommodation of participants and make travel arrangements.
- Coordinate the design, launch and management of the Consortium website.
- Assist the Coordination Officer with the management of a merits-based system of scholarships for interpretation and translation students.
- Assist the Coordination Officer with the coordination of student mobility.
- Assist the Coordination Officer with the management of financial assistance to Universities for the recruitment of external teachers.
Finance and administrative functions
- Manage the budget for events allocated to the PAMCIT Secretariat.
- Assist in the preparation and review of funding requests.
- Monitor expenditures and compare with approved budget; prepare request for adjustments as necessary.
- Assist in preparation of budget performance reports, analysing variances between approved budgets and actual expenditures.
- Co-ordinate with other finance and budget staff on related issues during preparation of budget reports.
- Draft routine correspondence to respond to enquiries in respect to relevant administrative, financial audit, personnel matters.
- Perform other related administrative duties as may be assigned (e.g. operational travel programme; monitoring accounts and payments to implementing partners.
- Organize and coordinate seminars, conferences and translations).
- Review invoices submitted by implementing partners and other contractors against the goods and services provided and approved by the UN.
- Process the payment of implementing partners and contractors’ invoices and monitor payments.
Competencies
- Professionalism: Ability to perform a broad range of administrative functions, e.g., budget/work programme, human resources, database management, etc. Ability to apply knowledge of various United Nations administrative, financial and human resources rules and regulations in work situations. 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; commitment to implementing the goal of gender equality by ensuring the equal participation and full involvement of women and men in all aspects of work.
- Planning & 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
- Completion of high school diploma or equivalent. Further training in project management and supplemental courses in Accounting qualification will be an added advantage.
- Candidates must have passed the United Nations Administrative Support Assessment Test (ASAT) or the Global General Service Test (GGST) at Headquarters or an equivalent locally-administered test at Offices away from Headquarters.
Work Experience
- A minimum of seven (7) years’ of relevant and progressively responsible experience in administrative services, finance, accounting, projects management or related area.
- Experience in management of donor grants and projects is required.
- Excellent computer skills and working knowledge of Umoja or any Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system is an added advantage.
Languages
- English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat.
- For the post advertised, fluency in oral and written English is required.
- Knowledge of French is desirable.
Assessment
Evaluation of qualified candidates for this position may include substantive assessment which may be followed by a competency-based interview.
United Nations Considerations
Candidates will be required to meet the requirements of Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter as well as the requirements of the position. The United Nations is committed to the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity for all its human resources, including but not limited to respect for international human rights and humanitarian law.
Candidates may be subject to screening against these standards, including but not limited to whether they have committed, or are alleged to have committed criminal offences and/or violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law.
The United Nations shall place 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. (Charter of the United Nations – Chapter 3, article 8). The United Nations Secretariat is a non-smoking environment.
Applicants are urged to follow carefully all instructions available in the online recruitment platform, inspira.
For more detailed guidance, applicants may refer to the At-a-Glance on ‘The Application Process’ and the Instructional Manual for the Applicants, which can be accessed by clicking on ‘Manuals’ hyper-link on the upper right side of inspira account-holder homepage.
Applications are pre-screened by the system according to the published requirements of the job opening on the basis of the information provided in the application. In relation to the requirements of the job opening, applicants must provide complete and accurate information pertaining to their qualifications, including their education, work experience, and language skills.
Each applicant must bear in mind that submission of incomplete or inaccurate applications may render that applicant ineligible for consideration for the job opening. Initial screening and evaluation of applications will be conducted on the basis of the information submitted.
Applications cannot be amended following submission. Candidates under serious consideration for selection will be subject to a reference-checking process to verify the information provided in the application.
Job openings advertised on the Careers Portal will be removed at midnight (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.
More Information
- Job City Nairobi
