he UNICEF Programme of Cooperation with the Government of the Republic of Zambia (GRZ) is designed to address and mitigate the threat of poverty the country’s children face, while responding to the needs with interventions addressing the multiple causative factors.
In response to the combination these threats involve the Programme supports national efforts to improve service delivery in the key areas of: child health and nutrition and HIV and AIDS, quality basic education, water, sanitation and hygiene education, child protection and social policy, advocacy and communication.
To find out more about UNICEF’s work in Zambia, please visithttps://www.unicef.org/zambia/.
For every child, we never give up…
Purpose:
The reporting for the Interim SUN programme has already proven to be an intense and complex process, largely because of the direct payment modalities which is a donor condition. The SUN II programme for the 17 districts will be implemented for 4 years, and it represents a very important portion of SUN II programme funding for UNICEF Zambia. Due to the scale of the SUN II programme, the multiple partners, the size of its budget, the complexity and rigor needed for budgeting and financial monitoring and reporting during all stages of the initiative and the number of internal and external interactions to be documented, a full-time SUN II Budget Monitoring and Reporting Specialist (TA) is needed to support the NOD, SUN II Programme Manager to monitor and prepare the relevant financial and implementation updates for use and sharing with the different stakeholders, UNICEF,UN agencies, the four donors and government counterparts.
Objectives/Target:
The Monitoring Officer Budget and Reporting- SUN II (TA) will provide oversight for the budget and financial utilization process for the SUN II programme and support the production and timely dissemination of high quality programme documents and communications – including but not limited to correspondence, progress notes, and records of meetings, workshop reports, donor updates, donor financial and narrative reports and case studies. The materials the Specialist will produce are destined for a varied audience the majority of whom will be technical.
How can you make a difference?
Major Duties and Responsibilities:
The Monitoring officer (Budget and Reporting) (TA) will be required to complete the following tasks:
- Budgetary and Financial Utilization Overview and Support
- Assist in dissemination of UNICEF Standard Operating Procedures for financial disbursements and liquidations to SUN II implementing partners with support from Programme Assistant;
- Receive and quality assure financial reports from districts and other implementing partners and liaise with Management and the Programme Assistant to facilitate disbursement of funds;
- Monitor disbursement and utilization of programme funds by SUN II implementing partners with support from Programme Assistant, and prepare updates on utilization rates as required;
- Collate financial utilization reports from SUN II implementing partners and liaise closely with the Operations Section in ensuring the correctness of entries (for reference/reporting/auditing purposes);
- Liaise with UNICEF HQ for quality assurance of financial and general reporting documents before submission to the donors based on the specific requirements by each of the four donors.
- Support any audit requirements for the SUN II programme by engaging effectively on such process in troubleshooting and problem solving as necessary and alerting Senior Management to problems in a timely manner.
- Support follow up of cash transfers to partners and government in line with UNICEF procedures.
- Provide financial monitoring and reporting technical support to partners and government as appropriate.
- Analyze and share periodic status of utilization of funds per expenditure category in line with UNICEF guidelines as well as the specific donor guidelines.
- Reporting:
- Manage the process of submission of donor narrative and financial reports, requests for amendments ensuring that the UNICEF and donor report submission guidelines and procedures for quality and timeliness are respected and implemented;
- Provide quality control and editorial support, including editing and rewriting documents as needed and ensuring all content is factual and grammatically correct;
- Draft and finalize high quality analytical and summary reports, documents, briefing notes, newsletters and other SUN II related materials and/or presentations for sharing with internal and external audiences as and when required.
- Prepare financial and narrative updates and document sets for internal and external SUN II/MCDP related meetings;
- Prepare financial and narrative reports for submission to the donor, UNICEF and government as per contribution agreement;
- SUN II Programme Monitoring and Internal Coordination Support:
- Support day-to-day tracking and documentation of progress updates collected from internal UNICEF communications, and UN agency a, government communication on the programme, with support from Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Officer as well as from UNICEF Finance team, NFNC and other UN sister agencies;
- Coordinate with the SUN II Programme assistant for monitoring and archiving of all financial and administrative documents linked to the SUN II programme electronically and in hard copies. Create, maintain and update SUN II programme knowledge bank on Zambia Country Office (ZCO) shared drive.
To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…
- Qualification/Specialized knowledge and Experience:
- Bachelor degree in one of the following areas: Social Sciences, Economics, International Development or related field;
- At least two years of professional work experience in international organizations on complex programs with focus on grant management, budgeting, donor reporting and editing required;
- High level of fluency in written and spoken English;
- Advanced user level competency of MS Office suite required;
- Outstanding skills in Excel, including data analysis and development of charts and graphs, required;
- Demonstrated experience in working in international development with government partners, international organizations and donors;
- Proven documentation and knowledge management for multi donor funded projects required;
- Ability to research, analyze, evaluate and synthesize information;
- Proven ability to express ideas and concepts in written and oral form clearly and concisely; excellent skills in report writing and editing;
- Knowledge of EU contractual procedures for development funding desirable;
- Prior experience of working in Africa would be an asset;
- Excellent team work skills;
For every Child, you demonstrate…
UNICEF’s values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA) and core competencies in Communication[II], Working with People[II] and Drive for Results[II].
The functional competencies required for this post are…
- Formulating Strategies and Concepts [II]
- Analyzing [II]
- Applying Technical Expertise [II]
View our competency framework at
http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/files/UNICEF_Competencies.pdf
UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.
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 also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. 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:
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.
UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages qualified female and male candidates from all national, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of our organization.
More Information
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