Junior Programme Officer - Mine Action

Background Information - UNOPS

'UNOPS plays a critical role in providing management services for our life-saving, peacebuilding, humanitarian and development operations. I have seen many examples of how these activities help suffering people in troubled parts of the world.'

• Ban Ki-moon, United Nations Secretary-General

UNOPS mission is to expand the capacity of the UN system and its partners to implement peacebuilding, humanitarian and development operations that matter for people in need.

Working in some of the world's most challenging environments, UNOPS vision is to always satisfy partners with management services that meet world-class standards of quality, speed and cost effectiveness.

By assisting UN organizations, international financial institutions, governments and other development partners, UNOPS makes significant, tangible contributions to results on the ground.

UNOPS employs more than 6000 personnel and on behalf of its partners creates thousands more work opportunities in local communities. With its headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark, a network of five regional offices and a further 20 operations and project centres, UNOPS oversees activities in more than 80 countries.

UNOPS is committed to achieving a truly diverse workforce.

Background Information - MAC

Mine Action Cluster

Based in New York, the UNOPS Mine Action Cluster provides a range of mine action services in emergency and post-conflict settings, on behalf of the United Nations, governments and other partners. Established in 1997 and part of the UNOPS Global Partner Services Office, the Mine Action Cluster has helped partners significantly improve the lives of people in more than 30 countries around the world.

It delivers fast and efficient procurement, recruitment and management services to facilitate humanitarian aid and launch emergency mine clearance. The cluster is also responsible for the administrative oversight of its field offices, in line with partner requirements and UNOPS rules and regulations.

One of the objectives of the Mine Action Cluster is to rapidly deploy mine action personnel to the field. To accomplish this, the cluster has established a Pool of Experts for the above mentioned position, from which it can deploy and re-deploy personnel in order to meet partner demands. Through the Global Personnel Recruitment System, the Mine Action Cluster completes the time-consuming aspects of the recruitment process in advance, and thereafter manages and maintains a pool of pre-approved personnel that can be deployed much more efficiently to Fixed Term Appointment (FTA), Temporary Appointment (TA) or Individual Contractor Agreement (ICA) positions in the field.

Background Information - Job-specific

The duties and responsibilities of the Junior Programme Officer (ICS-9) are similar to that of the Programme Officer (ICS-10), with the difference in grades being determined by the complexity and level of responsibility of the specific position.

Functional Responsibilities

• Prepare draft budgets and project proposals for new projects and extensions of ongoing projects as required by the Programme Manager;
• Draft Programme Quarterly and Annual reports;
• Prepare donor reports and funding proposals, including ad-hoc reports as required;
• Prepare periodic substantive reports for implementing partners against donor contributions, projects and activities;
• Prepare periodic financial reports to local authorities as required;
• Provide logistical and substantive support for visits of donors and other delegations;
• Assist the Programme Manager during donor visits, visits to embassies and presentations and visits to/by Mine Action stakeholders in country;
• Liaise with UN partner agencies and donors in mine action in obtaining up to date information on potential funding and projects;
• Attend inter-agency meetings and assist on any programme issues;
• Provide programme information to partner agencies, non-governmental organizations and contractors and UN agencies;
• Maintain documentation of decisions and actions taken on programme issues;
• Actively engage in public information initiatives and maintain close working relationships with UN partner agencies on public information activities;
• Depending on the role which this position will be assigned to within the project administration setup in a specific country/programme (i.e. office structure, DOAs, ATLAS functions, segregation of duties, etc.), the incumbent will have responsibilities determined by UNOPS rules and regulations embodied in its regulatory framework - Organizational Directives, Administrative Instructions and other documents as periodically issued and updated by UNOPS. Reporting lines with regards to compliance with UNOPS rules and regulations are ultimately to UNOPS Chief Mine Action Cluster through the respective Portfolio Manager. In addition, division of responsibilities when it comes to administrative processes in support of the programme objectives will be as determined for each country office and confirmed in writing by UNOPS Chief of Mine Action Cluster;
• Any other duties as requested and tasked by the Programme Officer / Senior Programme Officer / Programme Manager.

Competencies

• Teamwork Skills – Strong interpersonal skills and ability to establish and maintain effective partnerships and working relations with people in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity.
• Organising and Quality Orientation – Ability to manage, organize, plan and implement work assignments, juggle competing demands and work under pressure of frequent and tight deadlines.
• Decision Making – Demonstrated ability to apply good judgment and decision making skills.
• Communication Skill – Strong spoken and written communication skills.
• Creativity and Innovation – Strong analytical and problem solving skills and ability to handle a range of management and coordination issues.
• Ability to Learn – Willingness to keep abreast of new developments.
• Lives and Breathes UNOPS Values – Takes ownership for all responsibilities and honours commitments.

Education/Experience/Language requirements

• Advanced University Degree (Masters Degree or equivalent) in business administration, project management, social science or related field with a minimum of 2 years of relevant experience; or a first level University degree (Bachelors Degree or equivalent) in a related field with an additional 2 years of relevant experience (minimum of 4 years in total) may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree;
• At least 2 years experience in programme, project management and/or business administration;
• Experience in humanitarian affairs and experience in mine action highly desirable;
• Knowledge of the UN mine action policy and Mine Action Information Management Policy desirable;
• Previous experience in donor reporting and preparing project proposals;
• Excellent writing and oral skills in English; knowledge of a second official UN language is an advantage.
• Excellent inter-personal and communication skills;
• Flexibility and adaptability to work under pressure and meet specific deadlines;
• Ability to work in a multicultural environment;
• Computer literacy.

Contract type, level and duration

Contract type: Fixed Term Appointment (FTA) / Temporary Appointment (TA) / International Individual Contractor Agreement (I-ICA)

Contract level: ICS-9: P2 FTA / P2 TA / I-ICA 1

Contract duration: Length of contract will depend on contract modality and funding availability.

For more details about United Nations staff contracts, please follow this link:

http://www.unops.org/english/whoweneed/contract-types/Pages/United-Nations-staff-contracts.aspx

For more details about the ICA contractual modality, please follow this link:

http://www.unops.org/ENGLISH/WHOWENEED/CONTRACT-TYPES/Pages/Individual-Contractor-Agreements-ICAs.aspx

Additional Considerations

UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a level below the advertised level of the job.

Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply

Based on organizational needs at the time of recruitment, applicants accepted into this UNOPS roster pool may be considered for job at the advertised job level or its equivalent. The successful candidate(s) may be offered a contract governed by the United Nations Staff Regulations and Rules or UNOPS individual contractor agreement.

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