Programme Budget Specialist, P-3, Fixed Term, Polio Eradication Programme, Nairobi, Kenya, #128174

UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.

At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.
UNICEF is a place where careers are built: we offer our staff diverse opportunities for personal and professional development that will help them develop a fulfilling career while delivering on a rewarding mission. We pride ourselves on a culture that helps staff thrive, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

For every child, Health

By reaching the most underserved communities with polio vaccine, UNICEF is realising the rights of the most excluded children and preventing girls and boys from being paralyzed.  Within the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), UNICEF maintains a leading role in the areas of strategy development, strategic oversight, vaccine procurement, technical assistance in vaccine management, communication and social mobilization, social data, monitoring and evaluation.  The GPEI seeks to ensure that future generations of children will be free from the threat of polio paralysis. Achieving this goal depends on ensuring rapid and effective responses to poliovirus outbreaks in polio-free countries. Polio eradication continues to be an organizational priority and is a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC). The number of polio outbreaks has far exceeded global expectations in recent years. UNICEF is scaling up support to ensure countries have the resources to be prepared and respond, in our areas of accountability.

This post is located within the UNICEF Polio Eradication Outbreak Response Work Stream with a dotted reporting line to the Finance Manager, Polio Eradication Workstream, New York.

How can you make a difference?

Under the guidance of the Senior Programme Manager (Outbreak Response) and the NYHQ Finance Manager, you will support the Polio Outbreak team, and closely collaborate with the Regional Outbreak Response Group (RORG), Incident Management Team (IMST) as well as UNICEF Regional (ROs) and Country Offices (COs), in leading on the management of polio resources. Responsibilities will include supporting the development of work plans, budgets and reports, and effectively and efficiently developing, monitoring and reporting on outbreak grant-specific budgets in line with program, UNICEF and donor requirements. The Programme Budget Specialist also provides key support to the RORG/IMST in outbreak budgetary monitoring, guidance to the ROs/COs on compliance with donor and internal UNICEF rules and regulations and other key functions as required. The incumbent will be deployed to polio outbreak countries as needed, to support monitoring polio resources, analyze reasons for under/over implementation and flag any issues encountered as per agreed workplan in line with Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) outbreak response Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). The incumbent should also oversee the reporting of monitoring indicators to senior management groups, in particular ensuring that the SC have the necessary data to have informed discussions about the outbreak response strategy and budget.

Key functions and accountabilities include the following:

1. Support to financial planning and management

• Lead on the financial management of outbreak response funding and ensure financial data are regularly updated and shared with the outbreak response technical team.
• Keep track of all approved and allocated funding to outbreak countries; Monitor and analyze outbreak budget implementation and determine/recommend reallocation/pullback of funds when necessary.
• Establish a cadence to:
  • Review the ORPG smartsheet to ensure continuous quality assurance of data entries in the SMARTSHEET and monthly reconciliation between the SMARTSHEET and dynamic budgeting results.
  • Perform spot checks of the internal surge recruitment tracker (including deployments) for outbreak countries; liaise with RORG/IMST Budget Specialists or focal points for a comprehensive review and required follow-up to address any bottlenecks and support (as necessary) with taking corrective action.
  • Follow-up with the RRT/IMST/COs to ensure all outbreak finance and budget-related issues are promptly identified and resolved for the efficient functioning of polio outbreak funds.
• Liaise with RORG/IMST Budget Specialists or focal points to Identify and track in-country balances from previous allocation(s) for both SIA and surge to be accounted for in future allocations.
• Liaise with RORG/IMST/CO/HQ focal points on any outbreak financial related issues.
• Review and analyze outbreak budgets in coordination with RORG/IMST/HQ and ORPG finance team.

2. Donor reporting

• Coordinate timely reviews and submission of high-quality donor proposals for outbreak response, reports and related documentation in coordination with RO/CO and HQ.

3. Provide financial technical expertise

• Train country office Polio team on financial monitoring tools and GPEI budget templates.
• Represent UNICEF Outbreak team at the CO/RO level and with GPEI partners on financial related issues.
• In collaboration with the RORG/IMST, provide country support in terms of capacity building and filling gaps in finance, operations to ensure that the high investment of the Polio Programme in country offices is implemented as per the GPEI and organization expectations.

4. Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building

• Lead on the development/update of SOPs for Polio Outbreak Response funds allocation and disbursement
• Collaborate with colleagues in WHO, RORG/IMST to develop user friendly tools on finance-related outbreak data
• Focal point/Lead/Manage the automation process of outbreak monitoring reports to ensure accuracy of finance data to be shared to different management groups.

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

The following minimum requirements:

Education:

• An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in financial planning/management, or another related field

Work Experience: 

• Minimum of five years of relevant work experience in the development field, with financial, Programme budget and contributions management and report writing, accompanied by knowledge of developing countries’ financial issues.

• In depth knowledge of UNICEF’s financial systems and policies including vision and insight required

Language Requirements: 

• Fluency in English is required.

The following desirables:

Work Experience:

• Experience in managing multiple data set with advanced excel spreadsheet or PowerBI as an asset.

Language:

• Working knowledge of French is a strong asset. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, 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

The UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

(1) Builds and maintains partnerships (2) Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness (3) Drive to achieve results for impact (4) Innovates and embraces change (5) Manages ambiguity and complexity (6) Thinks and acts strategically (7) Works collaboratively with others 

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

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 does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). 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 promoting the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will 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.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance.  Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station is required for IP positions and will be facilitated by UNICEF. Appointments may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Should you be selected for a position with UNICEF, you either must be inoculated as required or receive a medical exemption from the relevant department of the UN. Otherwise, the selection will be canceled.

Remarks:

As per Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity.

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

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

Government employees who are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government positions 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. 

UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants’ bank account information.

All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. An internal candidate performing at the level of the post in the relevant functional area, or an internal/external candidate in the corresponding Talent Group, may be selected, if suitable for the post, without assessment of other candidates.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.