Senior Coordinator (Liaison), NOC, Temporary Appointment # 127494, Islamabad – Pakistan

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, Commitment!

Pakistan was the sixth country in the world to sign and ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child, less than one year after it was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1989. However, children and adolescents living in Pakistan still face acute challenges.

UNICEF supports the Government of Pakistan to accelerate progress for children, work to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and help children realize their rights under the Convention on the Rights of Children. This will be made through, among other things, strong partnerships with provincial authorities, teachers and health professionals, frontline workers and social mobilisers, communities and families, and of course the children and adolescents themselves. 

In particular, UNICEF will work so that:

• Every child survives and thrives — being in good health, immunized, protected from polio and accessing nutritious food.
• Every child learns.
• Every child is protected from violence and exploitation and registered at birth.
• Every child lives in a safe and clean environment, with access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation.

To learn more about UNICEF work in Pakistan, please visit the country website www.unicef.org/pakistan and videos on YouTube and Vimeo

Under the supervision of the Deputy Representative, Operations, the Senior Coordinator (Liaison) will serve as the primary point of contact between UNICEF and high-level government officials in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), Ministry of Interior (MOI), customs, civil aviation, airport authorities, and the diplomatic police department. The role is critical for maintaining positive and productive relationships with these entities to ensure the smooth operation of UNICEF activities and initiatives. The Senior Coordinator (Liaison) will maintain strong linkages with the relevant ministries and be able to meet and coordinate directly with them on official matters, challenges, and address any significant delays in formal processing of operations documentation to enable human capital and good entry into Pakistan, this includes exemptions from the Government agencies and collaboration with any relevant Ministries/organizations, and report on progress as well as on lessons learned for improvement and provide capacity building of UNICEF relevant personnel for continuation of best practices.

To make a difference, the incumbent shall be responsible for following key strategic functions, accountabilities and related duties/ tasks;

The primary objectives of the Senior Coordinator (Liaison) are:

• To establish and maintain effective communication channels with high-level government officials in MOFA, MOI, customs, civil aviation, airport authorities, and the diplomatic police department.
• To represent UNICEF in all matters related to coordination, collaboration, and communication with the government and public entities.
• To facilitate and coordinate meetings, events, and initiatives involving high-level government officials in the relevant departments.
• To monitor, analyze and interpret government policies, regulations, and procedures that may impact UNICEF’s operations and activities.
• To assess and find a way to sale obsolete vehicles and equipment within or outside of the country.

• To provide timely and accurate information to senior leadership regarding relevant government regulations, policies, and procedures.
• To streamline protocol related business processes and transform to electronic management including archiving to achieve efficiency and effectiveness in the management of protocol related requests. Reports and queries.
• To collaborate with other UN agencies for a coordinated approach to the government on protocol matters.
• To reduce timelines in protocol, visa, logistics and supply matters

MAJOR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Establish and maintain productive relationships with key contacts such as MOFA, MOI, customs, civil aviation, airport authorities, CDA, and the diplomatic police department.
• Act as the main point of contact for all official communications between UNICEF and the relevant government departments and public institutions.
• Provide strategic advice and recommendations to the senior leadership team on engagement with government entities.
• Collaborate with internal departments to ensure compliance with government regulations and requirements.
• Prepare reports, briefs, and other relevant documentation on government-related matters, as required.
• Streamline protocol related business processes by developing electronic process, preparing guidelines, electronic archiving, designing system and structure including dashboard and monitoring dashboards to achieve efficiencies and effectiveness in managing protocol related requests.
• To assess and find a way to sale obsolete vehicles and equipment within or outside of the country
• Supports and participate in interagency protocol related activities.
• Follow up with MOFA/MOI on below given visa and other exemption cases where needed.
• Visas:
  • Approvals on new post concurrence
  • Assignment Visa (established post)
  • Assignment Visa (new post)
  • Visa extensions
  • Short-term assignment visas for staff members on missions/consultants/ experts/ representatives of INGOs
  • MOFA cards (new and renewals)
  • Exemptions of exports of personal effects
  • Pakistani driving license
  • Exemptions of imports of personal effect
  • Any other duties assigned by the supervisor.
• Follow up with MOFA / Customs on below official and personal vehicles case types where needed
• Transport exemptions
  • Official vehicles as Armored (destruction) and Soft Skin (surrender) processes from MOFA
  • Sale permission for personal vehicles for international staff members
  • Vehicle registration and deregistration
  • Various types of vehicle exemptions
• Supply
  • To Follow up and expedite Exemption Certificates (ECs) from MOFA.
  • To Follow up and expedite NOC from Drug Regulatory Authority Pakistan (DRAP).
  • To Follow up and expedite the release of the supplies from Customs.
  • To Follow up and expedite the release of End User Certificate (EUC) from all related ministries.
  • Any other duties assigned by the supervisor.

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

• An advanced university degree in social sciences, business management, administration, finance, or any other relevant field of discipline.
• Five years of relevant professional work experience.
• Both national and international work experience in office management, administration, finance, accounting, ICT, human resources, supply, or any other relevant function.
• Strong linkages, coordination experience with public sector organizations, institutions and/or government is required.
• Work experience in emergency duty station.
• Fluency in English and Urdu is required. Knowledge of a local language 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.

Life at UNICEF

Working at UNICEF is highly rewarding. With attractive remuneration package encompassing competitive pay and benefits, a culture that helps staff thrive and diverse opportunities for personal and professional development, we aim to help you maintain a fulfilling life both at and outside the office.

We make sure you and your loved ones receive the resources and care that you need to thrive. We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. Our contracts, wellbeing policies and initiatives ensure that you are well equipped to effectively deliver for children such as;

• Tax exemption, family allowances, hardship benefits, 10 UN holidays and annual leave allowance, maternity, paternity, adoption leave, medical and dental insurance, pension etc.
• Career support, staff wellbeing programme, breastfeeding policy, flexible work arrangements, childcare room, family support, policies & initiatives, security etc.
• UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements.

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.

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:

• Verified/ attested educational certificates/ degrees by HEC/ foreign institutions are a pre-requisite for employment at UNICEF, as the case may be.
• UNICEF’s active commitment towards diversity and inclusion is critical to deliver the best results for children. For this position, eligible and suitable female candidates will be prioritized.
• 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.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.