Senior Operations Associate (G7), Office of Innovation, Stockholm, Sweden, #99871

We are seeking a proactive and organized Senior Operations Associate who can work independently, research and adapt to irregular cases. If you have the passion and experience, we would love to hear from you.

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, hope

The Office of Innovation (OOI) works to catalyze UNICEF’s and all its partners’ expertise and resources against key children-outcomes bottlenecks, with a view to continuously ideate and
scale the most effective solutions with transformational potential at scale to achieve the child-related SDGs.
The office is doing this by continuously exploring new ways of accelerating results for children, investing across a range of early-stage solutions, and harnessing internal and external expertise towards continuously iterating and finetuning the most promising solutions for children through a systematic portfolio management approach, and leveraging all stakeholders’ innovation energy, knowhow, and resources from intergovernmental, multilateral, private sector and non-.
governmental fora (think tank, academia).

How can you make a difference? 

Under the supervision of the Finance Specialist, the Senior Operations Associate is responsible for providing critical support across a range of operational functions within the Office of Innovation. This role ensures the efficient and effective management of consultant recruitments, financial transactions, and operational systems. The Senior Operations Associate must demonstrate a strong understanding of UNICEF’s financial and operational processes, ensuring compliance with UNICEF’s policies and regulations. The role requires a proactive and organized individual who can work independently, research and adapt to irregular cases, and recommend improvements to enhance process delivery and design. By supporting both administrative and operational functions, the Senior Operations Associate plays a vital role in maintaining the office’s efficiency and effectiveness.

Summary of key functions/accountabilities:

1. Support to Financial Control
2. Contracting of Consultants and Service Providers
3. Analyze and Prepare Reports
4.  General Operations and Governance Support

Support to Financial Control[SS1] [TP2] 

• Review and submit payment for GSSC related to Harmonized Approach to Cash Transfers (HACT), utility payments, supplies, Purchase Orders (POs), advances, and other payments. Ensure all requests include the necessary supporting documents, are certified by the staff responsible, and are coded correctly. 
• Managing the transition of UNICEF’s funding sources, ensuring compliance with policies, and maintaining clear communication with stakeholders.
• Monitor and advise budget owners on the financial status of projects, identifying potential under- and over-expenditures, and recommend reallocation to optimize available funds.
• Oversee cost distribution and manage payroll related operations to ensure accuracy and compliance.
• Provide relevant information in response to audits

1. Contracting of Consultants and Service Providers

• Facilitate the processing of contracts for consultants and external partners, ensuring timely completion of contracting actions as per the Division of Human Resource (DHR) procedures and guidelines.
• Draft purchase orders and contract documents based on approved Term of References (ToRs), technical, and financial evaluations.
• Assist in monitoring PO status by preparing regular and ad-hoc management reports.
• Maintain updated databases of contracts and follow up on contract expirations, renewals, or closures as needed.
• Provide support to oversight of contract management.

3. Analyze and Prepare Reports

• Conduct timely analysis of General Ledger (GL) open item reports uploaded by the Division of Financial and Administrative Management (DFAM) on SharePoint.
• Prepare and submit reports to DFAM on SharePoint for monthly, quarterly, and annual period-end closures.
• Generate periodic and ad hoc management reports promptly to ensure comprehensive insight into financial transactions and status.
• Regularly review Insight Reports and KPI Dashboards, taking prompt action to resolve outstanding issues.

4. General Operations and Governance Support 

• Act as the focal point to provide user accounts (ID) for VISION through the IRC platform, and manage ZVISA Application, including Table of Authority (TOA) updates and role mapping reconciliation, as well as segregation of duties (SOD) monitoring/mitigation. 
• Maintains files of delegation letters.
• Contribute to the development and delivery of operational training programmes. 
• Manage knowledge sharing initiatives to enhance process delivery and design.
• Serve as the focal point for travel-related matters, providing guidance and clearing travel dashboards as per UNICEF guidelines.
• Act as an alternate member of the Partnership Review Committee (PRC) Secretariat and officer-in-charge for all HACT-related management.
• Act as an alternate member of the Contract Review Committee (CRC) Secretariat.
• Perform other duties as required.
• Oversee the maintenance and organization of crypto contracts and related files.

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here:  Senior Operations Associate G7.docx

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

Minimum requirements:

Education:

• Completion of Secondary School, University level courses in administration, finance, or any other related field of discipline relevant to the job.
• Professional and/or university courses related to the field of work are highly desirable.

Work Experience: 

• A minimum of seven (7) years of relevant professional work experience at both national and international levels in office management, administration, finance, accounting, human resources, supply, or any other relevant function is required.
• Work experience in emergency duty station.

Language Requirements: Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.

Desirables:

• Developing country work experience and/or familiarity with emergency. 
• Solid experience in Excel and Word (reporting, analysis).
• Being a good team player.
• Excellent communication skills.
• Demonstrated experience in working in ERP system.

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 (1)

(2) Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness (1)

(3) Drive to achieve results for impact (1)

(4) Innovates and embraces change (1)

(5) Manages ambiguity and complexity (1)

(6) Thinks and acts strategically (1)

(7) Works collaboratively with others (1)

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 measures to include a more diverse workforce, such as paid parental leave, time off for breastfeeding purposes, 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.

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.

Applicants must be nationals of EU states or in possession of a valid work permit in Sweden.

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.

In case of any questions, contact us at [email protected]