Org. Setting and Reporting

The position is located in the Operations and Advocacy Division (OAD), Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). OCHA is the part of the United Nations Secretariat responsible for bringing together humanitarian actors to ensure a coherent response to emergencies. OCHA also ensures there is a framework within which each actor can contribute to the overall response efforts. OCHA’s mission is to mobilize and coordinate effective and principled humanitarian action in partnership with national and international actors in order to alleviate human suffering in disasters and emergencies; advocate the rights of people in need; promote preparedness and prevention and facilitate sustainable solutions.

This temporary job opening is being advertised for the position of Administrative Officer in Yaoundé, Cameroon. Under the overall supervision of the Head of office, OCHA Cameroon, the incumbent reports to the Deputy Head of Office.

Responsibilities

Within delegated authority, the Administrative Officer will be responsible for the following duties:

I. BUDGET AND FINANCE:
• Prepare and revise cost plans in line with work plans and financial rules and regulations and ensure that costs are reasonably estimated. Prepare quarterly requests for funds (financial authorizations) and monitor obligations and expenditures against financial authorizations in line with approved cost plans. Develop, implement, and maintain internal controls to monitor and ensure that financial resources are utilized to implement activities in accordance with work plans and cost plans.
• Provide guidance to functional units on financial accountability within programme responsibilities and on the effective use of programme resources. Coordinate the production of financial reports for headquarters and donors.
• Review and confirm that proposed obligations or disbursement for goods and services under third-party agreements, are reasonable and in conformity with UN Financial Rules and Regulations.
• Monitor and follow up on outstanding NGO and UN Agency reports for grants and allocations provided to third parties. Manage petty cash in accordance with established procedures, maintain accurate and complete petty cash records and receipts, and ensure that replenishments are done in a timely manner. Prepare payroll for national staff and follow up with UNDP on monthly payment orders for international staff to ensure timely payments. Verify inter-office vouchers (IOVs) prepared by UNDP to confirm accuracy of accounts and to allow for reconciliation with OCHA’s accounting system. Ensure proper management of office assets, including maintenance of inventory, physical verification of assets and disposal of assets. Provide information needed to respond to audit observations/findings.
• Carry out financial, human resources, procurement, assets and properties management functions through relevant internet applications, spreadsheets, databases and Enterprise Resource Planning systems (e.g. OCHA Financial Accounting System, OCHA Contact Management System, inspira, Umoja, atlas).
• Provide guidance and leadership to junior staff.

II. GENERAL ADMINISTRATION:
• In collaboration with the local UNDP office, coordinate actions related to recruitment and administration of national staff. Provide guidance on requirements of performance appraisal system and maintain a system to track compliance.
• Maintain confidential personnel files, ensuring that information is complete and updated. Ensure that separating staff finalize in-country formalities prior to their departure. Ensure that staff time and attendance is properly recorded, verified and submitted in a timely manner to UNDP for national staff and to the Administrative Services Branch, for international staff.
• Support procurement of goods through UNDP or Headquarters and ensure that appropriate procedures are duly followed. Verify receipt of goods and services, ensuring specification, condition and quantities of goods are correct and paperwork is complete and properly filed.
• Control and manage equipment (disposal, inventory, NEP/inventory reporting, and fleet management).
• Ensure that the corporate administration of common premises & Service Agreements are done in accordance to OCHA standard templates.
• In collaboration with the Department of Safety and Security (DSS) and Head of OCHA field office assist in ensuring Minimum Operation Security Standards (MOSS) compliance for vehicles, office and residential premises. Ensure that the office premises are well maintained and provided with common services.
• Oversee the identification of office technology needs and maintenance of equipment, software and systems. Ensure adequate level of office supplies and maintain a system for office supplies allocation and tracking. Supervise and/or prepare travel authorizations, ensuring appropriate justification, costing and approvals are in place. Verify travel claims submitted for settlement and track outstanding payments.
• Maintain a central filing system, ensuring consistent use and appropriate archiving of official administrative, finance, and human resource documents. Represent OCHA at meetings on administrative issues such as national salary scales, common services, premises, etc. Supervise national administrative staff on a regular basis, ensuring support and mentoring.
• Perform other duties and/or assignments as required.

Competencies

PROFESSIONALISM: Knowledge and understanding of humanitarian, emergency relief assistance and related humanitarian issues. Ability to identify issues, analyse and participate in the resolution of issues/problems. Ability to develop sources for data collection. Conceptual analytical and evaluative skills to conduct independent research and analysis, including familiarity with and experience in the use of various research sources, including electronic sources on the internet, intranet, and other databases. Ability to apply judgment in the context of assignments given, work under pressure, on occasion in a highly stressful environment (e.g. civil strife, natural disasters and human misery). Shows pride in work and in achievements; demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter; is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results; is motivated by professional rather than personal concerns; shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges; remains calm in stressful situations. Takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work.

PLANNING and ORGANIZING: Develops clear goals that are consistent with agreed strategies; identifies priority activities and assignments; adjusts priorities as required; allocates appropriate amount of time and resources for completing work; foresees risks and allows for contingencies when planning; monitors and adjusts plans and actions as necessary; uses time efficiently.

CLIENT ORIENTATION: Considers all those to whom services are provided to be “clients” and seeks to see things from clients’ point of view; establishes and maintains productive partnerships with clients by gaining their trust and respect; identifies clients’ needs and matches them to appropriate solutions; monitors ongoing developments inside and outside the clients’ environment to keep informed and anticipate problems; keeps clients informed of progress or setbacks in projects; meets timeline for delivery of products or services to client.

Education

An advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in business or public administration, finance, accounting, law, or related field is required. A first-level university degree in combination with an additional two (2) years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Work Experience

A minimum of five (5) years of progressively responsible experience in administration, finance, human resources management, or related area is required.

Administrative experience in the field (actual setting where a mission and/or project is being implemented) in emergency situations (complex emergency or natural disaster) is desirable.

Experience in a humanitarian context in the UN Common System or other comparable international organization is desirable.

Experience in the West and Central Africa region is desirable.

Languages

French and English are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the position advertised, fluency in French and English is required.

Assessment

The evaluation of qualified candidates may include an assessment exercise which may be followed by a competency-based interview.

Special Notice

This position is funded for a period 364 days and may be subject to extension. Extension of the appointment is subject to extension of the mandate and/or the availability of the funds. If the selected candidate is a staff member from the United Nations Secretariat, the selection will be administered as a temporary assignment.

A current staff member who holds a fixed-term, permanent or continuing appointment may apply for temporary positions no more than one level above his or her current grade. However, a current staff member who holds an appointment at the G-6 or G-7 level may also apply to temporary positions in the Professional category up to and including the P-3 level, subject to meeting all eligibility and other requirements for the position.

A staff member holding a temporary appointment shall be regarded as an external candidate when applying for other positions, and may apply for other temporary positions at any level, subject to section 5.7 below and staff rule 4.16 (b) (ii). Therefore, a staff member holding a temporary appointment in the General Service or related categories may only apply to positions within those categories. For full information on eligibility requirements, please refer to section 5 of ST/AI/2010/4Rev.1 on Temporary Appointments.

In its resolution 66/234, the General Assembly further “…stressed that the Secretary General should not recur to the practice of temporarily filling posts in the Professional and higher categories with General Service staff members who have not passed the General Service to Professional category examination other than on an exceptional basis, and requests the Secretary-General to ensure that temporary occupation of such posts by the General Service staff shall not exceed a period of one year, effective 1 January 2013…”. Consequently, eligible candidates in the General Service or related categories for temporary job openings in the Professional category that have not passed the competitive examination may be selected only on an exceptional basis endorsed by the Office of Human Resources Management where no other suitable candidate could be identified.

Upon separation from service, including, but not limited to, expiration or termination of, or resignation from, a fixed-term, continuing or permanent appointment, a former staff member will be ineligible for re-employment on the basis of a temporary appointment for a period of 31 days following the separation. In the case of separation from service on retirement, a former staff member will be ineligible for re-employment for a period of three months following the separation. This equally applies, mutatis mutandis, with respect to a former or current staff member who has held or holds an appointment in another entity applying the United Nations Staff Regulations and Rules and who applies for a temporary position with the Secretariat.

Retirees above the mandatory age of separation who wish to be considered for the current temporary job opening must indicate the reason for their last separation as “retirement.” Such retirees shall not be employed by the Organization, unless (a) the operational requirements of the Organization cannot be met by staff members who are qualified and available to perform the required functions; and (b) the proposed employment would not adversely affect the career development or redeployment opportunities of other staff members and represents both a cost-effective and operationally sound solution to meet the needs of the service.

Subject to the funding source of the position, this temporary job opening may be limited to candidates based at the duty station.

While this temporary assignment may provide the successful applicant with an opportunity to gain new work experience, the selection for this position is for a limited period and has no bearing on the future incumbency of the post. An external candidate selected for this position is bound by the prevailing condition of the staff selection system under ST/AI/2010/3, as amended, and ST/AI/2010/4/Rev.1.

A staff member holding a temporary appointment who is recruited in the Professional and above categories on a temporary appointment, and placed on a position authorized for one year or longer may not apply for or be reappointed to his/her current position within six months of the end of his/her current service. This provision does not apply to staff members holding temporary appointments and placed on positions authorized for one year or more in duty stations authorized for peacekeeping operations or special political missions.

Staff members of the United Nations common system organizations who will reach the mandatory age of separation or retirement within the duration of the current temporary need period are not eligible to apply.

Staff members are not eligible to apply for the current temporary job opening if they are unable to serve the specified duration of temporary need before reaching the mandatory age of separation. Submitting an application or selection for the current temporary job opening does not delay or increase the mandatory age of separation.

The United Nations is Secretariat and is committed to achieving 50/50 gender balance in its staff. Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply for these positions. An impeccable record for integrity and professional ethical standards is essential.

The expression “Internal candidates”, shall mean staff members who have been recruited after a competitive examination under staff rule 4.16 or after the advice of a central review body under staff rule 4.15.

Please note that candidates will be required to meet the requirements of Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter as well as the requirements of the position. The United Nations is committed to the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity for all its human resources, including but not limited to respect for international human rights and humanitarian law. Candidates may be subject to screening against these standards, including but not limited to whether they have committed, or are alleged to have committed criminal offences and/or violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law.

For information on special post allowance, please refer to ST/AI/1999/17. For more details on the administration of temporary appointments please refer to ST/AI/2010/4/Rev.1.

The Staff Regulations, Staff Rules and administrative issuances governing staff appointments can be viewed at: https://hr.un.org/handbook.

Applicants are urged to follow carefully all instructions available in the online recruitment platform, Inspira. For more detailed guidance, applicants may refer to the At-a-Glance on “The Application Process” and the Instructional Manual for the Applicants, which can be accessed by clicking on “Manuals” hyper-link on the upper right side of Inspira account holder homepage.

Applications are pre-screened by the system according to the published requirements of the job opening on the basis of the information provided in the application. In relation to the requirements of the job opening, applicants must provide complete and accurate information pertaining to their qualifications, including their education, work experience, and language skills. Each applicant must bear in mind that submission of incomplete or inaccurate applications may render that applicant ineligible for consideration for the job opening. Initial screening and evaluation of applications will be conducted on the basis of the information submitted. Applications cannot be amended following submission. Candidates under serious consideration for selection will be subject to a reference-checking process to verify the information provided in the application.

United Nations Considerations

According to 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. Candidates will not be considered for employment with the United Nations if they have committed violations of international human rights law, violations of international humanitarian law, sexual exploitation, sexual abuse, or sexual harassment, or if there are reasonable grounds to believe that they have been involved in the commission of any of these acts. The term “sexual exploitation” means any actual or attempted abuse of a position of vulnerability, differential power, or trust, for sexual purposes, including, but not limited to, profiting monetarily, socially or politically from the sexual exploitation of another. The term “sexual abuse” means the actual or threatened physical intrusion of a sexual nature, whether by force or under unequal or coercive conditions. The term “sexual harassment” means any unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature that might reasonably be expected or be perceived to cause offence or humiliation, when such conduct interferes with work, is made a condition of employment or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment, and when the gravity of the conduct warrants the termination of the perpetrator’s working relationship. Candidates who have committed crimes other than minor traffic offences may not be considered for employment.

Due regard will be paid to the importance of recruiting the staff on as wide a geographical basis as possible. The United Nations places no restrictions on the eligibility of men and women to participate in any capacity and under conditions of equality in its principal and subsidiary organs. The United Nations Secretariat is a non-smoking environment.

Reasonable accommodation may be provided to applicants with disabilities upon request, to support their participation in the recruitment process.

By accepting a letter of appointment, staff members are subject to the authority of the Secretary-General, who may assign them to any of the activities or offices of the United Nations in accordance with staff regulation 1.2 (c). Further, staff members in the Professional and higher category up to and including the D-2 level and the Field Service category are normally required to move periodically to discharge functions in different duty stations under conditions established in ST/AI/2023/3 on Mobility, as may be amended or revised. This condition of service applies to all position specific job openings and does not apply to temporary positions.

Applicants are urged to carefully follow all instructions available in the online recruitment platform, inspira, and to refer to the Applicant Guide by clicking on “Manuals” in the “Help” tile of the inspira account-holder homepage.

The evaluation of applicants will be conducted on the basis of the information submitted in the application according to the evaluation criteria of the job opening and the applicable internal legislations of the United Nations including the Charter of the United Nations, resolutions of the General Assembly, the Staff Regulations and Rules, administrative issuances and guidelines. Applicants must provide complete and accurate information pertaining to their personal profile and qualifications according to the instructions provided in inspira to be considered for the current job opening. No amendment, addition, deletion, revision or modification shall be made to applications that have been submitted. Candidates under serious consideration for selection will be subject to reference checks to verify the information provided in the application.

Job openings advertised on the Careers Portal will be removed at 11:59 p.m. (New York time) on the deadline date.

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.