programme management officer

Org. Setting and Reporting

The United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund was established in 1949 by the United Nations General Assembly to provide retirement, death, disability, and related benefits for staff of the United Nations and other member organizations of the Fund.

The Pension Fund pays benefits in 17 currencies to more than 80,000 beneficiaries who reside in 190 countries, and services more than 140,000 participants who work in the 24 member organizations of the Pension Fund.

The Fund has offices in New York (United States) and Geneva (Switzerland) and two liaison offices in Nairobi (Kenya) and Bangkok (Thailand), respectively.

The United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund-Pension Administration (UNJSPF-PA) comprises about 250 staff from diverse countries and cultures, based across four prominent duty stations (New York, Geneva, Bangkok, and Nairobi).

We are a career employer offering unique opportunities for growth within the United Nations system.

We offer staff competitive benefits, including up to six weeks of annual leave per year, a defined benefit pension plan (not subject to variation of capital markets), parental leave, a comprehensive insurance plan, and flexible working arrangements subject to operational requirements.

Our office is located in the heart of Manhattan, within walking distance from the Grand Central Station hub, in a state-of-the-art facility (the One Dag Hammarskjöld building).

Visit for more details.

This position is located in the Risk Management Unit in the Pension Administration of the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund ("UNJPSF" or "the Fund").

The Risk Management Unit manages and/or supports Fund-wide risk management working groups, advises senior managers on the development and implementation of risk management and internal framework, and leads the analysis, monitoring and reporting of risk for the Pension Administration.

The Risk Management Unit liaises with internal and external oversight bodies and analyzes and supports the implementation of the recommendations of oversight bodies.

The Programme Officer reports to the Senior Risk Management Officer P-5, and the position is based in New York.

Responsibilities

Within delegated authority, the Programme Officer – Risk Management will be responsible for the following duties:

• Participates in the development, implementation and evaluation of the Fund's risk management, internal control, and other assigned programmes/projects, etc.; monitors and analyzes programme/project development and implementation; reviews relevant documents and reports; identifies problems and issues to be addressed and proposes corrective actions; liaises with relevant parties; identifies and tracks follow-up actions.
• Participates in the conduct of risk assessments and internal control evaluations, in collaboration with internal and external clients, by planning and facilitating workshops, through other interactive sessions and assisting in developing the action plan the client will use to manage the change.
• Researches, analyzes and presents information gathered from diverse sources.
• Assists in policy development, including the review and analysis of issues and trends, preparation of evaluations or other research activities and studies.
• Undertakes follow-ups, gathers, and verifies evidence and manages depositories containing information to respond to audit queries and to demonstrate the implementation of agreed action plans for audit recommendations; designs data collection tools; reviews, analyzes and interprets responses, identifies problems/issues and prepares conclusions.
• Prepares various written outputs, e.g. draft background papers, analysis, sections of reports and studies, inputs to publications, input to audit responses, etc.
• Provides substantive support to consultative and other meetings, conferences, etc., to include proposing agenda topics, identifying participants, preparation of documents and presentations, etc.
• Participates in the preparation of risk management and internal control training and outreach activities; conducts training workshops, seminars, etc.; makes presentations on assigned topics/activities.
• Performs other duties as required.

Competencies

Professionalism:

Knowledge and understanding of enterprise risk management and internal control frameworks and audit theories, concepts and approaches relevant to particular sector, functional area or other specialized field.

Ability to identify issues, analyze and participate in the resolution of issues/problems. Ability to conduct data collection using various methods.

Conceptual analytical and evaluative skills to conduct independent research and analysis, including familiarity with and experience in risk assessment, control evaluation and information gathering from electronic sources on the internet, intranet and other databases.

Ability to apply judgment in the context of assignments given, plan own work and manage conflicting priorities.

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.

Competent user of Microsoft Office applications (Visio, Word, Excel and PowerPoint), and in managing risk, control, and audit databases and document depositories (SharePoint), and systems.

Takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work.

Teamwork:

Works collaboratively with colleagues to achieve organizational goals; solicits input by genuinely valuing others' ideas and expertise; is willing to learn from others; places team agenda before personal agenda; supports and acts in accordance with final group decision, even when such decisions may not entirely reflect own position; shares credit for team accomplishments and accepts joint responsibility for team shortcomings.

Planning& 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.

Education

Advanced university degree (Master's degree or equivalent) in business administration, management, economics or a related field. A first-level university degree in combination with qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Job - Specific Qualification

Not available.

Work Experience

A minimum of five years of progressively responsible experience in project or programme management, administration or related area is required.

Experience of at least two years in performing or coordinating audits or risk and internal control evaluations is required.

Experience with facilitation; and experience with process mapping, document management, presentation, and collaboration tools such as Power BI or SharePoint is desirable.

Languages

Fluency in one of the working languages of the UN Secretariat, English or French, (both oral and written) is required; knowledge of the other is desirable.

Knowledge of another UN official language is an advantage.

Assessment

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

Special Notice

• The applicable human resources procedures are governed by a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Fund and the UN Secretariat. Any candidate from a member organization of the UNJSPF applying for this post is considered as an internal candidate provided, he/she has been appointed through the appointment and promotion procedures applicable in his/her respective organization.
• Staff members are subject to the authority of the head of the entity and to assignment by him or her. In this context, all staff are expected to move periodically to new functions in their careers in accordance with established rules and procedures.
• The United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund is committed to achieving 50/50 gender balance in its staff. Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply for this position.
• For this position, applicants from the following Member States, which are unrepresented or underrepresented in the UN Secretariat as of 30 Nov 2023, are strongly encouraged to apply: Afghanistan, Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahrain, Belize, Brunei Darussalam, Cabo Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, China, Cuba, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Djibouti, Dominica, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Grenada, Guinea-Bissau, Hungary, Israel, Japan, Kiribati, Kuwait, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malta, Marshall Islands, Micronesia (Federated States of), Monaco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nauru, Oman, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Qatar, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Sudan, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, United Arab Emirates, United States of America, Vanuatu.

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.

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