Chief Division of Conference Services - D1 at United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON)

Responsibilities
Under the general supervision of the Director General of UNON and guidance from the Under Secretary-General (DGACM), the incumbent will, within delegated authority, be responsible for the following functions:

• Provide policy guidance and executive supervision to the Division of Conference Services and coordinate its operations with UNEP and UN-Habitat.
• Formulate work programmes, costings and budgets based on forecasted workload and capacity; prepare programme budget submissions and budget performance reports; determine resource requirements and utilization rates.
• Provide guidance to and implement the conference-servicing programme of the client offices to ensure the most efficient and cost-effective use of available resources and facilities and adherence to General Assembly resolutions on organizing and servicing of conferences and meetings.
• Coordinate DCS input for reports and additional information for oversight bodies such as the General Assembly and its Committee on Conferences and other policy-making organs, as appropriate.
• Collaborate closely with DGACM in New York and the conference servicing entities of the other duty stations (Geneva and Vienna) in the framework of Integrated Global Management in order to achieve efficient utilization of conference servicing resources globally.
• Contribute to the formulation of DGACM's global conference management strategies and policies relating to the provision of conference services and to the organization and servicing of meetings and conferences, and the effective utilization of resources under the program budget; provide policy advice to the Director-General, UNON.
• Provide guidance and implement the Division's chargeback system and the conference-servicing programme of the client offices.
• Manage the conference facilities at UNON in consultation with major users of conference services in Nairobi in order to ensure their most effective utilization and, in cooperation with the Office of the Director-General UNON and Division of Administration UNON help realize improvements to the facilities and appropriate funding of related services.
• Lead DCS contribution and input for the expansion and renovation of UNON’s conference facilities and services, and ensure an effective change management strategy is in place throughout the transition period.   
• Provide policy, operational and managerial guidance to the Director-General, other UNON managers and Conference Service staff, and approve proposals for recruitment of staff, extension of contracts or other personnel actions after securing the necessary clearances; ensure proper application of performance management to staff and recommend staff development activities and training.
• Through regular meetings of the Conference Service management team, develop innovative programmes to improve the cost efficiency of the service and its delivery.
• Implement policies and strategies in line with the Organization's IT Strategy and that of DGACM and facilitate support of DGACM conference management IT systems in the areas of meetings management, documents processing and translation used at all four DGACM duty stations as well as at regional commissions and other international organizations.
• Exercise supervisory responsibility for Conference Services, ensure effective coordination between sections and units of the service and implement the policy and standard practices of the UN and UNEP/UN-Habitat in the field of conference servicing and implement the policies, procedures and standard practices in the field of conference-servicing, as established by the USG for DGACM.
• Initiate innovations, technical and procedural, to improve the efficiency of conference services and direct the development of training programmes for staff to that effect.
• Introduce and institutionalize methods of work for language staff, and forge closer working relations between interpreters, translators, editors and language and other support staff. 
• Negotiate with government authorities to achieve host government agreements covering conference service requirements, costings, facilities for remote translation, including visits to meetings venues to review facilities.
• Represent UNEP and UN-Habitat at International Annual Meeting on Language Arrangements, Documentation and Publications (IAMLADP) and contribute to global management of UN conference services and ensure effective collaboration with DGACM/NY and counterparts in Geneva and Vienna.
• As part of the management team at UNON, represent the Division on the Senior Management Team tasked with advising the Director General; help formulate and implement the decisions of the Director-General.
• Lead team members efforts to collect and analyze data and provide insight to identify trends or patterns for data-driven planning, decision-making, presentation and reporting. Ensure that all stakeholders can discover, access, integrate and utilize the data they need as appropriate.

Competencies

• PROFESSIONALISM: Knowledge of and ability to provide specialized advice in a broad range of conference management issues; Demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter; Ability to produce reports and papers on technical issues and to review and edit the work of others; Ability to apply UN rules, regulations, policies and guidelines in work situations; The ability to analyze and interpret data in support of decision-making and convey resulting information to management. Shows pride in work and in achievements; 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; Skills in negotiating in multilateral settings and ability to persuade and influence others to reach agreement on complex issues; And takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work.
• 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.
• 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; And uses time efficiently.
• VISION: Identifies strategic issues, opportunities and risks; Clearly communicates links between the Organization's strategy and the work unit's goals; Generates and communicates broad and compelling organizational direction, inspiring others to pursue that same direction; And conveys enthusiasm about future possibilities.
• LEADERSHIP: Serves as a role model that other people want to follow; Empowers others to translate vision into results; Is proactive in developing strategies to accomplish objectives; Establishes and maintains relationships with a broad range of people to understand needs and gain support; Anticipates and resolves conflicts by pursuing mutually agreeable solutions; Drives for change and improvement; Does not accept the status quo; And shows the courage to take unpopular stands.

Education

• Advanced university degree (Master's degree or equivalent) in business or public administration, finance, accounting, law, social sciences, language studies or related area is required. A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
• Successful completion of both degree and non-degree programs in data analytics, business analytics or data science programs is desirable.

Work Experience

• A minimum of fifteen (15) years of progressively responsible experience in conference management, including the delivery of conference services, administration, human, IT and financial resources management or related fields, of which at least ten (10) years at the international level is required.
• A minimum of five (5) years of experience in the planning, management and delivery of conference services or conference related language services is required.
• Experience in managing diverse teams of staff and significant conference-related human, financial and IT resources is required.
• Experience in the management of complex multi-year and multi-stakeholder projects involving planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation in the United Nations is desirable.
• Experience in conferencing related tools and technology is desirable.
• Experience in change management and managing in a complex and multicultural settings is desirable.
• Experience in facilitating intergovernmental processes and multilateral diplomacy, as well as experience in handling a multi-disciplinary portfolio of tasks and duties is desirable.
• Experience in data analytics or related area is desirable.

Languages

• English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the post advertised, fluency in English (both oral and written) is required. Knowledge of French is desirable.