Jobs at United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

Responsibilities

• This post is located in the INC Secretariat at the Nairobi duty station. Under the direct supervision of the Finance and Budget Officer, the Senior Finance and Budget Assistant will be responsible for the following duties:

Budget

• Acts as Certifying Officer for the INC Secretariat.
• Undertakes reviews, analyses and preparation of the medium-term plan and its revisions.
• Reviews, analyses and assists in the finalization of cost estimates and budget proposals, in terms of staff and non-staff requirements, including programmatic aspects; ensures compliance with the medium-term plan and other legislative mandates.
• Provides support to managers with respect to the elaboration of resource requirements and assist in the preparation and submission of budget proposals and allocations for INC Secretariat.
• Undertakes research and provides support to higher level Finance & Budget Officers with respect to budget reviews of relevant intergovernmental and expert bodies.
• Provides input into the preparation of allotments, including redeployment of funds when necessary, ensuring appropriate expenditures.
• Monitors budget implementation/expenditures and recommends reallocation of funds as necessary.
• Reviews requisitions for goods and services to ensure (a) correct objects of expenditure have been charged, and (b) availability of funds.
• Monitors extra-budgetary resources, including review of agreements and cost plans, ensuring compliance with regulations and rules and established policies and procedures.
• Assists in the preparation of budget performance submissions as well as periodic and ad-hoc reports including monthly budget dashboard reports to senior management, Programme Performance Reports (PPR) to UNEP Senior Management as well as to the Committee of Permanent Representatives (CPR).
• Assists in finalization of budget performance reports, analysing variances between approved budgets and actual expenditures.
• Monitors integrity of various financial databases.
• Verifies accuracy of input data, ensuring consistency of data in previous allotments to new allotments issued.
• Co-ordinates with other finance and budget staff on related issues during preparation of budget reports.

Treasury

• Reviews incoming payment instructions with regard to banking details and sources of funds.
• Prepares payments for final disbursement by Cashier.
• Dispatches payment instructions and cheques to banks.
• Creates receipts and deposits for all incoming funds.
• Notifies payees of status of payments.
• Assists staff members, Fund Management Officers and donors regarding queries on payment and deposit-related issues.
• Identifies and annotates bank account movements. Monitors bank balances worldwide.
• Assists Cashier in cash management and investment issues, including cash flow forecasts.
• Liaises with banks worldwide regarding outstanding items and payment instructions.
• Investigates complaints on non-receipts.
• Monitors cheque stock and orders new stock as required.
• Reviews inter and intra-unit processes with aim to optimise workflow and customer orientation.
• Monitors/reviews methods used to remit payments.
• Assist in preparation of periodical reports: cash flow, contributions, etc.
• Follows-up on audit recommendations.
• Follows-up on fraud cases.
• Assists cashier in the daily operation of the Cashier’s Unit responsible for the transmittal of payments worldwide.
• Files and archives as required.

General

• Keeps up to date on documents/reports/guidelines that have a bearing on matters related to programme budgets, ensuring compliance with intergovernmental recommendations and decisions as well as with United Nations policies and procedures.
• Drafts or prepares correspondence to respond to enquiries in respect to relevant financial and budget matters.
• Provides guidance, training and daily supervision to other general service staff in the area of responsibility.
• Develop and maintain Budget related Business Intelligence (BI) Web Reports to be shared and utilized by all Programme and Fund Management Officers across UNEP.
• Manage approved staffing table for the INC Secretariat.
• Prepare monthly post incumbency reports and update the positions' cost distribution in Umoja (UN SAP based ERP system) Organization Management module to ensure correct coding blocks are charged.
• Assists with the collection and analysis of data as well as preparation of data presentations and reports for information sharing, responding to queries, knowledge management, planning and decision making.
• Assists with visualizations and updating information material such as web pages or brochures.
• Performs other related duties, as assigned.

Competencies

• PROFESSIONALISM: Knowledge of, and ability to apply financial rules, regulations and procedures in the UN environment. Knowledge, skills and ability to extract, interpret, analyse and format data across the full range of finance and budget functions, including programme development and database management, claims and treasury operations. Ability to identify and resolve data discrepancies and operational problems. Ability to perform analysis, modeling and interpretation of data in support of
• decision-making. 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. Commitment to implementing the goal of gender equality by ensuring the equal participation and full involvement of women and men in all aspects of work.
• COMMUNICATION: Speaks and writes clearly and effectively. Listens to others, correctly interprets messages from others and responds appropriately. Asks questions to clarify and exhibits interest in having two-way communication. Tailors language, tone, style and format to match the audience. Demonstrates openness in sharing information and keeping people informed.
• ACCOUNTABILITY: Takes ownership of all responsibilities and honours commitments. Delivers outputs for which one has responsibility within prescribed time, cost and quality standards. Operates in compliance with organizational regulations and rules. Supports subordinates, provides oversight and takes responsibility for delegated assignments. Takes personal responsibility for his/her own shortcomings and those of the work unit, where applicable.

Education

• High school diploma or completion of secondary school is required.

Job - Specific Qualification

• Supplementary courses/ training in finance, administration, project management or related field is required.
• A recognized accountancy qualification (e.g. Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), Chartered Institute of Public Finance Accountants (CIPFA) is desirable.

Work Experience

• A minimum of ten (10) years of progressive experience in administration, budgetary and financial operations, procedures and practices is required. The minimum years of relevant experience is reduced by two (2) years for candidates who possess a first level university degree.
• Experience working with an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software, such as Umoja, in finance and budget modules is required.
• Demonstrated experience working with a Business Intelligence (BI) reporting tool is required.
• Experience with budget management is desirable.
• One (1) year or more of 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 oral and written English is required. Knowledge of another official United Nations language is desirable.

Closing Date: 24th October 2023

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Result of Service

• The primary objective of this role is to translate UNEP's organizational requirements into a comprehensive and forward-looking reference data architecture tailored specifically for the backend of the World Environment Situation Room (WESR). The data architect will craft a blueprint that outlines the architectural layers, data, interfaces, and pipelines necessary to enhance the functionality and efficiency of WESR's backend data architecture.
• The Data Architect’s role is pivotal in shaping WESR's backend reference data architecture to accommodate the unique demands of the federated data platform. This entails understanding the intricacies of WESR's operations and anticipating its future needs. The ultimate aim is to establish a robust foundation that supports the seamless integration of environmental data, facilitates data-driven decision-making, and aligns with UNEP's overarching data management strategy.
• Building on existing assessments, the consultant will work on developing a blueprint for the new World Environment Situation Room (WESR) data platform, including data interfaces, stores, pipelines, and knowledge graph/base.

Duties and Responsibilities

• The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), established in 1972, is the leading global environmental authority that sets the global environmental agenda, promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United Nations system, and serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment. UNEP's Medium-Term Strategy 2022-2025 sets an ambitious course to harness data and digital technologies and innovations to better serve Member States and partners in their efforts to tackle the triple planetary crises of climate change, nature loss, and pollution. Through a process of scanning, testing, and scaling relevant digital technologies, UNEP aims to become an increasingly data-driven, agile, transparent, and effective organization.
• Digital technologies are a key enabler for UNEP that provide unprecedented opportunities to: (i) support organizational change processes towards enhanced agility, results-orientation and collaborations; (ii) to identify new and innovative solutions to the most pressing climate, nature, and pollution challenges; (iii) to strengthen our capacities to effectively engage and collaborate with a broad range of stakeholders from government, the private sector and civil society: (iv) enhance accountability, results-orientation, and inclusiveness of development programs, empowering citizens by establishing by direct feedback loops. UNEP's digital transformation vision focuses on developing the organization's capability to leverage existing, emerging, and future data and digital technologies and the opportunities they offer to profoundly improve the way UNEP creates and delivers value and benefits for those we serve. The vision is based on an open innovation approach enabling the effective co-design of innovative solutions with strategic partners, civil society and citizens.
• This post is remotely located with minimal travel to Nairobi and reports to the Head, World Environment Situation Room (WESR).
• Building on existing assessments, the consultant will work on developing a blueprint for the new World Environment Situation Room (WESR) data platform, including data interfaces, stores, pipelines, and knowledge graph/base.

The selected consultant shall carry out the following activities:

• WESR-specific Architectural Specifications: Drawing insights from the existing assessment, the data architect will develop precise specifications needed for the redesign of WESR platform's backend data architecture. These specifications will reflect WESR's distinct characteristics and ensure that the architecture seamlessly integrates with the platform's objectives.
• Identification of Relevant Environmental Data: In line with WESR's mandate, the data architect will identify diverse environmental data sources that align with the platform's focus. This involves assessing existing and potential data sources that contribute to WESR's data ecosystem.
• Data Storage, Transport, and Ingestion Blueprint: The architect will design an effective data repository for WESR's backend that optimizes data storage, transport, and ingestion. This blueprint will ensure that WESR can effectively manage and utilize environmental data. This will include exploring data fabric and mesh architectures to determine best-fit.
• Federated Data Query Module Design: The architect will conceptualize and design a federated data query module tailored for WESR's backend. This module will empower WESR users to efficiently access and retrieve relevant environmental data.
• Holistic Data Management Solutions for WESR: Within the context of WESR, the architect will formulate solutions for metadata management, data security, permissions control, and governance management. These solutions will align with WESR's specific requirements and data-driven goals. The data architect will conceptualize and design a federated data management system tailored for WESR's backend. This will include data lineage and provenance module, data quality assurance module and auditing and history module.
• Creation of a Semantic Layer: The data architect will design an effective semantic layer as an independent layer between the raw environmental data and various WESR use cases, including tools enabling data visualization, BI or AI/ML. The semantic layer will contain ontologies, terminologies and other harmonization technologies to ensure that every piece of data used in downstream applications has a consistent meaning. This may also include creating knowledge graphs that will support data exploration in large, federated, and complex data systems.
• Designing of Data Pipeline: To enable flow of data from data sources to data applications within the context of WESR, the data architect will formulate solutions for data pipelines. These solutions will align with WESR's specific requirements and data-driven goals as well as the defined use-cases.
• Architectural Patterns for WESR Use-Cases: Based on three initial use cases relevant to WESR's operations, the data architect will develop architectural patterns. These patterns will provide WESR with standardized approaches to handling data and processes, optimizing efficiency and supporting diverse use cases.
• Coordination with WESR and UNEP's Data Management Strategies: The architect will collaborate closely with the WESR team and UNEP's Digital Transformation teams to ensure that the backend reference data architecture aligns seamlessly with the platform's operational strategies and the broader UNEP data ecosystem.

Qualifications/special skills

• Advanced university degree (Masters or equivalent) in Computer Sciences, Information Technology or equivalent field is required
• At least 10 years of relevant professional experience in managing end-to-end data platform architecture, from designing the blueprint architecture, developing the application and/or selecting the platform, to testing and implementing the proposed solution is required
• Proven advanced experience in data systems development, including data system development life cycle, project management approaches and requirements, design, and testing techniques are required.
• Experience in designing an architecture that involves multiple diverse data sources in a federated environment e.g. data mesh is an advantage.
• Experience in designing knowledge graphs or semantic knowledge bases and preparing data pipelines for AI/ML applications is an advantage.
• Experience in geographic information systems and working with environmental data systems is considered a strong advantage.
• Experience with the United Nations, European Commission, or national governments is considered a strong asset.

Languages

• English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this assignment, fluency in oral and written English is required. Knowledge of other UN languages is an asset.