United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON) Jobs in Nairobi Kenya: Recruitment for Chief, Support Services Service

THE ORGANIZATION:

The United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON) is the UN headquarters in Africa and the representative office of the Secretary-General. UNON supports programme implementation of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) globally, as well as other UN offices in Kenya, by providing administrative, conference and information services (www.unon.org). This post is located in the Support Services Section within the Division of Administrative Services (DAS) at UNON.

POST TITLE:   CHIEF, SUPPORT SERVICES SERVICE, D1

DEPARTMENT/ OFFICE: United Nations Office at Nairobi

DUTY STATION: NAIROBI

POSTING PERIOD: 9 January 2012-9 March 2012

JOB OPENING NUMBER: 12-ADM-UNON-21328-R-NAIROBI

UNITED NATIONS CORE VALUES: Integrity, Professionalism, Respect for Diversity

Org. Setting and Reporting.

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Under the overall direction of the Director, DAS, the incumbent will be responsible for managing and overseeing the provision of support services to offices of the UN Secretariat, funds, programmes, and Specialized agencies of the UN system, in Nairobi.

Specifically, the incumbent's responsibilities will be as follows:

• Formulating and implementing the substantive work programme of the Service under his/her supervision. Overseeing the management of activities undertaken by the Service,
• Co-ordinating work in the different areas both within UNON, and with other organizations of the United Nations System, as appropriate. Substantive work areas cover facilities management, stores, mail, pouch and archives, transportation, procurement, travel, visa and shipping, property management, host country relations, and commercial operations,
• Co-ordinating and overseeing the preparation of reports for presentation to intergovernmental bodies such as the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budget Questions, the General Assembly, UNEP and UN-Habitat Governing Councils and other policy-making organs, as appropriate,
• Reporting to intergovernmental bodies on budget and programme performance or on substantive issues, as appropriate, particularly those presented in biannual and/or annual reports,
• Assisting the Director in preparing the work programme of the Division, determining priorities, and allocating resources for the completion of outputs and their timely delivery,
• Undertaking or overseeing the programmatic and administrative tasks necessary for the functioning of the Service,
• Managing, guiding, developing and training staff under his/her supervision,
• Fostering teamwork and communication among staff in the Service and across organizational boundaries,
• Leading and supervising the organization of meetings on substantive-related issues,
• Participating in meetings and providing expertise on issues, holding substantive and organizational discussions with representatives of other institutions,
• Representing the Division/Organization at meetings.

JOB COMPETENCIES:

Professionalism: 

• Knowledge of the Support Services Service fields of work in general and of specific areas being supervised,
• 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,
• 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.

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 audience; demonstrates openness in sharing information and keeping people informed.

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; keeps clients informed of progress or setbacks in projects; meets timeline for delivery of products or services to client.

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; drives for change and improvements; shows the courage to take unpopular stands,
• Provides leadership and takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work; demonstrates knowledge of strategies and commitment to the goal of gender balance in staffing.

Judgement/Decision-Making: 

• Identifies the key issues in a complex situation, and comes to the heart of the problem quickly; gathers relevant information before making a decision; considers positive and negative impacts of decisions prior to making them; takes decisions with an eye to the impact on others and on the Organization; proposes a course of action or makes a recommendation based on all available information; checks assumptions against facts; determines that the actions proposed will satisfy the expressed and underlying needs for the decision; makes tough decisions when necessary.

EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE:

• Advanced university degree (Master's degree or equivalent) in business or public administration, engineering, architecture, or related area,
• A first-level university degree in combination with qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree,
• A minimum of fifteen (15) years of progressively responsible experience in administration, logistics, financial management, budget, procurement, and/or facilities management.

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 UN language is an advantage.

ASSESSMENT METHOD:

• Evaluation of qualified candidates for this position may include a substantive assessment which will be followed by a competency-based interview.

SPECIAL NOTICE:

Staff members are subject to the authority of Secretary-General 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.

All applicants are strongly encouraged to apply online as soon as possible after the job opening has been posted and well before the deadline stated in the job opening. Online applications will be acknowledged where an email has been provided. If you do not receive an e-mail acknowledgment within 24 hours of submission, your application may not have been received. In such cases, please resubmit the application if necessary.

UNITED NATIONS CONSIDERATIONS:

• The United Nations shall place 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. (Charter of the United Nations - Chapter 3, article 8). The United Nations Secretariat is a non-smoking environment.

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.