UN Women: Management Specialist to the Chief Finance Officer, New York, USA, P4 FTA

Background:

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security. Placing women’s rights at the center of all its efforts, UN Women leads and coordinates United Nations System efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world.

The Division of Finance and Administration (DFA) is responsible for the planning, allocation and management of financial and administrative resources including information communications and technology, procurement and travel, security and safety, facility and general operational management. The DFA is responsible for the effective and efficient delivery of essential operations services in UN Women, continuous development and improvement in operations, policies, procedures and guidance to align with UN Women and stakeholders' evolving business needs, and technical and advisory support to the Executive Director in the formulation and implementation of the UN Women overall mission. 

Under the supervision of the Chief Finance Officer (CFO) and Director Finance and Administration, and working closely with the Division’s leadership, the Management Specialist to the CFO provides senior-level coordination, advisory and executive decision-support to enable the effective functioning of the CFO Office, and effective implementation of key decisions. The incumbent helps ensure that priorities, processes, submissions, decisions and follow-up actions move efficiently across DFA and with corporate counterparts and within and outside the organization; identifies bottlenecks and dependencies; escalates issues requiring CFO attention; and supports the CFO in advancing financial, administrative, and operational priorities, governance commitments and cross-organizational initiatives that require timely coordination and executive judgment.

Key Functions and Accountabilities:

Coordinate and manage the CFO Office’s strategic planning, engagements and executive workflow

• Lead the CFO’s support team, and manage and coordinate the planning, implementation, monitoring and reporting on CFO Office’s priorities and workplans.


• Coordinate the CFO Office’s executive workflow by helping prioritize incoming requests, submissions, decisions and follow-up actions requiring CFO attention.


• Identify bottlenecks, delays, dependencies or unclear accountabilities in high-priority processes, and recommend timely action to keep matters moving.


• Assess incoming matters for strategic significance, urgency, reputational sensitivity and institutional impact, and advise on sequencing and escalation.


• Support the CFO in preparing for senior-level discussions by framing key issues, decision points, risks, stakeholder positions and actions needed to unblock progress.


• Translate follow-up from high-level engagements into clear direction, next steps and ownership for DFA leadership and relevant corporate counterparts.

Provide analytical, advisory and decision-support services to the CFO

• Coordinate development of high-quality strategic briefs, policy notes, speeches, talking points and decision papers for the CFO’s engagement with senior management, governing bodies, oversight actors and United Nations system counterparts.


• Provide coordination-oriented analysis that clearly identifies required decisions, responsible offices, timelines, risks, dependencies and escalation points.


• Anticipate emerging institutional, financial, administrative and operational issues that may delay implementation or require CFO intervention and propose practical responses.


• Review complex submissions from the perspective of executive decision-making and process readiness, ensuring that issues, risks, options, accountabilities and implications are clearly presented.


• Support the CFO in articulating DFA’s strategic position in corporate discussions, inter-agency forums and high-level governance processes.

Support execution of CFO-led strategic priorities and institutional initiatives

• Support the CFO in identifying, shaping and advancing priorities that strengthen financial stewardship, operational accountability, business transformation and organizational efficiency.


• Provide senior-level coordination for CFO-led initiatives that cut across DFA, regional and country offices, and corporate functions, ensuring there is clarity on purpose, ownership, timelines and expected outputs.


• Advise on sequencing, stakeholder engagement and executive messaging for major DFA change initiatives, reforms or management priorities.


• Monitor strategic-level implementation risks, interdependencies and unresolved issues, escalating matters that require CFO decision or senior management intervention.


• Promote coherence between DFA’s strategic direction and broader corporate planning, oversight, accountability and transformation processes.

Coordinate corporate, intergovernmental, oversight and partnership engagements related to finance and administration

• Advise and support the CFO’s engagement with the Executive Board, Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions, Fifth Committee, United Nations system networks, auditors, oversight bodies and other senior internal and external stakeholders.


• Frame strategic messages and institutional positions on financial management, resource stewardship, accountability, internal control and administrative effectiveness.


• Coordinate the preparation of high-level inputs that require CFO-level judgment, ensuring they are analytically sound, strategically clear and aligned with corporate priorities.


• Support the CFO in maintaining strategic relationships with senior counterparts across the Organization and the United Nations system on matters within DFA’s mandate.


• Manage communications and support in managing internal and external partnerships relevant to the work of the CFO.

Strengthen executive governance, institutional memory, knowledge management and follow-through mechanisms for the CFO Office

• Strengthen executive-level follow-through mechanisms that capture decisions, commitments, responsible offices, timelines and escalation needs arising from the CFO’s engagements.


• Maintain strategic reference materials and decision records that support continuity, accountability and timely action in the CFO Office.


• Identify opportunities to improve the quality, consistency and strategic orientation of materials submitted for CFO review.


• Promote lessons learned and good practices to reinforce institutional memory, executive readiness and smoother movement of priority processes across DFA.

The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the CFO Office, DFA and the Organisation.

Supervisory/Managerial Responsibilities: The Management Specialist may coordinate the work of consultants, interns and other support personnel assigned to the CFO Office, as required.

Competencies :

Core Values:

• Integrity;


• Professionalism;


• Respect for Diversity.

Core Competencies:

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues;


• Accountability;


• Creative Problem Solving;


• Effective Communication;


• Inclusive Collaboration;


• Stakeholder Engagement;


• Leading by Example.

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Values and Competencies Framework: 

Functional Competencies:

• Advanced coordination, analytical and strategic thinking skills, including the ability to translate complex financial, operational and institutional issues into actionable executive advice.


• Ability to identify bottlenecks, clarify accountabilities, sequence actions and support timely resolution of cross-functional issues.


• Excellent drafting and communication skills for senior-level audiences, including preparation of strategic briefs, speeches, policy notes and decision papers.


• Strong judgment, discretion and political sensitivity in advising on sensitive institutional, financial and management matters.


• Ability to anticipate risks, identify options and provide sound recommendations in a complex organizational environment.


• Strong relationship management skills, including ability to engage effectively with senior management, oversight actors and United Nations system counterparts.


• Good understanding of financial stewardship, institutional accountability, corporate governance, internal control and business transformation in an international organization context.

Recruitment Qualifications:

Education and Certification:       

•             Master’s degree or equivalent in business administration, public administration, finance, accounting, economics, international development, social sciences or a related field 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.

Experience:        

•             At least seven years of progressively responsible experience in strategic coordination or executive office support, including experience in financial or operational management, corporate governance, institutional planning, management reform or related areas is required.

•             Experience coordinating complex, cross-functional processes involving senior-level engagement is required.

•             Experience providing advice and decision-support to senior officials on complex institutional, financial, governance or management matters is required.

•             Experience preparing high-quality strategic briefs, speeches, policy notes, decision papers or management presentations for senior-level audiences is required. 

•             Experience in leading and managing personnel in international settings is required.

•             Experience supporting engagement with governing bodies, oversight stakeholders, inter-agency mechanisms or senior corporate governance processes is desirable.

•             Experience in financial stewardship, and resource management, institutional accountability, internal control or business transformation, in an international organization context is desirable.

•             Experience working within the United Nations system or another international organization is desirable.

Languages:         

•             Fluency in English is required.

•             Knowledge of another official UN language is desirable (French, Arabic, Chinese, Russian or Spanish).

Statements :

In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women's empowerment.

Diversity and inclusion:

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity and organizational need.

If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application.

UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.)

Note: Applicants must ensure that all sections of the application form, including the sections on education and employment history, are completed. If all sections are not completed the application may be disqualified from the recruitment and selection process.