Programme Assistant (Administrative) (PSA)

About UN University (UNU)

The United Nations University (UNU) is an international community of scholars engaged in policy-oriented research, capacity development and dissemination of knowledge in furthering the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations. The mission of UNU is to contribute, through research and capacity building, to efforts to resolve the pressing global problems that are the concern of the United Nations and its Member States.

For the past four decades, UNU has been a go-to think tank for impartial research on human survival, conflict prevention, sustainable development, and welfare. With more than 400 researchers in 12 countries, UNU’s work spans the 17 Sustainable Development Goals’ full breadth, generating policy-relevant knowledge to effect positive global change. UNU maintains more than 200 collaborations with UN agencies and leading universities and research institutions across the globe. For more information, please visit http://unu.edu.

The United Nations University Vice-Rectorate in Europe (UNU-ViE), established in 2007, is one of two Vice-Rectorates and the only one located outside Japan. UNU-ViE seeks to strengthen the presence of UNU in Europe and supports the worldwide institutional development of UNU by facilitating collaboration across UNU and the UN, and sharing knowledge and expertise through the development of joint activities and projects. In addition to its core mandate, it administers the central units providing service to both UNU-ViE and UNU-EHS. For more information, please visit: http://vie.unu.edu/.

The Pan African Cooperation and Educational Technologies (PACET) Programme at UNU-ViE aims to strengthen research, educational, and institutional capacities of UNU-EHS in global South with a focus on Africa. PACET fosters cooperation between UNU and African institutions in higher education, research, policy, and practice to develop innovative methods and appropriated solutions to address challenges particularly within the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Pairs Agreement, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) and the Agenda 2063 of the African Union.

Water-Energy-Food (WEF) in context of Climate Change addresses from a nexus standpoint represents a main research pillar at PACET. Activities and projects on the topic aim at generating new scientific and policy-relevant knowledge to support sustainable socio-economic, environmentally-friendly transformation and increase resilience against climate change in Global South with a focus on Africa. Digitalization respectively frontier technologies, green innovations and entrepreneurship in the context of the WEF nexus, and technology-enhanced learning extend the core research activities of the program. Educational technologies technology-enhanced learning or the aim being to strengthen the educational and research capacities of UNU-EHS and its partner institutions with innovative and engaging educational and collaborative working experiences. PACET activities on green innovations and entrepreneurship aims to interaction and processes between stakeholders of green entrepreneurship ecosystem, contribute to the development framework and appropriated policies that brings together actors and stakeholders to identify and ideates solutions, strengthen capacities and skills of innovators, organize and support innovations, innovators and entrepreneurs with a focus on women and youths.

Responsibilities

Under the overall authority of the Vice-Rector in Europe and Director of UNU-EHS and the direct supervision of the Head of the PACET Programme the appointee will principally be responsible for the following:

1. Support project and financial activities at PACET

• Assist in liaising between donors and implementing partners to ensure smooth administrative implementation of projects;
• Assist in liaising between respective budget owners and donors to address budgetary issues and reclassification of expenses as required.
• Support section personnel in liaising with the UNU Legal Office on the appropriate use of various contractual terms and modalities in relation to cooperation with third parties
• Assist in draft/processing project related contracts and Institutional Contractual Agreements (ICAs), including monitoring of payment deadlines and review of financial reports
• Assist in monitoring projects’ financial and budgetary status, and maintain an overview of the availability of project funds

2. Administrative and projects support at PACET

• Provide project managers with planning, budgeting, organization and preparation of events such as meetings, workshops, field research, and other support as required
• Support the preparation of annual reports (council, advisory committee, etc.), advisory committee meetings and strategic meeting/retreats at PACET
• Support the responsible Head of Division and section personnel on administrative processes
• Support reviewing project proposals, draft project budgets jointly with the project managers and provide administrative support in the fundraising process

3. Liaise with Finance and Administration Division

• Prepare workflow and processes for the collection of financial data and preparation of these information for monitoring and planning of resources of the program
• Support procurement requests and F10 reimbursement at PACET

4. Academic and events support

• Administrative support in the supervision of Master and PhD students
• Support in the organization of educational activities and events: semester and block courses, seminars, workshops, conference, summer schools in Germany and abroad.

5. Perform other duties as assigned by supervisor

Key performance indicators

• Contribution to project, program, institute and ViE mission
• Timely and quality financial monitoring, administration and reporting at PACET
• Timely and quality project and administration support at PACET
• High quality engagement with project team and implementation partners

Competencies

Values:

• Inclusion — Take action to create an environment of dignity and respect for all, regardless of age, culture, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, gender expression, geography, grade, language, nationality, racial identity, religion, sex, sex characteristics, sexual orientation, social origin or any other aspect of identity
• Integrity — Act ethically, demonstrating the standards of conduct of the United Nations and taking prompt action in case of witnessing unprofessional or unethical behaviour, or any other breach of UN standards
• Humility — Demonstrate self-awareness and willingness to learn from others
• Humanity — Act according to the purposes of the United Nations: peace, dignity and equality on a healthy planet

Behaviours:

• Connect and collaborate — Build positive relationships with others to advance the work of the United Nations and work coherently as One UN
• Analyse and plan — Seek out and use data from a wide range of sources to understand problems, inform decision-making, propose evidence-based solutions and plan action
• Deliver results with positive impact — Hold oneself and others accountable for delivering results and making a positive difference to the people and causes that the United Nations serves
• Learn and develop — Pursue own learning and development and contribute to the learning and development of others
• Adapt and innovate — Demonstrate flexibility, agility and the ability to think and act in novel ways

Qualifications

Education and certification

• Completed secondary education. A first (or higher) level university degree in business administration, human resource management, finance, or a related field will be considered an asset. A university degree may substitute for some of the required years of work experience.

Experience

Required:

• Secondary with two (2) years or Bachelor’s degree with one (1) year of working experience, ideally touching the functions of finance or programme support related functions

Desired:

• Familiarity with UN rules and regulation concerning administration, finance, procurement and/or human resources, would be a distinct advantage.
• Excellent command of English is mandatory, knowledge of German is an asset.
• Proficient in the use of MS Office applications.
• Experience in using ERP system is highly desirable.
• Experience in performing translation from one language to another is an asset.
• Strong team player with strong interpersonal skills committed to working in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity.
• Good communication and interpersonal skills, excellent time management skills, forward planning, with the ability to work under pressure and with minimal supervision.

Language Requirements

• Excellent writing, presentation and communication skills with a fluency in spoken and written English.
• Fluency in German is desirable; knowledge in any additional language, especially French, Spanish, or Portuguese, and other UN languages is an asset.

Remuneration

The successful candidate will be employed under a national PSA contract. UNU offers an attractive compensation package including an annual net salary, commensurate with the experience and qualifications of the candidate. Benefits include 30 days annual leave and a health insurance scheme.

UNU is not liable for any taxes that may be levied on the remuneration you receive under this contract. Payment of any such taxes remains the sole responsibility of PSA holders.

Duration of contract

This is a full-time employment on a twelve (12) months Personnel Service Agreement (PSA) contract with possibility for renewal subject to requirements and satisfactory work performance, with the combined duration of appointments not exceeding six (6) years. The mandatory age of retirement for PSA holders is 65 years.

This post is open to applicants from all countries and UNU will aid the successful applicant in securing a work visa for Germany, as necessary. It is, however, a locally recruited post and no relocation allowances apply. The duty station will be Bonn, Germany.

Expected start date: As soon as possible

How to Apply:

To apply to UNU, you will not need an account. Instead, we ask that you:

• Fill out the UNU P11 form (please avoid using similar forms provided by other United Nations organisations);
• provide a motivation statement (in the P11 form);
• provide a cover letter setting out how the qualifications and experience match the requirements of the position;
• answer a few questions that are tailored to the position; and
• apply via the apply link.

You may wish to refer to the UN Values and Behaviours Framework for more information.

Application Deadline: 6 February 2023

Assessment

Evaluation of qualified candidates may include an assessment exercise which may be followed by a competency-based interview, background checks and references.

Special notice

PSA holders do not hold international civil servant status nor are they considered a “staff member” as defined in the UN Staff Rules and Regulations.

UNU is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities to apply and become part of the organization. Applications from developing countries, and from women are strongly encouraged. Eligible internal applicants are also encouraged to apply.

UNU has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNU, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination.

Information about UNU rosters

UNU reserves the right to select one or more candidates from this vacancy announcement. We may also retain applications and consider candidates applying to this post for other similar positions with UNU.

Scam warning

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