Programme Associate (Temporary Appointment)

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

And we never give up.

https://www.unicef.org/vietnam/ [1]

For every child, child protection

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does - in programs, in advocacy and in operations. The equity strategy, emphasizing the most disadvantaged and excluded children and families, translates this commitment to children’s rights into action. For UNICEF, equity means that all children have an opportunity to survive, develop and reach their full potential, without discrimination, bias or favoritism. To the degree that any child has an unequal chance in life - in its social, political, economic, civic and cultural dimensions - her or his rights are violated. There is growing evidence that investing in the health, education and protection of a society’s most disadvantaged citizens - addressing inequity - not only will give all children the opportunity to fulfill their potential but also will lead to sustained growth and stability of countries. This is why the focus on equity is so vital. It accelerates progress towards realizing the human rights of all children, which is the universal mandate of UNICEF, as outlined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, while also supporting the equitable development of nations.

Within the context of increased demand and response related to COVID-19 in Vietnam, the pandemic, together with its control measures, have major multidimensional impacts on the lives of all populations in Viet Nam, especially children, women and other vulnerable groups. Among the most serious is the disruption to essential healthcare (including reduced health seeking behavior), nutrition services  and education; parents and caregivers struggle with alternative childcare arrangements, with some children left alone at home, others drawn into child labour; loss of income and social distancing is leading to economic and psychological stress, which among others, results in increased levels of domestic violence, gender based violence affecting women and children. Women are also particularly vulnerable given their presence in the informal sector and recognizing the double burden they shoulder to earn money to keep food on the table, as well as their role in caring for children and the elderly family members.  Therefore, it is critical that Viet Nam remains vigilant and prepared to minimize any potential damage.

Given the workload of the Office, the CSD and relevant Programme Sections is very high during the Covid-19 and responses, UNICEF Viet Nam need to recruit a Programme Associate to provide support to the team for implementation and monitoring of the office wide COVID-19 responses including  vaccination component and other programme activities across the office as required. 

How can you make a difference?

Purpose for the job:

Overall supervision will be provided by the Chief of Child Survival and Development. Day-to-day supervision will be provided by the Maternal and Child Health Specialist in respect of task allocation, guidance, supervision on result areas through meetings and exchanges with the incumbent.

Under the supervision and guidance of the supervisor, the Programme Associate will support the Child Survival and Development Section as well as other  Programme Sections across office as required by carrying out a range of programme support functions to help develop, implement and monitor the UNICEF component of COVID-19 responses, the COVID-19 vaccination and other Programme activities across office; ensuring effective and timely delivery that is consistent with UNICEF rules and regulations. This will include project financial management support, monitoring, promoting knowledge management, and providing translation, administrative and secretarial support to ensure smooth operation of the component.

The Programme Associate will work in close collaboration with a range of staff from Programme Sections within the office and with external partners and agency counterparts in support of programme implementation, delivery and monitoring. S/He will provide regular feedback on the status of the project through monitoring milestones and advising on improvements to keep activities on track. The Programme Associate’s work will be overseen and supported by an experienced Senior Programme Associate.

Key functions, accountabilities and related duties/tasks:

1. Administrative support

• Assist in logistics arrangements for workshops, trainings and meetings and take minutes of meetings, including contact with vendors and suppliers for related services such as venue, transportation, interpretation equipment, hotels, etc.
• Facilitate development of cooperation agreements by providing information and drafting selected sections. 
• Provide support to visits of external visitors and consultants including visa, accommodation, transportation arrangement and making payments.
• Provide logistics and administrative support to the COVID-19 vaccination team including travel arrangements, air ticket booking, transportation and payments.
• Assist in preparation of regular and ad-hoc financial and narrative reports relating to COVID-19 vaccination component.
• Assist in formatting, illustration and reproduction of documents, reports, presentations, briefings and speeches.

2. Programmatic and financial support

• Support the financial management and coordination, processing and monitoring cash assistance requests and funds disbursement, including supplies and transactions in the system for all COVID-19 related activities of the CSD Programme as well as all other Programme Sections across office.
• Monitor fund utilization; keep tracking expiring grants and generate financial reports for different purpose.
• Provide support to develop supply plan; raise sales orders for purchasing supply items and track the distribution of project supplies.
• Process, implement and follow up payment for COVID-19 vaccination consultancy contracts
• Prepare service requests and process payments to service suppliers.
• Help conduct financial Spot Checks and Program Monitoring Visits if required with guidance and support of Senior Program Associate.
• Monitor programme financial implementation including year-end closure and rephrasing process with guidance and support of Senior Program Associate.

3. Information and discussions well recorded; correspondence drafted; translation and interpretation provided to support communication with partners

• Assist in preparing correspondence ensuring the formatting, attachments and addresses for sending out to external audiences is in line with UNICEF communications policy.
• Draft routine memos and letters as requested by the team and provide translation of incoming/outgoing letter and correspondence as required.
• Provide translation of project documents and provide interpretation at meetings and workshops as required. 

4. Facilitate systematic project knowledge management within and outside the section

• Facilitate systematic knowledge management in the section and across sections through establishing systems to keep, update and disseminate reference materials, regularly updating dissemination lists, under the guidance and supervision of the Maternal and Child Health Specialist and Chief of Child Survival and Development section.
• Provide support to knowledge management through consolidating information, downloading documents as required, and maintain contact lists of names, addresses and telephone numbers of various counterparts, UN agencies, bilateral agencies and NGOs.
• Assist in research, compiling and analyzing qualitative and quantitative data and information from a variety of sources on subject matters relevant to COVID-19 vaccination to facilitate project delivery as well as preparation of reports, working papers and presentations.

The post will cover a variety of project administration tasks. While detailed instructions will be given to the incumbent, the volume and variety of work require the incumbent to manage their own work and to take initiative in completing the assigned tasks and identifying potential challenges and discussing solutions with supervisor.

Duration: 364 days from June 2021 with possible extension up to June 2023.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

Education: 

• Completion of secondary education is required, preferably supplemented by technical or university courses related to programme/project support, business/office administration.

Experience:

• A minimum of 6 years in programme administration work, financial or budget work.

Language Requirements: 

• Fluency in English and Vietnamese is required.

Required Skills:

• Excellent English language and communication skills.
• Strong organizational, planning and prioritizing skills and abilities.
• High sense of confidentiality, initiative and good judgment.
• Ability to work effectively with people of different national and cultural backgrounds.
• Strong office management skills.
• High attention to detail.
• Ability to effectively manage the project’s resources and monitor its budget.
• Good analytical skills.
• Strong knowledge of project administration which underpin UNICEF Viet Nam operations, including monitoring and evaluation processes.
• Experience using MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint.

For every Child, you demonstrate...

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA)

Core Competencies:

• Communication (II)
• Working with people (II)
• Drive for results (II)

Functional Competencies:

• Analyzing (II)
• Applying technical expertise (II)
• Planning and organizing (II)
• Following Instructions and Procedures (II)

To view our competency framework, please visit here [2].

Click here [3] to learn more about UNICEF’s values and competencies.

What we can offer you?  Our staff are offered attractive salary and excellent package of benefits:

Competitive salary: Ranging from USD19,611 (net annually), depending on qualifications and experience.

Pension benefits: You will become a participant in the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund (https://www.unjspf.org [4])

Health insurance scheme: You and your eligible dependents will be covered by the UN Medical Insurance Plan (https://www.un.org/insurance/plans/medical-insurance-plan-mip [5])

Professional Development: The encouragement of professional development for all staff is one of UNICEF’s core values and we put this into practice through various services and initiatives. You will have different learning opportunities to strengthen your skills and competencies.

Be part of the United Nations: As an International organization that is part of the United Nations system, you will be considered an International Civil Servant and you will have career opportunities inside and outside the country.

Quality working conditions:

• The workplace and working conditions are a huge asset for all UNICEF employees. Our staff are working in the Green One UN House- the first building in Viet Nam to be awarded gold LOTUS certification from the Viet Nam Green Building Council for efficient and environmentally sustainable use of resources and operations.
• We offer flexible working arrangements: flexible working hours, compressed work schedule, teleworking, job sharing.
• We provide different types of leave to allow for rest and relaxation as well as unforeseen events like illness: annual leave, parental leave up to 24 weeks, sick leave and special leave.
• We  provide support for pregnancy and breastfeeding (time off from work during the day for the purpose of breastfeeding infants or expressing milk. A private room and a refrigerator for storing milk are available in the office)
• We also provide mental well-being/ psychological support.

Qualified candidates are kindly requested to apply and upload the following documents to the assigned requisition in UNICEF Vacancies: https://www.unicef.org/about/employ/ [6]

1. Letter of Interest
2. CV/UN Personal History Form   P 11 form.doc [7]

UNICEF 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 to become a part of the organization.

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles 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.

Remarks:

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

UNICEF only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU) / United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed at http://www.whed.net/ [8]

UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. This position is not considered an elevated risk role. However, UNICEF reserves the right to conduct further vetting/assessment within the scope of child safeguarding as appropriate. 

https://vietnam.un.org/en/86207-announcement-time-hire-un-agencies-viet-nam-national-positions [9]