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.

UN Women Syria Programme has been working on Syria for many years to strengthen women’s participation in the political process, as well as providing humanitarian support to women and girls in need through the Gaziantep-based cross-border operation. Since the fall of the Assad Regime, UN Women has started operating from Damascus, where its programme advances the implementation of its triple mandate (normative, operational, coordination) in cooperation with Syrian authorities, including line ministries and relevant commissions.

The Operations Associate is a member of the UN Women Syria Programme operations team and reports directly to the Operations Analyst. The incumbent works closely with programme colleagues, regional operations advisers, HQ functional units, implementing partners, and UN system operations networks, contributing to coordinated, responsive, and high-quality operational services across the Syria Programme.

Under the direct supervision of the Operations Analyst, the Operations Associate carries out varied and inter-related operational, financial and logistical activities ensuring high quality and accuracy of work. The Operations Associate is results and client oriented producing administrative services of the highest quality in a timely and proactive fashion.

Scope of Work:

Contribute technically to the operations in the Syria Programme in accordance with UN Women rules and regulations and policies and procedures:

• Contribute to an annual workplan for the Operations Team and assist with its implementation and monitoring;
• Participate in review meetings and provide support to the assessment of the managerial and operational capacities of implementing partners in collaboration with the programme and technical team;
• Provide substantive inputs to business process mapping and the establishment of internal standard operating procedures in all areas of the Operations Team’s functions;
• Provide substantive inputs to the implementation of corporate budget, financial, procurement, and HR policies, procedures and systems and support in the training of personnel in the Syria Programme these issues;
• Provide technical support and guidance to the Syria Programme on operational issues; and
• Ensure a continuous and up-to-date flow of information between the ROs and the Syria Programme.

Contribute technically to the planning, expenditure tracking and auditing of financial resources in accordance with UN Women rules and regulations and policies and procedures:

• Oversee and monitor the tracking and auditing of financial resources for the Syria Programme;
• Provide substantive inputs to the management of office and programme financial resources while exercising proper financial controls;
• Review and verify accuracy and relevancy of the supporting documents for payments and financial reports;
• Maintain accurate data in Quantum; and
• Prepare for internal and external audits and coordinating implementation of audit action plan by drafting periodic status update reports and collating supporting documents.

Contribute technically to the provision of Human Resources services in accordance with UN Women rules and regulations and policies and procedures:

• Provide substantive inputs to recruitment processes and contract management; liaise with the HQ as necessary; and
• Provide technical support as necessary and in collaboration with the HR Associate.

Contribute technically to procurement processes in accordance with UN Women rules and regulations and policies and procedures:

• Monitor and track the Syria Programme’s transactions, as necessary, and in collaboration with the Procurement Analyst;
• Review procurement processes including submissions to the Contract, Asset and Procurement Committee and Advisory Committee on Procurement;
• Provide substantive inputs to the preparation of procurement plans; and
• Ensure proper inventory control of assets and liabilities.

Coordinate the audit process in accordance with UN Women rules, regulations, policies and procedures:

• Coordinate the pre-audit preparations for the Syria Programme to be audit ready and complete the pre-audit checklist;
• Provide advice and technical support to the Syria Programme on audits;
• Contribute to the trainings in RO and the Syria Programme as part of the training plan or requirement of pre-audit preparations or as otherwise determined by Operations Manager.

Contribute to knowledge sharing:

• Ensure knowledge is shared and adequately applied between the RO and other COs in the region.

Provide technical backstopping to the Operations Analyst in all functions of the Operations Unit.

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

Supervisory/Managerial Responsibilities:

At present, the incumbent will not supervise any personnel; however, depending on future programme expansion and the potential addition of operations staff, consultants, or interns, the role may assume supervisory responsibilities as operational needs evolve.

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:

• Good knowledge of administrative and financial rules and regulations;
• Ability to administer and execute administrative processes and transactions;
• Ability to extract and interpret data;
• Ability to manage business processes re-engineering, and implementation of new systems;
• Ability to perform work of confidential nature and handle a large volume of work;
• Strong IT skills;
• Ability to priorities work and to multi-task;
• Ability to handle web-based management systems.

Minimum Qualifications:

Education and Certification:

• Completion of secondary education is required;
• Bachelor’s degree in business administration and finance is desirable.

Experience:

• A minimum of 7 years of progressively responsible experience in administration, finance, procurement, human resources or logistic support services is required;
• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) and spreadsheet and database packages, experience in handling of web-based management systems is required;
• Experience in the use of a modern web-based ERP System, preferably Oracle Cloud, is desirable.

Languages:

• Fluency in English is required;
• Fluency in Arabic is required;
• Knowledge of another official UN language is desirable (French).

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.