Planning Specialist, NOC, ESARO, Nairobi, Kenya

The position is in the Programme Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (PPME) section of the UNICEF Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office (ESARO), which is responsible for all aspects related to Regional Office (RO) planning, M&E and contribution management and reporting functions but also for oversight and technical support of 21 Country Offices in ESA. The Regional Chief of Programme Planning and M&E (P5) heads the Section.

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For 70 years, UNICEF has been working on the ground in 190 countries and territories to promote children's survival, protection and development. The world's largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments.

Purpose of the Position

The position will support the Planning Specialist in the overall implementation of an efficient and effective contribution management system in ESARO. She/he will be responsible for performing specialized tasks in the planning, monitoring and control of the ESARO and Country Office (CO) programme budgets involving several different sources of funds (OR, RR) in collaboration with ESARO Sections, relevant Headquarter Divisions and 21 COs in ESA.

She/he will be responsible for efficient monitoring and allocation of incoming programme funds, managing grants using UNICEF's SAP based ERP system, "VISION" and supporting ESARO to monitor and report on the status of fund utilization in line with grant conditions; she/he will also support setting up and implementing efficient processes for contribution management within ESARO as well as capacity building initiatives within ESARO and the region on contribution management issues.

The position will also be regularly performing data analysis and reporting to monitor trends in programmatic budget utilization to advise ESARO and the COs on the effective and efficient use of funds in line with UNICEF programmatic priorities.

Key Accountabilities and Duties & Tasks

1. Manage the allocations, allotments and utilization of several sources of funds, including multi-country and thematic grants allocated by ESARO to Country Offices. This includes setting up systems and proactively managing and processing incoming funds, grant creation, extension and adjustments, reallocations as well as the ESARO staff cost distribution (CD) exercise using VISION as per UNICEF Guidelines and Instructions.
2. Conduct regular oversight and quality assurance reviews of all ESARO grants and reconcile budgets; coordinate with relevant ESARO Sections to carry out end-of-year closure activities as per UNICEF HQ Instructions. Alert the Planning Specialist of any critical grant related issues for management attention.
3. Prepare timely and accurate status updates on programme budgets including allocations, commitments, expenditures, remaining balance and projections; propose recommendations on the optimal use of funds to the Regional Office Management Team (ROMT) and the ESARO budget review group, in collaboration with the Operations Section; and act as Project Cooperation Agreement Review Committee (PCARC) secretariat.
4. As a technical expert, contribute timely technical advice, guidance and inputs to ESARO Sections and COs to effectively plan, monitor and report on the use of grants in line with grant conditionalities.
5. Ensure efficient standard operating procedures on contribution management and reporting are in place and are implemented in ESARO and maintain responsibility over files related to grants and donor reports.
6. Provide analytical and technical support on budget related matters to ESARO and COs in ESAR; analyse programmatic financial regional and Country Office data using VISION (SAP) and produce customized outputs (e.g. graphs, charts, tables) for programme planning, monitoring and reporting purposes.
7. Provide any other type of technical support around contribution management, data analysis and monitoring, and planning including key planning meetings and reporting for ESARO PPME Section as required.

Qualifications of Successful Candidate

• Advanced university degree in Social Sciences, planning development, International Relations, Public Administration, Accounting, Finance or Business Administration or equivalent or any other comparable recognized professional qualifications.
• 5 years of progressive experience in planning, programme budget monitoring, reports writing and its execution at national and/or international settings. Experience in managing budget systems and producing analytical budget status reports using excel. Working knowledge and experience with the UNICEF ERP system VISION's grant management module and management report system is an advantage.
• Fluency in English required and another UN language an advantage. Knowledge of the local working language of the duty station is an asset. 

Competencies of Successful Candidate

Core Values

• Commitment
• Diversity and Inclusion
• Integrity

Core competencies

• Communication
• Working with People
• Drive for Results

Functional Competencies

• Leading and Supervising (I)
• Formulating Strategies and Concepts (II)
• Analyzing (II)
• Applying Technical Expertise (II)
• Planning and Organizing (III)

To view our competency framework, please click here. 

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages qualified female and male candidates from all national, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of our organisation.