This position is located in the Languages Service, Division of Conference Management, United Nations Office at Geneva.
Within delegated authority, the Chief of Contractual Work Unit will report to the Chief of Languages Service and will be responsible for the following duties:
• Assumes responsibility for all contractual translation, editing and text processing operations for the Division of Conference Management (DCM), United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG) in close cooperation with Documents Management Unit (DMU) of the Document Management Section (DMS) of the Central Planning and Coordination Service (CPCS) within DCM, taking into account the urgency, the suitability for outsourcing, the overall workload;
• Ensures the necessary liaison with the processing services concerned and after careful assessment of the work to be performed, selects individual contractors or institutional vendors from the approved roster;
• Supervises registration of work received; evaluates in coordination with the Chiefs of Section in the Languages Service the complexity of the text in order to determine the most suitable rate;
• In collaboration with DMU, sets deadlines for work, ensures they are met and follows up on satisfactory completion of Individual Contracts;
• Conducts surveys concerning the rates in other international organizations and private entities and proposes their periodical justifiable updates;
• Coordinates and supervises the quality control of external translations in close cooperation with Sections in the Languages Service and counterparts from other duty stations;
• Manages overall budget for the Contractual Work Unit (CWU), by supervising the preparation of payment requests (Service Entry Sheets), closely monitoring budgetary resources and preparing periodic updates for each Chief of Section and the Chief of Service on the current available balance;
• Prepares requests for additional human and/or budgetary resources, when required;
• Makes proposals for the efficient utilization of available resources taking into account TAM expenditure;
• Controls the final preparation of all financial and administrative data on Individual Contracts to be registered in CMA (Contracts Management Tool) and Umoja;
• Performs the functions of the Human Resources Partner C/IC in Umoja;
• Supervises the preparation of statistical data for CWU on a regular basis as well as upon request of senior management;
• Conducts surveys in the area of procedures and conditions of service of contractual translators in other international organizations and private entities, and makes relevant recommendations to the Chiefs of Service and Section;
• Maintains close contacts with counterparts in other duty stations to set up and maintains a meaningful contractual component in the context of Integrated global management.
• Advises the Chief of Service and the Chiefs of Section on the most cost effective modalities to balance between temporary assistance and individual and institutional contractors taking into account the business needs;
• Supervises and monitors the work of General Service staff in undertaking the full range of activities in the Contractual Work Unit as well as the supervision of Temporary Assistance;
• Manages and Monitors budget implementation and recommends reallocation of fund as necessary in order to ensure the most cost-effective delivery of mandate (high quality documentation in a timely manner).
PROFESSIONALISM
- Thorough knowledge of United Nations common system policies and practices and procedures and ability to apply them in an organisational setting.
- Ability to identify issues, analyze and participate in the resolution of issues/problems.
- Ability to conduct research and analysis.
- Good understanding of conditions of services of language staff governed by the Association International des Traducteurs de Conference (AITC).
- Ability to apply judgment in the context of assignments given, plan own work and manage conflicting priorities.
- Shows pride in work and in achievements.
- Demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter.
- Is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results.
- Is motivated by professional rather than personal concerns.
- Shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges.
- Remains calm in stressful situations.
- Takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work.
PLANNING AND ORGANIZING
- Develops clear goals that are consistent with agreed strategies.
- Identifies priority activities and assignments; adjusts priorities as required.
- Allocates appropriate amount of time and resources for completing work.
- Foresees risks and allows for contingencies when planning.
- Monitors and adjusts plans and actions as necessary.
- Uses time efficiently.
CLIENT ORIENTATION
- Considers all those to whom services are provided to be “clients” and seeks to see things from the clients’ point of view.
- Establishes and maintains productive partnerships with clients by gaining their trust and respect.
- Identifies clients’ needs and matches them to appropriate solutions.
- Monitors ongoing developments inside and outside the clients’ environment to keep informed and anticipate problems.
- Keeps clients informed of progress or setbacks in projects.
- Meets timeline for delivery of products or services to client.
MANAGING PERFORMANCE
- Delegates the appropriate responsibility, accountability and decision-making authority.
- Makes sure that roles, responsibilities and reporting lines are clear to each staff member.
- Accurately judges the amount of time and resources needed to accomplish a task and matches task to skills.
- Monitors progress against milestones and deadlines.
- Regularly discusses performance and provides feedback and coaching to staff.
- Encourages risk-taking and supports creativity and initiative.
- Actively supports the development and career aspirations of staff.
- Appraises performance fairly.
JUDGEMENT/DECISION MAKING
- Identifies the key issues in a complex situation, and comes to the heart of the problem quickly.
- Gathers relevant information before making a decision.
- Considers positive and negative impacts of decisions prior to making them.
- Takes decisions with an eye to the impact on others and on the Organization.
- Proposes a course of action or makes a recommendation based on all available information.
- Checks assumptions against facts.
- Determines the actions proposed will satisfy the expressed and underlying needs for the decision.
- Makes tough decisions when necessary.
Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent degree) in business administration, documents management, contract management or related field. A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
A minimum of seven years of progressively responsible professional experience in administration, finance, budget and/or documentation processing, of which at least two years should involve the supervision of staff with the United Nations system is required. Experience in working with ERP (Enterprise Resources Planning) systems used by the United Nations Common System is desirable. Experience with implementation of the CEB-AITC (Chief Executives Board for Coordination and representatives of the Association internationale des traducteurs de conférence) agreement, the recruitment of individual contractors (language staff) and or the United Nations rules and regulations governing the submission and processing of United Nations documentation is desirable. Experience with procurement, contract management, contract administration is desirable.
English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the position advertised, fluency in English and French is required. Knowledge of another UN official language is an advantage.
Evaluation of qualified candidates may include an assessment exercise which will be followed by competency-based interview.
Staff members are subject to the authority of the Secretary-General and to assignment by him or her. In this context, all staff are expected to move periodically to new functions in their careers in accordance with established rules and procedures.
The United Nations Secretariat is committed to achieving 50/50 gender balance in its staff. Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply for this position.
According to article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity. Candidates will not be considered for employment with the United Nations if they have committed violations of international human rights law, violations of international humanitarian law, sexual exploitation or sexual abuse, or crimes other than minor traffic offences, or if there are reasonable grounds to believe that they have been involved in the commission of any of these acts. The term “sexual exploitation” means any actual or attempted abuse of a position of vulnerability, differential power, or trust, for sexual purposes, including, but not limited to, profiting monetarily, socially or politically from the sexual exploitation of another. The term “sexual abuse” means the actual or threatened physical intrusion of a sexual nature, whether by force or under unequal or coercive conditions.
Due regard will be paid to the importance of recruiting the staff on as wide a geographical basis as possible. The United Nations places no restrictions on the eligibility of men and women to participate in any capacity and under conditions of equality in its principal and subsidiary organs. The United Nations Secretariat is a non-smoking environment.
Applicants are urged to follow carefully all instructions available in the online recruitment platform, inspira. For more detailed guidance, applicants may refer to the Manual for the Applicant, which can be accessed by clicking on “Manuals” hyper-link on the upper right side of the inspira account-holder homepage.
The evaluation of applicants will be conducted on the basis of the information submitted in the application according to the evaluation criteria of the job opening and the applicable internal legislations of the United Nations including the Charter of the United Nations, resolutions of the General Assembly, the Staff Regulations and Rules, administrative issuances and guidelines. Applicants must provide complete and accurate information pertaining to their personal profile and qualifications according to the instructions provided in inspira to be considered for the current job opening. No amendment, addition, deletion, revision or modification shall be made to applications that have been submitted. Candidates under serious consideration for selection will be subject to reference checks to verify the information provided in the application.
Job openings advertised on the Careers Portal will be removed at 11:59 p.m. (New York time) on the deadline date.
THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.