UN WOMEN Jobs - 101516- UN Women: Technical Specialist

UN Women: Technical Specialist – Governance, Risk and Compliance

Advertised on behalf of

UN WOMEN

Location :

New York, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Type of Contract :

FTA International

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

15-Sep-21 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

P-3

Duration of Initial Contract :

1 year

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

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.

The Division of Strategy, Planning, Resources and Effectiveness (SPRED), under the direct supervision of the Assistant Secretary General (ASG)/Deputy Executive Director Resource Management, Sustainability and Partnerships, drives the areas of corporate strategy, planning, resource allocation and management, enterprise risk management, organizational performance management and governance. These elements function to strengthen of the organization’s Second Line of Defense and Governance, Risk and Compliance efforts to support UN Women’s work towards achieving the goal of Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (GEWE) in line with the 2030 Agenda and the UN Women Strategic Plan.

The UN Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) and the Policy, Procedure and Guidance (PPG) frameworks, as governance and accountability frameworks, were developed as part of corporate-wide initiatives in support of a more agile and resilient organization, by assisting management with identifying challenges and uncertainties and supporting the process of strategic and operational planning, monitoring and decision making. Working with other corporate oversight functions, these frameworks are intended to proactively identify and address risks and opportunities, while protecting and creating value for the organization and its stakeholders.

Under the overall guidance of the Director, SPRED, and the direct supervision of the Enterprise Risk Manager for ERM-related functions, the Specialist provides the technical, functional and administrative support required in order to strengthen governance, risk and compliance within UN Women, to facilitate effective management oversight and strategy implementation. In this regard, the Specialist provides support for the achievement of a sustained practice of risk management and accountability for the organization, to ensure that this is embedded in UN Women’s daily operational work. The Specialist (a) oversees, analyzes and assesses operational controls and risk mitigation activities across the organization; (b) supports the establishment of a culture focused on pro-active risk awareness by the effective execution of all control functions, including, but not limited to Risk Register administration; and (c) ensures that business units use the results of these activities to understand the risk landscape and internal control environment, and make improvements thereon. Furthermore, the Specialist (a) provides input into the management, oversight and implementation of the organization’s PPG framework and in so doing, ensures that policies, procedures and guidance are risk-driven; and (b) provides technical support for business process risk assessments in ensuring that systematic feedback raised from the second and third layers of defense as well as from other stakeholder inputs is included as part of policy needs analysis and development.

Duties and Responsibilities

Enterprise Risk Management.

Provide technical and advisory support for Enterprise Risk Management (ERM):

Provide technical support in the design and implementation of the risk governance framework, risk management strategy, management processes, business model and tools necessary to identify, evaluate, mitigate, and monitor the organization's operational and strategic risk, including risk appetite statement and risk tolerance indicators.
Provide technical support in the application of best practice ERM frameworks, including those of the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations (COSO), International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 31000, and other key ERM frameworks.
Monitor and ensure that the organization’s risk management policies and strategies comply with agreed ERM framework and strategic imperatives of the organization.
Ensure that fraud risk assessments are carried out in compliance with the organizational guidance, and carry out quality assurance processes to validate the outputs of these assessments.

Provide technical support in Monitoring, Reporting and Oversight:

Monitor risk management activities across the organization to ensure that the prescribed ERM approach is adequately and consistently followed in line with agreed upon relevant indicators.
Maintain the Management Information System that captures the identification, assessment, evaluation and the reporting of risks (ERM One App).
Consolidate risk data across all Risk Entities for reporting purposes and Prepare status updates on the organizational risk maturity aligned to the agreed upon road map.
Undertake corporate qualitative and quantitative assessment of risks, where needed, monitoring external indicators and developments as a means of identifying emerging risks for consideration and evaluation, as needed.

Legal Framework and Internal Policy Management.

Provide technical support and advice on the Policy, Procedure and Guidance (PPG) framework:

Plan, prioritize and coordinate the day-to-day work relating to the Legislative Framework.
Provide suggestions to strengthen the internal policy governance framework.
Provide technical risk management assessment support to business process owners to support the business process mapping, the outputs of which will feed into policy revisions and developments.
Ensure that business process owners keep records of all exceptions to policies and procedures in line with the PPG framework policy.
Conduct quality assurance of drafts of Policies, Procedures and Guidance and engaging with content owners where required.
Briefing senior management on issues relating to the PPG Framework as requested.

Governance.

Coordinate and provide technical support to strengthen internal governance and accountability corporate activities:

Serve as and coordinate the Business Review Committee (BRC) Secretariat to strengthen operational decision-making and support the BRC and subsidiary bodies such as the Risk Management Committee.
Prepare BRC and Risk Management Committee meeting agenda in consultation with the Offices of the Co-Chairs.
Handle all preparatory and logistical arrangements for BRC meetings, including soliciting background documents, performing quality control reviews on background documents, drafting meeting minutes, and following up on action items.
Provide technical and substantive support to the Director, SPRED in the areas of internal governance and accountability.

Provide coordination and management support to the SPRED Director:

Provide coordination and management support to the SPRED Director, including substantive preparations for external and internal meetings, engagements, and events.
Prepare background papers, talking points and presentations as needed.
Coordinate the division’s involvement in corporate activities and priorities vis-à-vis other divisions and offices.

Knowledge Management.

Provide technical support for Communication, Guidance and Knowledge Management:

Provide technical support and guidance to nominated Risk Owners, Risk Focal Points and other personnel to ensure that the ERM practices are implemented and sustained across all the identified Risk Entities (field offices and headquarters).
Undertake ERM training through induction activities , meetings/workshops and other training programs for continued enhancement of risk management capabilities, awareness and culture across the organization.
Work collaboratively with other corporate oversight functions to identify and implement consistent and effective approaches to risk governance and control-based activities and to build internal capabilities and competencies.
Promote knowledge of the PPG Framework and compliance therewith through online content and facilitate live learning events for personnel at all levels.
Provide substantive knowledge management support across the division and contribute to the strengthening of the division’s identity.

Perform other duties as requested by supervisor.

Key Performance Indicators:

Effective and consistent application across UN-Women of prescribed ERM and PPG methodologies and approaches, measured through agreed upon compliance indicators.
Completion of the agreed upon activities of the annual risk management and PPG plan of work on time and on scope.
Increased knowledge management efforts to increase awareness and practice of the prescribed ERM and PPG approaches across the organization that are mainstreamed with business processes.
Timely, quality analysis and collection of data to produce reports for decision making.
Policies, Procedures and Guidance are quality assured to effective levels, ensuring that these are developed with a risk lens.
Planned corporate activities to strengthen internal governance and accountability are completed in a timely manner.
Lessons learned are documented and suggestions made regarding the ongoing improvement, alignment and implementation of the ERM and PPG Frameworks.

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: https://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf?la=en&vs=637

Functional Competencies:

Strong analytical, conceptual and planning skills.
Strong knowledge of Enterprise Risk Management and legal frameworks, particularly within the UN system is an asset.
Strong drafting skills, for the preparation of policies, procedures, guidance and other administrative documents, and clear and concise reports.
Strong communication, presentation and facilitation skills.
Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of variables in situations where only limited standardization exists.
Ability to set and work towards defined goals, work well during transition, and able to help others adjust to change.
Strong organizational skills, sound judgment and attention to detail.
Strong sense of initiative and ability to prioritize and work independently.
Appreciation of UN Women’s mandate.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Advanced university degree (Master's or equivalent) in one or more of the following disciplines: law, economics, finance, social sciences, business or public administration/management, or other field related to international development; a first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

At least 5 years international professional work experience in risk management and organizational planning and strategy or related area.
Experience in conducting organizational training and awareness raising sessions with a diverse audience.
Experience in the development and design of Management Information Systems.
Experience with working across functions in a multi-cultural environment to achieve common organizational objectives.
Experience working on improving internal (governance and accountability) controls is preferred.
Experience in Enterprise Risk Management development and implementation and organizational change management, particularly business process review, in a non-profitable international organization is preferred.

Languages:

Fluency in English is required.
Knowledge of the other UN official working language is an asset.

Application:

All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from?https://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-p11-personal-history-form.doc?la=en&vs=558. Kindly note that the system will only allow one attachment. Applications without the completed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.

Note:

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.