The United Nations Campus in Bonn is at present home to 26 UN organizations, agencies, and convention secretariats in their entirety referred to as UN Bonn. UNV, as the first UN agency with headquarters in Bonn, has been assigned the role of premises manager and common services for the UN system in Bonn. The Executive Coordinator of the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) has designated the UNV Director of Management Services (MS) to function as the premises manager who is supported in this role by the Common Services Unit (CSU).

The joint management of the UN premises and facilities, safety and security services, management of conference facilities, central ICT infrastructures, mail logistics, canteen and conference catering services, as well as support to interagency cooperation, system-wide surveys, common information provision, and liaising with German counterparts at various levels are on a day-to-day basis provided by the Common Services Unit (CSU), serving all UN Bonn agencies.

The Common Services Associate will play an important role in managing administrative and finance aspects of the Common Services Unit (CSU) operations thus impacting the quality of services to all UN Bonn agencies and the ability to be flexible, agile, and effective.

Under the overall guidance and direct supervision of the Team Leader Common Services Unit (CSU), the Common Services Associate (CSA) assists in the overall management of the CSU, administers and executes processes and transactions ensuring high quality and accuracy of work. The Common Services Associate promotes a client, quality, and results-oriented approach.

The Common Services Associate works in close collaboration with the relevant UN Bonn stakeholders, the CCOM and relevant UNV sections to exchange information and ensure consistent service delivery.

In Addition, the CSA provides administrative support to the Head of the Unit and as requested, to the Premises Management.

• Under the guidance of the Head of CSU, assists UN Bonn agencies and staff in full adherence and implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the occupation of the common premises and the use of the common services.
• Preparation of the recurring biennial Common Services budget.
• Preparation of administrative team results-oriented budget workplans.
• Full compliance of administrative activities with UNV/UNDP rules and policies.
• Full compliance with UNV/UNDP rules and regulations of financial processes, financial records and reporting and audit follow up; implementation of the UNV/UNDP internal control framework (ICF).
• Preparation of the annual DRTU certification and other Common Services related certifications as required.
• Provision of inputs to the CSU administrative business processes mapping and elaborate/review/monitor the implementation of the internal standard operating procedures (SOPs)
• Coordination of Client surveys and surveys for organization of the services including analysis of results and initiating activities to improve if required.
• Actively review services under Common Service and provide technical advice and ways forward to enhance cost efficiency and effectiveness.
• Act as Officer-in-Charge in the absence of the Head of Unit.

Provides support for effective administrative and financial control in the office, focusing on achievement of the following results:

• Provision of quality regular (financial) reports to internal and external parties, and collaboration with relevant UNV/UNDP staff.
• Management of Common Services Projects in Quantum, including project budgets.
• Ensures requisitions and payment are raised in a timely manner in the UN financial management system ‘QUANTUM’.
• Maintenance of the internal expenditures control system which ensures that vouchers processed are matched and completed, transactions are correctly recorded and posted in Quantum.
• Ensure appropriate distribution of cost among UN Bonn agencies, ensuring that documentation is complete, amounts and accounts are accurate and that obligations are liquidated.
• Ensure invoicing and cost-recovery pertaining to common premises/services contributions and use of services including the timely preparation of cost-recovery bills for services provided by UNV/CSU, income tracking and follow up on cost recovery.
• Coordination and oversight of cost recovery billing for conference facilities and services
• Maintenance of administrative control records such as commitments and expenditures; Proper control of supporting documents of funds and activities.
• Preparation and modifications of budgets for Common Services projects, establishment, and revision of Quantum awards.
• Preparation of financial status reports on a regular basis.
• Preparation of cost sharing agreements, follow-up on contributions within the Common Premises Management framework.
• Control of cash flow of Common Services projects and liaison with relevant UNV/UNDP stakeholders as required.

Ensures proper financial accounting to the Common Service Unit focusing on achievement of the following results:

• Ensure proper control and/or preparation of the supporting documents for payments and following up on missing documents.
• Preparation of Common Services related vouchers and journals.
• Timely corrective actions and follow-up on unposted vouchers, including the vouchers with budget check errors, match exceptions, unapproved or unpaid vouchers.
• Timely response to UNV requests to resolve financial data issues.
• Maintenance of account receivables for Common Services projects and follow up with clients on contributions. Coordinate timely payment of operational contributions by the Government.
• Recording of payments for credit notes and manual vouchers

Contribute to the advancement of a common business operations strategy and the efficiency agenda for UN Bonn:

• Continuous improvement of business processes to enhance efficiency and effectiveness.
• Support to common operations planning and management.
• Sound contributions to knowledge networks and communities of practice.
• Monitoring and data collection in assigned service areas.
• Driving digitalization of common services business processes

Ensures proper coordination of administrative functions by providing effective coordination, guidance and supervision of the services delivery, processes and staff:

• Provide supervision and guidance to administrative assistants, procurement, and asset focal points.
• Together with the CSU technical units (ICT, Facilities Management, Conference Services, Security etc.) monitor and manage performance of outsourced services procured under Common Services funding and ensure timely procurement/contract renewal and extension supports.
• Assist the CSU technical units in gathering and coordinating workplans, maintenance plans and budget.
• Facilitate agency service requests for services required in regard to common contracts (e.g. security at WCCB)
• Follow up on deadlines, commitments made, actions taken.
• Maintaining electronical filing of essential documents.

Provide Administrative Support to the Common Service Unit and the Premises Management focusing on the achievement of the following results:

• Drafting of agenda, minutes and supporting documentation for Committee on Common Operations Management (CCOM), the Consultative Forum of the Representatives of Agencies (RoA Forum) and other Inter-Agency meetings and working groups.
• Liaison with clients, contractors, Government offices, City of Bonn, etc.
• Drafting of internal and external correspondence for the Head of the Common Services Unit

Achieve Results:

• Scale up solutions and simplifies processes, balances speed and accuracy in doing work

Think Innovatively:

• Offer new ideas/open to new approaches, demonstrate systemic/integrated thinking

Learn Continuously

• Go outside comfort zone, learn from others and support their learning

Adapt with Agility

• Adapt processes/approaches to new situations, involve others in change process

Act with Determination

• Able to persevere and deal with multiple sources of pressure simultaneously

Engage and Partner

• Is facilitator/integrator, bring people together, build/maintain coalitions/partnerships

Enable Diversity and Inclusion

• Facilitate conversations to bridge differences, considers in decision making

Functional & Technical competencies 

Customer Satisfaction/Client Management

• Ability to respond timely and appropriately with a sense of urgency, provide consistent solutions, and deliver timely and quality results and/or solutions to fulfil and understand the real customers’ needs.
• Provide inputs to the development of customer service strategy.
• Look for ways to add value beyond clients’ immediate requests.
• Ability to anticipate client’s upcoming needs and concerns

Communication

• Ability and inclination to rapidly adopt new technologies, either through skillfully grasping their usage or through understanding their impact and empowering others to use them as needed

Digital Awareness and Literacy

• Ability and inclination to rapidly adopt new technologies, either through skillfully grasping their usage or through understanding their impact and empowering others to use them as needed

Documents and records management

• Overall document (hard or electronic) management; registry and retention policy including storing and archiving

Budget management

• Ability to support budgetary aspects of work planning process, drawing and management of team budgets

Financial reporting and analysis

• Ability to extract, evaluate financial data, derive relevant findings and present them in a meaningful and coherent manner to facilitate effective decision making and performance monitoring.

• Secondary education is required.
• University Degree in Business or Public Administration, Management or International Relations or equivalent field will be given due consideration, but it is not a requirement.
• Certification in Finance & Accounting is an asset.

• Minimum of 7 years (with High school diploma) or 4 years (with bachelor’s degree) of working experience in administration, procurement, HR, Finance or logistic service at the national or international level;
• Experience at the national or international level in supervising staff is an asset.
• Previous administrative/operations experience with international or development organizations is an asset;
• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) is required.
• Experience in the use of an ERP system, such as ATLAS, Quantum or UMOJA or in handling of similar web-based management systems is an asset.
• Fluency in English and German languages is required.
• Knowledge about the UN and Administrative Rules and Regulations is an advantage.