UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.

At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.

UNICEF is a place where careers are built: we offer our staff diverse opportunities for personal and professional development that will help them develop a fulfilling career while delivering on a rewarding mission. We pride ourselves on a culture that helps staff thrive, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

For every child, Protection

Ethiopia is situated in the Horn of Africa and is the second most populous country on the continent with an estimated population of 115 million. It borders six African countries: Djibouti, Eritrea, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, and Sudan, and covers 1,104,300 square kilometers. Approximately 85 percent of the population lives in rural areas. Ethiopia represents a melting pot of ancient cultures with Middle Eastern and African cultures evident in the religious, ethnic, and language composition of its people.

Over the past two years, children and their families across Ethiopia faced multiple and complex emergencies, such as the conflict in the northern Ethiopia and the drought, which resulted in millions of people in need of urgent humanitarian assistance. UNICEF has programmes in Child Protection, WASH, Health, Nutrition, Social Policy, and Education and serves over 15 million children in Ethiopia. Join UNICEF Ethiopia to contribute to improving the lives of children and women.

How can you make a difference?

Key Responsibilities

Programme Planning

• Support the respective sections in preparing budget proposals. This will be in the form of preparing a standard budget estimate consisting of detailed activities along with an average cost for each.
• In consultation with Programme Officers (POs), prepare Annual Work Plans (AWPs) guidance to regions by preparing a summary table indicating available funds by output and activity, donor conditions and any other additional information as required.
• Extract yearly and biannual detailed implementation plans and develop tracking sheets to ensure timeliness of implementation.
• Support development of programme cooperation agreements (PCAs) including preparation of programme documents and financial proposals and ensure they are in line with the donor agreements.
• Prepare expenditure plans in consultation with respective sections and field offices and share regular guidance on which grants to prioritize based on expiry dates.
• Provide support to the respective sections in the timely preparation and submission of fund disbursement requests to donors.

Programme and Budget Monitoring

• Monitor budget implementation plans and provide regular updates, and flag lagging implementation. This could be through organizing quarterly meeting with field offices as well as partners involved in the respective projects. In addition, conduct field visits and provide other programme monitoring support to the respective sections.
• Conduct programmatic visits to PCA partners in coordination with POs and monitor implementation progress and quality of deliverables.
• Develop grant monitoring tools that consists of specific activity by output by region and by grant, which is instrumental in visualizing allocations and monitoring expenditures by different categories.
• Generate expenditure updates from insight on a regular basis and check if there are ineligible costs and alert section heads to take timely action. This must be done prior to the reporting period.
• Conduct budget analysis for grants and monitor if utilization is in line with expenditure plans and discuss areas of concern with Section heads and assist in taking timely corrective measures. The analysis should be presented in the form of graphs, figures, and any other visualization techniques.
• Develop budget tracking checklists for each of the PCAs within the respective sections and follow utilization accordingly and provide timely feedback.

 Reporting

Working in collaboration with experienced Programme Associates from Social Policy, Child Protection and Education sections to:

• Provide support in collecting reports from the field, partners and contractors that will be used as inputs for donor reports.
• Provide support in preparing updates for a quarterly meeting with partners and this includes programmatic and utilization updates.
• Develop brief activity descriptions for creating FCs, POs, or payments in Vision, that are in line with the various sections’ workplans and proposals. This way, it will be practical to link or evaluate the expenditure listing generated from the system against the respective budget proposals.
• Support sections in developing budget reports for submission to donors.
• Prepare presentations on budget expenditure using figures, graphs, and any other illustration for ease of visualization and follow up.

 Expected Deliverables

• Standard budget estimates consisting of detailed activities along with average costs prepared for the respective sections, to serve as a guidance when developing budget proposals.
• Grant monitoring tools developed which consist of specific activity by output by region and by grant and orientation provided to all Social Policy, Child Protection and Education staff on the grant monitoring tools.
• Annual and biannual detailed implementation plans and tracking sheets to ensure timeliness of implementation, are developed and shared with the respective sections.
• Support provided in the development of PCAs within the respective sections including preparation of programme documents and financial proposals and ensure it is in line with the agreements between partners & UNICEF.
• Support planning of activities set to be delivered through contracts.
• Expenditure updates generated from insight on a regular basis and adequate follow ups are undertaken and ineligible costs are prevented.
• Budget analyses conducted for grants and presented in the form of graphs and figures, and any other visualization techniques.
• Utilization reporting templates developed for grants based on activities that will help in summarizing donor statements.
• Support provided to the respective sections in developing budget reports for submission to donors.
• Budget tracking system put in place for PCAs and other types of partnerships within the respective sections.
• Support provided in collecting reports from the field, partners and contractors that will be used as inputs for donor reports.
• Comprehensive and quality updates prepared for a quarterly meeting with partners, and these to include programmatic and utilization updates.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

Minimum requirements:

• Education: Completion of secondary education is required, preferably supplemented by technical or university courses related to the work of the organization is an asset.
• Work Experience: 6 years of relevant professional work experience in administrative or clerical work experience is required.                                        Prior experience in programme support functions is an asset.                                                                                                        Relevant experience in a UN-system agency or organization is considered as an asset.
• Language Requirements: Fluency in English required, including writing, and editing skills.                                                                                                   Fluency in Amharic as one of the major local language of the duty station is an asset.

Desirables:

• Developing country work experience and/or familiarity with emergency.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

The UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

Builds and maintains partnerships (1)

Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness (1)

Drive to achieve results for impact (1)

Innovates and embraces change (1)

Manages ambiguity and complexity (1)

Thinks and acts strategically (1)

Works collaboratively with others (1)

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

We offer a wide range of measures to include a more diverse workforce, such as paid parental leave, time off for breastfeeding purposes, and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements.

UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority, and discrimination. UNICEF is committed to promoting the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. 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.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance. Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station is required for IP positions and will be facilitated by UNICEF. Appointments may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Should you be selected for a position with UNICEF, you either must be inoculated as required or receive a medical exemption from the relevant department of the UN. Otherwise, the selection will be canceled.

Remarks:

As per 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.

UNICEF’s active commitment to diversity and inclusion is critical to deliver the best results for children. For this position, eligible and suitable female candidates and persons with disability are encouraged to apply.

Government employees who are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government positions before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason.

UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants’ bank account information.

All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. An internal candidate performing at the level of the post in the relevant functional area, or an internal/external candidate in the corresponding Talent Group, may be selected, if suitable for the post, without assessment of other candidates.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.