VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT                                                                                               

                                                                                                        Issue Date: 13 July 2022

BACKGROUND

The United Nations Human Settlements Programme, UN-Habitat, is mandated by the United Nations General Assembly to promote socially and environmentally sustainable cities with the goal of providing adequate shelter for all. UN-Habitat will lead advocacy efforts to raise awareness of sustainable urbanization issues; provide evidence-based policy advice; build capacity; develop tools, norms and standards based on best practices; work on demonstration projects and provide assistance to national governments, local authorities and other public institutions responsible for urban issues. To enable it to meet the challenges and opportunities of 21st century cities and human settlements in a more holistic manner, and also to address one of the most important needs in developing countries, the UN-Habitat Regional Representation for Africa is working with member states to develop and facilitate the implementation of a more systematic integrated approach to fostering better urban living conditions without leaving anyone behind. The overall objective is to promote innovative solutions to address the root causes of poor urbanization. The inclusive approach to advancing structural transformation and the well-coordinated mechanism to generate sustainable and smart urbanization are central to efforts to improve access to decent and affordable housing in fragile, post-conflict and peaceful settlements.

The socio-political upheaval in the northwest and southwest regions began with peaceful protests by lawyers and teachers that stemmed from perceived discrimination and marginalization in the provision of essential services, particularly in the education and judicial systems. Despite efforts through consultative meetings, armed conflict broke out between the national army and secessionist groups. To date, according to the United Nations, this crisis has resulted in the displacement of 65,500 people to Nigeria (UNHCR, Nigeria: Registration of Cameroonian Refugees, June 30, 2021) and 712,800 within Cameroon. Of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) outside of the two crisis regions, 80 percent have taken refuge in the Western (162,726) and Littoral (80,925) regions (OCHA, IOM, and CHOI, MSNA August and September 2020).

The incumbent will work with UN teams, government institutions, the private sector, and civil society organizations, as appropriate, to ensure the protection and socio-economic integration of internally displaced persons and vulnerable host communities in the Littoral and Western regions of Cameroon. This position, located in Yaoundé, Cameroon, is coordinated by the Africa Regional Representation based in Nairobi, Kenya. Under the supervision of the Program Management Officer, the incumbent will spend time contributing to the implementation of the PBF project. The Administrative and Financial Assistant will ensure that actions taken and outputs delivered are timely.

RESPONSIBILITIES 

Under the supervision of Project Manager and in coordination with the Programme Management Officer (PMO) based in the Regional Representation Office for Africa (ROAf), the Administrative and Financial Assistant will act as facilitator for Human Resources, Partnership Building and Gender Mainstreaming of the Local Governance and Conflict Prevention Project.

She/he will be responsible for carrying out the following tasks in collaboration with the teams at national and local levels:

• Prepares, monitors and reports on budget forecasts, funding requests and financial archiving and audits.
• Coordinates procurement and logistical arrangements.
• Ensures compliance with donor and organizational accounting procedures.
• Provides advisory support to partners for effective management of funds and reporting on challenges.
• Prepares and coordinates the review of monthly financial disbursements and reports.
• Plans and organises meetings, workshops and partners’ consultative events ahead of time.
• Contributes to the identification, design, formulation and negotiation of new projects and programmes.

• Provides administrative and financial perspective for developing innovative approaches and on establishing new partnerships with UN agencies, Government bodies, Development agencies, Donors’, financial institutions and NGOs, and trust funds.
• Establishes and manages a partner and donor database presence in Cameroon, build and maintain partnerships for resource mobilization purpose.
• Establishes and manages Civil Society, Community based and Non-Governmental Organisations database for each project under implementation.
• Centralises information on Ministries and public institutions working with the African Development Bank, World Bank, International Financial Corporation, and other donors with the aim to support the strengthening UN-Habitat resource mobilization strategy.
• Maintains close communication and coordination with relevant international and national institutions where prospects for partnership and involvement in local governance and conflict prevention is established.
• Supports efforts to establish and maintain an open communication with partners to implement commitments
• Initiates draft strategies and administrative procedures for improving partnership and donor relationships actively.

EXPECTED RESULTS:

• Improved administrative framework for proactive planning and monitoring of staff deliverables and contract renewal.
• Enhanced timely planning and disbursement of budget for quarterly activities.
• Successfully support timely monthly and quarterly reporting of staff and implementing partners workplans.
• Effective follow-up and proactive planning of events and meetings with local, national and international partners.
• Enhanced archiving of projects’ minutes, reports, visibility materials, and technical notes.
• Innovative administrative approaches to ensure monitoring of timely preparation of new project ideas to be submitted to donors and partners for the promotion of project’s sustainability and/exit strategy.
• Effective support for the planning and execution of audit and monitoring of assets.

Timeline:

01 August 2022 - 31 July 2023 (12 Months) 

COMPETENCIES 

• Professionalism: Demonstrate conceptual, analytical and evaluative skills to conduct research and analysis using a variety of resources. Administrative and Financial Knowledge required;  demonstrate professional competence and mastery of subject matter; conscientious and efficiency in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results; is motivated by professional rather than personal concerns; demonstrate persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges; remains calm in stressful situations. 

• Communication: Excellent written and oral presentation skills in English. Ability to communicate complex interventions in a clear language and convincing narratives.

• Technology Awareness: Ability to keep abreast of available technology; Actively seeks to apply technology to appropriate tasks; Shows willingness to learn new technologies

 QUALIFICATIONS 

Education:  First level Degree in Bachelor of social science or related discipline is required.

Professional Experience: Minimum four (4) years of relevant experience;  Experience with the UN or an international organization working in a crisis country would be an advantage; Experience using computers and office software packages, good knowledge and experience in handling web-based management systems is required.

Skills: Exceptional communication skills, both written and verbal are desirable. Excellent active listening skills are desirable. Strong organisational skills 

Language: English and French are the working languages of the UN Secretariat. For this position, fluency in written and spoken English and French is required