Executive Manager, P4, WCARO, Dakar, Senegal, #86383

UNICEF WCARO is looking to fill a position of Executive Manager at P4 level.

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

And we never give up.

For Every Child, hope

UNICEF works in 190 countries and territories to protect the rights of every child. UNICEF has spent 70 years working to improve the lives of children and their families. Defending children's rights throughout their lives requires a global presence, aiming to produce results and understand their effects. UNICEF believes all children have a right to survive, thrive and fulfill their potential – to the benefit of a better world. To learn more about UNICEF, visit www.unicef.org.

West and Central Africa Context

In addition to its 468 million residents, West and Central Africa welcomes every year tens of millions of tourists, civil servants and businessmen from all over the world. Indeed, West and Central Africa attracts because of the beauty of its landscapes and the hospitality and cultural creativity of its populations. The richness of the cultures is only matched by the richness of its soils, subsoils, and oceans through resources of all kinds.

Although these enormous potentialities induce economic growth in every WCAR country, they do not concretely translate into a better social situation and well-being in the life of the populations. In fact, West and Central Africa represents the greatest share of the Millennium Development Goals’ unfinished business. Within this context, the UNICEF West and Central Africa Regional Office (WCARO) is supporting countries in advancing equity-focused policies, programs and interventions for children in the region.

The position is based in West and Central Africa Regional office, Dakar, Senegal.

Dakar is a family duty station with good schools covering different curriculums (French and American). It is a pleasant city.

How can you make a difference?

The Executive Manager post is a strategic role; the incumbent will be under the direct supervisor of the Regional Director and will be responsible for running the Regional Director’s office and management of its engagements. She/he will provide day-to-day support to the Regional Director in highly intensive and rapidly evolving environment through overseeing key planning, coordination and quality assurance processes in RD’s Office and in close cooperation with the Deputy Regional Director (DRD) and other colleagues.

The Executive Manager will perform the following functions:

1. Alert the Regional Director on strategic and management issues and priorities for both the West and Central Africa Regional office (WCARO) and the West and Central Africa Region(WCAR) with in-depth engagement in follow up to address /resolve issues, as needed, in coordination with Deputy Regional Director, Representatives and relevant Regional office Section Chiefs;

2. Support the Office of the Regional Director in coordinating activities, performing research, and preparing background materials, briefing notes and position papers and making them available to the Regional Director well in advance in close consultation with the senior members of the Regional Director’s management team and the Programme Associate.

3. Coordinate periodic meetings, including UNICEF Executive Board and the Regional Management Team meetings; draft reports, record discussions and prepare minutes and memoranda; Serve as Secretary to the Regional Office Management Team; draft reports, record discussions and prepare minutes and memoranda of Regional Office meetings involving the Regional Director.

4. Document action points from meetings involving the Regional Director, follow-up, and report on their implementation;

5. Take action as appropriate, maintain records and track the status of the Regional Director’s action items; Ensure action points by other Regional Office colleagues are completed on time.

6. Conduct quality assurance on documents requiring Regional Director’s decision by collecting reviewing and analyzing information and supporting documents; oversee and ensure the smooth flow of information within the office, the region and Headquarters through regular consultations with the Regional Director, the Deputy Regional Director;

7. Keep abreast of issues and activities in relation to the Regional Office management Plan, Key Results for Children (KRC) as well as emergency preparedness/response, partnerships and donor relations, in order to provide timely and appropriate advice through short executive briefs for the Regional Director;

8. Ensure the substantive preparation of the Regional Director’s missions and meetings in external and/or broader corporate fora by coordinating inputs, identifying key issues, and contribute to information sharing on outcome and results of such events, meetings and trips.

9. Develop partnership and collaboration with internal and external counterparts, including the United Nations System and other relevant partners, in order to collect and disseminate development data and information, exchange information on relevant issues. Ensure close liaison with the R/UNDG Secretariat to ensure timely contributions from the Regional Office.

10. Perform other work-related duties as requested by the Regional Director.

To qualify as a champion for every child you will have…

• Advanced university degree, equivalent to a master’s degree in Social Sciences, International Relations, Public Administration, Public Policy, Social Policy, Social Development, Community Development, or other relevant disciplines.

• Minimum 8 years of relevant work experience in a professional capacity in external relations, programme management, public affairs, general office administration or international development cooperation, preferably within the United Nations or similar international organizations.

- Good knowledge of all aspects of internal UNICEF management areas in administration and finance, human resources and transaction processing. UNICEF experience in working with external multilateral and bilateral partners, including the United Nations is required, and understanding of UNICEF programme is an asset.

- Strong relationship management skills and interpersonal intelligence involving internal and external stakeholders at all levels, including senior management is required;

- Impeccable personal and professional integrity is a must.

- Highly effective and efficient

- Excellent judgement

- Ability to effectively manage ambiguous and complex environment with clarity

- Ability to prioritize and organize

- Ability to be agile, nimble, and flexible

- Deliver results under pressure

- Good listening skills

• Oral and perfect written fluency in English and French is required; Proficient in another UN language, in particular Spanish will be an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s core values of Commitment, Diversity and Integrity and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

The technical competencies required for this post are:

• Planning and Organizing III 
• Analyzing III                 
• Technical Expertise III
• Formulating Strategies & Concepts II

• Learning and researching II

  The person’s profile:

• Highly effective and efficient
• Excellent judgement
• Ability to effectively manage ambiguous and complex environment with clarity
• Ability to prioritize and organize
• Ability to be agile, nimble, and flexible
• Deliver results under pressure
• Good listening skills

View our competency framework at http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/files/UNICEF_Competencies.pdf

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

Remarks:

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.