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, Hope

The Operations Manager is positioned in Offices with significant and complex programmatic and operational risks and challenges which require a dedicated person to support the Senior Managers in making sure that resources are continuously, effectively and efficiently geared towards achieving results for children.

How can you make a difference? 

Under the supervision of the Deputy Representative Operations/Representative the Operations Manager (Risk and Compliance) will be responsible for leading the strengthening of risk assurance and compliance efforts in the context of a large/medium/small scale country office.

He/She will be responsible for providing complementary expertise, support, and monitoring related to the management of risk, including but not limited to the development, implementation, and continuous improvement of risk management practices at a process, systems, and entity level.

He/she will ensure to lead the achievement of risk management objectives follows organizational rules and regulations, and acceptable ethical behavior; internal controls; information and technology security; sustainability; and quality assurance. Moreover, he/she will provide analysis and report on the adequacy and effectiveness of risk management and internal controls.

How can you make a difference? 

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programs, in advocacy and in operations. The equity strategy, emphasizing the most disadvantaged and excluded children and families, translates this commitment to children’s rights into action. For UNICEF, equity means that all children have an opportunity to survive, develop and reach their full potential, without discrimination, bias or favoritism. To the degree that any child has an unequal chance in life — in its social, political, economic, civic and cultural dimensions — her or his rights are violated. There is growing evidence that investing in the health, education and protection of a society’s most disadvantaged citizens — addressing inequity — not only will give all children the opportunity to fulfill their potential but also will lead to sustained growth and stability of countries. Therefore, the focus on equity is so vital. It accelerates progress towards realizing the human rights of all children, which is the universal mandate of UNICEF, as outlined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, while also supporting the equitable development of nations.

Job organizational context

The Operation Manager (Risk and Compliance) is to be positioned in Offices with significant and complex programmatic and operational risks and challenges which require a dedicated position to support the Senior Managers in making sure that resources are continuously, effectively and efficiently geared towards achieving results for children.

Purpose for the job

Under the supervision of the Deputy Representative Operations/Representative the Risk and Compliance Manager will be responsible for leading the strengthening of risk assurance and compliance efforts in the context of a large/medium/small scale country office.

He/She will be responsible for providing complementary expertise, support, and monitoring related to the management of risk, including but not limited to the development, implementation, and continuous improvement of risk management practices at a process, systems, and entity level.

He/she will ensure to lead the achievement of risk management objectives follows organizational rules and regulations, and acceptable ethical behavior; internal controls; information and technology security; sustainability; and quality assurance. Moreover, he/she will provide analysis and report on the adequacy and effectiveness of risk management and internal controls.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES and DUTIES & TASKS:

1. Risk management support

• Lead the process of providing guidance and supporting the office in the annual risk assessment process and monitor the reliability of reports and their compliance with applicable rules and regulations.
• Lead the monitoring process of risk mitigation action plans including a mid-term review.
• Lead the office peer reviews process, undertake visits to project sites and field offices to verify the quality of performance.
• Ensure the risk management approach is embedded in any project/proposal, in office governance committees’ review of submissions and in any major decision made by the management.

 2.   Compliance support

• Lead the review process of the office systems, procedures and processes for compliance with organizational rules and regulations.
• Enforce and strengthen internal controls to ensure that systems are in place to prevent, detect and report non-compliance.  Support the process for the preparation of the annual Statement of Internal Control (SIC) by the office.
• Review and validate the internal work processes in Programme and Operations to ensure that accountabilities are clear and placed at the adequate levels as per global policies and/or best practices.
• Lead the establishment of a risk-based system to periodically and systematically review a sample of activities (Programme and Operations) to ensure they are carried out according to established work processes and in compliance with UNICEF policies and procedures.
• Lead the internal and external audit processes, conduct a quality assurance and follow-up on the implementation of the recommendations and provide feedback to the management.
• Periodically test compliance with the Table of authority and adherence to the delegation of authorities in line with UNICEF policies and Procedures; and ensure staff understand the roles and responsibilities delegated to them.
• Lead the process of reviewing the conformity of statutory and non-statutory committees, assess committee members have been trained/oriented on their roles and responsibility.

3.  Fraud risk Management support

• Support the management of the office in collecting evidence to respond to OIAI’s queries when initially assessing allegations of fraud and misconduct or during actual investigations.
• Advise the management on lessons learned from investigations and measures to be taken accordingly.
• Ensure the implementation of the global anti-fraud strategy, suggest internal fraud prevention mechanisms and alert the management on any fraudulent issues as well as unethical behaviors detected.
• Lead the process of Fraud risk training / orientation to Partners and suppliers.

4. Oversight and advisory to the Management

• Advise the management on actions to be taken to enforce and strengthen accountabilities for a robust, responsive and transparent governance framework.
• Contribute to effective management process by participating in key governance meetings (particularly CMT, PMT and OMT).
• Coordinate Risk assessment and control activities with other UN agencies by representing the office in meetings related to Risks and Compliance activities.

5. Create awareness/capacity building

• Establish a system to document and report weaknesses in internal control and implement actions aimed at addressing internal controls gaps (SOP, memos…) and building the capacity of responsible staff.
• Analyze cause and effect of policy changes to the operations of the office, anticipate changes and advise on the new way of doing business.
• Lead the implementation of a continuous learning and development plan for the Risk and Compliance function.
• Ensure that management provides staff with access to relevant training and that staff and other personnel understand key UNICEF policies including PSEA, Fraud and Ethics.

6. Any support needed from the regional office

• On request, support the Regional Office in conducting reviews exercises in countries where Risk and Compliance positions are not established, or in supporting any other review in the area of expertise (Peer reviews, assessment…).
• Develop a network/community of risk and compliance specialists at both regional and global level for experience sharing, updated working documents as well as office rules and policies.

Impact of Results:

The Operations Manager (Risk and compliance) is expected to be fully knowledgeable in the field of the work, to work with minimum supervision and therefore exercise judgement, take initiatives, establish work priorities and ensure follow-up actions.

The ability to support assessment, mitigation, monitoring, review and reporting on the most significant risks that could potentially harm the organization, is a critical element of UNICEF’s risk and internal control performance management framework. Risk management skills are necessary to safeguard UNICEF’s reputation, resources, continuity of operations and reputation to fulfill our primary mission to save and protect children, globally.

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

Minimum requirements:

Education: 

An advanced university degree in Business Administration and Financial Management. Operations Management, Strategic Management, Risk Management, Audit, Investigation, Internal Control, Statistics and Data Analysis or Accounting certifications are considered as assets.

Experience: 

-Minimum 8 (eight) years of continuous professional work experience in Risk and Compliance or another directly relevant area, several of which in internal audit. Experience in financial management, particularly developing and implementing financial control systems, ERM, audits, internal control preferably with international organizations, NGOs and UN.

-Field experience /familiarity with Emergency. (Depending on contexts)

Language Proficiency: 

Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.

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…

Core Competencies:

▪ Nurtures, Leads and Manages People (2)

▪ Demonstrates Self Awareness and Ethical Awareness (2)

▪ Works Collaboratively with others (2)

▪ Builds and Maintains Partnerships (2)

▪ Innovates and Embraces Change (2)

▪ Thinks and Acts Strategically (2)

▪ Drive to achieve impactful results (2)

▪ Manages ambiguity and complexity (2)

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here  JD Risk and Compliance Manager P4 Port Sudan.pdf

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 cancelled.

 Remarks:

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

 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 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