Stretch Assignment, Deputy Representative Operations P4, Conakry Guinea (04 at UNICEF UAE

, , Equatorial Guinea -

Full Time

Start Date

Immediate

Expiry Date

19 Jul, 26

Salary

0.0

Posted On

20 Apr, 26

Experience

5 year(s) or above

Remote Job

Yes

Telecommute

Yes

Sponsor Visa

Skills

Operations management, Financial management, Risk management, Human resources, Supply chain management, Budgeting, Strategic planning, Internal controls, Audit, Logistics, Project management, Policy compliance, Business continuity planning, Emergency preparedness, Resource mobilization, Results-based management

Industry

Non-profit Organizations

Description

Stretch Assignment: Deputy Representative Operations, Conakry Guinea CO (Onsite) Title: Deputy Representative Operations Level: P4 Reports to: Representative Duration: 4 months Section: Office of Deputy Representative - Operations Location: Conakry, Guinea Dates/Duration: Stretch assignment from 1st May until 31 August 2026. Eligibility: All Fixed-Term, Permanent or continuing appointment UNICEF staff members currently working in UNICEF worldwide. I. Background Guinea is a lower-middle-income country facing significant challenges in child development and deprivation. According to the latest Human Development Index (HDI) report, Guinea has a Human Development Index of 0.480, ranking 178th out of 191 countries in 2023, reflecting its ongoing struggle with poverty and social development challenges. Since 1984, UNICEF has worked with the government and various partners, including UN agencies, NGOs, and community-based organizations, to improve conditions for children. The population of Guinea is projected to be around 15.2 million in 2025, with 63.4% living in rural areas and women comprising approximately 50.3% of the population. The annual growth rate remains steady at about 2.8%. Children under the age of 18 account for roughly 51% of the population, underscoring the critical need for child-focused interventions in areas such as health, education, and protection (World Population Review). The vision of the 2024-2028 country programme is: "A Guinea where children, especially adolescent girls and children from the most vulnerable families in the most disadvantaged geographical areas, have equitable opportunities for sustainable access to essential social services and quality social protection, and can reach their full potential, including in a context of climate-related vulnerabilities and emergencies". Currently, Guinea faces several humanitarian and emergency situations with multiple health crises, including outbreaks of diseases such as poliovirus, diphtheria, yellow fever, and Lassa fever. The country is particularly vulnerable to health shocks due to weak healthcare infrastructure. In addition, the country faces regularly natural disasters, such as flooding, which displace populations, damage infrastructure, and exacerbate the already challenging humanitarian conditions. These ongoing challenges necessitate continued support and local resilience-building measures to mitigate their impact on the population. The UNICEF Guinea office is looking for committed and creative professionals to make a lasting difference for Guinean children. II. Purpose of the job : Under the direct supervision and guidance of the Representative, the Deputy Representative, Operations will be entrusted with the following five pillars, the core focus of all operations functions: Valuing People, Valuing Money, Valuing Risk Management, Valuing Systems and Structures, Valuing Partners. The incumbent will also be responsible for leading results, driving changes, providing risk-information, solution-focused analysis, advice, and services, and contributing to program and management decisions for delivering results for children in all operational contexts. III. Main responsibilities and tasks Valuing People: Lead, manage and develop people resources to promote technical competence and foster career progression and retention of a “fit for purpose”/ agile workforce * Promote an environment of management excellence, staff well-being and accessibility and inclusion through implementation of strategies, policies, and procedures. * Provide proactive solutions and expert advice to senior management on people management and office culture. * Foster operations behaviors that focus on delivering results for children, whilst balancing risk informed decisions, policy compliance and flexibility through which partners’ needs are reliably addressed, to create an avenue for the greatest results. * Coordinate human resource development and resourcing strategies to bring about changes in knowledge, skills, abilities and mind sets for Operations staff. * Keep abreast of industry standards in management and finance. Institutionalize and share best practices and knowledge learned with regional/national colleagues to contribute to organizational development initiatives to strengthen management and operations. * Promote and support Excellence in Operations by refining the evolving profession in UNICEF derived from the five strategic pillars. Valuing Money: Champion strategic resources to achieve organizational goals and ensure Value for Money (VfM) * Optimize identification and use of resources in various concrete Value for Money (VfM) areas, including eco-efficiency and inclusivity, common premises, costing, results-based budgeting financial monitoring etc. * Support Business Units on options to generate greater VfM with the goal of strategically expanding its use to UNICEF Country Office functions. * Lead the financial oversight management, monitoring and reporting of all the country programme budget - and where applicable private sector fundraising budgets; make analysis and recommendations for Representative’s and Deputy Representative’s to take risk informed decisions. * Advise various modalities of valuing resources through financing modalities such as budgeting and pre-financing modalities for supplies, cash-based transfer etc. along with key government counterparts * Oversee Supply outcome results related to Supply and Logistics Management and stay abreast of and promote the regional strategies and their implementation. Valuing Risk Management: Enhance Risk Management to increase organizational performance and strengthen internal control * Ensure the office is equipped with the right skills and tools and up-to-date information to make operational and programmatic risk informed decisions and improve performance, with the support of the enterprise Governance, Risk and Compliance (eGRC) platform. * Maintain UNICEF organizational resilience and enhance staff safety and security by ensuring operational disaster risks address threats through well-formulated and tested business continuity plans and Emergency Preparedness and Response to humanitarian situations. * Review internal controls and policies/guidance included in the Regulatory Framework, provide oversight of appropriate implementation of policies and procedures and provide feedback on policy and internal controls as appropriate. * Implement mandatory anti-fraud systems, processes and actions, and share anti-fraud achievements within the country offices. * Facilitate mitigation of risks of engagement with external partners via appropriate, risk-informed due diligence. Valuing Systems and Structures: Ensure further operational centralization and optimization for maximized efficiency gains * Review key Operations processes to minimize cost, simplify and reduce duplication of work and maximize efficiencies while creating an environment of smarter controls to render the organization agile, resilient and ready to respond to programme needs. * Facilitate compliance with systems by building awareness and capacity of users, explore new ways of working - including in the context of SG Reform – and continuously improve IT-enabled business processes to increase productivity and collaboration, better knowledge management, and ensure effective use of UNICEF assets. * Provide key contributions to CPMP and review operational structures in collaboration with Regional Chiefs of Operations and the Strategic Business Support unit in DFAM. Valuing Partners: Strengthening internal and external-facing partnerships and leveraging UNICEF’s oversight and understanding of financial management across all areas of the office. * Provide technical expertise and recommendations on HACT implementation, including advice approach to undertaking spot checks, follow-up actions required on result of financial assurance activities; the use and collaboration with the Supreme Audit Institution; and use of micro-assessment results including the appropriate level of capacity building in financial management. * Partner with Programme by providing advice and recommendations on programme budgeting through contribution to programme document and support the financial impact analysis and determination of refund and amounts owing to the CSO. * Support UNICEF Office resource mobilization partners from donor negotiation and formulation of partnership agreements and contracts through written financial reporting, resolve discrepancies and ensure donor accountability and transparency. * Foster a positive and enabling operations environment that supports private sector fundraising and solution-focused engagement (where applicable). * Engage as effective stakeholders in the UN Reform, supporting Business Operating Services (BOS) and proactively paving the way for a potential “one back office” in country offices. _______________________________________________________________________________ IV. Minimum qualification and Competencies Education: An Advanced University Degree (Master’s and above) in one of the following areas is required: Business management; Financial management; Accounting; Public Finance; and related operations function (Supply Chain, Human Resources, Information Technology, International Business, Project management, etc.) or a full professional accounting designation (CA, ACA, ACCA, CPA, CIMA, CPFA, Expert Comptable) from an internationally recognized institute/body of accountancy with valid membership in good standing is required. Experience: * A minimum of 8 years of professional experience, at the national and international level, is required, specifically in implementing strategic organizational initiatives in one or more operations management area including budget; financial management and reporting; facilities management; administration; supply and logistics management; information and communication technology; human resources. * Prior experience in the development sector or UN system/ International NGOs would be an asset. * For Country Offices with a significant Private Sector Fundraising operation, prior experience working with or in the private sector, and supporting Private Sector Fundraising, is desirable * Additional experience in one or more of the following areas would be desired: -Audit and investigations - Safety and security - Grant Management - Enterprise Risk Management * Experience in a UN system agency, large Private or Public Company, or experience working in a developing country and/or humanitarian/ emergency context is an asset. * Experience in working with corporate ERPs (Enterprise Resource Planning) and IPSAS (International Public Sector Accounting Standards) is highly desirable. * Experience in Results Based Management is a requirement. * Experience in supporting successful client-oriented work units is an asset. * Previous hands-on experience in strategic operations is a strong asset. * Familiarity with Microsoft Office applications is required Language Requirements: Fluency in French and English is required; knowledge of another UN language (Arabic, Chinese, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset. ________________________________________________________________________________ V. Competencies of Successful Candidate Core Values * Care * Respect * Integrity * Trust * Accountability * Sustainability Core Competencies (1) Builds and maintains partnerships (2) Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness (3) Drive to achieve results for impact (4) Innovates and embraces change (5) Manages ambiguity and complexity (6) Thinks and acts strategically (7) Works collaboratively with others  (8) Nurtures, Leads and Manages people VI. Eligibility This opportunity is open to UNICEF staff members with Fixed-term or Permanent or Continuing appointment with UNICEF that runs through the duration of the assignment. VII. Travel and funding Guinea Country Office will pay for economy class travel. The candidate will receive 100% of Conakry DSA rate for the first two (2) months and 50% for the remaining duration of the assignment. Staff member selected for this stretch assignment will continue to receive salary and emoluments from the releasing office during the assignment VIII. Link to present position Discuss this stretch assignment with your supervisor and obtain the Representative’s agreement for your application to be submitted, as part of your learning and development plan for the year. The agreement of your Representative is a pre-requisite for this stretch assignment. If selected for this opportunity, the selected staff member will remain in their current position and will be temporarily placed with UNICEF Guinea for the duration of the support mission. At the end of the stretch assignment, the staff member will return to his/her respective position. Thus, no changes will be made to the current status of staff member at UNICEF. How to apply To apply, please take the following steps: Discuss this stretch assignment with your supervisor as well as Head of Office and obtain his/her agreement prior to submitting your application. The agreement of your supervisor and Head of Office is a pre-requisite for this stretch assignment; Interested candidates are requested to submit their application by 22 April 2026 to the following link : Internal Vacancies (sharepoint.com) [https://unicef.sharepoint.com/sites/DHR/SitePages/Vacancies.aspx?job=575801] with required documents cited below: Attach to your application's email the following documents: * An updated CV * Updated UNICEF profile, * Last two PERs * A cover letter outlining your motivation for applying * Approval from the supervisor and Head of Office X. Selection Process A desk review will be used for the selection of the suitable candidates with informal discussion.

Responsibilities

The Deputy Representative for Operations will lead and manage operational functions including people, money, risk management, systems, and partnerships. The role focuses on driving results, providing solution-focused analysis, and ensuring organizational resilience to support UNICEF's mission in Guinea.