Chief, United Nations (UN) Efficiency Unit (P)

Established in 1951, IOM is a Related Organization of the United Nations and the leading UN agency in the field of migration. Working closely with governmental, intergovernmental and non-governmental partners, IOM promotes humane and orderly migration for the benefit of all. It saves lives and protects people on the move, drives solutions to displacement, and facilitates pathways for regular migration, while providing services and advice to governments and migrants. 

IOM is committed to fostering a respectful, inclusive and supportive workplace where all employees can thrive professionally and feel valued. By creating such an environment, IOM aims to better harness the full potential of migration and strengthen its support to people on the move.

IOM invites candidates from diverse backgrounds to apply and provides reasonable accommodation throughout the recruitment process when required. Learn more about IOM’s workplace culture at IOM workplace culture | International Organization for Migration

Applications are welcome from first- and second-tier candidates, particularly qualified female candidates as well as applications from the non-represented member countries of IOM. For all IOM vacancies, applications from qualified and eligible first-tier candidates are considered before those of qualified and eligible second-tier candidates in the selection process. 

For the purpose of this vacancy, the following are considered first-tier candidates:

1. Internal candidates
2. External female candidates
3. Candidates from the following IOM Member States that are not represented among staff members in the Professional and higher categories: Bahamas, Barbados, Comoros, Congo (the), Cook Islands, Dominica, Federated States of Micronesia, Grenada, Guinea-Bissau, Holy See, Iceland, Israel, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Namibia, Nauru, Palau, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, Solomon Islands, Suriname, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Vanuatu 
    

Second tier candidates include:
All external candidates, except candidates from non-represented member states of IOM.

Under the overall supervision of the Deputy Director General for Management and Reform and direct supervision of the Director, Global Shared Services, and in close coordination with relevant Units at Headquarters (HQ), the Global Shared Services Centre and International Organization for Migration (IOM) Offices worldwide, the Chief, United Nations (UN) Efficiency Unit will be responsible and accountable for providing strategic leadership, technical guidance and managerial support to advance efficiency, effectiveness and value for money across IOM’s operations. The Chief, UN Efficiency Unit will lead the Unit’s efforts to identify and promote cross-cutting efficiencies, including through inter-agency collaboration applying the enabling functions of mutual recognition statement, pricing and costing principles and client satisfaction principles.

1. Lead the UN Efficiency Unit and identify organizational goals and targets to ensure adequate   support is provided to achieve results through developing and implementing an action plan based on quality data collection and analysis.
2. Provide strategic guidance and support the participation of IOM on UN interagency efficiency platforms with the aim of achieving efficiency gains and facilitating joint programming.
3. Lead oversight and compliance of IOM’s implementation of UN Efficiency initiatives by identifying best practices, lessons learned, opportunities for improvement and reporting on progress.
4. Represent IOM at UN interagency platforms and ensure consistent, high-quality engagement in system-wide efficiency initiatives.
5. Advise and coordinate IOM’s engagement at the UN High-level Committee Coordination and facilitate operationalization of decisions by IOM Offices.
6. Respond to internal and external audits and assessments relating to entity-level UN Efficiency and IOM engagement.
7. Lead the development of internal reports and visibility materials on efficiency gains, and ensure timely submission to IOM leadership and external bodies.
8. Coordinate with peers from other UN entities to ensure efficient and complementary approaches and build synergies, and coordinate UN interagency policy, guidance and training material on UN Efficiency initiatives.
9. Coordinate with IOM business and policy owners to achieve the objectives set in agreed UN efficiency initiatives; and provide analysis, interpretation, and guidance on related-policy matters, propose amendments of administrative instructions and alignment of internal systems to improve efficiency, simplification, or to meet audit recommendations.
10. Monitor and report regularly to Senior Management on the progress of all efficiency initiatives and gains.
11. Identify risks and challenges associated with efficiency initiatives and propose mitigation strategies to ensure smooth implementation.
12. Identify knowledge gaps and build adequate capacity in IOM to strengthen institutional knowledge and implementation capacity across IOM including Operations Management Team (OMT) and United Nations Country Team (UNCT) representation, engagement and participation by IOM staff and strategic positioning of IOM on interagency collaborations focused on achieving efficiencies. 
13. Develop IOM internal Annual Workplans and Budgets guiding the work on efficiency initiatives drawing from the HLCM and other UN Efficiency-related agendas.
14. Support the Global Shared Services Centre (GSSC) in identifying and implementing measures to optimize services and improve efficiency.
15. Act as secretariat for the GSSC Board.
16. Undertake visits to Regional, Country Offices and GSSC to review and assess engagement, provide guidance on specific substantive implementation issues, and represent the UN Efficiency Unit/Office at various relevant workshops and meetings.
17. Perform other duties as may be assigned.

• Master's degree in Business Administration, Management, Economics, Finance, or a related field from an accredited academic institution with ten years of relevant professional experience; or,
• University degree in the above fields with twelve years of relevant professional experience.
   

Accredited Universities are those listed in the UNESCO World Higher Education Database.

• Significant experience in general management as well as resources management;
• Significant experience in diplomacy including in liaising with UN partners; 
• Experience in writing policy and/or guidelines;
• Operations Management Team (OMT) experience; and,
• Experience on Budget and Operations Support (BOS), Community-Based Organization (CBO) and/or Country Programme/Project (CP) would be a distinct advantage.
   

• Knowledge of organizational policies and practices an advantage;
• Excellent communications skills, both oral and written;
• Demonstrated liaison and negotiation skills;
• In depth knowledge of resources management;
• Knowledge of UN Reform and Efficiency Agenda; and,
• Effective resources management skills, sound knowledge of financial and business administration and of the principles and practices of management.
   

IOM’s official languages are English, French and Spanish. All staff members are required to be fluent in one of the three languages.

For this position, fluency in English is required (oral and written).

A working knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish) is
desirable.

Proficiency of language(s) required will be specifically evaluated during the selection process, which may include written and/or oral assessments.

IOM’s competency framework can be found at this link. Competencies will be assessed during the selection process.

Internationally recruited professional staff are required to be mobile. Please refer to this link for guidance on IOM Job Category. Any offer made to the candidate in relation to this vacancy notice is subject to funding confirmation. This selection process may be used to staff similar positions in various duty stations. Recommended candidates will remain eligible to be appointed in a similar position for a period of 24 months.

Appointment will be subject to all clearances, including medical and security as well as accreditation, any residency or visa requirements. Vacancies close at 23:59 local time Geneva, Switzerland on the respective closing date. No late applications will be accepted.

IOM has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and IOM, including sexual exploitation and abuse, harassment, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and any forms of discrimination. IOM is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children.

IOM conducts reference checks and background verification, including through system wide databases such as ClearCheck, to help ensure that candidates have no record of misconduct, including on sexual harassment, sexual exploitation and abuse, or fraud. Candidates are expected to uphold these standards and principles at all times.

IOM does not charge any fees at any stage of the recruitment process—whether for application, interview, processing, training, or otherwise—and does not request any information related to bank accounts.

IOM only accepts duly completed applications submitted through the IOM WAVE system (for internal candidates link here). The online tool also allows candidates to track the status of their application. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. For further information and other job postings, you are welcome to visit our website: IOM Careers and Job Vacancies