Readvertisement: Operations Associate, G6, FT, Kano #108797, Nigeria

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.

Click here to experience our country through the perspective of our colleagues by clicking on this Link

For every child, dedication

In Nigeria, UNICEF works in a complex humanitarian and development setting to fulfill and protect children’s rights in partnership with the government, civil society, children, and families.  UNICEF Nigeria is one of the largest UNICEF Country Offices globally – click the link to learn more about UNICEF in Nigeria: https://www.unicef.org/nigeria/.

For every child, a champion

Organizational Context and Purpose for the job

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. This is why 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.

The Operations Associate supports the effective and compliant delivery of UNICEF’s operational services, ensuring that core functions—finance, supply and logistics, administration, and asset management—are delivered efficiently and in line with UNICEF’s operational policies and procedures.

Under the direct supervision of the Operations Officer or Operations Manager, the incumbent contributes to improving service delivery by coordinating operational processes, monitoring compliance, and facilitating collaboration between operations and programme teams. The role ensures that UNICEF offices and staff have the operational support and resources needed to deliver results for children on time and within budget.

How can you make a difference?

The incumbent plays a critical role, responsible for executing a broad variety of procedural and specialized Operations tasks, requiring in-depth knowledge of UNICEF Operations procedures, processes, and policies. Support the day-to-day management of operational processes, maintaining accurate records, and ensuring timely service delivery to programme and field colleagues. The Operations Associate contributes to improving operational efficiency, strengthening internal controls, and ensuring value for money in all operational transactions.

1. Operational Coordination and Planning

• Support coordination of operations functions—including finance, supply, logistics, and administration—to ensure timely and quality support to programme and field teams.
• Track the implementation of the operations work plan, monitoring progress against targets and deadlines.
• Provide operational guidance to colleagues on UNICEF procedures and standards.
• Ensure the availability of timely and accurate data for preparing operational and project management plans.
• Undertake basic analysis of operational information to support management decision-making.

 

2. Financial and Budget Support

• Review, prepare, and process financial transactions.
• Monitor budgets and financial expenditures of assigned areas, keeping the supervisor informed and advised on actions for decision or follow-up.
• Support budget preparation, revisions, expenditure tracking, and financial reporting.
• Prepare and maintain financial records and control plans for budget monitoring and audit readiness.
• Support petty cash management, cash forecasting, and timely liquidation of advances.
• Carries out transactions in VISION pertaining to grants for the Operations section, such as registering grant allotments and tracking expiring Programme grants.
• Contribute to the preparation of operational budget

• Review invoices and process payments as per policies/procedures and ensure accuracy and completeness of supporting documents.
• Submit periodic financial reports for management oversight, monitoring, and review, and confirm availability of funds as required.
• Provide relevant information for the response to audits and peer reviews.

3. Procurement, Supply and Logistics

• Assist in the procurement of goods and services, including preparation of requisitions, solicitation of quotations, tabulations of bids, and processing of purchase orders.
• Maintain up-to-date vendor lists and consultant rosters.
• Facilitate processing of contracts for consultants and external partners, ensuring completeness of documentation and compliance with procedures.
• Coordinate logistics and transport arrangements for supplies and field operations.
• Support inventory control, asset management, and disposal procedures in VISION.

4. Administrative and Facility Management

• Provide administrative and logistical support for meetings, workshops, and official events, including venue setup, documentation, and travel facilitation.
• Oversee office supplies, utilities, maintenance services, and related contracts, ensuring cost efficiency and accountability.
• Maintain administrative records, correspondence, and filing systems (digital and hard copy) and update database systems, ensuring timely and appropriate recording, safekeeping, and disposal of confidential information.
• Support office transport arrangements and protocol matters for staff and visitors.
• Ensure compliance with UNICEF’s administrative procedures in all operational activities.
• Ensures the safekeeping of assets, annual physical count/verification, prepares reports, including cost analysis, and recommends replacement/disposal of equipment and supplies.
• Reconcile physical assets data with office records to ensure the count taken is complete and identify discrepancies for corrective action.  Prepares annual reports on subjects for the Country Office.
• Prepares Property Survey Board (PSB) submissions for asset disposal and assists with implementing approved PSB recommendations.
• Supports all aspects of maintaining office premises and ensures that services and upkeep meet organizational standards.

5. Travel and Logistics Coordination

• Provide travel assistance to staff members for travel arrangements and entitlements in accordance with UNICEF travel policies.
• Liaise with relevant travel focal points to ensure the best service and pricing for official travel.
• Maintain accurate travel records and cost data in UNICEF’s travel system.
• Support the preparation of travel plans and budgets and follow up on travel claims and certifications.
• Review Travel Authorizations (TAs) for compliance with policies and procedures, along with the related DSA and other entitlements in the system. Post or perform administrative approval as delegated, maintain the necessary records, and ensure that the office opens and TAs are closed on time.
• Support the booking of flights and tickets. Organize airport pickups, hotel reservations, and all other arrangements related to staff and visitor reception.
• Briefs/de-briefs staff members on issues relating to related administrative matters such as visas, security clearance, and documentation procedures.
• Extracts, inputs, maintains, and verifies the accuracy of travel records in the organization’s travel system to ensure correct transactions related to travel expenses and staff travel.
• Assists in the preparation of budgets on travel costs and maintains travel plan and budgetary control records.

6. Risk Management and Compliance

• Support implementation of internal control systems and follow up on audit and compliance recommendations.
• Monitor and report on operational risks, escalating issues as needed.

7. Coordination and Reporting

• Support preparation of management reports, statistics, and data visualizations for operational performance.
• Act as liaison between programme, field, and operations units to ensure coordinated service delivery.
• Promote teamwork, accountability, and a solutions-oriented culture within the operations function

8. Attendance Management

• Responsible for accurately maintaining monthly attendance and absence records, including Rest and Recuperation (R&R) and SECTO for applicable staff, and promptly completing all related transactions in VISION while preserving all hard copy records. Periodically generate the utilization report for both R&R and SECTO for management follow-up.
• Maintains and updates a system that monitors the absence of staff.

Key functions/accountabilities:

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

Education:     

Completion of secondary education is required. Professional and/or university courses related to the field of work are highly desirable.

Experience:   

Minimum six years of progressively responsible administrative or clerical work experience required.

Language Requirements:   

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

UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

(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) for supervisory role

During the recruitment process, we test candidates following the competency framework. Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels: competency framework here.

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 benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements.
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 promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, 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.

Remarks:

This position has been assessed as an elevated risk role for Child Safeguarding purposes as it is a role with direct contact with children, works directly with children, is a safeguarding response role. Additional vetting and assessment for elevated risk roles in child safeguarding (potentially including additional criminal background checks) applies.

UNICEF’s active commitment towards diversity and inclusion is critical to deliver the best results for children. For this position, eligible and suitable female candidates are encouraged to apply.

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

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance.  Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station, which will be facilitated by UNICEF, is required for IP positions. Appointments are also subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Government employees that are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government 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.

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