UN Women: Deputy Director, Integrated Resources Management Section, Division of Finance and Administration (DFA), Bonn, Germany, D1 FTA

This vacancy is re-opened to broaden the applicant pool. Candidates who have already applied for this position remain under consideration and are not required to reapply.

Background:

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security.

The Division of Finance and Administration (DFA) is responsible for the holistic planning, allocation and management of financial resources , the effective and efficient delivery of essential operations services in UN Women, continuous development and improvement integrated resource management, policies and methods to align with UN Women and stakeholders’ evolving business needs and advisory support to the Executive Director in the formulation and implementation of the UN Women overall mission, strategy and plans of actions.

Under the direction and guidance of the Chief Financial Officer (CFO), the Deputy Director, Integrated Resources Management Section of DFA serves as the organization's senior strategic leader for integrated resource planning and budget management. This role provides corporate oversight of UN Women's $500M annual resource envelope, ensuring coherent financial governance, strategic resource allocation, and institutional accountability across all funding sources and 60+ offices worldwide.

The incumbent plays a critical role in strengthening UN Women's positioning with Member States, the Executive Board, and inter-agency bodies through expert representation on resource management and budgetary matters. The position directly influences organizational effectiveness by ensuring strategic alignment between financial resources, programmatic priorities, and the Strategic Plan, while maintaining compliance with UN Financial Regulations and Rules and system-wide mandates.

Key Functions and Accountabilities:

Strategic Leadership and Representation

• Lead, manage, and provide strategic direction to the Integrated Budget Management Unit, ensuring alignment with UN Women’s mandate and financial governance frameworks.
• Support and backstop the CFO in high-level representation within inter-agency finance and budget networks, including engagements with the UN General Assembly (notably the Fifth Committee), the ACABQ, the UN Women Executive Board, and other key external stakeholders.
• Represent UN Women in engagements with internal and external oversight bodies, including the Joint Inspection Unit (JIU), on matters related to resource planning and budgeting.
• Provide senior-level briefings and technical support to the Executive Leadership Team (ELT) to inform decision-making on resource planning, allocations, and budget execution.

Policies, Procedures, Guidance and Governance Framework

• Develop, maintain, and update UN Women’s policies, procedures, and guidance (PPG) related to resource planning, budgeting, cost recovery, and direct project costing (DPC), ensuring alignment with FRRs and UN system-wide mandates and decisions.
• Ensure institutional adherence to established PPGs at all levels through oversight, monitoring, and technical guidance.
• Establish, oversee, and continuously improve governance frameworks and internal processes for planning, allocating, and budgeting institutional, core programmable, and funding received from the UN Regular Budget resources.
• Lead the development of internal budgetary frameworks and control mechanisms that ensure transparency, accountability, and results-orientation in resource utilization.

Resources and Integrated Budget Management

• Oversee the development and institutionalization of Resource Planning Frameworks (RPFs) that enable holistic, forward-looking, and results-linked planning across all financial resources managed by the organization, including assessed contributions, voluntary core and non-core contributions.
• Direct the preparation and presentation of the Programme Budget and the Integrated Budget in alignment with strategic priorities and RPFs, supporting coherence and resource optimization across the organization.
• Provide corporate oversight of resource planning and budget management processes, ensuring strong linkages between resources and results in alignment with the Strategic Plan.
• Issue strategic guidance and quality assurance on all budgetary submissions, allocations, and performance reviews to promote timely and effective use of all funding sources.
• Lead high-quality corporate analytics, monitoring, and reporting on the use and performance of budgetary resources, including dashboards and scorecards for internal and external stakeholders.
• Monitor contributions levels working closely with SPD, and based on analytics and reports, propose adjustments to internal allocations when contributions change.
• Monitor compliance with internal budget allocations and coordinate closely with the CFO, SPRED, and Regional Offices to flag risks and propose remedial actions where needed.
• Ensure appropriate support and guidance is provided to Country Offices, Regional Offices, and HQ units in all areas related to integrated budget planning, costing, implementation, and reporting.

Strategic Resource Mobilization and Financial Strategy

• Provide strategic financial analysis and scenario planning to inform Executive Board submissions and support CFO engagement with donors and Member States
• Lead development of multi-year financial sustainability frameworks that mitigate funding volatility and ensure organizational resilience

Innovation, Learning, Institutional Change Management and Capacity Building

• Drive innovation in integrated resource and budget management by introducing and promoting best practices, technological solutions and streamlined processes that enhance efficiency, transparency and responsiveness to strategic needs.
• Instill culture of enabling, proactive, solutions-orientated support to programs and colleagues across the section and the organization.
• Promote adaptive budget planning tools that are responsive to evolving programming priorities and operating contexts.
• Foster a culture of leaning across UN Women through capacity-building initiatives focused on budgeting, costing methodologies and resource planning.
• Champion knowledge sharing and diffusion of best practices within the organization and across the UN system to reinforce learning-oriented budget function
• Champion digital transformation of budget management systems, including implementation of advanced analytics, AI-enabled forecasting, and real-time dashboards

People Management, Workplace Culture and Cross-Organizational Collaboration

• Manage the performance of personnel under supervision; provide managerial direction, guidance and leadership to staff and provide performance feedback and coaching to personnel , ensure performance assessment are implemented on time and ensure personnel are fully aware of UN Women workplace relations policies.
• Promote teamwork to ensure harmonization, linkages, collaboration and synergy.
• Ensure a respectful, inclusive safe and healthy work environment for personnel.
• Partner with the Human Resources Division to ensure effective workforce planning and talent management, and an enabling, inclusive work environment.
• Promote strong cross-divisional collaboration and partnership, enhancing integration and coherence to support effective, high-quality service delivery across UN Women

Financial Risk Management and Compliance Oversight

• Establish and oversee enterprise-level financial risk management frameworks for budgetary resources, including early warning systems for under-delivery, funding gaps, and compliance breaches
• Ensure institutional readiness for external audits and oversight reviews (OIOS, BOA, JIU, ACABQ) related to budget management and resource utilization
• Provide assurance to the CFO and Executive Director on the adequacy and effectiveness of budgetary controls and governance mechanisms

Office Leadership for the Bonn Global Office

• Oversee and support the coordination and office management, including facilities and administration, of the UN Women Office in Bonn thereby ensuring high quality of operational services and facilities for UN Women colleagues based in Bonn Global office in close collaboration with head of facilities and administrative services based in New York..
• Represent UN Women in the UN Bonn Security Management Team and the Representatives of Agencies (RoA) Forum and other leadership meetings, ensuring UN Women’s visibility and active engagement within the UN system in Bonn.
• Act as administrative liaison with government counterparts and stakeholders in Bonn, including the BMZ, the City of Bonn and others as needed – and in coordination with UN Women Colleagues
• Coordinate with the UN system in Bonn and UN Women divisions on office establishment, shared space arrangements, common services, and related operational requirements.
• Liaise with relevant other DFA units (Facilities, Security, ICT, HR, Procurement, etc.) to ensure timely provision of essential services.
• Support alignment of the Bonn office with UN Women’s internal policies, procedures, and Pivot to Regions and Countries implementation framework.
• Ensure that key roles required for UN Women functioning in Bonn are in place (e.g. Security Focal Points, CCOM committee, Fire Wardens, etc). Coordinate effectively with UN Women Bonn Common Services on these roles, as temporarily assigned to UN Women staff.
• Act, as officer in charge for head of office when necessary for representation, coordination, and transition of the Bonn Office.

The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organisation.

Supervisory/Managerial Responsibilities: The incumbent provides strategic leadership and direct supervision to the Integrated Budget Management Unit, comprising of three direct reports – P5 Chief Resource Planning Advisor, Frameworks and Policy; P4 Resource Planning Specialist, Operations – Countries and Regions oversight; P4 Budget Specialist and their respective teams with total 11 staff members. Further the regional finance specialists and budget associate’s matrix reporting to FMS and IRMS.

Competencies :

Core Values:

• Integrity;
• Professionalism;
• Respect for Diversity.

Core Competencies:

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues;
• Accountability;
• Creative Problem Solving;
• Effective Communication;
• Inclusive Collaboration;
• Stakeholder Engagement;
• Leading by Example.

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Values and Competencies Framework:

Functional Competencies:

• Demonstrated ability to translate complex financial and budgetary issues into strategic options for senior leadership
• Proven track record of leading institutional transformation in resource management
• Exceptional ability to lead change and innovation in complex, multi-stakeholder environments
• Experience managing resistance and building consensus around financial reforms
• Ability to understand and optimize interconnections between budget planning, financial management, programmatic delivery, and strategic priorities
• Sophisticated understanding of UN governance structures and intergovernmental processes
• Ability to navigate politically sensitive budgetary discussions with Member States and oversight bodies
• Excellent negotiation, advocacy, and interpersonal skills.
• Excellent planning, goal-setting and prioritization skills.
• Demonstrated excellent communication and presentation skills, with tact and diplomacy.

Recruitment Qualifications:

Education and Certification:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in Finance, Business Administration, Public Administration, Economics, or related field is required.

• A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of an advanced university degree.

• An accounting qualification (ACA, CPA, CIMA e.t.c) is considered an asset.

Experience:

• Minimum 15 years of progressively responsible experience in financial planning, budgeting, and resource management in large, complex international organizations, with at least 5 years at senior management level is required.

• Demonstrated experience managing budgets and providing strategic financial leadership in multi-country, multi-stakeholder environments is required.

• Proven track record of successfully representing organizations before governing bodies, executive boards, or legislative committees on budgetary and financial matters is required.

• Experience in the UN Common System or similar multilateral organizations with exposure to assessed and voluntary funding mechanisms is highly desirable.

• Experience leading organizational change initiatives related to financial systems, budget restructuring, or resource allocation reforms is highly desirable.

• Strong analytical and strategic planning capabilities, including experience with financial modeling, scenario analysis, and data-driven decision support is required.

• Experience in leading, motivating and supervising technically strong teams is required.

• Experience in leading and coaching staff in international settings is required.

• Experience in the use of a modern web-based ERP System, preferably Oracle Cloud, is desirable.

Languages:

• Fluency in English is required.

• Knowledge of another official UN language is desirable (French, Arabic, Chinese, Russian, or Spanish).

Statements :

In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women's empowerment.

Diversity and inclusion:

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity and organizational need.

If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application.

UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (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.)

Note: Applicants must ensure that all sections of the application form, including the sections on education and employment history, are completed. If all sections are not completed the application may be disqualified from the recruitment and selection process.