Umoja expands with Project and Programme Management Workstream

A new workstream has been added to the Umoja administrative reform initiative: Programme and Project Management.

In December, the General Assembly endorsed an ACABQ report that supported this addition to Umoja’s scope of work.

The Programme and Project Management (PPM) workstream will ensure a harmonised approach to the planning, monitoring and evaluation of UN programmes and projects. It will enhance UN methodologies and tools to support Results Based Management (RBM) - which will provide United Nations staff and Member States with more information about the linkages between programme and project expenditures and results.

The PPM workstream is cross-cutting; it will complement and integrate with the other Umoja workstreams, namely Finance, Human Resources, Supply Chain and Central Support Services. Over the past 18 months, Umoja has worked closely with staff Subject Matter Experts with deep expertise in these respective fields. Together they have made enormous progress in re-engineering business processes that will change how the UN operates.

The PPM Team in Umoja is hiring core team staff who will work with Subject Matter Experts in the area of PPM throughout the Organization. Umoja invites you to view the current PPM vacancies at the Professional level through the UN Careers Portal.

To find these vacancies select the job network “Economic and Social Development,” the job family “Programme Management” and the department “Department of Administration and Management” (see screenshot below).

Originally published on iSeek on 23 March 2011

Umoja gives interns a special opportunity

The Umoja team, charged with implementing the Secretary-General’s administrative reform initiative, gives interns a unique work experience at UNHQ in New York.

Sixteen interns currently assist Umoja staff and staff Subject Matter Experts from across the UN as they re-engineer and reform business practices in programme management, finance, human resources, supply chain and central support services.

Interns are placed on teams that work on these practice areas. They learn about the challenges involved in simplifying a vast range of business processes that were developed in the UN’s early years. They also learn about how Umoja’s technological solution will support new business processes and replace hundreds of transactional systems.

Cheryl Stafford, an Umoja Project Management Officer, reports that intern enthusiasm in strong: “They realize that we present a special opportunity to them because they learn about current and future UN operations here. It’s a unique chance to learn about organizational change. ”

Over 50 interns have been placed with the team since 2009. Umoja requests interns with diverse skill sets to meet the team’s needs; those with experience in management consulting and strong technical programming skills are especially good fits.

Many stay longer than the standard two-month period to maximize their learning: “six-month internships here are pretty common” says Stafford.

What do the Umoja interns say?

“I’m so glad I’ve been placed here” says Ying Zhou of Umoja’s Change Management Team. “My team has to get staff around the world ready for Umoja. Here we are putting organizational reform ideas into practice.” says Zhou.

Intern Sanna Teravianen enjoys the office atmosphere: “Everyone has been really helpful and welcoming towards me. Umoja is a really nice place to work.”

When interns complete their time with Umoja, all team members, including Director Paul van Essche, get together to thank them and say goodbye. “These young people give so much to our team. It’s important to acknowledge them and encourage them to stay interested in the UN’s mission” says van Essche.

For more information on Umoja, visit www.unumoja.org.

Originally published on iSeek on 16 March 2011

Umoja advances the UN's "Green" agenda

Last week the Umoja team hosted a meeting with UN system focal points who work on “greening” the Organization – or making our operations more environmentally sustainable.

Participants from UNEP, the World Bank, the Department of Field Support and the Department of Management attended the session in New York where they gave feedback on Umoja’s plans to incorporate sustainable work practices and tools into its reform initiative.

“A key objective of the Umoja reform is to implement a climate-neutral approach to UN business” says Umoja Director Paul van Essche. “We need to lower our greenhouse gas emissions, to recycle more and to use energy more efficiently. Last week we received valuable input on our approach for tackling these issues” he added.

As many of you know, Umoja is working with UN staff across the Secretariat in re-engineering business processes in programme management, finance, human resources, supply chain and central support services. This will include the capture, management and reporting of environmentally-relevant data elements. The Umoja Solution will also enhance the way we plan our programmes, measure results, and simplify a vast range of administrative practices.

At the event focal points learned how Umoja’s capacity to support environmentally sustainable practices will make the UN a safer, healthier place for staff. “Umoja will improve our ability to monitor health risks, to report incidents and manage hazardous substances” said Ian Divers, Umoja’s Service Delivery Manager.

The Umoja team will integrate feedback from the meeting into its sustainability roadmap. Many participants will meet again in June at the next meeting of the Issue Management Group (IMG) on Sustainability Management in Rome. The IMG focuses on implementing the UN’s climate-neutral strategy and convenes four times a year.

To learn more about Umoja visit www.unumoja.org.

To learn how to contribute to a greener UN visit www.greeningtheblue.org.

Originally published on iSeek on Tuesday, 8 March 2011, New York

Umoja briefs Chief Procurement Officers

The Umoja team briefed Chief Procurement Officers (CPOs) last week about exciting changes that are coming to UN procurement practices.

Thirty-five procurement specialists attended the annual, five-day CPO Conference in New York to exchange information and learn from each other and guest speakers. It was a chance for Umoja to reach key procurement stakeholders from Field Missions, Offices Away from Headquarters, Economic Commissions and Tribunals about how the Umoja administrative reform initiative will affect them.

Umoja will make it easier for the UN to purchase the wide range of products and services it needs to carry out its mandates - from helicopters and jeeps for peacekeeping missions to office supplies and construction services for all duty stations.

Umoja team members with UN expertise in procurement described how Umoja business processes and technology will enable faster and more efficient procuring of goods and services. Ian Divers, Paul Holden, and Joanna Porreca of Umoja, who together have decades of UN procurement experience, were able to speak to audience concerns about how Umoja will integrate with current tools and enable flexible workflows.

The Chief Procurement Officers expressed keen interest in the coming changes and showed enthusiasm about contributing to ongoing Umoja development. They were encouraged to explore the new procurement business processes on Umoja NET (www.unumoja.net) and leave their feedback about them.

Umoja NET is an online community where the Umoja team collaborates with UN staff in the creation of new business processes. There are 194 processes now available online for all staff to see and comment on.

If you’re not already an Umoja NET member, visit Umoja’s public website to request an account. Once your registration is confirmed, you can access the Umoja Solution to view presentations on all released processes and give us your feedback.

If you have questions, contact Umoja at (646) 380-0218 or email umoja@un.org.

Originally published on iSeek in English and French on 1 March 2011, New York

Umoja - creating breakthroughs in UN real estate management

The Umoja team recently concluded a two-week workshop on changes that are coming to UN real estate management.

Representative staff from offices away from headquarters and field missions who specialize in central support services attended the New York event, where they previewed the Umoja Solution for managing UN buildings and property.

One participant said it was a “huge breakthrough” to see that complete architectural details, including the measurements of floors, rooms, fixtures and fittings, will be accessible in Umoja, as well as building leases and staff office assignments.

Over the last year, these staff members have been working with Umoja as Subject Matter Experts in re-engineering a wide range of business processes - everything from lease management to garage administration and planning for office moves.

The Umoja Solution will replace current ways of tracking and managing this information which often involves many disconnected databases and unwieldy spreadsheets.

Participants gave their feedback about how the new approach may play out in their respective duty stations. The Umoja Solution takes into account the diverse needs of the UN system. In Nairobi, for example, all UN facilities are in one main campus whereas some peacekeeping missions may have over 100 different lease agreements across a given country.

The Umoja team and its Subject Matter Experts will be incorporating feedback from workshop participants into the ongoing design and construction of the real estate components of Umoja.

To learn more about Umoja visit www.unumoja.org

Originally published on iSeek on Tuesday, 22 February 2011, New York