Faces of Umoja -interview with Joanna Porreca, Subject Matter Expert

How do you describe Umoja to colleagues?

I explain that Umoja is the Secretary General’s administrative reform initiative. The Umoja team is dedicated to re-engineering the UN’s business processes and developing a technical solution to support them.

What is your role on the Umoja team?

I was selected as the Subject Matter Expert (SME) for Procurement on the Change Management Team. My overall role is to help strategize and advise on the re-engineering of procurement business processes and policies. It’s a great opportunity to put my administrative expertise to work in a new way.

What specific projects are you working on now?

I’m working very closely with the Supply Chain Team on the “Procure to Pay” process. It encompasses all steps involved in securing goods and services – everything from planning what you need to acquiring the product.

I’m also working with the Procurement Division in the implementation of a new category coding system. Every product category – like vehicles or furniture – is assigned a code which facilitates the whole process – from requisition to procurement to inventory management. The objective is to implement a coding system that is widely used in the marketplace. It will enable the UN to more clearly communicate the Organization’s requirements to suppliers. This is an important step toward improving the overall UN procurement process.

Where did you serve prior to joining Umoja?

Just prior to joining, I was the Chief of the Policy and Best Practices Section in the Procurement Division/OCSS where I participated in procurement reform initiatives. All together I’ve worked in UN procurement for 17 years, including 6 as Chief of Procurement at the UN Office at Geneva. Before the UN I worked in private sector procurement for about 13 years.

How do you think Umoja will benefit the Organization?

From a procurement perspective, Umoja will improve how we plan and manage the purchase of goods and services. In general, Umoja will enable administrative staff to work more quickly and efficiently, especially in peacekeeping missions where time is of the essence.

Originally published on iSeek in English and French on 9 May 2011

Working outside the cubicle, Umoja embraces open office space

The Umoja team has a unique workspace design and layout that facilitates frequent staff interaction and expression of ideas. This open-plan layout has been cost-efficient and supports the team’s work: the re-engineering of UN business processes with the goal of creating a more flexible and efficient organization.

The Umoja office on the 24th floor of the Mobil building (150 E 42nd Street) has no cubicles and only a few offices, most of which are shared. With few physical boundaries between staff, they can meet easily with other colleagues and consultants. The environment is dynamic, interactive and fast-paced.

Staff occupy adjoining desks positioned in long rows and they are not arranged hierarchically. Directors, Professional staff, General Service staff and interns work alongside each other. This encourages staff to express themselves and creates a friendly, collegial atmosphere.

“When you look at our office space, it’s impossible to tell which staff are Professional or General Service” says Travis Weyer an Umoja Central Services Support Team Member. “It creates a positive environment that’s good for team morale. It’s also easier for newcomers to feel welcome and learn quickly about Umoja” says Weyer.

Newcomers find many surprises on joining Umoja. While staff enjoy their open, light-filled space, it’s sparse and purely functional in many ways. Staff members have been sharing phone lines while more lines are installed.

Phone booths from the old Secretariat building were moved to Umoja’s space to provide space for phone calls. It’s a rare example of old technology being used successfully to support modern communications. It also supports the UN’s goal of recycling its assets whenever possible.

Another unique aspect of the space is the high number of meeting rooms: there are 16 in total for the team of 155 staff and consultants. These rooms are heavily used each day for meetings, workshops and ad hoc group discussions. Since all Umoja staff use laptops instead of desktops, it’s a common sight to see people carrying their laptops to conference rooms for individual or group projects.

The environment has made staff more flexible and adaptable. Newcomers go through a period of adjustment, but most grow to prefer the open, mobile way of working to their former cubicles or offices.

The Umoja office space may be an example of what’s to come for many Secretariat staff based in New York. According to the website of the Capital Master Plan, the renovated Secretariat building will have “more open, common space and less closed hierarchically defined individual space.” The Umoja team will certainly be prepared for these changes – and they will have a list of lessons-learned to share!

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

Originally published on iSeek in English and French on 29 April 2011

Faces of Umoja - interview with Vladimir Reyes, Subject Matter Expert

Vladimir Reyes has been working for the UN for the last 29 years. He recently joined Umoja's Central Support Services Team.

Do colleagues from other departments ask you what Umoja is?

A lot of staff are learning about Umoja these days. Many think it’s a technical system that will replace IMIS, but it’s so much more. Umoja is about reforming UN administrative processes and improving the way we do UN business. So Umoja is a reform process and a technical application.

What is your role on the Umoja team?

I joined Umoja’s Central Support Services Team in a temporary position as a Subject Matter Expert (SME). My role is to share my UN experience in administration and information technology…over the years I’ve worked in procurement, peacekeeping and most recently as a service desk manager in OICT/UNHQ. I’m helping Umoja colleagues understand all the different systems that staff use to request assistance – for computer problems, office maintenance, conference rooms…you name it. We’re trying to develop new ways of handling these queries so that they are fulfilled faster and more efficiently.

What is Umoja's working environment like?

You have to adjust, work fast, improvise and adapt. The space itself is not your typical UNHQ office layout. We have an open space structure and you are aware of what everyone is doing. It is conducive to open communication but it can limit your concentration sometimes. I have been fortunate to have worked in the field so I know how to simply work with what’s available.

Why did you join Umoja?

I was excited by the idea of helping make significant improvements in the way we do things. I’ve worked at the UN for 29 years so it’s a pleasure to participate in a reform of this scope.

What do you like about your job?
I like learning about how Umoja will bring our Organization together. We are so used to working in our own little worlds and getting 5 signatures on a piece of paper just because it’s always been done that way. Here I get to figure out how we can work outside our own silos.

Is Umoja hiring?

Yes! Check out the UN Careers Portal (http://careers.un.org/lbw/Home.aspx) and do a search for vacancies in the Department of Administration and Management – the Office of the Under-Secretary-General.

And to learn more about Umoja, check out our intranet portal called Umoja NET. You can register through our public site at www.unumoja.org.

Find Umoja vacancies on UN Careers Portal by using these search parameters:

Originally published on iSeek in English and French on 15 April 2011

Umoja passes milestone in process acceptance

Umoja, the UN Secretariat's administrative reform initiative that will improve processes and systems that manage financial, human and physical resources, has passed a key milestone:

Over half of released business processes have been accepted!

What does this mean?

Some background:

The Umoja team is working with staff Subject Matter Experts from around the UN who have volunteered their time to help re-engineer business processes in the areas of finance, human resources, supply chain and central support services.

Staff members from field missions and departments such as DGACM, DM, OICT and DFS are analyzing hundreds of everyday operations – such as invoice processing, managing requests for conference rooms, moving staff among posts and reporting of annual leave, to name just a few.

Umoja’s Steering Committee members accept the new business processes based on feedback from Subject Matter Experts.

In the last few weeks, Umoja has achieved a major milestone: 60 per cent of future business processes that have been released for review have been accepted by the Steering Committee.

The 60 per cent mark represents 38 per cent of the larger pool of all business processes; new processes are continuously released for review and acceptance.

The re-engineered processes will be incorporated into Umoja’s technical solution which will enhance the efficiency and speed of UN administrative functions. Umoja will move the Organization away from slow, paper-based administrative practices that are exacerbated by disconnected and outdated systems.

The Umoja team thanks all those who have contributed to the progress made so far.

All UN staff can see the excellent work happening by logging in to Umoja NET at www.unumoja.net. You’ll find details about the current and future business processes, including process maps that outline the future processes.

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 section to view presentations on all released processes and give us feedback.

So register today to learn about and contribute to a once-in-a-lifetime reform process at the UN.

If you have questions, contact Umoja at (212) 963-4140 or email umoja@un.org.

Umoja’s public website: www.unumoja.org
Umoja NET: www.unumoja.net (members only)

Originally published on iSeek in English and French on 1 April 2011

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