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Conference and event management staff from Nairobi, Geneva, Vienna and Addis Ababa, as well as several UNHQ Departments (DGACM, DM, DPI) gathered in New York recently for a three-day workshop (4-6 May) to learn about Umoja's progress in re-engineering processes that support UN conference and event planning.

The Umoja team has been examining our current administrative processes, …

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. …

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.

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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. …

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, …

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. …

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.
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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.

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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, …

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, …

Over the holidays and through the first weeks of 2011, the Umoja team has continued to work through the design and review phase of the Umoja solution.

As many of you know, Umoja is the administrative reform initiative which will harmonize systems that handle financial, human and physical resources.
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As noted in the July 2010 issue of the "Umoja Times", the Umoja team has been on the move since 2007. Some members of the Team have relocated six times over the past 18 months! Thus, after several moves - the most recent of which split the team into different buildings - the Umoja team is settling into its new office space on the 24th floor of the Mobil Building at 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue. …

Umoja, the UN Secretariat’s administrative reform initiative, is changing the way we work. Supported by a new Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, Umoja will help to integrate and improve management of the Secretariat's human, financial, and physical resources. Achieving such an important reform means involving all of Umoja’s stakeholders – from Subject Matter Experts to senior executives.

What Umoja NET is…

The Umoja team is making use of a modern, …

The UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) hosted a delegation of designers from 12 October to 6 November 2009. No, not fashion designers as you may be thinking, but rather process designers who were very busy taking a closer look at "to be" or future processes for eventual inclusion in Umoja.

As you may already know, …

Umoja, a continuous administrative reform initiative within the UN Secretariat, including Peacekeeping, has entered its Detailed Design Phase. UN offices in Geneva, Monrovia and New York are hosting expert staff members who are working with the Umoja team to design future business processes that will improve the way we work.

In the absence of an integrated solution for managing human, financial, and material resources, …