Umoja, the project tasked with transforming the way the UN manages financial, human and material resources in a single system, welcomed a new project director last week.

Ernesto Baca, previously the Chief Information Officer and Director of the Information and Technology Management Services Division at the World Food Programme (WFP), will serve as interim Director for six months. …

Ian Divers, OIC, and other members of the Umoja team travelled to Geneva last week for two days of discussion on its deployment strategy with the Directors of Administration of the three Offices Away from Headquarters. Also participating were representatives from ECE and ESCWA (on behalf of the Regional Commissions) and ITC, OCHA, OHCHR, UNCCD, UNCTAD, UNEP, UNFCC, UNISDIR, and UN-HABITAT. …

Recently Umoja hosted colleagues from DFS to consult and collaborate on the strategy for deployment. Over two days on 19-20 January, Ian Divers, Umoja OIC, and his team led intensive discussions in New York with senior representatives from MONUSCO, UNAMID, the Global Service Centre at Brindisi and the Regional Support Centre at Entebbe, as well as OUSG/DFS and the IPSAS Team (the International Public Sector Accounting Standards initiative). …

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. …