Project Support Associate (Finance & Admin)

UNOPS Operational Hub  (NPOH) provides technical, operational and administrative support to 5 countries in the South Asia region: Sri Lanka, Maldives, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh. UNOPS’ work in this region focuses on the construction and operation of high quality sustainable infrastructure and sustainable procurement, project management, timely provision of services, and the use of most relevant technologies. One of the main focuses on UNOPS work in Bangladesh is to reduce the vulnerability of population to unsafe infrastructure, maximise the impact of public investments in infrastructure, and improve the effectiveness and financial viability of the public services delivered out of key public infrastructures. Such projects provide social and economic benefits to vulnerable populations across the region, and contribute to poverty eradication. Projects target a range of sectors such as education, health, urban development, environmental services, climate change mitigation, as well as a range of “soft” support in Capacity Building, operations and maintenance of public assets, local governance, etc.

Recently, the UNOPS, UN Development Programme (UNDP) and UN Women developed the joint programme in Bangladesh which aims to sustain the resilience of human and economic development in Bangladesh through inclusive, gender responsive resilience building.  The joint programme focuses on developing national capacities in the areas of: risk-informed and render-responsive development planning, capacities to address sustainability and resilience in a gender responsive manner, improved capacities of selected public institutions to achieve resilient institutions through risk-informed, gender-responsive infrastructure systems, enhance women’s leadership disaster response and management; and finally, to strengthen community-level preparedness, response and recovery capacities.

Under the Joint Programme, UNOPS is providing technical assistance to Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) and other public institutions to achieve resilient infrastructure outcomes through designing and constructing risk-informed, gender responsive infrastructure systems that lay the foundations for long-term socially inclusive infrastructure systems. In particular, UNOPS will contribute to the achievement of the over-all programme by:

• Strengthening LGED asset management system and decision making capacities for determining priorities associated with new development, maintenance and/or retrofitting of existing assets;
• Strengthening project evaluation criteria and capacities within LGED and other divisions, improve coordination and reduce duplication;
• Creating an applied understanding and capacity to introduce the concept of failure analysis to enhance build-back-better in reconstruction;
• Strengthening LGED professional capacities for Junior and mid-level engineers in the areas of design, construction and management/maintenance of resilient infrastructures;

UNOPS is establishing a project team that will ensure the timely and effective implementation of the planned activities in accordance with the detailed workplans. In this regard, UNOPS is seeking the services of a Project Support Associate who will be providing operational support on the finance and administration to the project implementation throughout the course of the project.

Purpose and Scope of Assignment

The Project Support Associate for finance and administration will work under the supervision of the Project Support Officer, with the guidance of the UNOPS Project Manager/Team Leader NRP Project. He/she will on a day-to-day basis  will be under the guidance of the UNOPS Bangladesh Project Support Officer. He/she shall provide support to the delivery of projects budgets in the areas of finance, procurement and HR.  This is an support level position within UNOPS Bangladesh Country Office and the NRP Project .

Project Support

Provide support to the NRP Project/ UNOPS  Country Support or PM:

• Support in the implementation of activities in accordance with UNOPS rules, regulations, policies and strategies;
• Preparation and maintenance of project files, including internal and external project reports.
• Assist the management of information flows of the NRP project and support the change controls, risk registers and issue register
• Assist to implement  the  document control procedures
• Provide support to the PSO in the management of delivery of work packages
• Support the coordination and liaison work of the Project Manager and support staff on the implementation progress.
• Provide information to the Project Manager and the UNOPS Country PSO of any deviations from the plan and update plans.
• Support Project manager to identify and manage risks.
• Maintain all supporting project documentation (HR, finance and procurement) for audit and review processes.
• Ensure accurate data entry into OneUNOPS ERP
• Monitor project budget, expenditure and other processes in line with the work-plan and standard  formats for UN joint programmes
• Prepare draft budget revisions and projections as necessary and maybe requested by PM and the PSO
• Support the UNOPS Country PSO or the Hub Head of Support Services (HOSS) in the monitoring of budgets and cash flows for the project utilising standard UNOPS and Joint Programme formats and routines.
• Alert on any financial shortfalls and over-expenditures
• Coordinate (for NRP Project only) with vendor communications, meetings and reports as necessary
• Provide substantive inputs to assist the PM/CM-PSO/HOSS in the preparation of project reports and documents
• Assist the PM in maintaining the Electronic Blue File (EBF) and other documentation in accordance with Organizational Directive (OD) 12.
• Assist the PM and the Country PSO in project completion and closure actions.

Assistance to Project Procurement in NRP

• Draft request for quotations and support in the finalization of the awards
• Assist in the coordination and liaison with the project suppliers/ vendors

Assistance in the internal Coordination and Liaison

• Assist proactively to coordinate and liaise with UNOPS Hub Support Units (Finance, Procurement, Human Resources) on administrative management issues (related to i.e. payments, purchase orders,  staff contracts) related to the  projects;
• Demonstrate high levels of initiative to assist in the implementation of NRP Project activities.
• Proactively coordinate and liaise with UNOPS Country Office in administrative management issues if any; 

General Duties

• Provide inputs and suggestions as appropriate to streamline workflows/business processes and document templates/formats;
• Assist other Admin/procurement and finance personnel in the country office, as maybe requested by PSO, PM or Country Manager

 Education

• Secondary education or a Bachelor’s degree with relevant work experience is required. A Master’s degree in the relevant field of studies may substitute for some or all of the required work experience.

Experience:

• A minimum of 6 years of work experience with secondary education is required. At least 2 years of relevant and progressive professional experience, specifically in supporting project implementation with focus on project finance, administration and/or procurement.
• Experience in development operating contexts, including operations management in the contexts of donors, security, and operations management, an asset.
• Experience and demonstrated knowledge of UN rules and procedures in Procurement, Finance, and administrative rules and regulations will be an advantage.

Languages

• Fluency in English is required;
• Fluency in the officially recognized native languages of  Bangladesh is required

• Computer literate (MS Excel and Word) and ability to operate existing Enterprise Resource Planning Systems (ATLAS or OneUNOPS) is preferred;
• Understanding of project framework and environment;
• Strong skills and experience in finance and/or administration or procurement systems;
• Knowledge of UN core values, rules and regulations an asset is an advantage;
• Very Good English skills, both verbally and in writing, local languages an advantage;
• Good communication skills and ability to work in a team to achieve organizational goals;
• Ability to plan and organize tasks effectively;
• Excellent coordination skills.

• Please note that the closing date is midnight Copenhagen time
• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.
• Only those candidates that are short-listed for interviews will be notified.
• Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post
• The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS. 
• This post is only open for candidates who are nationals of Bangladesh
   

It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential recruits/interns.
Recruitment/internship in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.

UNOPS supports the successful implementation of its partners’ peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world. Our mission is to serve people in need by expanding the ability of the United Nations, governments and other partners to manage projects, infrastructure and procurement in a sustainable and efficient manner.

Working in some of the world’s most challenging environments, our vision is to advance sustainable implementation practices, always satisfying or surpassing our partners’ expectations.

With over 7,000 personnel spread across 80 countries, UNOPS offers its partners the logistical, technical and management knowledge they need, wherever they need it.

A flexible structure and global reach means that we can quickly respond to our partners' needs, while offering the benefits of economies of scale.