Grant Management Office (Programme Management Specialist)

Job categories Finance, Programme Management

Vacancy code VA/2022/B5002/23991

Level ICS-10

Department/office GPO, GVA, Water, Environment & Climate (WEC)

Duty station Vienna, Austria

Contract type International ICA

Contract level IICA-2

Duration open-ended, subject to availability of funds and satisfactory performance

Application period 18-May-2022 to 14-Jun-2022

Applications to vacancies must be received before midnight Copenhagen time (CET) on the closing date of the announcement.

Please note that UNOPS will at no stage of the recruitment process request candidates to make payments of any kind.

This vacancy is closed.

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Background Information - Job-specific

WEC background:

UNOPS Water, Environment and Climate (WEC) supports the design and management of multi-stakeholder initiatives by providing services in financial and grant management, procurement, human resources, and project management. The cluster has supported projects in the areas of water resource management, climate change adaptation, mitigation and transparency, energy access and distribution and environmental conservation under the Paris Agreement. The WEC has also supported operations and financial management services, in Vienna, the rest of the ECR region and beyond. The main partners include UN agencies, bilateral agreements, the Green Climate Fund and several NGOs.

Green Climate Fund project:

The Green Climate Fund (GCF) has requested UNOPS to provide grant management services to support its Readiness and Preparatory Support Programme and Project Preparation Facility (GCF – RPSP/PPF), which aims to maximize the Fund’s effectiveness through empowering developing countries in the following activities:

Engaging across governments at various levels, and with civil society and private sector stakeholders
Developing strategic frameworks for engagement with the Fund
Support for accreditation and accreditation direct access entities
Formulation of national adaptation plans and/or other adaptation planning processes

GCF has selected UNOPS to provide grants management support on their behalf, to Delivery Partners globally that wish to obtain support from the RPSP/PPF programme. The Grant Management Services that UNOPS is providing are captured in the first Project Agreement, signed by GCF and UNOPS in 2018. A new Project Agreement was signed in December 2021.

The Project Agreement outlines a clear division of responsibilities between the GCF and UNOPS concerning the management of Grant Management Services for the RPSP/PPF projects. Whereas GCF defines and approves the scope of each grant including the budget, assesses the Delivery Partners’ substantive and financial management capacity, UNOPS is responsible for providing Grant Management Services to the Delivery Partners throughout the implementation of the projects. In addition, UNOPS is responsible for ensuring that the Project Agreement and the individual projects are implemented in full compliance with agreed GCF and UNOPS rules and regulations. Finally, UNOPS has a financial and programmatic reporting responsibility defined in the Project Agreement as well as reporting to the GCF-UNOPS Project Board.

As of April 2022, UNOPS is providing Grant Management Services to approximately 180 Readiness and PPF projects globally.

Background information – Job-specific

To provide the Grant Management Services, UNOPS has established a dedicated project team (GCF Project Team) within WEC. With the signing of the new Project Agreement with GCF, the scope of the project has expanded significantly and the financial volume and number of projects UNOPS will be managing on behalf of GCF has also significantly increased. Therefore, additional support in the form of a Grant Management Officer (GMO) is needed.

Under the overall guidance of the Project Manager and in close coordination with the Project Grants Associates and other team members, the incumbent is responsible for performing a variety of interrelated activities, with focus on high quality and accuracy of work. The GMO will also be engaging with other project partners and stakeholders in all aspects relating to grant management services and general financial management. This includes relevant technical counterparts at GCF, Grant Delivery Partners at country level and internally with UNOPS Legal and financial units.

A key responsibility of the incumbent will be to support the Project Manager in developing a comprehensive monitoring & evaluation system through which project related data and results can be compiled and assessed. The M&E system will also assist UNOPS and GCF in identifying where key implementation challenges for Delivery Partners may exist and type of capacity building and training can be designed to most adequately address these challenges.

The GCF Project is considered a flagship project in Grant Management within UNOPS. The GMO will be responsible for the internal knowledge management and communication of results, lessons learnt and best practices for the benefit of other UNOPS projects in the area of Grant Management Support.

Functional Responsibilities

1. Monitoring and Evaluation The GMO will support the Project Manage...

1. Monitoring and Evaluation

The GMO will support the Project Manager in the monitoring of the overall project engagement between GCF and UNOPS as well as of the implementation performance of Delivery Partners at country level. For this, the GMO will need to interact frequently with the Project Grants Associates and staff from different work streams.

More specifically, the GMS will be tasked with:

together with the Division of Portfolio Management at GCF, develop and maintain a new Performance Assessment Tool (PAT) to facilitate efficient evaluation of grantees based on submitted grant progress and financial reports.
strategically collect and analyse data and insights derived from grant progress and financial audit reports
identify key implementation challenges for Delivery Partners at country level and design adequate capacity building opportunities including Project Management training, tailor made of implementation of GCF grants
work with the designated Grant Associate to design new process initiatives aiming at better data visualization of the project portfolio, efficient grant monitoring and task coordination within the project team.
work with the designated Grant Associate to develop online Dashboards using corporate tools such as Google Data Studio to provide Grant Portfolio Oversight and allow for easy access to live data and enhanced transparency among UNOPS management and the Donor
provide inputs to Quarterly Progress Reporting to GCF, internal Quarterly Assurance meetings and biannual Project Board Meetings
monitor implementation of GCF-UNOPS Project Results Framework and make recommendations to ensure full implementation in accordance with project timeframe
be the focal point for the Project Mid Term Evaluation after year 5 of implementation

2. Knowledge Management

Due to the large volume of grants and the global outreach of the GCF Readiness Programme, the project is considered to be a Grant Management flagship project for UNOPS. The GMO will be responsible for the knowledge management of the project and will be the primary point of contact for relevant queries and extract and analyze information accordingly. The GMO will also be responsible for ensuring that information flowing from exchanges between the Project Manager to GCF and country stakeholders and/or Delivery Partners is adequately captured in the Information Management System.

Under the direction of the Project Manager, the incumbent will be tasked with:

Develop and maintain a Project Knowledge Management system for internal and external use in the areas of portfolio and grants management from both a substantive and financial perspective
Support the Project Manager in the response to relevant queries; extract and analyze information accordingly
Draft inputs such as talking points, slide decks, blog entries and other type of informational/operational demands in coordination with other team members
Maintain a record of all formal communication between the Project Team and GCF and Delivery Partners in an appropriate classification under SharePoint
Support development and upkeep of records, logs, reports and other documents, as required by the GCF and ensure that all relevant project documents and administrative files are maintained as per corporate requirements.
Assist in the active assessment of portfolio performance with a view to assure quality assurance, support the quarterly quality assurance process.
Lead on the dissemination and sharing of best practices and lessons learned for planning and knowledge building, including preparation of presentations and demonstration of applied project specific tools, e.g. Assessments Tools
Provide feedback, ideas, and internal knowledge about processes and best practices and utilize productively.

3. Financial Management

Maintaining complete and up-to-date financial management, in full accordance with UNOPS results and regulations is critical for ensuring that Grant Management Services are provided in a timely and professional manner in line with expectations of the GCF. In this context, the GMO will be responsible for:

In collaboration with the Project Manager, maintain fiduciary standards, oversight, and compliance with the internal control standards.
Upon request from Grants Associates, provide guidance on budget reallocation requests from Delivery Partners or analysis of financial reports
Take a strategic approach in planning, budgeting, implementing and monitoring of the portfolio, tracking the use of financial resources in accordance with UNOPS financial rules and regulations.
Monitoring of cash flows to ensure liquidity in accordance with progress of work by pre-clearing cash replenishment requests submitted by the designated Grant Associate and managing the replenishment of the financial buffer as required.
Financial monitoring of the Project, identification of operational and financial problems, and development of solutions.
Oversee management of Financial Management Capacity Assessments (FMCA) done by UNOPS as and when requested by GCF
Use results from FMCAs in assessment of implementation challenges of Delivery Partners and potentially as part of tailor made training packages

4. General Support

Any other responsibility as deemed appropriate by the Project Manager. Approximately 30% of the time will be allocated for ad-hoc support. This includes, but is not limited to:

Provide support to the supervisor, ensuring that relevant project support functions requiring programme and operational support are provided in a professional and timely manner.
Contribute to identifying Risk, Lessons Learned and Issues and enter information in the corporate platform for Project Management following Project Manager Approval.
Assist the Project Manager in preparation of all relevant products as per the Project Management Manual including stakeholder mapping and Standard Operating Procedures.
Support the Project Manager in the organization and management of periodic Project Board Meetings, including preparing presentations, sharing of documents and minute taking.
Attend the weekly Project Team meetings and the biweekly coordination meetings with GCF

Competencies

Develops and implements sustainable business strategies, thinks long term and ex...

Develops and implements sustainable business strategies, thinks long term and externally in order to positively shape the organization. Anticipates and perceives the impact and implications of future decisions and activities on other parts of the organization.

Treats all individuals with respect; responds sensitively to differences and encourages others to do the same. Upholds organizational and ethical norms. Maintains high standards of trustworthiness. Role model for diversity and inclusion.

Acts as a positive role model contributing to the team spirit. Collaborates and supports the development of others. For people managers only: Acts as positive leadership role model, motivates, directs and inspires others to succeed, utilizing appropriate leadership styles.

Demonstrates understanding of the impact of own role on all partners and always puts the end beneficiary first. Builds and maintains strong external relationships and is a competent partner for others (if relevant to the role).

Efficiently establishes an appropriate course of action for self and/or others to accomplish a goal. Actions lead to total task accomplishment through concern for quality in all areas. Sees opportunities and takes the initiative to act on them. Understands that responsible use of resources maximizes our impact on our beneficiaries.

Open to change and flexible in a fast paced environment. Effectively adapts own approach to suit changing circumstances or requirements. Reflects on experiences and modifies own behavior. Performance is consistent, even under pressure. Always pursues continuous improvements.

Evaluates data and courses of action to reach logical, pragmatic decisions. Takes an unbiased, rational approach with calculated risks. Applies innovation and creativity to problem-solving.

Expresses ideas or facts in a clear, concise and open manner. Communication indicates a consideration for the feelings and needs of others. Actively listens and proactively shares knowledge. Handles conflict effectively, by overcoming differences of opinion and finding common ground.

Education/Experience/Language requirements

a. Education Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equ...

Contract type, level and duration

Contract type: Individual Contractor Agreement Contract level: I-ICA2 - ICS10 ...

Additional Considerations

Please note that the closing date is midnight Copenhagen time Applications ...

Background Information - UNOPS

UNOPS is an operational arm of the United Nations, supporting the successful imp...

This vacancy is closed.

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APPLICATION TIPS

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UNOPS – an operational arm of the United Nations – supports the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by successfully implementing its partners’ peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world.

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