Intern - Grants Support

UNOPS Water and Energy Cluster (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 (with the Nordics, Germany, and Italy), the Green Climate Fund and several NGOs (such as CIFF and CWF).

Background on Green Climate Fund (GCF) 

The Green Climate Fund (GCF) has established a funding programme, the Readiness and Preparatory Support Programme and Project Preparation Facility (RPSP/PPF), to assist developing countries in accessing funding from the GCF for their climate resilient and low emission transformation, and to enhance ownership of the countries’ envisaged low carbon trajectory. To meet this objective, the RPSP/PPF project aims to maximize the GCF’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 will be providing is captured in the Project Agreement, signed by GCF and UNOPS on 28 February 2018.

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. GCF defines and approves the scope of each grant, including the budget and assesses the Delivery Partners’ substantive and financial management capacity. UNOPS issues the grant agreement, sets up the monitoring plan against agreed deliverables and effects payments. As of November 2020, UNOPS is providing Grant Management Services to approximately 100 Readiness and PPF projects globally. 

As a separate work stream, UNOPS is also providing advisory services for Financial Management Capacity Assessments (FMCA) of grant recipients to the GCF. These services will be provided through a separate UNOPS Team.

To provide the Grant Management Services, UNOPS has established a dedicated project team (GCF Project Team) within WEC, based in Copenhagen. A Project Manager, a Grant Associate and a Senior Grants Assistant have been recruited to manage the strategic and day-to-day work of the GCF Project Team, working independently to ensure that the project with GCF is implemented within the agreed scope, timelines and budget, and in line with the UNOPS mandate, mission and vision. Considering the expected increase of workload that the GCF Project Team will be facing in the near future due to the COVID-19 impact additional capacity in the form of an Intern is required.

Under the overall guidance and supervision of the Project Manager and the supervision of the Grant Associate and the Senior Grants Assistant, the Intern will assist the GCF Grants management in the following activities:

I.   Grant Set Up

• Help in the collection of all documents relevant to the award of grants, including pre-selection letter of Delivery Partners from GCF approved project proposals, budget, etc. Review and verify the accuracy and completeness of documents with the support from the supervisors.

• Assist supervisors in preparing and seeking approval by the appropriate UNOPS Delegation of Authority (DOA) holder of Request for Awards for new projects submitted by GCF.

• Help in the coordination with the supervisors and relevant stakeholders in drafting Grant Support Agreements/Project Cooperation Agreements and ensure full compliance with UNOPS’ Grant Management Rules and Regulations and Project Management Manual.

• Assist in the set up supplier profiles for Delivery Partners in collaboration with the Shared Services Center.

II.   Grant Monitoring

• Work with the supervisors in monitoring implementation of grants by tracking timely start, progress, and completion of all activities and proactively highlighting for discussion and action the activities that are at risk of being delayed.

• Assist in monitoring performance of Delivery Partners, including the establishment of projects in the Performance Assessment Tool.

• Assist in preparation of Quarterly Progress Reports for GCF and UNOPS Project Board and reviewing audit reports.

III.   Grant closures

• Help in the verification that all obligations with regards to the grant are fulfilled by the Delivery Partner.

• Assist in the review of the final financial report submitted by the grantee and to initiate the grant closure process.

IV.  General

• Assist the provision of administrative, travel, procurement, HR and logistics support required for the project, with inputs from other WEC units, as relevant.

• Help ensure that all relevant project documents and administrative files are maintained as per corporate requirements.

• Help the Project Manager in the organization and management of periodic Project Board Meetings, including preparing presentations, sharing of documents and minute taking.

• Help drafting minutes for Project Manager approval.

V.  Knowledge management and innovation

• Assist to the dissemination and sharing of best practices and lessons learned for planning and knowledge building.

2. Training components and learning elements

The incumbent will have full access to GCF’s project files, in particular to files and products developed in the context of the implemented activities. 

The incumbent will have the opportunity to attend the biweekly coordination meetings with GCF - the world’s largest dedicated fund helping developing countries reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and enhance their ability to respond to climate change.

The incumbent will also have full access to UNOPS intranet, the Project ERP system and the Communities of Practice (COPs) in Project Management, Gender Mainstreaming, Innovation and Research, Sustainable Infrastructure, etc.   

3. Participation in missions or training courses

The incumbent will have access to the UNOPS Learning Zone and apply for training in Programme Management, Gender Mainstreaming, Coaching, and mandatory training as per UNOPS policy. Competency Based Interviews among others.

1. Academic qualifications 

The applicant should have completed a Bachelor degree, or be enrolled in a postgraduate program or have graduated from such studies within three (3) years prior to the start date of the intern assignment.

Area of study should preferably relate to business administration, political science, public administration, law, procurement, finance, or related areas.

2. Language Skills

Proven fluency of English – oral and written is required.

Any other UN language would be an asset.

3. Computer Literacy

Proficiency in Microsoft Office/Google Suite is essential.

4. Internship-related experiences

Applicants are not required to have professional work experience but experience working or volunteering in a multicultural working environment and/or in any of the following areas is desirable:

• Climate change

• Monitoring and evaluation

• Humanitarian or Development work

• Partnerships

5. Additional requirements

• Strong analytical skills and an eye for detail

• Ability to maintain regular update of activities and achievements 

• The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS. 

• Responsible for arranging their own travel and securing any necessary visas.

• Should provide confirmation that they are fit specifically for the duty station conditions, as certified by a medical practitioner. Interns are responsible for receiving clearance from a medical doctor.