Programme Management Office - Senior Officer

UNOPS team in Thailand supports, develops and oversees the UNOPS portfolio of projects in Southeast Asia and the Pacific.

Located in Bangkok, the team supports UN agencies, international non-governmental organizations, and governments throughout the region. We provide a range of services, including human resources (HR), financial management, procurement and project implementation services.

UNOPS Thailand delivers large-scale and high volume transactional HR services on behalf of global partners.

To best serve partners needs, our team utilizes standardized and unified systems and processes to ensure the highest quality of services and cost-effectiveness for partners.

• Prepare grant awards requests, draft grant agreements and subsequent amendments, using the approved templates ensuring that all agreements and amendments are constructed and issued in line with UNOPS legal and financial rules and regulations;
• Review grant budgets submitted by implementing partners, verify their consistency with prevailing market rate; assist in discussion/negotiation of costs/fees as required; provide critical feedback to the implementing partners;
• Ensure that reporting requirements are adhered to and liaise closely on any delays or difficulties; Highlight risks and delays to the supervisor as appropriate;
• Review financial reports and inform the programme focal points or the supervisor on the findings;
• Work closely with the Finance Team on changes in the grants values, and update on payment schedules for cash flow planning;
• Review payment requests and ensure payments are processed based upon the grant agreement and agreed payment schedules;
• Communicate with and provide guidance/advice to implementing partners on grant-related and financial matters;
• Resolve routine operational and process issues related to grant management, and refer complex issues to the supervisor with recommendations for courses of action;
• Ensure operational and financial closure of grants in line with requirements;
• Contribute to the coordination and follow up on the audits of Implementing Partners;
• Improve efficiency and effectiveness of processes and procedures wherever possible, reducing burden on partners in line with localization principles;
• Work creatively to find solutions that are acceptable under the UNOPS procedures and well adapted to the reality of partners on the ground and principles of localisation

• Implement supportive and inclusive Due Diligence Assessments (DDA) on all new implementing partners, liaising with other UN Agencies wherever possible to reduce partner burden. Develop comprehensive assessment reports based on DDA.
• Work with implementing partners to develop improvement plans and support their implementation, including ensuring available financial resources. Ensure completion of any follow-up actions in assessment reports.
• Actively liaise with other grants teams to align to the extent possible IP capacity development efforts as well as streamlining and harmonizing of practices and tools within UNOPS.
• Contribute to the overall knowledge sharing and collaboration within UNOPS on grant management, due diligence assessment and improvement plans.

• Monitor information related to contractual arrangements – on audits, inventories, utilization and all such elements in the contracts and grants.
• Ensure that all records are collected and maintained, both hard copies and electronic copies for easy reference and retrieval.
• Other duties as may be assigned by the supervisor

• Support the collection and aggregation of project level MEAL results and other project data into programmatic frameworks.
• Participate in programmatic and partner meetings as needed.
• Support in scheduling travel, accommodation and other support as needed by the programme team.

• A Master's degree preferably in Business Administration, Public Administration, Economics, Project Management or related field is required.  
• A Bachelor´s degree in the above fields and two additional years of relevant experience, could be considered in lieu of a Master´s degree. 
• Completion of PRINCE 2 Foundation certificate is an advantage.

• Minimum of 2 years of experience in contracts/grant management and/or project administration and/or project support is required.
• knowledge and experience in contractual, accounting principles and modalities is required.
• Strong computer skills, including the use of Excel spreadsheets is necessary.
• Prior experience with UNOPS is an advantage, particularly in grant management.
• Prior experience in preparing and collaborating with in- and external auditors is an asset.
• Previous experience in the development and humanitarian sector/working with UN, Donors, or NGOs is an advantage.
• Experience with G-Suite is an asset.

• Fluency in English is required (written and spoken)

• Please note that UNOPS does not accept unsolicited resumes.

• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.

• Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process, which involves various assessments.

• UNOPS embraces diversity and is committed to equal employment opportunity. Our workforce consists of many diverse nationalities, cultures,  languages, races, gender identities, sexual orientations, and abilities. UNOPS seeks to sustain and strengthen this diversity to ensure equal opportunities as well as an inclusive working environment for its entire workforce. 

• Qualified women and candidates from groups which are underrepresented in the UNOPS workforce are encouraged to apply. These include in particular candidates from racialized and/or indigenous groups, members of minority gender identities and sexual orientations, and people with disabilities.

• We would like to ensure all candidates perform at their best during the assessment process.  If you are shortlisted and require additional assistance to complete any assessment, including reasonable accommodation, please inform our human resources team when you receive an invitation.

• Bangkok, Thailand is a family duty station.

Terms and Conditions 

• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post. 

• For retainer contracts, you must complete a few mandatory courses ( they take around 4 hours to complete)  in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS. Refreshers or new mandatory courses may be required during your contract. Please note that you will not receive any compensation for taking courses and refreshers. For more information on a retainer contract here.

• All UNOPS personnel are responsible for performing their duties in accordance with the UN Charter and UNOPS Policies and Instructions, as well as other relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, all personnel must demonstrate an understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a manner consistent with UN core values and the UN Common Agenda.

• It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential personnel. Recruitment in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.