Cash Transfer Specialist/Deputy Project Manager

The incumbent will be responsible for providing overall technical and programmatic support for the planning, implementation, management, and monitoring of cash activities and will be assisting the Project Manager in the day to day running and operations of all field locations. S/he is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS.

• Planning, implementation, management and monitoring of all cash activities
• Project Implementation
• Project monitoring and reporting
• Stakeholder management, coordination and liaison
• Knowledge management and innovation
• Lead the transition and recruitment process of ICs
• Stakeholder management
• Representation to external actors as needed

Cash programming activities.

• Keep up to date with all other cash and voucher based programmes and services being delivered in South Sudan by Governmental agencies, other development and humanitarian players, and commercial enterprises and use this information to help select and design optimal solutions for SSSNP cash based interventions.
• Overall day to day oversight and management of all cash transfers planned under SSSNP including facilitating implementation and monitoring of cash based activities at National/Sate/County level.
• Liaise closely with other UNOPS departments at the Country office (CO) level who have direct responsibilities for elements of the operational management of cash delivery to beneficiary level e.g. logistics, Finance, Procurement, MIS and IT. Advise supervisor of any bottlenecks that may impede the timely delivery of cash transfers to beneficiaries.
• Facilitate and support communication and discussions, and ensure an adequate level of coordination, between relevant UNOPS Country Office units, and cash transfer service provider, who may be contractually engaged for the management and delivery of cash transfers to beneficiaries and review any contractual arrangements made.
• Liaise closely with relevant government authorities, UN agencies and NGOs engaged in cash based activities, keeping them fully informed of the status of UNOPS activities in this regard. Participate in national level dialogue with donors and other stakeholders on cash and vouchers and safety net programmes in general.
• Engage with the Bank of South Sudan for the prevailing exchange rate on a monthly basis.
• Periodically review the appropriateness for cash based responses in accordance with the current project. Choices of transfer modality for any intervention, need to be fully justified on the basis of overall cost-effectiveness.
• Draw up plans for timely delivery of cash transfers in coordination with government, NGO and UN partners, donors, and commercially contracted companies, and monitor their implementation.
• Closely coordinate with SSSNP’s M&E officer to ensure that relevant output and outcome indicators for cash based interventions are systematically being collected and analyzed in a manner that will help the project determine efficiency and effectiveness of cash delivery as well as the appropriateness of the transfer modality choice. Undertake visits to view project sites and meet beneficiaries in order to ensure that progress is made in the achievement of project objectives; M and E activities will include market assessments and monitoring, cash service provider assessments, organizational capacity assessments, distribution monitoring and PDMs.
• Advise the project on risk management for cash based activities implementation.
• Ensure, in coordination with other operational UNOPS departments, adherence of Government, NGO, and commercial partners to all operational and reporting obligations as stipulated in any Letters of Agreement or contracts and that reports required for UNOPS are accurate and provided as scheduled.
• Prepare periodic and ad hoc reports on SSSNP’s cash based activities including proposals for operational improvements and potential scope for SSSNP cash activities and reconciliations.
• Ensure compliance with UNOPS’s policies and procedures for cash based programming.
• Supervise other project staff involved in the planning and management of cash transfers and provide training and technical guidance in their work.
• Develop necessary cash training manuals, SOPs and tools in liaison with the cash working group.
• Perform other related duties as required.

Additional Project Management activities

• Maintain thorough knowledge of the project, as well as an understanding of how that impacts the other stakeholders.
• Monitor, coordinate, and communicate strategic objectives of the project to World Bank.
• Facilitate communications between UN and World Bank for project related issues.
• Work with project field staff members to develop a greater understanding of the project and any issues that arise.
• Develop and foster relationships between UN and World Bank, stakeholders, and other entities.
• Provide substantive inputs to assist the Project Manager in the preparation of project reports and documents.
• Assist the Project Manager in the preparation of project completion reports and ensure compliance with contractual obligations.
• Support the coordination and management of communications.
• Liaise and build relationships between UNOPS and World Bank for the purposes of facilitating activities and improving the quality and relevance of information analysis.
• Participate in meetings with UN agencies, NGO’s and other Stakeholders as required.

• Masters degree or advanced degree in Economics or Agriculture or International Affairs or Business Administration or Social Sciences or Development Studies or relevant field is required.
• Bachelor degree in Economics or Agriculture or International Affairs or Business Administration or Social Sciences or Development Studies or relevant field with additional 2 years relevant experience may be accepted in lieu of the Masters degree.

• A minimum of 5 years experience in public sector management and/or development projects and/or emergency assistance is required. 
• Experience of national, bilateral or multilateral food assistance programmes, including experience with cash transfers and other social safety net programmes is an advantage.
  
• Experience with Government, UN agencies, and NGOs is an asset.
• Experience in designing and/or implementing cash-based humanitarian assistance programmes is an asset.
• Skills in Project Management is required.

• Fluency in written and oral English is essential.

Contract type: International Individual Contractor
Contract level: I-ICA 2
Contract duration:‘Open-ended, subject to organizational requirements, availability of funds and satisfactory performance.’

‘Nationals and Residents of South Sudan are encouraged to apply for this position, if the selected candidate is a national of the country s/he will be offered the position at the Local equivalent’.

• 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.
• Work life harmonization - UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands. We have a progressive policy on work-life harmonization and offer several flexible working options. This policy applies to UNOPS personnel on all contract types
• The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS.  

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 is an operational arm of the United Nations, supporting the successful implementation of its partners’ peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world. Our mission is to help people build better lives and countries achieve sustainable development.

UNOPS areas of expertise cover infrastructure, procurement, project management, financial management and human resources.

Working with us

UNOPS offers short- and long-term work opportunities in diverse and challenging environments across the globe. We are looking for creative, results-focused professionals with skills in a range of disciplines.

Diversity

With over 4,000 UNOPS personnel and approximately 7,000 personnel recruited on behalf of UNOPS partners spread across 80 countries, our workforce represents a wide range of nationalities and cultures. We promote a balanced, diverse workforce — a strength that helps us better understand and address our partners’ needs, and continually strive to improve our gender balance through initiatives and policies that encourage recruitment of qualified female candidates.

Work life harmonization

UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands.