Grants and Contracts Management Associate

Peace and Security Centre

The UNOPS Peace and Security Centre (PSC) is a principal service provider in the field of mine action with the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS), UNDP, UNICEF, Governments of mine-affected countries and other mine action partners. The Centre is responsible to administer, provide support and oversight of the day-to-day management of the Project Field offices, both according to the client requirements and in line with UNOPS rules and regulations.
It is headed by the Centre Director who has the overall authority and accountability for the performance of the Peace and Security Centre on behalf of its clients.

Background – UNMAS

Background – UNMAS Iraq

The UNMAS Iraq programme was formally established in June 2015, at the request of the UN Under-Secretary General for Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) and the Special Representative of the Secretary General for Iraq, to lead the UN efforts to mitigate explosive threats in the country, as well as to support the enhancement of national and regional mine action capacities. UNMAS is supporting multiple layers of operations under the UNMAS Iraq Strategic Plan which focuses on three main components: 

1. Explosive Hazard Management
2. Capacity Enhancement
3. Risk Education.

The Grants and Contracts Management Associate, under the direct supervision of the Grants and Contracts Manager, and in close cooperation with the UNMAS Iraq Head of Support Services and EHM, RE and CE Project Managers and the Support Services team, will be responsible for the following:

Monitoring Compliance of Third Party Agreements

• Monitor the progression of the implementation of agreements, including tracking of non- compliance to agreement terms and the negotiations of amendment processes;
• Assist in development of a management plan for the programmes’ contracts and grants, including but not limited to monitoring delivery of terms, certification of reports and payments;
• Assist in development and implementation of systems for internal controls to ensure compliance with agreements’ terms, conditions and monitoring tools;
• Monitor contract performance against agreed benchmarks and through agreed reporting mechanism;
• Advise Grants and Contracts Manager and Project Management on any potential issues and recommend remedial actions or solutions.

Advise on Planning and Project Operations

• Input to communication between the programme, -projects and support teams within the UNMAS Iraq programme in order to develop realistic and effective operational plans for delivery of project activities carried out by contractors and grantees;
• Advise in the planning of project proposals, inputting to statement of requirements, including having the ability to advise on budget creation as relates to contracts and grants management;
• As a part of the Grants and Contract management team, draft recommendations on the development of operational planning tools as relates to the implementation of third party agreements.

Providing Guidance on Granting and Contracting Processes

• As a part of the Grants and Contracts management team; advice on the implementation of third party agreements (solicitation, evaluation processes, monitoring and best practices);
• Assist in solicitation processes and advise project team on best practices in development of solicitation documents, evaluation, submission to HQCPC/LCPC (Central Review Bodies), negotiations, awards, agreement finalization;
• Participate in provision of advice to the support team and procurement offcers in contracting processes; advise and support the programme team in the grant award process;
• Compile lessons identified and input to learnt and best practices.

Coordinating and Liaising with Implementing Partners

• Participate in meetings with contractors and grantees to allow ample opportunity for the identification and early resolution of potential disputes as well to improve collaboration and coordination between various project activities for effective programme delivery;
• Engage in negotiations with contractors or grantees, alongside the Portfolio Management team in New York, operations and support teams in the field locations;
• Engage and involve government counterparts as appropriate, to facilitate contract management as well as to contribute to the capacity building plan;
• Hold training sessions and contribute to capacity building of national grantee counterparts and national actors.

• First level university degree (Bachelor or equivalent) in Finance, Business Administration, Project Management, Social Sciences or any other related field with 2 years relevant experience;
• Secondary school (High School or equivalent) with a minimum of six (6) years of relevant experience is required
• Master degree is desired.

• Relevant experience is defined as experience in supporting programme or project management 
• Experience working on procurement of large-value contract services and contract management is desired
• Experience in project planning and budgeting is desired
• Experience in capacity building and training of national stakeholders is desired;
• Experience working in field programmes is desired;

• Fluency in English (speaking, reading, writing) is required
• Fluency in Arabic (speaking, reading and writing) is required
• Fluency in Kurdish (speaking, reading and writing) is desired
• Knowledge of another UN official language is desired.

• Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
• This is a local position, therefore only nationals of duty station (Iraq) or applicants with a valid residence permit will be considered.
• Erbil is a Non-family duty station.
• 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.
• 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.  

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.