Background

UNCDF is the UN’s capital investment agency for the world’s least developed countries. It creates new opportunities for poor people and their communities by increasing access to microfinance and investment capital.  UNCDF focuses on Africa and the poorest countries of Asia and the Pacific, with a special commitment to countries emerging from conflict or crisis.  It provides seed capital – grants and loans – and technical support to help microfinance institutions reach more poor households and small businesses, and local governments finance the capital investments – water systems, feeder roads, schools, irrigation schemes – that will improve poor peoples’ lives.

UNCDF works to enlarge peoples’ choices: it believes that poor people and communities should take decisions about their own development.  Its programmes help to empower women – over 50% of the clients of UNCDF-supported microfinance institutions are women – and its expertise in microfinance and local development is shaping new responses to food insecurity, climate change and other challenges.  UNCDF works in challenging environments – remote rural areas, countries emerging from conflict – and paves the way for others to follow. Its programmes are designed to catalyze larger investment flows from the private sector, development partners and national governments, for significant impact on the Millennium Development Goals, especially Goal 1: Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger, Goal 3: Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women, and Goal 7: Ensure Environmental Sustainability.

Established by the General Assembly in 1966 and with headquarters in New York, UNCDF is an autonomous UN organization affiliated with UNDP. UNCDF launched Mobile Money for the Poor (MM4P) in 2012 with support from the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida) and the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) to promote branchless and mobile financial services in several focus countries in Africa and Asia.

In early 2014, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation added its support to expand MM4P’s activities into Uganda.  It is also working with new funds received by UNCDF for Nepal.   MM4P is negotiating a partnership with another funding partner to roll out MM4P activities in three additional countries in sub-Saharan Africa for a period of five years, including Francophone and Anglophone Africa. MM4P requires an Operations Assistant to establish and consolidate its presence in Uganda and support MM4P activities in Malawi and Zambia.

Under the supervision of UNCDF´s Inclusive Finance Specialist the Operations Assistant will provide effective administrative, office management and logistical support, focusing on achievement of the following results:

Duties and Responsibilities

Provide operational support to the MM4P project office in Uganda:

  • Procuring office premises and maintenance services for MM4P Uganda programme;
  • Procuring office equipment (including all IT, communications, stationary, furniture and any other supplies required for the MM4P Uganda programme;
  • Providing administrative support to MM4P Uganda team;
  • Assist in the logistic details for the hire of the Technical Specialist for Inclusive Finance, Uganda, when recruited (relocation, common queries, etc.);
  • Assist in the logistic details for the hire of the Knowledge and Communications Associate for Uganda;
  • Support to organization of common services with UNDP Uganda country office;
  • Day to day liaison with MM4P Brussels and UNCDF Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office.

Provide operational support to the implementation of the MM4P´s “ecosystem support strategy” in Uganda, Malawi and Zambia:

  • Conducting procurement processes as needed (short term consultants);
  • Tracking payments due under contracts and grants, requesting certificates of payment from consultants and preparing payment requests;
  • Maintenance of records on assets management, preparation of reports;
  • Maintenance of files and records relevant to office maintenance;
  • Arrangements of travel and hotel reservations, preparation of travel authorizations, processing requests for visas, identity cards and other documents.

Provide operational support to other UNCDF Inclusive finance programmes (Youth Start, Micro Lead and Clean Start, and BTCA) upon request of the IFS:

  • Conducting procurement processes as needed (short term consultants);
  • Arrangements of travel and hotel reservations, preparation of travel authorizations, processing requests for visas, identity cards and other documents;
  • Organisation of visits to Uganda office.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

Demonstrating/safeguarding ethics and integrity:

  • Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment;
  • Self-development, initiative-taking;
  • Acting as a team player and facilitating team work;
  • Facilitating and encouraging open communication in the team, communicating effectively;
  • Creating synergies through self-control;
  • Managing conflict;
  • Learning and sharing knowledge and encourage the learning of others. Promoting learning and knowledge management/sharing is the responsibility of each staff member;
  • Informed and transparent decision making.

Functional Competencies:

Promoting Organizational Learning and Knowledge Sharing:

  • Researches best practices and poses new, more effective ways of doing things;
  • Documents innovative strategies and new approaches;
  • Job Knowledge/Technical Expertise;
  • Fundamental knowledge of processes, methods and procedures;
  • Understands the main processes and methods of work regarding to the position;
  • Possesses basic knowledge of organizational policies and procedures relating to the position and applies them consistently in work tasks;
  • Identifies new and better approaches to work processes and incorporates same in own work;
  • Strives to keep job knowledge up-to-date through self-directed study and other means of learning;
  • Demonstrates good knowledge of information technology and applies it in work assignments;
  • Promoting Organizational Change and Development.

Data gathering and implementation of management systems:

  • Uses information/databases/other management systems;
  • Provides inputs to the development of simple system components;
  • Makes recommendations related to work procedures and implementation of management systems;
  • Client Orientation.

Maintains effective client relationships:

  • Reports to internal and external clients in a timely and appropriate fashion;
  • Organizes and prioritizes work schedule to meet client needs and deadlines;
  • Establishes, builds and sustains effective relationships within the work unit and with internal and external clients;
  • Responds to client needs promptly.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

  • Secondary Education, preferably with specialized certification in Management, Accounting or Finance;
  • University Degree in Business or Public Administration, Economics, Political Sciences and Social Sciences would be desirable, but it is not a requirement.

Experience:

  • 6 years of progressively responsible administrative experience is required at the national or international level;
  • Specialized training in office management and administration is highly desirable;
  • Experience with a UN organization/agency is desirable;
  • Experience with ATLAS and UNDP Procurement Processes is desired, but not a requirement;
  • Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc) and advance knowledge of spreadsheet and database packages, experience in handling of web based management systems.

Language:

  • Fluency in English;
  • Proficiency in French preferred, but not mandatory.

Note

UNDP is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Qualified women are encouraged to apply. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.