UNDP Jobs - 53102- Regional Operations Support Consultant for Global

Regional Operations Support Consultant for Global Environment Facility (GEF)

Location :

Home-based with possible missions

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

29-Jan-15 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

Estimated February 5, 2015 – July 31, 2015

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

Approximately 100 working days

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

The UNDP-GEF Regional Coordination Unit (RCU) is based in the Bureau for Policy and Programme Support (BPPS) and is responsible for providing leadership, technical support and implementation oversight to the delivery of GEF Trust Funds. The Unit is organized into a number of substantive technical teams with staff located in both HQs and UNDP's Regional Service Centers in Addis Ababa, Istanbul, Panama, and Bangkok, and with a decentralized structure in terms of financial, operational, and budget managements with authority delegated to respective managers located in HQ or in the region.

Under the overall supervision of the UNDP-GEF (Global Environment Fund) Regional Technical Advisors (RTAs) and direct coordination and guidance of the corresponding Regional Team Leader (RTL) in Istanbul Regional Hub, the GEF Regional Operations Support Consultant will work in close collaboration with the operations, programme and projects’ staff in the RBEC and RBAS regions as required for resolving complex operational related issues and exchange of information, promoting a client-focused, quality and results-oriented approach within UNDP rules and regulations.

The position demands the ability to meet deadlines and maintain high-quality output while working under pressure, as well as, practical experience with Atlas and an understanding of the UNDP travel processes.

Location:

Home-based with travel for missions not exceeding 15 days.

Duties and Responsibilities

The consultant will work under the supervision of the UNDP-GEF Management and Programme Support Analyst (MPSA) and carry out the following activities:

Provides administrative support to the RCU focusing on achievement of the following results:

Maintenance of the internal expenditures control system which ensures that Purchase Orders and vouchers processed are matched and completed; transactions are correctly recorded and posted in Atlas;
Maintain and advise staff in the correct use of budget chart-fields, monitor chart-fields;
Conduct periodic review of financial exception/errors and liaise closely with MPSA and Travel Assistant to resolve issues and take appropriate corrective action;
Provides quality control and corrective/anticipatory feedback regarding RCU budget, contributing to quality and accuracy;
Provide advice on the budgeting and spending associated with RCU budget.

Deliverable

Conduct monthly review of financial exception/errors and prepare analysis of the errors for Travel Assistant to resolve issues and take appropriate corrective action.

Support on procurement, special events and workshops focusing on achievement of the following results:

Assist in identification and sourcing of workshop venues and ancillary services;
Support to organization of meetings and workshops;
Negotiation with service providers and procurement of services (catering, rental of premises, conference facilities) in line with UNDP rules and regulation and in collaboration with MSU as needed;
Clearance of documentation submitted for approval by the UNDP Country Offices or Regional Offices related to: flight ticket purchases, Purchase Orders/payment approvals, and F10s (reimbursement form) claims for the participants of workshops;
Provide advice and orientation to the Country Office workshop focal points with regard to travel related expenses/procedures
Keeps track record (simple/excel form) of the payments processed for the event;
Keeps track record of travel schedules and flight information for all participants to support the Hotel-Airport transfers organized for workshops (simple/excel form);
Preparation of routine correspondence as needed;
Preparation of support materials – logistic notes, info notes, badges and folders for workshops and conferences as required.

Deliverable

Identification and sourcing of workshop venues;
Track record (simple/excel form) of the payments processed for the event keeping;
Preparation of support materials – logistic notes, info notes, badges and folders for workshops and conferences.

Support the travel management processes for GEF RCU and its projects focusing on achievement of the following results:

Provision of information to the staff of the Energy and Environment Practice on travel including travel route and ensure the selected arrangements are undertaken in time;
Support to processing travel authorization in line with travel entitlements for staff, consultants, UN and visitors, ensuring that the travel arrangement follow the UN rules of most direct route and most competitive prices;
Support to processing requests for visas for all UN travellers;
Preparation of Travel requests, checklists, travel tracking sheet and Expense reports (outside of ATLAS);
Preparation of routine correspondence, faxes, memoranda and reports;
Extracting, inputting, copying and filing data from various sources;
Maintenance of files.

Deliverable

Preparation of monthly travel expenses reports;
Conduct monthly review of Travel tracking sheet.

Information on Working Arrangements

Irrespective of his/her location, the consultant will be expected to be available during the regular business hours of the ECIS-based UNDP-GEF team;
The Consultant will be given access to relevant information necessary for execution of the tasks under this assignment;
A monthly progress report will be required to be shared with the Supervisor, on the Status of the Portfolio;
Due to the demand-driven nature of a number of activities, and the different peak-periods during the 6 months linked to the different Programming Cycles, monthly deliverables will be reassessed and agreed upon with the Supervisor on an ongoing basis;
The Consultant will be responsible for providing her/his own working station (i.e. laptop, internet, phone, scanner/printer, etc.) and must have access to a reliable internet connection;
Payments will be made once a month upon satisfactory submission and acceptance by the supervisor of the monthly progress report against deliverables and detailed time sheet and certification of payment form providing details of time spent on respective deliverables and their timely execution.

Travel

International travel, not exceeding 15 days, may be required subject to discussion with and clearance by supervisor. The purpose of missions will include: Detailed administrative and financial support to country office teams and national stakeholder in order to advance project inception and early implementation and/or participation in inception meetings;
Any necessary missions must be approved in advance and in writing by the supervisor;
The Advance and Basic Security in the Field II courses must be successfully completed prior to commencement of travel;
The incumbent is responsible for ensuring that s/he has the necessary vaccinations/inoculations when travelling to certain countries, as designated by the UN Medical Director;
The incumbent is responsible for obtaining any visas needed in connection with travel with the necessary support from UNDP;
Consultants are required to comply with the UN security directives;
The incumbent will be responsible for making his/her own mission travel arrangements in line with UNDP travel policies;
All related travel expenses will be supported by the project travel fund and will be reimbursed as per UNDP rules and regulations upon submission of an F-10 claim form and supporting documents.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
Treats all people fairly without favouritism.

Functional Competencies:

Good knowledge of Atlas and UNDP Finance and Accounting structure;
IT knowledge, specifically of MS Office applications such as Excel and Access;
Familiarity with web based data management system, specifically, knowledge of Atlas;
Familiarity with UNDP rules and procedures as outlined in the UNDP Programme and Operations Policy and Procedures (POPP);
Excellent organizational skills;
Strong interpersonal and communication skills;
Proven ability to deliver reliably within tight timelines;
Proven ability to work independently with little supervision and responsiveness during Istanbul working hours;
Consistently approaches work with a positive, constructive attitude;
Demonstrates integrity in dealing with highly sensitive information.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Secondary education is required;
Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent in finance, administration, social sciences and/or another relevant field would be an advantage (Criteria A - maximum 5 points).

Experience:

At least 5 years of work experience related to administrative work, including travel (Criteria B - maximum 20 points);
Work experience on relevant administrative work and travel in UNDP or other UN Agencies would be an asset (Criteria C - maximum points 25);
Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) required (Criteria D - maximum 5 points);
Knowledge of UNDP ERP system would be an advantage (Criteria E - maximum 10 points).

Language skills:

Excellent oral and written communication skills in English language (Criteria F - maximum 5 points).

Evaluation of Applicants

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on a cumulative analysis taking into consideration the combination of the applicants’ qualifications and financial proposal.
The award of the contract should be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:
responsive/compliant/acceptable, and
Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.

Only the highest ranked candidates who would be found qualified for the job will be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

Technical Criteria - 70% of total evaluation – max. 70 points:
Criteria A - maximum 5 points;
Criteria B - maximum 20 points;
Criteria C - maximum 25 points;
Criteria D - maximum 5 points;
Criteria E - maximum 10 points;
Criteria F - maximum 5 points;

Financial Criteria - 30% of total evaluation – max. 30 points.

Application procedures:

Qualified candidates are requested to apply online via this website. The application should contain:

Cover letter explaining why you are the most suitable candidate for the advertised position Please paste the letter into the "Resume and Motivation" section of the electronic application.
Filled P11 form including past experience in similar projects and contact details of referees (blank form can be downloaded from http://europeandcis.undp.org/files/hrforms/P11_modified_for_SCs_and_ICs.doc); please upload the P11 instead of your CV.
Financial Proposal* - specifying a daily fee in USD for the tasks specified in this announcement. Travel costs for missions will be paid separately as per UNDP rules and regulations.
Incomplete applications will not be considered. Please make sure you have provided all requested materials;
Please group all your documents into one (1) single PDF document as the system only allows to upload maximum one document.

*Please note that the financial proposal is all-inclusive and shall take into account various expenses incurred by the consultant/contractor during the contract period (e.g. fee, health insurance, vaccination and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of services...).

Payments will be made only upon confirmation of UNDP on delivering on the contract obligations in a satisfactory manner.

Individual Consultants are responsible for ensuring they have vaccinations/inoculations when travelling to certain countries, as designated by the UN Medical Director. Consultants are also required to comply with the UN security directives set forth under dss.un.org
General Terms and conditions as well as other related documents can be found under: http://on.undp.org/t7fJs

Qualified women and members of minorities are encouraged to apply.

Due to large number of applications we receive, we are able to inform only the successful candidates about the outcome or status of the selection process.