UNDP Jobs - 59244- Payroll Specialist with UNDP LOTFA Project

Payroll Specialist with UNDP LOTFA Project

Location :

Kabul, AFGHANISTAN

Type of Contract :

FTA International

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

27-Aug-15 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

P-4

Duration of Initial Contract :

One Year

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

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

UNDP Afghanistan Mission Statement:

UNDP supports stabilization, state building, governance and development priorities in Afghanistan. UNDP support, in partnership with the Government, the United Nations system, the donor community and other development stakeholders, has contributed to institutional development efforts leading to positive impact on the lives of Afghan citizens. Over the years UNDP support has spanned such milestone efforts as the adoption of the Constitution; Presidential, Parliamentary and Provincial Council elections; institutional development through capacity-building to the legislative, the judicial and executive arms of the state, and key ministries, Government agencies and commissions at the national and subnational levels. UNDP has played a key role in the management of the Law and Order Trust Fund, which supports the Government in developing and maintaining the national police force and in efforts to stabilize the internal security environment. Major demobilization, disarmament and rehabilitation and area-based livelihoods and reconstruction programmes have taken place nationwide. UNDP Programmes in Afghanistan have benefited from the very active support of donors. UNDP Afghanistan is committed to the highest standards of transparency and accountability and works in close coordination with the United Nations Mission in Afghanistan and the UN system as a whole to maximize the impact of its development efforts on the ground.

Organizational Context:

The Law and Order Trust Fund for Afghanistan (LOTFA) is a Programme implemented by the Government of Afghanistan through the Ministry of Interior Affairs (MOIA) with the support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Afghanistan, and with funding from 17 bi-and multilateral donors. The Programme was established in 2002 to provide a funding channel for the international community to support the establishment of the ANP (Afghan National Police), particularly through the transfer of funding for ANP and prison guard salaries.

In 2011 the project expanded to include the provision of policy advice and capacity development support in the areas of institutional development of the MOIA; prison and police professionalization, and improvement of police service delivery. A new phase of the Programme containing two separate projects under a joint governance arrangement will be launched to be implemented in three phases between 1 July 2015 to 31 December 2016.

Project 1, Support to Payroll Management, will continue to support capacity development of the MOIA in order to ensure that the MOIA independently manages the function - human resources, finance and ICT - related to payroll operations to enable the transition of payroll management functions to the MOIA by 31 December 2016.

Project 2, Ministry of Interior Affairs and Police Development (MPD), will focus on police professionalization and on institutional development of the MOIA through two components. Component 1 supports the training of the ANP and the professionalization in civil policing by introducing best practices and international standards in community oriented policing, human rights standards and gender equality. Component 2 improves the MOIA´s capacity for reform and assist in building accountable and efficient management and oversight capacities.

LOTFA, which is the largest project supported by UNDP globally, is located the Ministry of Interior Affairs in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of the Support to Payroll Management Project Manager, the incumbent ensures the following key functions are implemented:

Summary of Key Functions:

Lead a team of Afghan UNDP staff in the analysis and the reconciliation of data in independent human resources and financial databases;
Build and manages effective processes to support MOIA reporting and decision making concerning Afghan National Police payroll;
Ensure the systematic capacity building of the MOI in the area of payroll management and reconciliation;
Ensure coordination with other relevant sections of the project for effective crossflow of information among database administration, HR and Payroll training, monitoring, and reporting;

Lead a team of Afghan UNDP staff in the analysis and reconciliation of data in independent human resources and financial databases:

Promote skills development of project staff and co-located IP staff through coaching and mentoring;
Coordinate with IP to jointly build and analyse pay budgets, spend plans, and monthly / quarterly / annual execution;
Coordinate with the IP to jointly develop and / or share routine human resources data for reconciliation with payroll (new hires, deceased / terminated employees, promotions, completion of special trainings, transfers, garnishments, etc.);
Collaborate with IP to reduce unexplained differences in expenditures between payroll and accounting system and to reduce discrepancies between human resources and payroll systems. Support the IP to reconcile personnel recorded in the payroll system against authorizations;
Identify gaps in payroll-to-accounting system reconciliation requirements and reports;

Build and manage effective processes to support reporting and decision making concerning Afghan National Police payroll:

Co-chair Technical Working Group meetings with IP, other Government offices, and external partners related to HRM and financial aspects of Payroll (pay budget, policies concerning entitlements and deductions, pay rates, pay changes, etc.);
Formulate clear documentation of pay entitlements, deductions, and changes according to IP policies and coordinates with the Project system team to ensure their accurate reflection in the existing database;

Draft papers/briefs/proposals related to human resources and financial management policies and practices within the MOI related to Payroll;
Prepare responses to internal and external audits and reviews;
Routinely document and report results of financial analyses (spend plans, actual expenditures, changes in burn rates), identifying areas for realignment of funds when necessary;
Works closely with the Country Office Fund Financial Fiduciary Management Unit to share information, coordinate on follow-up actions related to monitoring, and to ensure proper funding levels to the IP are maintained;

Ensures the systematic capacity building of the MOI in the area of payroll management and reconciliation:

Ensure the effective development and administration of capacity assessment tools in the areas of Human Resources Management and Public Financial Management skills and functions necessary for effective payroll management;
Oversee the effective integration of Implementing Partner staff with UNDP staff into a single Payroll Unit, under the direction and the authority of the IP;
Oversee the planning, conduct, and documentation of training activities by the Payroll Trainer and independent consultants, incorporating training needs identified by the EPS Helpdesk and the Monitoring Agent. Support MOIA to assume planning and implementation of project training activities;
Coordinate the advisory activities of HR, financial, and training staff with other partners (RS / CSTC-A, SSMI, GIZ, others) and Government officials including from MOF. Ensure that technical outputs are provided according to plans and up to highest technical standards. Review and clear technical outputs for approval by Project Manager;
Communicate progress toward achievement of capacity building results in numerous fora with donors and partners, including reporting of progress and risk related to achieving timely payroll transition;

Ensure coordination with other relevant sections of the project for effective crossflow of information among database administration, HR and Payroll training, monitoring, and reporting:

Ensure staff coordination concerning Monitoring Agent activities and reports. Supports IP’s HRM and financial management functional offices to develop and implement corrective actions to Monitoring Agent findings;
Ensure changes to pay rates, entitlements, deductions, and so forth are timely communicated to payroll system team and verifies changes are reflected in the system;
Identify to the Support to Payroll Management Program Manager important risk exposures and inconsistencies in EPS payroll processes;
Manage staff data collection to support reporting of progress, risks, and issues against project approved Annual Work Plan activities and results related to HRM and Payroll capacity development activities. Coordinate with IP to achieve IP data collection for such activities where required;
Oversee staff coordination with project regional offices;

Key Result:

Indicators of effectiveness are implementation of approved Annual Work Plan activities. A key example is the establishment of an effective IP payroll unit that analyzes data, manages the payroll budget and its execution, and ensures payroll policies and practices support the objective of making accurate payments only to authorize and actively serving Police.

Competencies

Core Competencies:

Promotes ethics and integrity and creates organizational precedents;
Builds support and political acumen;
Builds staff competence and creates an environment of creativity and innovation;
Builds and promotes effective teams;
Creates and promotes environment for open communications;
Leverages conflict in the interest of UNDP and sets standards;
Shares knowledge across the organization and builds a culture of knowledge sharing and learning.

Functional Competencies:

Expert knowledge of Own Discipline

Possesses expert knowledge of advance concepts in primary discipline, a broad knowledge of related disciplines and in-depth knowledge of relevant organizational policies and procedures;
Applies knowledge to support the Project´s objectives and to further the mandate of UNDP;
Keeps abreast of new developments in the area of professional discipline and job knowledge and seeks to develop him/herself
Demonstrates comprehensive knowledge of information technology and applies it in work assignments;
Demonstrates expert knowledge of the current programme guidelines and project management tools and manages the use of these regularly in work assignments.

Development and Application of Organizational Standards

Ensures compliance with the organizational standards for audit, monitoring and evaluation and results-based management and promotes and monitors their application;
Promotes a culture of accountability;

Development and Operational Effectiveness:

Ability to timely share inputs throughout the implementation stage to support efficient and results-oriented management of projects;
Ability to convey implementation results;
Availability to travel to provinces where LOTFA-funded interventions are being implemented;

Development and Application of Organizational Standards (continued)

Develops, disseminates and promotes the use of sound methodologies and tools;
Analyses audit, evaluation and policy applications review results, extracts key elements and prepares proposals to address areas of weakness in performance.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master’s degree, MBA, CPA or equivalent in Financial Management, Financial audit and supervision field.

Experience:

A minimum of 7 years combined experience in financial processes, human resources management, supervision, and monitoring within multilateral organizations such as the United Nations family, development banks, or other similar organizations.
Experience with large-scale, distributed payroll operations
Previous experience in Afghanistan, or in conflict situations is an asset.

Language requirement:

Fluency in spoken and written English is required.

Note:

Interested and qualified international candidates should apply on-line through the UNDP Jobs site at UNDP Afghanistan Vacancy Announcement and please ensure that to fill up and upload Personal History Form-P.11 which is available at UNDP Personal History Form (P.11 Form);
Incomplete applications or applications received after the closing date will not be given consideration. Please note that only applicants who are short-listed will be contacted;
For more detailed information about UNDP Afghanistan please visit our website at www.undp.org.af;
Successful candidates must be prepared to start work within 6 weeks of the offer of appointment;
Qualified female candidates are highly encouraged to apply.
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