Background

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the UN’s global development network, advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. We are on the ground in 170 countries and territories, working with governments and people on their own solutions to global and national development challenges to help empower lives and build resilient nations.

The Bureau for Policy and Programme Support (BPPS) has the responsibility for developing all relevant policy and guidance to support the results of UNDP’s Strategic Plan.  BPPS’s staff provides technical advice to Country Offices; advocates for UNDP corporate messages, represents UNDP at multi-stakeholder fora including public-private dialogues, government and civil society dialogues, South-South and Triangular cooperation initiatives, and engages in UN inter-agency coordination in specific thematic areas.  BPPS works closely with UNDP’s Crisis Response Unit (CRU) to support emergency and crisis response.  BPPS ensures that issues of risk are fully integrated into UNDP’s development programmes. BPPS assists UNDP and partners to achieve higher quality development results through an integrated approach that links results based management and performance monitoring with more effective and new ways of working.  BPPS supports UNDP and partners to be more innovative, knowledge and data driven including in its programme support efforts.

BPPS supports UNDP’s 2014-2017 Strategic Plan, focusing on 7 outcomes including strengthening institutions to progressively deliver universal access to basic services (outcome 3). The HIV Health and Sustainable development team, within BPPS, is helping to contribute towards this outcome.

HIV, Health and Development Approach

UNDP is a founding cosponsor of the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), a partner of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and a co-sponsor of several other international health partnerships. UNDP’s work on HIV, health and development leverages the organization’s core strengths and mandates in human development, governance and capacity development to complement the efforts of specialist health-focused UN agencies. UNDP delivers three types of support to countries in HIV, health and development.

First, UNDP helps countries to mainstream attention to HIV and health into action on gender, poverty and the broader effort to achieve and sustain the Millennium Development Goals.  For example, UNDP works with countries to understand the social and economic factors that play a crucial role in driving health and disease, and to respond to such dynamics with appropriate policies and programmes outside the health sector. UNDP also promotes specific action on the needs and rights of women and girls as they relate to HIV.

Second, UNDP works with partners to address the interactions between governance, human rights and health responses. Sometimes this is done through focused or specialized programmes, such as promoting attention to the role of legal environments (law and access to justice) in facilitating stronger HIV responses, including the use of flexibilities in intellectual property and human rights law to lower the cost of drugs and diagnostics and to increase access to HIV-related treatment.  UNDP also works to empower and include people living with HIV and marginalized populations who are disproportionately affected by HIV - also known as key populations - such as sex workers, men who have sex with men, transgender people.  Beyond these focused efforts, UNDP plays a key role in ensuring attention to HIV and health within broader governance and rights initiatives, including support to district and municipal action on MDGs, strengthening of national human rights institutions and increasing access to justice for marginalized populations.

Third, as a trusted, long-term partner with extensive operational experience, UNDP supports countries in effective implementation of complex, multilateral and multisectoral health projects, while simultaneously investing in capacity development so that national and local partners can assume these responsibilities over time. The UNDP/Global Fund partnership is an important part of this work, facilitating access to resources for action on MDG 6 by countries that face constraints in directly receiving and managing such funding. UNDP partners with countries in crisis/post-crisis situations, those with weak institutional capacity or governance challenges, and countries under sanctions. When requested, UNDP acts as interim Principal Recipient in these settings, working with national partners and the Global Fund to improve management, implementation and oversight of Global Fund grants, while simultaneously developing national capacity for governments or local entities to be able to assume the Principal Recipient role over time.

Objective of the assignment

The consultant will provide administrative and operational support to the entire HIV, Health and Development Group.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the overall supervision of the Operations Specialist, the Consultant will be responsible to provide general operations and admin support including:

Travel administration:

• Support in processing the travel of the HHD team, including undertake all related travel arrangements, liaise with the visa desk, bureau, country offices, and other agencies on logistics and documentation, support in ATLAS Travel and Expense Module and post travel process – collecting/processing F10s, expense checklist and Expense Report as needed. Prepare the following in the Atlas travel and expense module: travel requests, expense checklists and expense reports;
• Provides support to travel requests in ATLAS; calculates DSA entitlements and claims and ensures the timely settlement of these claims.

Admin support for meetings and events:

• Assist in the organization of events, meetings and workshops, booking of conference rooms;
• Provide logistic support, photocopying, filing and collection of background documentation for meetings;
• Assist and coordinate with the cluster on hiring individual contractors including gathering necessary documents to assure the funding and creating obligations in ATLAS;
• Assist in compiling the supporting documents related to Credit Card payments.

Contract and Procurement support:

• Support to collect invoices, timesheets and assists in preparing the payments for consultants and vendors;
• Through review of all payments, ensures that they have been recorded and budgets are aligned with agreed budgets
• Ensures all the documents related to ICs are submitted with all supporting documents and updated in the share drive;
• Support in the procurement process including compiling the supporting documents for micro-purchasing, RFPs, Calls for Proposals, LTAs, rosters etc.

Financial Management support:

• Processes procurement and financial transactions in ATLAS, reviewing them for accuracy of computation and completeness of supporting documentation and compliance with financial rules and regulations for certification/ approval;
• Creating ATLAS entries and accounts receivables, creating receipts, GLJEs and run reports to monitor the project’s financial status;
• Follow up action on GMS and ISS;
• Maintains up-to-date financial information regarding HHD projects and supports in compiling financial reports;
• Provides support in generating reports, analysing and closing projects and related supporting documents are compiled;
• Provides support in year end closure activities and provides support in setting up new projects and budgets;
• Exercises willingness to assist others and take on additional responsibilities as needed by the unit;
• Backstops Programme Assistants as needed;
• Willing to take on other tasks as requested by supervisor.

Reporting:

• The consultant will report regularly to the Operations Specialist.

Competencies

Core Competencies:

• Demonstrates integrity by modeling 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.

Functional competencies:

• Systematic, organizational, analytical skills, thorough and attention to details;
• Demonstrated ability to think fast in a logical and organized manner;
• Confidentiality;
• Highly proficient in the use of IT of all kinds;
• Excellent negotiation, communication and networking skills;
• Excellent multi-tasking abilities and ability to work under pressure and tight deadlines.

Partnership building and team work:

• Client oriented and assists in identifying solutions to problems;
• Demonstrated well developed people management skills;
• Strong ability to work with teams; creating an enabling environment and supporting colleagues;
• Demonstrated flexibility in a multi-cultural environment.

Communications and Advocacy:

• Demonstrated ability to write clearly and convincingly;
• Good research and writing skills with demonstrated ability to think strategically;
• Excellent capacity to communicate clearly and concisely;
• Strong inter-personal, negotiation and liaison skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Secondary Education with specialized administrative training or finance;
• University degree in Business, Social Sciences or Public Administration desirable.

Experience:

• At least 6 years of progressively responsible programme support, procurement, finance, operations experience is required at the national and/or International level;
• Knowledge of UNDP FInancial Rules and Regulations;
• Advanced and working knowledge of Atlas Finance, Travel and Expense module would be a great asset;
• UNDP Accounting and Finance Training and Certification would be an asset;
• Knowledge of the Contract Management process and Procurement modality;
• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.);
• Excellent writing, research, analysis and presentation skills.

Language:

• Fluency in English is required;
• Additional UN language an advantage.

Travel:

• There is no anticipated travel for this assignment.

Evaluation:

• Applicants will be screened against qualifications and competencies specified below through a desk review or an interview process. Applicants will be evaluated based on: a Cumulative analysis based on a combination of the Technical and Financial Scores.

Criteria for Technical Evaluation (70 points maximum):

• At least 6 years of progressively responsible programme support, procurement, finance, operations experience is required at the national and/or International level. (20 points);
• Previous working experience in ATLAS in particular finance and travel. (20 points);
• Working knowledge of the Contract Management process and Procurement modality. (10 points);
• Experience in providing operational and admin support to meetings and events. (10 points);
• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc) (10 points).

Criteria for Financial Evaluation (30 points maximum)

The following formula will be used to evaluate the financial proposal:

• p = y (µ/z), where;
• p = points for the financial proposal being evaluated;
• y = maximum number of points for the financial proposal;
• µ = price of the lowest priced proposal;
• z = price of the proposal being evaluated.

Payment Method:

• Payment will be based on timesheet and certificate of payments, based on the all-inclusive daily fee and upon certification by the direct supervisor.