UNDP Jobs - 48048- Re-advertisement - Administrative and Operations C

Re-advertisement - Administrative and Operations Consultant

Location :

Home-based ( Electronic connections to Istanbul office)

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

19-Aug-14 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

11 months maximum of 175 days

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

Candidates who previously applied need not apply again.

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 166 countries, working with national counterparts on their own solutions to global and national development challenges.

UNDP is one of the Implementing Agencies of: (a) the Multilateral Fund (MLF) for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol; (b) the Global Environment Facility (GEF); and (c) the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM) Quick Start Programme (QSP) Trust Fund. Under this mandate, UNDP works with public and private partners in developing countries to assist them in meeting the targets of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. UNDP also helps developing countries reduce and eliminate the emissions of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), and incorporate the sound management of chemicals into MDG-based national development planning processes.

UNDP’s ozone protection and chemicals related programmes globally, are managed by the Montreal Protocol and Chemicals Unit of the Bureau for Development Policy/Environment and Energy Group in New York, with staff also located in UNDP Regional Centres in Istanbul, Panama City and Bangkok. Since 1991, UNDP has received over $500 million in grants from the MLF, GEF and bilateral donors to undertake thousands of activities related to ozone and chemicals in nearly 100 developing countries and countries with economies in transition.

The Administrative and Operations Consultant will be home-based and will support MPU/Chemicals staff located in the new UNDP Regional Center in Istanbul covering work in Europe/CIS, Africa and Arab States. The Consultant will provide high quality administrative and operational support to the Portfolio Managers, and will work in close collaboration with operations and programme staff at the Istanbul Regional Centre, at UN Country offices and at HQ to ensure consistent service delivery. The consultant will work under the direct supervision of the MPU/Chemicals Programme Specialist at the Istanbul Regional Centre.

Duties and Responsibilities

Provides administrative support to MPU/Chemicals Unit staff located in the new UNDP Regional Center in Istanbul covering work in Europe/CIS, Africa and Arab States, and focusing on achievement of the following results:

Assist the Programme Officers to coordinate recruitment of experts and program their missions, including:

(a) maintaining updated spreadsheets indicating dates of contracts, budgets obligated for contracts, monitor contracts’ expenditures, requests;
(b) assist finance to undertake reversals of charges when necessary and update on a daily basis the expenditures to-date and the available balances; and
(c) alert Programme Officers when available balances are getting too low vis-à-vis remaining future tasks to be undertaken;
Assist the Programme Officers to regularly update project management systems, such as the MPU Business Plan, progress reports, project financial performance, PIMS;
Assist the Programme Officers in following-up with other implementing agencies (UNEP, UNIDO, World Bank, GIZ, etc.) to ensure close coordination of activities. Participate in the preparation of Business Plans, Work Programmes and other activities required for MLF, GEF and SAICM;
Establish and maintain contacts with UNDP Country Offices to assist in the preparation of periodic progress reports on the assigned portfolio for submission to MPU HQ, UNDP GEF’s finance office and SAICM Quick Start Trust Fund;
When requested, support to organization of procurement processes, including preparation of RFQs, ITBs or RFPs documents, receipt of quotations, bids or proposals, their preliminary evaluation, as well as preparation of POs. Coordinate with the relevant Unit for Vendor creation;
Preparation of budgets, provision of information for audit, review of DEX/NEX project financial reports, maintenance of internal expenditure control system which ensures that vouchers processed are matched and completed and that transactions are correctly recorded and posted in Atlas, in cooperation with the assigned project assistants with Atlas access;
Maintain and advise staff in the correct use of budget chart-fields, monitor chart-fields provided to country offices. Conduct periodic review of financial exception/errors and liaise closely with budget owners to resolve issues and take appropriate corrective action;
Maintenance of the electronic filing system ensuring safekeeping of confidential materials. Extract data from various sources (for reporting to Montreal Protocol Secretariat on travel for instance);
Administrative support to MPU conferences and workshops.

Provides effective support to implementation of the following MPU/Chemical projects focusing on the achievement of the following results:

Support implementation of; (a) the regional project components of the HCFC phaseout programme in Belarus, Tajikistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan; (b) the Medical Waste regional project in Africa (under GEF-5), PIF stage and launch of the FSP stage;
This includes all administrative tasks related to the project, follow-up on consultancies, organizations of workshops and annual project meetings, preparation of DOAs, budget revisions, following the project expenditures, providing inputs for the reports, and providing suggestions for the smooth implementation of the work plan;
For the two projects above, support the full project’s implementation life-cycle as dictated by the respective focal areas and administrative rules, including assistance to Country Offices and their respective Energy & Environment Units on project implementation, regular financial monitoring of projects’ delivery, advisory on annual progress and expenditure reporting with the overall aim of minimizing projects delays.

Competencies

Functional Competencies:

IT knowledge, specifically of MS Office applications such as Excel and Access; full ffamiliarity with web-based data management system;
Ability to perform a wide range of complex specialized tasks and work processes that are fully documented, researched, recorded and reported;
Excellent organizational skills;
Strong interpersonal and communication skills;
Proven ability to deliver reliably within tight timelines, handling a large volume of work and remaining calm under pressure;
Proven ability to work independently and produce results with minimal supervision;
Consistently approaches work with a positive, constructive attitude;
Demonstrates integrity in dealing with highly sensitive information.

Corporate Competencies:

Demonstrates integrity by following 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 favoritism; is gender sensitive with zero tolerance for sexual harassment;
Capacity to establish and maintain excellent relationship with key partners.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Minimum of a Bachelor’s degree in social sciences, international affairs or related areas.

Experience:

Minimum four years of experience in administration including operations is required;
Experience in the provision of administrative and operational support services under the Montreal Protocol programme is desirable;
Experience working under the GEF (Global Environment Facility) is desirable;
Excellent understanding of UNDP programmes and operational policies is required;
Knowledge of UNDP financial systems including Atlas is required;
Prior experience in working with UNDP country offices on project operations in the Europe/CIS, Africa and Arab States regions required;
Experience in organizing conferences and meetings including related procurement tendering processes would be an advantage;
Full competency in the use of computers and office software packages (Word, Excel, etc.).

Languages:

Proficiency in English;
Working knowledge of French to deal with African Francophone countries desirable;
Familiarity with Russian for dealing with Central Asian CIS countries would be an advantage;
Familiarity with Arabic for dealing with the Arab States would be an advantage.

Duration of work:

The contract will enter into effect upon signature of both parties and is expected to last for eleven months, consisting of four (4) work days per work week with a maximum of 175 work days over the contractual period.

Fees:

The consultant will receive payments based on an all-inclusive daily rate;
The short-listed candidates, based on their technical capabilities, will receive the standard format that they must fill out to submit their financial offer.

Payments:

Payments will be made based on the agreed upon daily rate and released upon submission of a certificate of payment request, indicating outputs achieved and days worked to be verified and cleared for payment by the supervisor.

Evaluation Method:

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on Combined Scoring method taking into consideration the combination of the applicants’ qualifications (70%) and financial proposal (30%).

Evaluation Criteria:

Bachelor’s degree in social sciences, international affairs or related areas; (10 points);
Minimum four years of experience in administration including operations is required. (5 points);
Experience in the provision of administrative and operational support services under the Montreal Protocol programme is desirable. (max 9 points) - if 2 years then 5 points, if between 2-4 years then 7 points, greater than 4 years then 9 pts;
Experience working under the GEF (Global Environment Facility) is desirable; ( max 7 points);
Excellent understanding of UNDP programmes and operational policies is required; (7 points);
Knowledge of UNDP financial systems including Atlas is required; (7 points);
Prior experience in working with UNDP country offices on project operations in the Europe/CIS, Africa and Arab States regions required; ( max 9 points);
Experience in organizing conferences and meetings including related procurement tendering processes is desirable ; ( 2 points);
Full competency in the use of computers and office software packages (Word, Excel, etc.); (4 points);
Language Proficiency (max 10 points).