Jobs - 76389- Regional Finance Consultant

Regional Finance Consultant

Location :

Bangkok, THAILAND

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

20-Jan-2018

Application Deadline :

31-Jan-18 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

National Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

20 January- 31 March 2018

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

Up to 51 working days with possibility of extension

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 United Nations Action for Cooperation Against Trafficking in Persons (UN-ACT) is a regional, UNDP- managed Project on human trafficking in the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS: Cambodia, China, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam), supporting a more coordinated response to trafficking in persons and prioritizing capacity building amongst key stakeholders. It builds on its predecessor, the United Nations Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking (UNIAP), which came to a close in early 2014.

A key area of work for UN-ACT is to help strengthen the knowledge base for more informed interventions against human trafficking. It has developed a research strategy emphasizing the analysis of vulnerabilities to and trends in trafficking in persons, and the impact of counter-trafficking efforts. Current projects are seeking to examine the experiences of both regular and irregular migrant workers with recruitment practices and employment conditions.

Duties and Responsibilities

Objective

The Finance Consultant will work under the direct supervision of the Regional Project Manager (RPM) to provide support with all financial and operational aspects of UN-ACT Regional Management Office.

The Finance Consultant will work in close collaboration with UN-ACT staff in the six Project Offices, Global Shared Service Unit (GSSU), and Finance Unit of UNDP Operational Support Team to exchange information and ensure consistent service delivery.

Scope of Work

I. Provide assistance to Project Management in budget and financial aspects of the project. Develop, operate and manage UN-ACT’s ATLAS Finance System and Data Management System (DMS) to accommodate emerging project needs

Prepare budget for all 4 projects under UN-ACT according to approved Annual Work Plan, with particular attention to the specific requirements of various donors;
Operate in ATLAS to ensure that budgets are correctly/properly recorded;
Operate and maintain good record in Account Receivable Data Management System (DMS). Upload all Agreements with donors, add deposit information, add information on reports submission, and upload amendment to agreement. Maintain proper filing system of all documents related to all donors;
Monitoring AR milestones to ensure that funds/installments are received as scheduled and planned;
Regular monitor expenses and submit financial report to Project Management and to donors as per schedules;
Monitor cash status of all UN-ACT projects ensuring that enough funds to cover GMS, ISS and other expenditures that are not accrued in the system;
Provide financial reports for Project Management and alert supervisor if there’s a major issue occurred related to financial aspects and provide recommendations;
Interpret, maintain, and implement rules, regulations, and policies in relation to financial payments and receipts.

II. Financial Coordination with UN-ACT Country Offices and UNDP APRC, Financial Tracking and Reporting

Provide support to UN-ACT Country Offices with respect to budgets and expenditures;
Review request for payments submitted from UN-ACT Country Offices before submitting for Regional Project Manager’s approval;
Monitor and keep good track of Advance transactions to ensure that all are settled timely with sufficient supporting document;
Dealing with queries regarding payment and Chart of Account (COA).
Take corrective action on payment problem;
Review and ensure that effective financial controls are in place and are being implemented;
Liaise with Global Shared Service Unit (GSSU) and Finance Unit of UNDP Operational Support Team (APRC) and UNDP Country offices on day-to-day financial transactions
Draft all financial management related correspondence for the project.

III. Provide financial and accounting services to ACTIP Regional Management Office

Prepare timely and accurate request for payments to vendors for processing in ATLAS;
Review request for payment to staff in term of compliance to relevant policies & procedures and ensure correct Chart of Account used;
Dealing with staff/vendors’ inquiries relating to payments;
Maintain proper filing system for finance records and documents;
Perform other finance-related duties as required;
Assist in the trainings/events organized by UN-ACT Regional Office in all financial related eg., Participants’ DSA;
Contribute to knowledge sharing and networks;

IV. Support to smooth functioning of the project

Undertake other tasks as assigned by the RPM;
Arrange for review, recording and administrative process of programmatic requests to support the assigned respective country offices;
Take necessary steps for the contractual procedures for the procurement of goods and services as well as individual contracts according to UNDP’s rules and regulations, as well as provide inputs to the term of reference (ToR);
Assist the RPM in planning and organizing activities including administrative and logistic arrangements for workshops, liaising with project staff, consultants, meeting participants, facilitators on travels, visas, reservations, and claims.

Expected Outputs and Deliverables

The consultant will be required to submit report on documenting days worked as assigned by supervisor.

Institutional Arrangement

Overall monitoring and progress control will be provided by UN-ACT’s Regional Project Manager (RPM).

Duration of work: 20 January 2018- 31 March 2018 (Up to 51 working days) with possibility of extension.

Duty Station: Bangkok, Thailand with no travel.

Competencies

Strong analytical, reporting, and writing abilities;
Excellent facilitation skills;
Openness to change and ability to receive/integrate feedback;
Ability to plan, organize, implement, and report on work;
Ability to work under pressure and tight deadlines;
Demonstrates integrity and ethical standards;
Positive, constructive attitude to work;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.

Required Skills and Experience

Educational Qualifications:

University degree, preferably in business administration or finance

Experience:

At least 5 years of relevant accounting, financial and administrative experience is required;
Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc) and knowledge of spreadsheet and database packages;
Experience with ATLAS and familiarity with United Nations policies and administrative and reporting procedures;
Experience working with international organizations or governmental institutions in a multicultural setting is an advantage.

Language Skill:

Fluency in oral and written English with ability to draft clear and concise reports.

Price Proposal and Schedule of Payments

The contract will be based on daily fee

Consultant shall quote an all-inclusive Daily Fee for the contract period. The term “all-inclusive” implies that all costs (professional fees, communications, consumables, etc.) that could be incurred by the IC in completing the assignment are already factored into the daily fee submitted in the proposal. If applicable, travel or daily allowance cost (if any work is to be done outside the IC’s duty station) should be identified separately. Payments shall be done on a monthly basis based on actual days worked, upon verification of completion of deliverables and approval by the IC’s supervisor of a Time Sheet indicating the days worked in the period.

In general, UNDP shall not accept travel costs exceeding those of an economy class ticket. Should the IC wish to travel on a higher class he/she should do so using their own resources

In the event of unforeseeable travel not anticipated in this TOR, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses should be agreed upon, between the respective business unit and the Individual Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed.

Evaluation Method and Criteria

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodology Cumulative analysis

The award of the contract shall be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as a) responsive/compliant/acceptable; and b) having received the highest score out of set of weighted technical criteria (70%). and financial criteria (30%). Financial score shall be computed as a ratio of the proposal being evaluated and the lowest priced proposal received by UNDP for the assignment.

Technical Criteria for Evaluation (Maximum 70 points)

Criteria 1: Experience with ATLAS and familiarity with United Nations (in particular UNDP) policies and administrative and reporting procedures- Max 30 points
Criteria 2: Relevant accounting, financial and administrative experience - Max 30 points
Criteria 3: Fluency in oral and written English with ability to draft clear and concise reports – Max 10 points

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points (70% of the total technical points) would be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

Documentation required

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications. Please group them into one (1) single PDF document as the application only allows to upload maximum one document:

Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided in Annex II.
Personal CV or P11, indicating all past experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate and at least three (3) professional references.
Financial proposal, as per template provided in Annex II. Note: please quote prices in Thai Baht.

Incomplete proposals may not be considered. The short-listed candidates may be contacted and only the successful candidate will be notified

To download form and related documents, please click link below:

http://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_notice.cfm?notice_id=43269