Empleos en el PNUD - 74052- Programme Support Specialist to support UNDP-GEF P

Programme Support Specialist to support UNDP-GEF Portfolio in the Latin America and the Caribbean

Localidad :

Home-based with possible mission travel

Tipo de contrato :

Individual Contract

Fecha de comienzo del contrato :

28-Aug-2017

Fecha límite de postulación :

20-Aug-17 (Medianoche Nueva York, Estados Unidos)

Nivel de puesto :

International Consultant

Duración del contrato inicial :

Up to 210 days over a 12-month period

Idiomas requeridos :

Inglés Español

Duración esperada del puesto :

El PNUD está comprometido con lograr la diversidad de su personal en términos de género, nacionalidad y cultura. Se alienta por igual a las personas que pertenecen a grupos minoritarios, a pueblos indígenas o que tienen alguna discapacidad a presentar su candidatura. Todas las solicitudes se tratarán con la mayor confidencialidad. UNDP no tolera la explotación y el abuso sexual, ningún tipo de acoso, incluido el acoso sexual, ni la discriminación. Por lo tanto, todos los candidatos seleccionados serán sometidos a una rigurosa verificación de referencias y antecedentes.

Antecedentes

Based in UNDP’s Bureau for Policy and Programme Support, Sustainable development Cluster, the UNDP-Global Environmental Finance Unit (UNDP–GEF Unit) is responsible for providing leadership, technical support and implementation oversight to the delivery of GEF vertical Funds, Adaptation Funds, and Green Climate Funds portfolio which is the largest portfolio of the Environment and Sustainable Development pillar of UNDP’s Strategic Plan. The UNDP–GEF Unit is organized into a number of substantive technical teams with staff located in both HQs and UNDP’s Regional Hubs in Addis Ababa, Istanbul, Panama and Bangkok, and with a decentralized structure in terms of financial, operational, and budget management with authority delegated to respective managers located in HQ or in the regions.

The Management and Programme Support Unit (MPSU) of UNDP-GEF is responsible for all management and programme support, operational, and financial matters related to the management and oversight of the GEF vertical funds, Adaptation funds, GCF funds, Cost Sharing funds, Sub-trust funds, and Management funds to support the Unit. The complexity of GEF programme/projects and donor reporting requirements, the large GEF portfolio size, the highly decentralized business structure and delegation to regions requires a team highly skilled in management, programme, operations, and financial management support located at HQ and in the regions. The MPSU team provides support and services to countries and to UNDP Country Offices on project cycle management including projects at development stage and the projects under implementation, and works closely with other UNDP teams based in NY and in the Regional Hubs (RH) - in Istanbul (for Arab States and Europe & CIS), Addis Ababa (for Africa), Panama (for Latin America and the Caribbean) and Bangkok (for Asia Pacific) - working with the relevant Regional Bureaux to provide support to countries in each respective region.

Each UNDP-GEF regional team in the RHs is coordinated by a UNDP-GEF regional team leader. A team of Regional Technical Advisors (RTAS) in each RH provides technical advice, support, and assistance with project development and implementation to country offices, in a number of interrelated GEF focal areas including Climate Change Mitigation, Climate Change Adaptation, Biodiversity, Land Degradation, International Waters and Chemicals. The management and programme support is coordinated by the MPSU team in respective RHs.

UNDP-GEF is seeking one individual consultant to provide efficient and high quality project development and implementation support service focusing on budgeting, programme/project support, and operations primarily to the UNDP-GEF team based in the Panama RH and to the UNDP country offices in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) Region. The consultant will work in close collaboration with the UNDP-GEF staff in the Panama RH, the UNDP-GEF Regional Team Leader, UNDP-GEF staff in New York and country office staff to exchange information and ensure consistent and quality service delivery. The primary supervisor of the consultant will be the UNDP-GEF Chief of the Management and Programme Support Unit.

Deberes y responsabilidades

Under the overall guidance and supervision of the UNDP-GEF Chief of Management and Programme Support Unit based in New York, the programme support specialist will be responsible for providing project cycle management services focusing on budgeting, operational, and programme/project support to UNDP-GEF portfolio in the LAC Region, primarily working with UNDP country offices and UNDP-GEF team in the Panama RH.

The consultant will undertake the following duties:

Project Development

Liaising with relevant Programme Support staff to review submission documents including draft project documents, CEO endorsement templates, Letter of Agreements focusing on Budget formulations, auditing, compliance, project cycle management arrangements, direct project services, and to ensure compliance with GEF, GCF and AF donor policies and UNDP policies;
Review all project set up focusing on budget/finance in Atlas and in PIMS, and to ensure all the donor commitments, approvals, financial/reporting milestones are entered accurately and maintained with good quality;
Identify critical issues on financial/budget management at project preparation stage and provide technical advice to RH staff to address the issues.

Project implementation

Liaising with relevant RH programme support staff and RTAs to review the performance of the project budget, identify compliance issues comparing to the donor approved budgets and relevant budget management policies;
Review all budget revisions submitted by COs and propose for ASL allocations;
Conduct delivery analysis on a quarterly basis. Identify critical issues and liaise with programme team and COs for accelerating delivery of the UNDP-GEF portfolio;
Conduct portfolio reviews and analysis including project budget balances, deficits reviews, project closures, inactive projects, NIM advances, and exception analysis to ensure only authorized account codes are used in the UNDP-GEF portfolio. Based on result, follow up with COs to ensure actions are taken on time;
Review Regional Technical Advisor cleared Annual Work Plans (incl. Multi-year Budgeting), compare to Atlas KK budgets, verify cumulative expenditure status and project budget balance;
Support the annual external audit and monitor the progress of the NIM audit in the LAC region. Identify critical issues and liaise with COs/Panama Regional Hub to find solutions;
Liaise with COs and RH Programme Associates, conduct analysis and prepare report on CO timesheets on the use of GEF IA fees;
Monitor RH budget and performance to ensure approved budget is utilized within the approved level, highlighting any issues to the Chief-MPSU in a timely manner;
Provide information/data and report on the project delivery, closures, 1st disbursements, portfolio progress, and lessons learned to HQ and others upon request.

Knowledge management

Identify needs and provide guidance and training to COs and RH on implementation of UNDP-GEF portfolio. Assist with preparation of regional community of practice meeting;
Develop MPSU driven Standard Operating Procedures on budget management, financial management, portfolio management, direct project services, and project cycle management services upon request.

Key performance indicators:
Project development –review of submission documents:

>90% Completed: Excellent (1); 80-90% completed: Satisfactory (2): less than 80% completed – Poor (3);

Project implementation –quality of portfolio review and management:

>90% Completed: Excellent (1); 80-90% completed: Satisfactory (2): less than 80% completed – Poor (3);

Knowledge management:

>90% Completed: Excellent (1); 80-90% completed: Satisfactory (2): less than 80% completed – Poor (3).

Information on Working Arrangements

Estimated level of effort including travel days: up to 210 working days;
The consultant will be given access to relevant information necessary for execution of the tasks under this assignment;
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 reliable internet connection;
UNDP will provide the consultant with a workspace if s/he is requested to be present in the UNDP Panama Regional Hub;
Given the regional consultations to be undertaken during this assignment, the consultant is expected to be reasonably flexible with his/her availability for such consultations taking into consideration different time zones where applicable;
The consultant will engage with the Supervisor by email and Skype regularly;
Payments will be made upon submission of a detailed time sheet and certification of payment form, and acceptance and confirmation by the Supervisor on days worked (with a “day” calculated as 8 hours of work) and outputs delivered.

Travel

International travel to the LAC region may be required;
Any necessary missions must be approved in advance and in writing by the Chief - MPSU based in New York;
The Advanced and Basic Security in the Field II courses must be successfully completed prior to commencement of travel;
Individual Consultants are responsible for ensuring they have vaccinations/inoculations when travelling to certain countries, as designated by the UN Medical Director;
Consultants are responsible for obtaining any visas and security clearances needed in connection with travel with the necessary support from UNDP;
Consultants are also required to comply with the UN security directives set forth under https://dss.un.org/dssweb/;
The consultant 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 for consultants. Costs for airfares, terminal expenses, and living allowances should not be included in the financial proposal.

Competencias

Corporate

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;
Treats all people fairly without favoritism.

Functional:

Development and Operational Effectiveness

Ability to identify and execute opportunities to improve operational efficiency;
Knowledge of the UN System and ability to apply to strategic and/or practical situations;
The ability to acquire goods, services or works from an outside external source
Ability to create and manage processes to achieve the planned financial goals;
Ability to plan, organize, and control resources, procedures and protocols to achieve specific goals;
Ability to persuade others to follow.

Knowledge Management and Learning

Demonstrates ability to capture, develop, share and effectively use information and knowledge;
Demonstrates knowledge on financial, operations and programme support relating to the GEF and GCF;
Seeks and applies knowledge, information, and best practices from within and outside of UNDP-GEF Unit.

Client Orientation

Maintains relationships with clients, focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback;
Demonstrated ability to develop and maintain strategic partnerships.

Teamwork

Proven networking, team-building, organizational and communication skills;
Demonstrated facilitation and coordination skills.

Communication

Demonstrates strong oral and written communication skills.

Professionalism

Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
Remains calm, in control and good humored even under pressure;
Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities;
Demonstrated entrepreneurial abilities and demonstrated ability to work in an independent manner.

Habilidades y experiencia requeridas

Education:

Master’s degree (or Bachelor’s degree with minimum 4 years relevant working experience as outlined below) in Business Administration, Public Administration, Finance, Economics or closely related field (Max 10 points);
Completion of recognized certification program on project management and/or procurement is an asset (Max 5 points).

Experience:

Minimum 2 years of progressive experience at the national or international level providing management advisory services and/or operational or project support focusing on procurement and fund/resource management (Max 20 points);
Knowledge of UNDP, GEF, and/or GCF policies, procedures and practices (Max 20 points);
Experience with budgeting, operation, and programme support on GEF and GCF projects in LAC region is an advantage (Max 20 points);
Experience in handling an ERP system (Max 5 points);
Experience in development of Standard Operating Procedures (max 5 points);
Full computer literacy (Max 5 points).

Language Requirements:

Excellent oral and written communications and presentations skills in English and Spanish (max 10 points).

Evaluation method:

Only those applications which are responsive and compliant will be evaluated;
Offers will be evaluated according to the Combined Scoring method – where the technical criteria will be weighted at 70% and the financial offer will be weighted at 30%;
The technical criteria (education, experience, languages) will be based on a maximum 100 points. Top 3 applicants obtaining 70 points or more of the total technical points will be considered for financial evaluation;
Financial score (max 100 points) shall be computed as a ratio of the proposal being evaluated and the lowest priced proposal of those technically qualified;
The financial proposal shall specify an all-inclusive daily fee. In order to assist the requesting unit in the comparison of financial proposals, the financial proposal must additionally include a breakdown of this daily fee (including number of anticipated working days and all foreseeable expenses to carry out the assignment);
Applicant receiving the Highest Combined Score and has accepted UNDP’s General Terms and Conditions will be awarded the contract.

Documentation to be submitted

Applicants must submit a duly completed and signed UNDP Personal History form (P11) to be downloaded from the link below;
Applicants must reply to the mandatory questions asked by the system when submitting the application;
Applicants must submit a duly completed and signed Annex II Offeror´s letter to UNDP confirming interest and availability for the Individual Contractor (IC) assignment to be downloaded from the UNDP procurement site.

Kindly note you can upload only ONE document to this application (scan all documents in one single PDF file to attach).

UNDP Personal History form (P11) required of all applicants:
http://www.undp.org/content/dam/undp/library/corporate/Careers/P11_Personal_history_form.doc.

General Conditions of Contract for the ICs:
http://www.undp.org/content/dam/undp/documents/procurement/documents/IC%20-%20General%20Conditions.pdf.

Annex II Offeror´s letter to UNDP confirming interest and availability for the Individual Contractor (IC) assignment
http://procurement-notices-admin.undp.org/view_notice.cfm?notice_id=40058