UNDP Jobs - 70860- Project Associate

Project Associate

Location :

Nicosia, CYPRUS

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

03-Apr-2017

Application Deadline :

10-Mar-17 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

National Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

Initially up to September 2017 with possibility of extension.

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 in Cyprus works to support the ongoing peace and confidence building process by promoting initiatives that encourage dialogue and cooperation between the communities of Cyprus. UNDP works in support of different bi-communal Technical Committees in the implementation of their confidence building measures. Our main partners are: The Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage (TCCH), the Committee on Missing Persons in Cyprus (CMP) and the Technical Committee on Crossings (TCC). Through cultural heritage conservation projects, community engagement initiatives and large infrastructure and urban upgrading projects we aim to support both political peacemaking and practical confidence building processes.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the overall guidance and the direct supervision of UNDP Programme Manager and UNDP Operations Manager, the incumbent is expected to perform the following tasks:

Project Support:

Coordinate and liaise regularly with projects’ focal points on project activities for the preparation of terms of reference and the recruitment of experts in support of project activities.
Coordinate actions related to the administration of human resource activities: support all procurement processes, including the recruitment of consultants and experts through preparation and posting of TORs, draft contracts and facilitating the establishment of vendor profiles in the system; Ensure timely preparation and submission of consultants’ requests for payment to Finance;
Assist in the organization of interview panels including coordinating the participation of candidates, identifying and inviting panelists to the interview panel and providing panelists with all relevant documentation;
Ensure that all communications are well documented and processes managed with the utmost transparency;
Oversee the maintenance of vacancy announcement files and keep track of status of vacancy announcements and recruitments.
Collects and disseminates information related to thematic area, including inputs for donor reports and provides information when requested from various sources.
Provide assistance in monitoring project budget implementation/expenditures.
Draft, submit for review and approval routine correspondence such as Inter-Office Memoranda, emails, SOPs, administrative circulars. Maintain a filing system.
Support the drafting and revision of agreements with donors and assist in monitoring the overall implementation of the agreements.
Support the process of donor reporting for all projects in coordination with program teams.
Keep the files for the related activities (procurement, travel, payments) up to date and in order.

Travel Support:

Assist in organizing all administrative requirements with respect to consultants’ official travel liaising with travel agent(s) when necessary. Make travel arrangements and coordinate all administrative, logistical and security requirements.
Follow-up with contracted travel agent to ensure provision of high quality professional service and most competitive price.
Provision of information to the staff on travel including entitlements, travel route and hotel arrangement.
Arrangements for security clearance when required.
Processing travel authorization and travel claims in line with travel entitlements for staff, consultants, UN and visitors, ensuring that the travel arrangement follow the UN rules of most direct route and most competitive prices.
Hotel reservations for visiting UN/UNDP officials.
Processing requests for visas for all UN travelers, as well as requests for Resident Permit and Diplomatic Identification Card for international staff.
Arrangement for airport pick-up of high-level officials and support to expediting of customs and immigration procedures, as necessary.

Administrative Support:

Create electronic folders on project documents, correspondence, reports and other materials ensuring safekeeping of confidential materials by following the established filing and archiving standards and procedures for the office.

Perform other related duties as assigned.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

Demonstrates commitment to UNDP’s mission, vision and values;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;

Functional Competencies:

Ability to meet deadlines and maintain high-quality of output working under pressure;
Ability to use good judgment and experience working in a multi-cultural setting are critical;
Excellent communication / organizational skills, attention to details;
Ability to operate personal computers, corporate and commercial software applications and databases such as Microsoft Office, Microsoft Outlook, perfect command of Excel, Internet, ERP;
Familiar with corporate software applications is essential;

Core Competencies:

A high sense of confidentiality, diplomacy and urgency;
Demonstrating/safeguarding ethics and integrity;
Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment;
Self-development, initiative-taking;
Acting as a team player and facilitating team work;
Facilitating and encouraging open communication in the team, communicating effectively;
Creating synergies through self-control;
Learning and sharing knowledge and encourage the learning of others. Promoting learning and knowledge management/sharing is the responsibility of each staff member;
Informed and transparent decision making.

Required Skills and Experience

Education

University Degree in Business, Public Administration, Human Resources, Economics, Political Sciences or Social Sciences.

Master Degree in a relevant subject is considered as an asset.

Experience

At least 5 years of relevant work experience is required;
Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.)

Language requirements

Written and spoken proficiency in English is required.

Fluency in Turkish and/or Greek is required. Knowledge of both languages is an asset.

Driving License

Valid driving license is required for the use of office cars for the official purposes as requested by the supervisor.

Application:

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications:

Personal History (P11): Applicants are required to fill and sign a P11 Form. The UNDP P11 Form can be downloaded here
References: Contact details of 3 references.
Financial Proposal: Applicants requested to submit financial proposal. Financial proposal will specify the daily fee in EUR per working day (a day will be calculated as 8 hours) and shall cover all expenditures including fees, health insurance, vaccination, international (all travel to join duty station/repatriation travel) or local travel (place of residence to office and office to place of residence), cost of living and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of services. Leave benefits (annual, sick, paternity, maternity) are not applicable to Individual Contractor and absent days including weekends and office holidays are not payable.

Evaluation / Selection Process

All applicants will be screened against qualifications and the competencies set above. Candidates fully meeting the requirements will be further evaluated based on the criteria below.

Technical Criteria (CV review and interviews) – 70 % of total evaluation– max. 70 points

CV review: 30 points:

Educational qualifications as defined in the ToR (15 points);
Experience as defined in the ToR (15 points).

Only candidates who obtained at least 70% of points from the CV desk review (who will score at least 21 points) will be invited for an interview.

Desk Review and/or Interview: 40 points

Relevant experience in providing project level general administrative support (20 points)
Experience in human resources and procurement actions (10 points)
Communication, interpersonal and language skills (10 points)

Only those individual consultants who obtained at least 70% of points from the interview (28 out of 40) will be considered for financial proposal evaluation.

Financial Criteria - 30 % of total evaluation – max. 30 points.

Financial scores will be calculated using the formula [lowest offer / financial offer of the candidate x 30].

UNDP applies the “Best value for money approach” – the final selection will be based on the combination of the applicants’ qualification and financial proposal.

Payment Term:

Monthly lump-sum payable upon submission of the monthly time-sheet, the monthly report and approval of the UNDP.