UNOPS Feb 2017 Recruitment

Whether it’s fighting Ebola by securing works contracts for new isolation wards, procuring life-saving medical equipment for the most vulnerable or helping establish West Africa’s largest renewable energy micro-grids, the work you do at UNOPS is about building a future we all can believe in.

If you have experience leading teams, are excited to expand our sustainable project management initiatives, are great at facilitating technical teams to develop specifications, are always ready to get hands on with the work and can lead partners through best practice in project management planning at Prince 2 Foundation certification level, then this is your opportunity.

Things happen quickly at UNOPS and we are looking for enthusiastic team players who are ready to not only keep up but blaze a path forward. The sub-regional office based in Accra, Ghana is UNOPS newest and covers the Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone. As a central resource for the United Nations and its member governments, UNOPS is a global organization that is focused on making a local difference with some of the world’s top services in Project Management, Infrastructure and Procurement.

What drives us is a passion to fight inequalities and to provide opportunities to those most vulnerable. Come help us build the foundations for communities to function and people to live with dignity and respect.

Job Description

Job Title: Project Support Associate

Under the overall oversight of the Head of Programmes, and reporting directly to the assigned Project Manager(s), the Programme Support Associate will support the Project Manager(s) with duties and responsibilities covering the following disciplines:

• Project Implementation
• Financial and procurement management
• Project Monitoring and Reporting
• Coordination and liaison
• Knowledge management and innovation
• Operational and logistical support

Project implementation

• Support the Project Manager in ensuring UNOPS Policies and Procedures, Financial Rules and Regulations (FRR) are adhered to for efficient project implementation and progress;
• Monitor financials and advise the Project Manager accordingly;
• Track expenditure and take relevant action when required to revise budgets (realignment and amendment);
• Monitor and record best practices and innovative approaches within UNOPS FR&R; identify and show alternative options according to activity needs;
• In consultation with the relevant stakeholders, assist in preparing amendments of Agreements and Budget revisions when applicable;
• Facilitate information flows and overseeing change controls, risk registers and issue management; document and feedback learned and best practices;
• Supporting the project planning process;
• Supports the monitoring and management of work packages within the project as and when required;
• Assist the Project Manager in monitoring of the project quality indicators and undertaking monthly assurance tasks on behalf of the Project Manager

Financial and procurement management

• Maintain all supporting project financial documents for audit and review processes;
• Ensure accurate data entry into UNOPS ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system;
• Monitor project budget and financial expenditure and all administrative procedures in line with the work-plan;
• Process direct payments and advance requests and prepare project budget revisions;
• Produce financial reports; including developing financial monitoring and reporting formats as per UNOPS requirements;
• Support the Project Manager by monitoring budgets, cash flow and reporting on expense obligations to ensure that deliverables are met;
• Alert the Project Manager or any financial shortfalls and over-expenditures;
• Propose budget revision and initiate corrective action when necessary;
• Coordinate vendor communications, meetings, and reports as necessary.
• Ensure conformity of project disbursement requests with procedures, work plans, and availability of resources for expenditure;

Project Monitoring and Reporting

• Provide substantive inputs to assist the Project Manager in the preparation of project reports and documents;
• Maintain records of project files and other supporting documents;
• Maintain the following records: Quality Register, Configuration Item Records and all other registers/logs delegated by the Project Manager;

Support the Project Manager in maintaining the following

i. Project Document Archive,

ii.Procurement, HR and Finance files as required by Organizational Directive (OD) 12.

• Manage the compilation, consolidation and analysis of relevant data of the mission;
• Assist the Project Manager in the preparation of project completion reports and ensure compliance with contractual obligations.

Coordination and Liaison

• Supports the monitoring and administration of contract management (HR, Service Contracts, rental agreements etc.) for Project operations;
• Proactively coordinate/liaise with support units on all administrative matters related to contract management;
• Liaise with the Programme Management Office (PMO) Team Members to complete project assurance related tasks.

Knowledge management and innovation

• Support the compilation of lessons learned as per defined reporting format;
• Contribute to the dissemination and sharing of best practices and lessons learned for planning and knowledge building;
• Contribute to expertise in tools and techniques.

Operational and Logistic Support

• Review input of financial information, expenditures etc. in oneUNOPS;
• Support development and maintenance of oneUNOPS based management information systems to ensure real time tracking and asset management under the project activities;
• Liaise with the Finance Unit to process and monitor all payment requests within the Project
• Assist the Project Manager in monitoring all HR requirements and related activities under the Project;
• Supports the preparation of Terms of Reference (ToR) for required inputs in the projects (staff, individual and institutional consultancy services, procurement of goods and services, organization of training, seminars, etc.), with expert and/or client support as required;
• Supports the organization of induction briefings to newly recruited staff and render support to consultants in the course of their assignment;
• Support and review submissions for Contracts, Purchase orders, Waivers and related documents prior to final approval;
• In accordance with UN and UNOPS Security Policies, manage travel for all personnel in the Project Team;
• Contribute to organizing project and stakeholder meetings as and when necessary, and maintain records of these meetings;
• Maintain records of project files and reports according to UNOPS document management guidelines;
• Supports the preparation of budget forecast and periodic financial reports as requested;
• Review weekly Activity reports and quarterly financial reports with respect to outputs based on work plans and budget forecasts;
• Liaise with finance and logistics/procurement units in tracking commitments and disbursements;
• Identify operational, administrative, financial and other bottlenecks that may impede project delivery; recommend solutions and take appropriate remedial action;
• Upon instruction of project manager, undertake field missions as required
• Establish and monitor an internal control system for all administrative actions.