National Consultant for Programme Finance Support

Contract

This is a National Consultant contract. More about National Consultant contracts.

Background

I. Organizational Background

UN Women (the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women), grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security.

In Turkey, in line with its global?Strategic Plan 2022-2025?and Country Strategic Note (2022-2025), and the overall UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework for Turkey (UNSDCF) (2021-2025), UN Women works towards the overarching goal of “Women and girls including those at greatest risk of being left behind fully exercise their human rights, enjoy a life free from violence and discrimination, and lead, influence and benefit from sustainable and inclusive socio-economic development towards the advancement of gender equality in Turkey”. UN Women works in four thematic areas: (i) governance and participation in public life; (ii) women’s economic empowerment; (iii) ending violence against women and girls; and (iv) women, peace and security, humanitarian action and disaster risk reduction. UN Women contributes to three UNSDCF outcomes: 1) Women and girls have improved and equal access to resources, opportunities, and rights, and enjoy a life without violence and discrimination; 2) By 2025, Persons under the Law on Foreigners and International Protection are supported towards self-reliance. 3) By 2025, governance systems are more transparent, accountable, inclusive and rights-based with the participation of civil society, and quality of judicial services is improved.

Gender-responsive budgeting (GRB) is a well-recognized strategy and powerful tool to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment. It enables governments to effectively reduce gender inequalities through policies, plans and budgets that address equally the specific needs and priorities of women and men, including the most excluded. It improves the effectiveness of public spending and strengthens accountability by urging for the creation of transparent budgets. UN Women has spearheaded and supported GRB interventions in more than 75 countries and has recognized global, regional and country-level technical expertise in this area.

In Turkey, in the past years, UN Women has partnered with the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA) on GRB to integrate gender equality into the strategic plan, budget processes and ultimately to the budget of the TGNA. In addition, UN Women has supported the development of a pool of trainers on gender equality to increase the institutional capacity of the TGNA on gender equality as well as to increase the sustainability of the efforts on gender equality and GRB. At the local level, jointly with UNDP, it has supported the integration of gender perspective into strategic plans and budgets in selected municipalities and the establishment of specific units dedicated to the advancement of women’s rights.

Building on these initiatives, UN Women will embark on a new three-year project “Implementing Gender-Responsive Planning and Budgeting in Turkey” as of December 2020, funded by the European Union and the main beneficiary of which is the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Services (MoFLSS) - General Directorate on the Status of Women (GDSW) whereas the co-beneficiary is Presidency of Turkey - Presidency of Strategy and Budget (PSB). The project aims to increase financing for GEWE through strategic partnerships, providing tailored technical assistance and guidance, and building institutional capacity and knowledge. It is designed to support selected line Ministries as well as four selected pilot municipalities (Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality, Eskisehir Metropolitan Municipality, Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality, Edirne Municipality). The project will benefit from international expertise and close linkages with UN Women’s Regional Programme “Transformative Financing for Gender Equality in the Western Balkans” as well as other relevant initiatives.

Reporting to the Programme Specialist (NOC), and under the overall guidance of the Operations Analyst (NOB), National Consultant for Programme Finance Support will be responsible for supporting financial management of the Project “Implementing Gender Responsive Planning and Budgeting in Turkey” and for ensuring the implementation of finance-related operational, administrative and programmatic support in the timeframe set in the Project.

Duties and Responsibilities

II. Scope of work and responsibilities

Under the overall supervision of Programme Specialist, the National Consultant for Programme Finance Supportwill be responsible for supporting on the following tasks:

a. Provide effective support to programme unit on Budget and Finance Management

• Monitors the budget utilization and implementation, as per the the work plan/spending projections and the signed agreement;
• Ensures that expenditure is in accordance with the project document and project work plans and that accounting records and supporting documents are properly kept;
• Provide advanced administrative support and inputs in the preparation of programme work plans/spending projections, budgets, and proposals on programme implementation arrangements;
• Oversees projects in UN Women ERP systems, supports preparing budget revisions, revises project details and status; determine unutilized funds and the operational and financial management of projects from creation to closure;
• Monitors budget preparation and the budget execution of the UN Women Country Office;
• Follow ups on and/or consolidates performance indicators/success criteria, targets and milestones, preparation of financial reports;
• Ensure compliance with EU General and Special Conditions per the Agreement.
• Maintain internal expenditure control system;
• Keep stakeholders and clients informed for timely action and/or decisions.
• Provides technical guidance to projects/programmes and UN Women Responsible parties on routine implementation, delivery of projects and reporting of programme supported activities and finances; Analysis of the situation in programme, identification of operational and financial problems, development of solutions;
• Ensures full compliance with UN/UN Women rules, regulations, and policies of financial activities, financial recording/reporting system and follow-ups on audit recommendations; implementation of effective internal controls, proper functioning of a client-oriented financial resources management system.

b. Provide finance support to the Programme and Operations team:

• Monitor the setup of budgets in ATLAS to ensure they are in accordance with budgets agreed with donors and are input into ATLAS at the detailed Activity ID level;
• Support in the preparation of partner advances and liquidations documentation in line with UN Women policy;
• Aid project teams in the submission of donor actions;
• Provide training to partners on liquidation of advances and related reporting on liquidations; and
• Work with the Monitoring and Reporting Analyst on donor reporting to ensure that the correct reports are received as required.

c. Provide financial administrative support to Financial Management

• Provide monitoring and administrative support to the project team on financial management and controls;
• Prepare supporting documents for payments and financial reports;
• Support in UN Women Turkey Operations team as required to prepare documentation relating to expenditures;
• Support UN Women Turkey as needed in the preparation and review of audit related documentation;
• Provide cover for UN Women Turkey operations/finance team if needed when individuals are on leave etc.; and
• Support budget rephasal and revision in Atlas for non-core funds. Support the programme team in the financial management of project funds.
• Prepare of budget revisions, and provide administrative support in the operational and financial closure of ATLAS projects;
• Administer the linking projects results with Results Management System (RMS), prepare and establish RMS budgets with project managers.
• Provide training in all areas related to project budgets and finances for GRB Project as required.

III. Assignment and Payment Schedule

The duration of the contract is for 6 months during the period from 15 May 2022 to 15 November 2022.

The Consultant is expected to invest approximately 21.75 working days per month for this Assignment.

The Consultants shall be paid upon successful completion and acceptance of their timesheet submitted at the end of each month by them. The payment shall be affected only if the timesheets are submitted to the UN Women Programme Specialist on a monthly basis. Without submission of and approval of the timesheet, the Consultants shall not receive any payment even they invest time for this assignment.

The Consultants will be paid in local currency at the end of each month.

Travel:

No travel requirements are envisioned under this assignment. In case of an unforeseeable travel, the travel arrangements will be handled by UN Women as per the UN Women rules and regulations.

Mandatory Courses:

The Consultant shall complete all the mandatory and further required UN courses, training and modules on time. The certificates shall be submitted to the Hiring Manager.

IV. Key Performance Indicators

• Adherence to UN Women standards, rules and regulations;
• Quality support to financial management, finance-related operational and administrative functions
• Quality organization of files and reports;
• Timely support to team.

Competencies

V. Competencies

Core Values:

• Respect for Diversity
• Integrity
• Professionalism

Core Competencies:

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues
• Creative Problem Solving
• Effective Communication
• Inclusive Collaboration
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Leading by Example

Functional Competencies

• Strong knowledge of programme management;
• Ability to create, edit, synthesize and present information in clear and presentable formats;
• Ability to administer and execute administrative processes and transactions;
• Ability to provide input to business process re-engineering, elaboration and implementation of new data management systems;
• Ability to manage data, documents, correspondence and reports information and workflow;
• Excellent financial and budgeting skills;
• Excellent IT skills.

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies: http://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-employment-values-and-competencies-definitions-en.pdf

UN Women 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.

Required Skills and Experience

VI. Required Skills and Experience:

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in finance related field required, equivalent technical certification accepted.
• Master’s degree in Business Administration, finance, accounting or an area relevant to the requirement is an asset
• Specialized national or international certification in accounting and finance is an asset.

Skills and Experience:

• At least 7 years of progressively responsible experience in finance relating to programme management/support;
• Experience in UN or EU projects is an asset.
• Experience in working in a computer environment using multiple office software packages;
• Experience in the use of ERP system such as ATLAS is an asset; and
• Experience in the field of gender equality and women’s empowerment is an asset

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English and Turkish is required.

VII. Application Procedure:

The following documents should be submitted as part of the application:

• Cover letter to include a brief overview about which of your previous experiences makes you the most suitable candidate for the advertised position.
• CV in English containing the relevant educational and professional experience.
• Signed UN Women Personal History (P11) Form including past experience in similar assignments which can be downloaded at http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment

When applying; the Cover Letter, CV and the signed P11 Form should be merged into one (1) single PDF document since the system will allow only to upload maximum one document. Therefore, please combine these forms and documents into one (1) single PDF document and upload them to the system.

Should they be short-listed in consideration of the consultancy post, candidates should have the ability to quickly submit degree certificates, medical certifications or any other requested document. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Applicants are responsible to make sure to have provided all the requested application materials before the deadline.