Support Services Senior Assistant

Contract

This is a LICA-5 contract. This kind of contract is known as Local Individual Contractor Agreements. It is normally only for nationals. It's an external contract. It usually requires 5 years of experience, depending on education. More about LICA-5 contracts.

Background Information - Job-specific

The incumbent will support WASH programme unit in India. Currently UNOPS is supporting the Jal Jeevan Mission, Government of India’s flagship programme that aims to provide Functional Household Tap Connections (FHTC) to every rural household by 2024 through piped water supply. UNOPS is committed to provide strategic technical and capacity building support to the Government of India to achieve the objectives of JJM and share the learnings with the global community. To this end UNOPS will support the states of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Assam, and Tamil Nadu with technical and capacity building inputs over a period around 3 years.

The main objective of the project is to facilitate the delivery of the Jal Jeevan Mission in the target districts by strengthening the capacity of government and other stakeholders at national, state, district, and village level to plan and implement the mission in a sustainable manner.

Four underlying objectives support the main objective are:

• To strengthen the delivery of National Jal Jeevan Mission by strengthening the capacity of institutional stakeholders to facilitate the mission achieve its goal and support SDG-6
• To strengthen the institutional delivery mechanism in the selected states for planning and implementation to manage community-based water supply systems, water quality and safety, grey water management and community-based O&M
• To empower project beneficiaries for participatory analysis of their current situation and undertake collective local action to plan and leverage funds to enable water and sanitation improvement in their villages
• To capture lessons learnt, share, and disseminated with practitioners for the adaptability

UNOPS will be starting a project on Resource Efficiency and Circular Economy in collaboration with Angul District Administration and UNEP in Angul district of Odisha. UNOPS will support the Angul district administration in setting up a Project Management Unit.

Under the direct supervision of Country Manager, India, the Support Services - Senior Assistant would be responsible for supporting the unit’s financial and administrative tasks, including grant management. The incumbent would provide administrative and financial management, ensuring high quality, accuracy, and consistency of work. The Admin & Finance Senior Assistant promotes a client-oriented approach, consistent with UNOPS rules and regulations.

The incumbent would need to undertake occasional travel.

Functional Responsibilities

Financial Management:

• Support the India office on administrative and financial management of the activities.
• Provide administrative support, financial management and monitoring budget implementation of the project, according to the UNOPS procedures and regulations to achieve the financial goals and results and techniques proposed.
• Facilitate effective management of the project budget including operational expenses
• Ensure reimbursement and documentation of operational expenses.
• Support the monitoring of compliance with UNOPS rules and regulations.
• Receive and analyze incoming financial documents and correspondence for completeness of information in conformity with UNOPS financial rules and regulations. This includes invoices from outside suppliers, contracts, travel claims, expense vouchers and advances among others.
• Log all incoming/outgoing transactions.
• Check documentation to ensure certification of services rendered/ goods delivered is written on the payment documents and duly signed by authorized staff.
• Assist procurement of goods or services as required including preparation of technical specifications or terms of reference
• Receive, classify, archive and track communications received and/or generated by the project. Maintains the Unit’s filing system according to UNOPS procedures.
• Assist in the preparation of documentation for audits in coordination with UNOPS regulations.
• Follow up on vendor payment transactions in a timely manner in accordance with regulations that are competent and the terms and conditions of agreement.
• Prepare all the relevant supporting documentation to review payment vouchers.
• Ensure that financial records are maintained.
• Draft correspondence to clarify discrepancies.
• Assist in closures of sub-projects and projects
• Prepare draft agreements, contracts and other instruments required by the project.
• Prepare payment information for submission.

Training support:

• Communication with State and Districts for planning and execution of trainings
• Keep list of trained trainers
• Contact co-trainers and make travel arrangements and their payments
• Keep report of trainings with list of participants.
• Provide logistic support to training team
• Keep tracking on follow-up activities after training

Administrative Support:

• Make travel arrangements and missions of project staff and consultants, including travel authorization, advances, security clearances, travel expense claims etc.
• Coordinate with travel agencies for outstation travel bookings, rescheduling or cancelations.
• Support the logistical and administrative preparations, and the development of project-related activities such as events, conferences, workshops, and forums including communication, drafting invitation letters, follow-up with participants and seeking confirmation, preparing final list, making venue, boarding, and lodging arrangements, negotiating costs with vendors, checking documentation, preparing payment information, and ensuring payments.
• Liaise with printers and designers for all publications and other printing requirements.
• Organizes weekly meetings with the India team, prepare minutes, maintain travel planner, and ensures correspondence for completeness of information
• Provide support related to arrangements of inhouse meetings
• Provide general administrative support in the office, related to supplying materials, meetings, etc.
• Performs any other job-related to administration duties whenever required.

Education/Experience/Language requirements

a. Education

• High School Diploma is required.
• Bachelor or Masters degree in finance, accounting, business administration or a relevant field will be considered an asset and may substitute some of the required years of experience.

b. Work Experience

• Minimum five (5) years of relevant supporting experience in finance, accounting, administration, project management or related fields preferably with UN agencies or other international organizations, or internationally funded projects.
• Experience /knowledge of web-based applications and Google Suite products especially google forms, sheets, docs and slides is an asset.

c. Languages

• Fluency in English is required.
• Knowledge of Hindi is an asset.

Competencies

Treats all individuals with respect; responds sensitively to differences and encourages others to do the same. Upholds organizational and ethical norms. Maintains high standards of trustworthiness. Role model for diversity and inclusion.

Acts as a positive role model contributing to the team spirit. Collaborates and supports the development of others. For people managers only: Acts as positive leadership role model, motivates, directs and inspires others to succeed, utilizing appropriate leadership styles. Demonstrates understanding of the impact of own role on all partners and always puts the end beneficiary first. Builds and maintains strong external relationships and is a competent partner for others (if relevant to the role). Efficiently establishes an appropriate course of action for self and/or others to accomplish a goal. Actions lead to total task accomplishment through concern for quality in all areas. Sees opportunities and takes the initiative to act on them. Understands that responsible use of resources maximizes our impact on our beneficiaries. Open to change and flexible in a fast paced environment. Effectively adapts own approach to suit changing circumstances or requirements. Reflects on experiences and modifies own behavior. Performance is consistent, even under pressure. Always pursues continuous improvements. Evaluates data and courses of action to reach logical, pragmatic decisions. Takes an unbiased, rational approach with calculated risks. Applies innovation and creativity to problem-solving. Expresses ideas or facts in a clear, concise and open manner. Communication indicates a consideration for the feelings and needs of others. Actively listens and proactively shares knowledge. Handles conflict effectively, by overcoming differences of opinion and finding common ground.

Contract type, level and duration

Contract type: ICA Contract level: Local ICA Support LICA 5 (G5 Equivalent) Contract duration: Ongoing

For more details about the ICA contractual modality, please follow this link: https://www.unops.org/english/Opportunities/job-opportunities/what-we-offer/Pages/Individual-Contractor-Agreements.aspx

Additional Considerations

• Please note that the closing date is midnight Copenhagen time.
• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.
• Only those candidates that are short-listed for interviews will be notified.
• UNOPS embraces diversity and it is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all its employees and encourages qualified candidates to apply irrespective of race, colour, national origin, ethnic or social background, genetic information, gender, gender identity and/or expression, sexual orientation, religion or belief, or disability.
• UNOPS seeks to reasonably accommodate candidates with special needs, upon request.
• Work life harmonization - UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands. We have a progressive policy on work-life harmonization and offer several flexible working options. This policy applies to UNOPS personnel on all contract types
• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post
• For retainer contracts, you must complete a few Mandatory Courses (around 4 hours) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS.
• The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS.
• All UNOPS personnel are responsible for performing their duties in accordance with the UN Charter, UN Staff Regulations and Rules, UNOPS Policies and Instructions, as well as other relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, all personnel must demonstrate an understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a manner consistent with UN core values and the UN Common Agenda.
• It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential recruits/interns. Recruitment/internship in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.

Background Information - UNOPS

UNOPS – an operational arm of the United Nations – supports the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by successfully implementing its partners’ peacebuilding, humanitarian, and development projects around the world. Our mission is to help people build better lives and countries achieve peace and sustainable development.

UNOPS areas of expertise cover infrastructure, procurement, project management, financial management, and human resources.

Working with us We are proud of our people. With a wealth of knowledge and skills in various disciplines – engineering, finance, human resources, ICT, leadership, project management, procurement, and more – they help tackle some of the biggest challenges of our time. Their work around the world supports progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

At UNOPS, we offer a range of short- and long-term opportunities in various environments and duty stations – from Denmark and Kenya to Mexico, Switzerland, Myanmar, Senegal, Uganda, and many more.

Diversity With over 5,000 UNOPS personnel and approximately 7,400 personnel recruited on behalf of our partners, spread across 80 countries, our workforce represents a range of nationalities and cultures. We promote a balanced and diverse labor force — a strength that helps us better understand and address our partners’ needs. We continually strive to maintain our gender-balanced workplace. We encourage qualified underrepresented groups as per UNOPS Gender, Diversity, and Inclusion Strategy to apply for our vacancies.

Work life harmonization UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands. UNOPS offers a variety of arrangements that enable women to excel in their careers, including flexible working hours for work-life balance, maternity leave, childcare facilities, and career coaching. UNOPS ensures a safe and inclusive working environment for women and men through field security training and measures to provide secure working arrangements on-site and in the office.