Grants and Contracts Officer, IICA-2

Job Description

Background Information - UNOPS

UNOPS supports the successful implementation of its partners’ peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world. Our mission is to serve people in need by expanding the ability of the United Nations, governments and other partners to manage projects, infrastructure and procurement in a sustainable and efficient manner.

Working in some of the world’s most challenging environments, our vision is to advance sustainable implementation practices, always satisfying or surpassing our partners’ expectations.

With over 7,000 personnel spread across 80 countries, UNOPS offers its partners the logistical, technical and management knowledge they need, wherever they need it.

A flexible structure and global reach means that we can quickly respond to our partners’ needs, while offering the benefits of economies of scale.

Background Information - Job-specific

THOH

Thailand Operations Hub (THOH) is a UNOPS business unit under the UNOPS Asia Regional Office and it was established to better support, develop and oversee the UNOPS portfolio of projects in South East Asia and the Pacific.

The Hub comprises three main portfolios –THOH Thailand, THOH Indonesia and THOH Pacific and provides a wide range of services including Project Management, Transactional HR, Financial, and Procurement to clients that include other UN entities, INGOs and governments/government agencies donors.

BRG Programme

Seasonal peatland fires are now compromising Indonesia’s economic and social development by creating considerable threats to health, the environment, and the economy. In 2015 peat fires and their related haze resulted in the hospitalization of more than half a million people due to acute respiratory infections. These fires that raged through 2.6 million hectares of forest and peatland areas in the islands of Kalimantan and Sumatra released 1.6 Gts of CO2e, surpassing the annual CO2 emissions of advanced industrialized nations such as Germany, France, and others. Direct and indirect damages cost the Indonesian national economy an estimated USD 16 billion, about 2% of its annual GDP.

In recognition of the importance of peatlands for biodiversity conservation, water resource management, reducing forest and land fires, livelihood support for local communities and carbon storage, the Government of Indonesia through Presidential Regulation No 1/2016 constituted the Peatland Restoration Agency (BRG). BRG has an important mandate: prevent forest fires, especially in peatland areas, as well as restore 2 million hectares of peatlands devastated by forest and land fires. The Agency identified 7 target provinces for peatland restoration and fire prevention activities in Riau, Jambi, South Sumatra, West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, South Kalimantan and Papua.

Since its establishment in 2016, Norway has been supporting BRG, as current support to the BRG by the Norwegian Government falls within the wider partnership between Norway and Indonesia established in 2010 through the Letter of Intent (LOI) to reduce emissions from deforestation and land degradation of forests and peatlands with USD 1 billion over the next few years. The USD 1 billion support is part of an international climate mitigation initiative (UNFCCC) supported programme that uses international aid to counter forest degradation in various parts of the world, and this is one of the largest ever contribution made to reduce deforestation.

In the framework of this background, Norway and BRG have asked UNOPS to develop a flexible multiyear administrative support mechanism for managing Norway’s financial support to BRG through the establishment of the BRG Results Enabling Facility (BRG REF). The mechanism has within its scope a back-office management component and a service, procurement, grants management and a delivery component.

In view of the foregoing, THOH is hiring for the post of Grants and Contracts Officer. Reporting to the Head of Fund Management Office (FMO), the incumbent shall contribute to the successful operational management of the Fund Management Office particularly in the area of financial performance management of implementing partners and contracted strategic services providers through tracking utilization of funds, drafting and maintaining legal documentation, and assisting with administrative closure of grants.

Functional Responsibilities

The Grants and Contracts Officer reports directly to the Head of FMO who provides direction and general supervision. The incumbent will ensure close collaboration and engagement with other Implementation Support Unit under BRG REF Programme. He/she will manage the contracts and grants management team. She/he will be responsible to ensure timely and quality grant and contract management, knowledge and application of UNOPS relevant tools, systems, and processes. The Grants and Contracts Officer is responsible to achieve results in the area/s of responsibility.

Summary of key results:

1. Grants management
2. Capacity assessment and Capacity building
3. Team Management
4. Knowledge management and innovation
5. Client Coordination and Satisfaction

1. Grant Management

The Grants and Contracts Officer will supervise and manage his/her team to deliver on following activities:

• Strengthen the operational risk management and internal control processes of the Fund Management Office especially in areas related to grant/contract management.
• Timely preparation of grant awards requests, drafting of grant agreements and amendments thereof, using the approved templates ensuring that all agreements and amendments are constructed and issued in line with UNOPS legal and financial rules and regulations.
• Monitoring budgets in grant proposals and verification of their consistency with prevailing market rates.
• Provision of assistance in discussing/negotiation fee/cost as required.
• Verifications of reporting requirements and ensuring adherence to those requirements.
• Liaising closely with the Programme and M&E teams on any delays, risks or other difficulties in grant management.
• Review of payment requests and supervise processing payments based on the agreed payment schedules.
• Coordination of the process of the operational closure of projects.
• Contributing to the coordination and follow up on the audits of Implementing Partners (IP).
• Manage Call for Proposals and EAC submissions

2. Capacity assessment and Capacity building

The Grants and Contracts Officer will ensure the following activities are successfully delivered:

• The team contributes to the review and update of the financial and operational capacity assessment approach of the fund manager, incorporating best practices and assessment tools.
• Financial and operational capacity assessments of the IPs are conducted as necessary, and follow-up actions are managed and identified in the assessment reports.
• IP capacity development and training in financial and organizational management are organized.
• Day-to-day help and guidance to the IPs is provided and coordinated with Program Unit to ensure IP understanding of, and compliance with, these standards.
• IPs receive required assistance in developing or strengthening their internal guidelines and policies to guide their project financial management and organizational activities and to ensure accountability.

3. Team Management

• Oversee and manage the work of Grants and Contracts Assistant by establishing team objectives, a work plan with key performance indicators and measurements, standards and expected results.
• Attract and retain talent and develop an agile and empowered team with the skills and competencies needed to ensure optimum performance and ability to respond to changing environment.
• Plan and propose required resources.
• Plan effectively and allocate resources to achieve goals and ensure the cost effective and appropriate use of resources in accordance with UNOPS standards of ethics, integrity and accountability framework.
• Continuously assess performance and effectiveness and recommending changes and/or corrective actions in the team structure and/or operations to enhance and maintain effectiveness in changing environment.

4. Knowledge management and innovation

• Keep abreast of and incorporate latest/best practices, approaches and technology to enhance the programme delivery and results.
• Institutionalize and share best practices and lessons for corporate development planning and knowledge building.
• Draft policy papers and/or recommend policy changes to align operations with changing environment.
• Lead the planning, implementation and organization of strategic capacity building of personnel, clients and stakeholders especially in the field of grant management.
• Coordinate with the Infrastructure and Project Management Group (IPMG) for tailoring good practices to meet the specific needs of BRG REF
• Establish solid working relationship with key individuals across the range of implementing partners supported by the BRG REF.
• Foster a positive work environment, respectful of both men and women, and ensure that the highest standards of conduct are observed.
• Manage the information flows between the implementing partners, team and the government through consistent and consolidated reporting using dashboards to provide a high-level overview of performance.
• Ensure smooth workflow and communication with other BRG REF Units and government
• Update supervisor on any deviations, outside of established tolerances, from the programme plan and the impact of changes or issues that arise during implementation accompanied by a range of solutions where possible.
• Identify and manage risks across all implementing partners to attain a programmatic overview of risk exposure.

5. Client Coordination

• Closely coordinate and work with the government counterpart in all matters related to Grants and Contracts

Education/Experience/Language requirements

Education/Experience/Language requirements

Education:

• Master’s degree in business administration, finance, development studies or relevant discipline is required.
• Bachelor’s Degree in combination with two (2) additional years of experience relevant to above duties and responsibilities may be accepted in lieu of the Master’s Degree.

Experience:

• Minimum five (5) years of experience in the field of contracts management, grants management and/or project management is required in combination with an advanced university degree.
• Experience in managing professional data structures for project and/or contracts management systems is preferred
• Experience in working with governments is an asset
• Experience in contract negotiation, preparation and management is a distinctive advantage
• Knowledge of contracting principles and modalities is required
• Experience in management information systems and contracts management databases and local/web interfaces would be an asset
• Prior experience in working in Asia would be an asset
• Experience in building and leading successful teams is an advantage
• Good understanding of UNOPS Rules and regulations is an advantage

Language:

• Fluency in English is required.

Certification:

• PRINCE2 Foundation certification or PMP is desired.

Contract type, level and duration
Contract type: International ICA
Contract level: IICA-2
Contract duration: Ongoing

The position is based in a Family Duty Station.

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.
• Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post
• The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS.

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.

Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.

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.

About the Organization

About us

UNOPS mission is to serve people in need by expanding the ability of the United Nations, governments and other partners to manage projects, infrastructure and procurement in a sustainable and efficient manner. Working in more than 80 countries, UNOPS supports partners in the implementation of approximately 1,000 projects, which range from managing the construction of roads in South Sudan to building shelters in Haiti to procuring educational computers in Argentina. UNOPS works closely with governments and communities to ensure increased economic, social and environmental sustainability for the projects it supports.

Working with UNOPS

UNOPS offers short- and long-term work opportunities in diverse and challenging environments across the globe. We’re looking for creative, results-focused professionals with skills in many disciplines, from project management, to procurement, infrastructure, finance and human resources. The work we do is fulfilling and offers opportunities for professional and personal development.

Watch this video to learn more about working with UNOPS

Diversity

With over 6,000 personnel spread across 80 countries, our workforce represents a wide range of nationalities and cultures. We promote a balanced, diverse workforce as a means of better understanding and addressing the needs of our partners, and continually strive to improve our gender balance through initiatives and policies that encourage the recruitment of qualified female candidates. Moreover, the vast majority of our personnel are nationals, working in their own country and developing local capacity.

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, such as flexi-time, compressed work schedules and telecommuting. This policy applies to UNOPS personnel on all contract types across the globe.