Dutystation: Kabul, Afghanistan
Functional responsibilities
Grant management
Capacity assessment and Capacity building
Team Management (structure/number to be decided)
Knowledge management and innovation
The Specialist will supervise and manage his/her team to deliver on following activities:
Preparing and managing the Call for Proposals (CFP), conducting and managing the evaluation of proposals as per the UNOPS relevant policy.
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 Finance, 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 grants.
Contributing to the coordination and follow up on the audits of Implementing Partners (IPs).
The Specialist will ensure the following activities are successfully delivered for respective programmes:
The team contributes to the review and update of the financial and operational capacity assessment, incorporating best practices and assessment tools.
Financial and operational capacity assessments/Due Diligence Assessments (DDA) 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 organisational management are organized and delivered.
Day-to-day help and guidance to the IPs is provided and coordinated with the Programme Team 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 organisational activities and to ensure accountability.
Standardization to the extent possible of IP capacity development efforts by UNOPS.
Oversee and manage the work of others working on grants management 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 environments.
Plan and propose to the Director 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.
Promote teamwork and collaboration by providing the team with clear direction, objectives and guidance to enable them to perform their duties responsibly, effectively and efficiently.
Continuously assess team and individual performance and effectiveness and recommend changes and/or corrective actions in the team structure and/or operations to enhance and maintain effectiveness in a changing environment.
Keep abreast of and incorporate latest/best practices, approaches and technology to enhance the programme delivery and results.
Institutionalise and share best practices and lessons for corporate development planning and knowledge building.
Draft Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) to align grant operations with changing environments.
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 UNOPS Afghanistan.
Other
Establish solid working relationship with implementing partners as needed.
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 and team through consistent and consolidated reporting using dashboards to provide a high-level overview of performance.
Ensure smooth workflow and communication with Programme and Finance teams.
Update the Director 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.
Education/Experience/Language requirements
A Master’s degree in business administration, finance, development studies, international relations, project management or relevant discipline is required.
A Bachelor’s Degree in combination with 2 additional years of experience relevant to above duties and responsibilities may be accepted in lieu of the Master’s Degree.
Certification in PRINCE2 or PMP is preferred.
A minimum of 5 years of progressively responsible experience in project and/or financial management and/or grants management support operations at either public sector organizations and/or private sector companies is required.
Experience in fund / grant management operations and reporting is a distinct advantage.
Prior experience in working in Asia is an asset.
Experience with and a good knowledge of the development and humanitarian sector working with UN, Donors, NGOs is an asset
Experience in building and leading successful teams is an asset
Experience with G Suite is an asset.
Full working knowledge of English is required
Knowledge of another official UNOPS language is an asset.
TOGETHER, WE BUILD THE FUTURE
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.
We are proud of our people and embrace diversity and are committed to equal employment opportunities. Our workforce brings together approximately 160 nationalities, represented by over 5,000 UNOPS personnel as well as some 7,800 personnel recruited on behalf of our partners. Spread across 80 countries from a range of backgrounds, and languages and have different gender identities, sexual orientations, and abilities.
We encourage women and candidates from underrepresented groups in UNOPS to apply. These include candidates from racialized and/or indigenous groups, members of minority gender identities and sexual orientations, and people with disabilities.