Project Background – European Union Governance in Justice III (EU-GOJUST III)
Building on the gains of GOJUST I and II, the European Union, in partnership with UNOPS and the International Development Law Organization (IDLO), supports the third phase of the Enabling Justice and the Rule of Law Programme, otherwise known as the “EU-GOJUST III”. This new action seeks to strengthen the rule of law in the Philippines through more coordinated, efficient, and people-centred justice services, while enhancing access to justice for all, especially women and vulnerable populations.
EU-GOJUST III continues the momentum from previous EU-funded justice programmes, including GoJUST I, GOJUST II, and the EU-Philippines Justice Support Programme (EPJUST II). While GOJUST I focused on strengthening national-level institutions, and GOJUST II deepened engagement with civil society and local justice mechanisms, the EU-GOJUST III places greater emphasis on localized implementation and institutional sustainability. This new program will address access to justice by supporting legal aid services, enhancing the capacity of local governments as entry points into the justice system, increasing rights awareness, and building the capacity of justice actors to respond to the needs of women and people in vulnerable situations.
Despite notable achievements, challenges persist in scaling and sustaining reforms, ensuring equitable access to justice, and improving justice outcomes at the local level. EU-GOJUST III addresses these through a localization approach, strengthening the capacity of JZs and Local Government Units (LGUs) to deliver responsive, inclusive, and gender-sensitive justice services.
This action aligns with the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2023–2028 and supports critical justice sector coordination structures such as the Justice Sector Coordinating Council (JSCC) and the Justice Zones (JZs), which have proven instrumental in advancing cross-agency collaboration, data sharing, and innovation in justice delivery. This action is also fully aligned with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, contributing to SDG 16: promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all, and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.
In collaboration with IDLO as Technical Lead, UNOPS will support the implementation of key components under the EU-GOJUST III. This includes coordination with Philippine justice institutions, civil society, and local actors, with a focus on improving legal aid services, rights awareness, and institutional capacity.
EU-GOJUST III will contribute to two Specific Objectives (SOs), as follows:
Specific Objective 1 – Justice Coordination: To develop more coordinated, efficient, gender-sensitive, and people-centred justice services;
Specific Objective 2 – Access to Justice for All: To enhance access to justice for all, especially for women and people living in vulnerable situations.
UNOPS, leveraging its experience as an implementing partner in GOJUST I and II, will continue to provide operational support, including training, procurement, grants management, and behavior change campaign in support of the justice sector reform in the Philippines.
Access to Justice Facility under EU-GOJUST III
The Access to Justice Grant Facility aims to enhance access to justice for all, especially for women and people living in vulnerable situations. At the start of EU-GOJUST III, the Access to Justice Facility will undergo review and update based on justice needs assessments, consultations, and lessons from EU-GOJUST II. This component aims to provide grant funds to eligible CSOs and academia that will contribute to achieving four key outputs:
Improved access to legal aid services and, in particular, address cultural and social barriers that prevent women from accessing justice
Improved capacity of LGUs as right holders’ first entry point in the justice system
Increased awareness of rights and available remedies for rights-holders, including women and people living in vulnerable situations
Enhanced capacities of actors of the justice system on the issues faced by women and other people living in vulnerable situations.
UNOPS is responsible for fund administration, management, financial monitoring, and overall reporting of the grant facility. It will also manage and deploy local expertise as needed. In addition, capacity building for grantees is also a key approach that will be integrated at the onset of the grant management. UNOPS will work with the EU GOJUST Technical Assistance Team (IDLO) on the overall design, implementation and monitoring. The grants facility will adhere to principles of transparency, accountability, and value for money, thereby contributing to sustainable development.
The position is based in Manila, Philippines. Manila is a Family Duty Station.
The Project Management Support - Senior Associate (Grants Administration and Financial Monitoring) (PMS-Sr Associate-Retainer) will work under the supervision of the Project Management Support - Officer (Grants Management). They will be responsible for providing support to the day-to-day operational administration of the grants, contract management, and financial monitoring of the Access to Justice Grant Facility. They are expected to support the Programme Management Officer (Grants Management) in the internal UNOPS assurance procedures and compliance, due diligence, administration, and financial monitoring of the grantees. With guidance from the supervisor, they will collaborate and engage in activities with Technical Assistance Team members and work with retainers, when deemed necessary, during when surge capacities are needed.
The PMS-Senior Associate (Administration and Financial Monitoring) will be assigned a number of Grant Projects (at least 5 grant projects) to be the focal point and will be responsible for administering and managing this “portfolio” in accordance the UNOPS Grants policies and procedures. He/she will also be responsible for liaising with the grantees, ensuring that the procedures and terms of the grant support agreement are complied with all throughout the grant cycle.
Specific tasks will include:
1. Grant Administration:
In collaboration with the project sub-team in the grant process, provide administrative support in designing the grant facility, call for concept notes or proposals, orientation on budget proposal template for applicants, review of submission by applicants, conduct and report writing of due diligence assessments (especially in finance capacity), preparation of grant awards, agreements, and amendments.
Ensure all the necessary and relevant grant-related documents for assigned grant projects are assembled and organized appropriately, collecting the required signatures, and filing them in the proper folder/s. Draft the schedule for financial monitoring and reporting deadlines for the grant management team, in collaboration with the technical monitoring team.
Monitor the submission of financial reports and flag concerns to the supervisor and the Senior Project Manager on pending and delayed reports.
Execute the Review of the financial reports, including asset and procurement reports of implementing partners and recommend improvements, and submit the same to the Grants Officer to finalize.
Generate and prepare monthly system financial reports and analyses from the OU, and provide other required data, with focus on the Access to Grant Facility component;
Ensure, together with the PMSO-Grants, the processing and maintenance of Call for Proposal/Concept notes, including uploading documents, receiving and acknowledging receipt of proposals, assessing the completeness of submissions, and maintaining a database of submitted proposals.
Initiate the process, in coordination with relevant project team members, for ongoing and upcoming payments, cash flow requirements, and other pertinent information regarding grantee’s financial budget disbursement. This includes ensuring payment schedules are aligned with the signed agreement, complete documentation for grant payments in accordance with agreed-upon payment schedule, and fund availability, creating POs, preparing relevant necessary communication, and submitting payment requests to Finance.
Implement actions towards closure of assigned grant projects with appropriate actions (e.g. project audits, clearance of final reports, assets management) and ensure overall adherence to required procedures before the final payment is released.
Maintain the archive and filing system of all required records for the grants both in hard copy and on the share drive.
Work closely with the Grants management support team, especially with the Monitoring and evaluation Associate, in developing tracking tools for grants management, including performance/traffic light reports (dashboards), and maintaining the platform
Conduct due diligence assessments (DDA), particularly financial capacity assessments, lead and/or participate in the DDA, and contribute to organizational and prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse (PSEA) assessments.
Prepare a summary of the assigned grantee applicants’ evaluation documentation for GET and GSC, including the creation of the file.
Working with the Supervisor, support the development and review of the Access to Justice Grant Facility’s annual work plan and budget, including providing input on accomplishments, issues, risks and mitigation, and lessons learned.
Working with the Supervisor, prepare periodic reports of the status of implementation of the grants projects for internal/external analysis and actions.
2. Administration and Logistics
Raise POs and payment requests/ disbursements to assigned grantee projects are executed timely.
Ensures the effective and efficient provision of logistics and asset management support services for the EU GOJUST Access to Justice Grant Facility in compliance with UNOPS rules, regulations, policies, and strategies.
Collect and maintain records, both hard copies and electronic copies for easy reference and retrieval, related to contractual arrangements – on audits, inventories, utilization, and all such elements in the contracts.
Keep the supervisor and management updated on progress and issues, and prepare briefing materials as requested for discussions on grant status.
3. Grants Monitoring and Capacity Building
Provide input in designing and organizing training and workshops, grants subcom meetings, and documentation of the highlights of these events or meetings.
Authoritatively interpret grants procedure as part of the guidance to the grantees in the areas finance and contracts, and coordinate with the Programme Management Officer (Grants Management) and the Technical Assistance Team to ensure Grantee’s understanding of, and compliance to EU GoJUST Grant Facility/Programme’s Operational guidelines, terms and conditions of the grant support agreement, and UNOPS requirements;
Coordinate and conduct field monitoring and verification missions/spot checks to assigned grantee projects; As focal point on financial monitoring, will serve as lead in spot checks/financial verification, monitoring and collaborate with the technical team in preparation of monitoring reports
Actively compile and report lessons learned and best practices, and share knowledge and best practices within the GoJUST Project Teams and with Grantees, on financial and organizational management; and,
Contribute to the overall knowledge sharing and collaboration within the Grants and Contracts team in UNOPS Grants Management “Community of Practice”.
If required and delegated, provide training sessions to the financial officers of CSO grantees to ensure compliance with the grant agreement and increase the capacities of the assigned partner organizations.
4. Documentation:
Support in monitoring information related to contractual arrangements – on audits, inventories, utilization, and all such elements in the contracts and grants;
Maintain information of assigned grant projects that will feed towards the Grant Facility Dashboard, ensuring that financial and grant information are regularly updated.
Keep the organization, supervisor, and the grants subcommittee updated on progress and issues, risks, and lessons, and prepare briefing materials, as requested for discussions on grant status;
Document meetings of the team and other bodies in the grant programme, as may be assigned by the supervisor.
