Project Management Support (Country Grant Analyst) at United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS)

Functional Responsibilities:

Portfolio Planning and Implementation

• Act as the secretary of the Grant Approval Panel and facilitate the decision making process of the panel through coordination with Primary Recipients/Implementing Partners and all relevant teams to avail quality documentation in a timely manner;
• Review grant budgets, and financial reports against approved budgets, to provide critical feedback to the Primary Recipients/Implementing Partners, programme teams, operations and support services, as relevant;
• Verify reporting requirements are adhered to and ensure teams liaise closely with relevant teams in UNOPS and SHF on any delays or other difficulties;
• Review disbursement requests and ensure payments are processed based upon the grant agreement, agreed disbursement schedules, and agreed targets and results;
• Communicate with and provide guidance/advice to Primary Recipients/Implementing Partners on grant-related and financial matters, in collaboration with the Operations Team;
• Resolve operational and process issues related to grant management, and refer complex issues to the supervisor with recommendations for courses of action;
• Contribute to the coordination and follow up on spot checks, reviews and audit recommendations of Primary Recipients/Implementing Partners;
• Drafting Terms of Reference for subcontractors and consultants, suitable firms/institutions and support the evaluation of proposals received and recommendations for contract awards and negotiations as per UNOPS procurement policy;
• Support the design and formulation of new processes including risk management, quality assurance and quality control;
• Highlight risks and delays to the supervisor and team as appropriate.

Capacity assessment and capacity building

• Organize and support Primary Recipient’s/Implementing Partner’s capacity development and training in financial and any other organizational management aspects that may arise from the Country Monitoring Agent’s capacity assessments and recommendations;
• Provide day-to-day help and guidance to the Primary Recipients/Implementing Partners to ensure their understanding of, and compliance with, any relevant operational guidelines, terms and conditions of the grant agreement, and UNOPS requirements;
• Actively liaise with UNOPS grants teams to align to the extent possible Primary Recipient/Implementing Partner capacity development efforts as well as streamlining and harmonizing of practices and tools with UNOPS Geneva;
• Actively compiling lessons learned and best practices, and sharing knowledge and best practices within the UNOPS Geneva Office and with Primary Recipients/Implementing Partners, on financial and organizational management.

Research, analysis and knowledge creation

• Support the identification and preparation of bankable projects and country investment cases through desk research and data analysis;
• Review collate and analyze data on potential investors for selected bankable projects to inform SHF investor engagement and contribute to an ongoing catalog/database of identified entry points for SHF engagement with potential investors;
• Support the assessment of strategic partnering opportunities for SHF at the financing phase;
• Support development of knowledge assets around innovation scaling from analyzing lessons learnt and good practices;
• Contribute to strategic communications and resource mobilization.
• Draft and finalize talking points, including for the Directorate, and contribute to the drafting and development of documents, articles, and publications.
• Support organization of events, workshops and conferences as required.

Education/Experience/Language requirements:

Education

• A Master’s degree in political science, international development, social sciences, environment related sciences, water and sanitation engineering, economics, business or related field is required.
• A Master’s Degree in Business Administration, Public Administration, Economics, Political Sciences, Social Sciences, International Relations.
• Bachelor’s degree in combination with relevant additional experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced degree.

Work Experience

• Minimum 2 years’ experience as Project Officer/Coordinator or related role with development organization, public health, finance institution or comparable experience in the private sector is required
• Experience in budgeting, accounting and/or procurement is required
• 1 year exposure to innovative financing modalities is desirable
• Good knowledge of UN contractual and accounting principles and modalities is strongly desirable;
• Previous experience with UNOPS is desirable
• Additional experience of project support functions (finance, human resources, procurement & logistics) is desirable
• Strong computer skills, including internet navigation and office applications (Google Workspace/MS Office); good knowledge in the use of Excel spreadsheets/Google sheets is desirable;
• Experience in collating and analyzing complex information and preparing concise reports for decision makers is desirable
• Fluency in English (i.e. writing, reading and speaking) is required.
• Knowledge of another official UNOPS language, particularly French, is an asset.

Closing: 10 August 2022