Grants Management Analyst, Multiple positions

The Joint Peace Fund (JPF) has been set up by 11 international donors to support the nationally owned peace process in Myanmar. This fund is set to run until at least through December 2021.  JPF’s overarching strategic objective is:  inclusive peace is reached through agreements and strengthened stakeholders, institutions, and processes.  The structure of its strategic approach broadly reflects the shape of the nationally owned peace process: strengthening conflict management mechanisms created by ceasefire agreements; supporting formal and informal negotiations and dialogues; and promoting inclusivity through broad participation in the peace process. 

Under the structure of the Joint Peace Fund, the roles of Trustee, Contract Manager and Technical Secretariat have been separated. UNOPS acts as the Trustee and Contract Manager (TCM) and the Nordic International Support Foundation (NIS) is the grantee acting as Technical Secretariat (TS). Both organizations work closely together as a single team to ensure the smooth operations of the JPF with oversight from the Fund Board.

As a multi-donor trust fund JPF’s innovative design takes a holistic approach, using a “collaborative design” methodology that focuses on funding a broad range of stakeholders.   The JPF support reflects the belief that the road to peace in Myanmar lies in an inclusive approach, from the high-level negotiation process to remote communities working for peace in their villages.  JPF strives to maintain an accurate and timely knowledge management system, directly linked to its monitoring, evaluation, reporting processes, so that the fund’s strategic and operational investments achieve maximum impact in support of the JPF’s strategic objective. UNOPS is committed to achieving a truly diverse workforce.

The Grant Management team, as part of the Trustee and Contract Manager (TCM) team, is in charge of managing the grants with implementing partners.

The Grant Management Analyst will work under the day-to-day operational and technical supervision of the Grants and Contracts Specialist in the TCM. The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS. He/She will collaborate closely and engage actively with the Technical Secretariat (TS) of the JPF. Specific tasks will include:   

Grant management 

• Prepare grant awards requests, draft grant agreements and subsequent amendments, using the approved templates ensuring that all agreements and amendments are constructed and issued in line with UNOPS legal and financial rules and regulations;
• Review grant budgets submitted by implementing partners (IPs), verify their consistency with prevailing market rates; assist in discussion/negotiation of costs/fees as required; provide critical feedback to the implementing partners and Technical Secretariat;
• Ensure that reporting requirements are adhered to and liaise closely with the Technical Secretariat teams, and the supervisor on any delays or difficulties;
• Review financial reports and inform the programme focal points or the supervisor on the findings;
• Work closely with the TCM Finance Analyst on changes in the grants values, and update on payment schedules for cashflow planning;
• Review payment requests and ensure payments are processed based upon the grant agreement and agreed payment schedules;
• Communicate with and provide guidance/advice to implementing partners on grant-related and financial matters, in collaboration with the Technical Secretariat;
• Monitor IPs’ financial management of grants through main office and field visits, spot checks of project accounts, and including selective monitoring of sub-grantees;
• Resolve routine operational and process issues related to grant management, and refer complex issues to the supervisor with recommendations for courses of action;
• Ensure operational and financial closure of grants in line with requirements;
• Contribute to the coordination and follow up on the audits of Implementing Partners;
• Highlight risks and delays to the supervisor as appropriate.

Capacity assessment and Capacity building

• Assist in financial and operational capacity assessments of the IPs, and follow-up actions identified in the assessment reports;
• Provide day-to-day help and guidance to the IPs and coordinate with the Technical Secretariat to ensure IPs’ understanding of, and compliance with JPF operational guidelines, terms and conditions of the grant agreement, and UNOPS requirements;
• Actively compile issues, lessons learned and best practices, and share knowledge and best practices within the TCM and with IPs, on financial and organizational management;
• Contribute to the overall knowledge sharing and collaboration within the Grant Management team, UNOPS Myanmar Programme Management Office (PMO), and MMOC;
• Contribute to the implementation and success of the PMO Center of Excellence.

Documentation:

• Monitor information related to contractual arrangements – on audits, inventories, utilization and all such elements in the contracts and grants;
• Maintain a database/archive of all grant related information and documentation of all the implementing partners of the JPF;
• Keep the supervisor updated on progress and issues, and prepare briefing materials as requested for discussions on grant status;
• Other duties as may be assigned by the supervisor.

Deliverables

• Deliverable will be agreed with the supervisor, based on the annual work plan and the TOR.

Monitoring and Progress Controls

• The Grant Management Analyst will report to the Grants and Contracts Specialist, who will monitor his/her performance as per these ToR. Monitoring will look in particular at the following:
• Efficient, timely execution and follow-up of tasks as per the scope of responsibilities detailed above;
• Proactive and professional interaction with colleagues at UNOPS and the Technical Secretariat to exchange information and feedback on requests in an effective and efficient manner;
• Demonstration of UNOPS competencies and behaviours at the expected level when interacting with IPs, stakeholders, and colleagues from the JPF and MMOC.

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Public Administration, Economics, Project Management or related field is required
• Master's degree with above mentioned field will be considered as an asset.
• Completion of Prince 2 Foundation certificate is an advantage

• Minimum of 2 years of experience in contracts/grant management and/or project administration and/or project support is required;
• Good knowledge of contractual and accounting principles and modalities is required;
• Experience in organizational development or in designing office systems (finance, human resources, procurement & logistics) is a bonus;
• Experience in capacity-building is a bonus;
• Experience in field monitoring visits of partners is a bonus;
• Prior experience with UNOPS is an advantage;
• Previous successful involvement with, and a good knowledge of the development and humanitarian sector/working with UN, Donors, or NGOs is an advantage;
• Strong computer skills, including internet navigation and office applications (MS Office); good knowledge in the use of Excel spreadsheets;
• A thorough knowledge of UN rules and procedures in budget or grant management and contracting is highly desirable;
• Demonstrated ability to conduct financial and budget analysis is essential, and an excellent numeracy skill is an asset.

• Fluency in both English and Myanmar/Burmese languages is required (written and oral expression)

Contract type - Local Individual Contractor Agreement (LICA) Contract level-  LICA 8
Contract duration - Open-ended(subject to satisfactory performance and fund availability)

THIS IS A LOCAL POSITION. ONLY MYANMAR NATIONALS ARE ELIGIBLE TO APPLY. ALL OTHER APPLICANTS WILL BE REJECTED.


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 

• 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.
• 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
• UNOPS seeks to reasonably accommodate candidates with special needs, upon request.
• 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.  

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.

UNOPS is an operational arm of the United Nations, supporting the successful implementation of its partners’ peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world. Our mission is to help people build better lives and countries achieve sustainable development.

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

Working with us

UNOPS offers short- and long-term work opportunities in diverse and challenging environments across the globe. We are looking for creative, results-focused professionals with skills in a range of disciplines.

Diversity

With over 4,000 UNOPS personnel and approximately 7,000 personnel recruited on behalf of UNOPS partners spread across 80 countries, our workforce represents a wide range of nationalities and cultures. We promote a balanced, diverse workforce — a strength that helps us better understand and address our partners’ needs, and continually strive to improve our gender balance through initiatives and policies that encourage recruitment of qualified female candidates.

Work life harmonization

UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands.