Project Assistant

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.

UNOPS Hub in Amman

The UNOPS Hub in Amman implements projects in Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, Turkey, and Yemen, in partnership with bilateral donors, national governments, and other UN agencies.  With an established presence across the region, the office runs operations including large-scale procurement, project development, and technical management, and provides financial, human resources, and infrastructure-related services. The functional objective of UNOPS Hub in Amman is to deliver its projects in an efficient and effective manner and in line with the principles, rules and regulations of UNOPS, in order to support the response to the current needs and national priorities in the region.

The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS.

UNOPS is committed to achieving a fully diverse workforce.

Background Information – Job Specific

The Iraq Information Center (IIC) was launched in 2015 following an inter-agency assessment into the information and communication needs of displaced populations in Iraq. Responding to one of the most complex humanitarian crises in the world, the Humanitarian Country Team agreed to the establishment of an inter-agency accountability mechanism that allows affected populations to directly influence the evolution of humanitarian response in Iraq.

The IIC is implemented by UNOPS and is funded by a range of partners. Since its launch, the Iraq IIC has handled more than 400,000 calls, giving information to more than 2 million individuals. The Iraq IIC’s primary objective is to promote two-way communication between affected populations to:

• Empower communities through the provision of accessible and timely information on how to access humanitarian services and resources required to improve their situation;

• Help ensure efficient and effective coordination of humanitarian actors operating in Iraq by collecting and circulating information about the urgent needs and priorities of affected populations, as well as the information gaps between them and delivering actors;

• Support an environment of transparency and accountability by establishing an easy-to-access and safe mechanism through which critical feedback and complaints can be submitted and referred to humanitarian actors to influence humanitarian programming and shape advocacy.

The IIC is looking for a Project Assistant (PA) who will support for the overall administration, logistic, procurement and/or additional support of the project (contractual, organizational, financial, logistical, etc.). He/She will report to the Project Support Officer and will work in close collaboration with UNOPS Admin Finance Officer and other members of the IIC/UNOPS team based in Erbil.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Project Assistant will work in close collaboration with the Project Support Office, Admin Finance Officer and other project teams for effective achievement of results, anticipating and contributing to resolving project-related issues and information delivery. The incumbent is expected to exercise full compliance with UNOPS programming, financial, procurement and administrative rules, regulations, policies and strategies, as well as implementation of the effective internal control systems.

Administrative management:

• Pro-actively contribute to day-to-day project implementation and ensure conformity to expected results and project work-plans;
• Maintain project correspondence and communication;
• Collect, register and maintain all information on project activities;
• Advise all project counterparts on applicable administrative procedures and ensures their proper implementation;
• Contribute to the preparation and implementation of progress reports;
• Prepare agendas and arrange field visits, appointments and meetings both internal and external related to the project activities and write minutes from the meetings;
• Maintain project filing system;
• Prepare routine correspondence and memoranda for Project Managers signature;
• Receive, screen and distribute correspondence and attach necessary background information
• Provide support and follow up project staff in the implementation of their tasks for the achievement of project results (communication, contracts, agendas, visas, hotel reservations, etc);
• Support to maintain records on all project personnel and their respective status (ToRs, time and attendance – if appropriate, etc.) in accordance with accepted policies and procedures;
• Assist in logistical organization of meetings, training and workshops;
• Follow-up on timely disbursements by UNOPS;
• Keep track of staff attendance records and follow up on leave plan and update remaining balance;
• Advise staff on all aspects of allowances, travel claims and other financial matters and calculate payments due for claims and services;
• Undertake other administrative tasks on an ad hoc basis.

Procurement:

• Conduct procurement and logistical arrangements, perform daily procurement actions for the implementation of Project  activities such as procurement of equipment, goods and services, providing all documents in time and in compliance with UNOPS procurement procedures and rules;
• Prepare all the necessary documentation for tenders (ITBs, RFQs), liaise with Amman office to organise the Evaluation panel members and, if required,  development of Evaluation reports according to the UNOPS established procurement procedures;
• Support ensuring customs clearance of all imported goods (if any) and proper administration of the procurement process until the final acceptance of goods/services;
• Liaise with UNOPS Erbil and Amman Office the procurement processes;
• In accordance with the Work Plan arrange for procurement of equipment, supplies and services;
• Create and manage e-requisitions and ensure that all necessary procurement related data are recorded in OneUnops;
• Arrange for equipment maintenance and insurance as required;
• Ensure that contractual processes follow the stipulated UNOPS procedures;
• Physically clear and ensure delivery of equipment and supplies procured for the various programme sites;
• Maintain records over project equipment inventory;
• Ensure timely preparation of documentation for reporting on procurement activities; 
• Assist in developing and implementation of the Project Procurement Plan, identifying procurement related priorities;
  • Ensure regular update of a database of contract documentation, terms of references, list of suppliers of goods and services;
  • Assure proper filing of all procurement related documentation;
  • Perform any other duties assigned by his/her direct supervisor.

Knowledge Management and Learning

• Shares knowledge and experience;
• Actively works towards continuing personal learning, acts on learning plan and applies newly acquired skills

• Secondary education certificate.
• Diploma in similar fields would be an added advantage
• Minimum of five years’ work experience in administration, procurement field
• Proven experience in a similar position within the United Nations or in a humanitarian organization
• Strong oral communication skills
• Fluent in English, Kurdish and Arabic are required.

1. Contract type: ICA
2. Contract level: Local ICA Support, level 5
3. Contract duration: Ongoing ICA – ‘Open-ended, subject to organizational requirements, availability of funds and satisfactory performance.’

• 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.