Programme Management - Senior Assistant (Grants)

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.

Background Information – Philippines Established in 2016, UNOPS Philippines provides expert support to ensure sustainable project management, procurement and infrastructure activities in projects. With funds from the European Union (EU), UNOPS supports the Supreme Court, the Department of Justice, and the Department of the Interior and Local Government under the Governance in Justice (GOJUST) Programme (GOJUST2) through procurement, logistics, and grants management to push forward the justice reform agenda of the Philippine government through innovations and interventions; as well as providing grants to civil society organisations to improve access to justice of marginalised groups. In the Support to the Bangsamoro Transition (SUBATRA) Programme, UNOPS is working with the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) Government strengthening capacities of the executive, legislative and judicial branches to ensure a smooth transition, also with funds from the EU.

In the health sector, UNOPS works with the Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) for the construction of health facilities in Eastern Samar, and with the DOH / ADB in the HEAL project (Health System Enhancement to Address and Limit COVID-19).

The UNOPS Philippines Office is part of the UNOPS Cambodia Multi-Country Officer (KHOH), which provides oversight, support and services to UNOPS operations in the country offices.

UNOPS Philippines is in the process of expanding its area of engagement in cooperation with its development partners, focusing mainly on a portfolio of projects and programs in the infrastructure, logistics management, procurement in health, rule of law,  and governance sectors and subsequently is looking for qualified and committed experts.

Background Information – Project Background  Over  recent  years,  the  Philippines  has  demonstrated  a  high  potential  for  development.  In  2013, in  spite  of  Typhoon Haiyan, its Gross Domestic  Product  (GDP) grew  by  7.2%,  a net  increase from 6.8% in 2012. The country thereby became the fastest growing amongst the  five  largest  economies  in  the  Association  of  Southeast  Asian  Nations  (also  including  Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand) and the second in Asia after China. However,  the Philippines still faces some challenges to ensure inclusive growth for its population. 

With  the specific aim of promoting inclusive growth by generating mass employment and  reducing  poverty,  the  Philippine  Development  Plan  (PDP)  2011-2016  sets  out  nine  key  priorities. Good governance and anti-corruption constitute one of the nine distinct priorities,  as  well  as  being  an  overarching  theme  to  each  and  every  intervention.  Within  the  governance  chapter,  the  PDP  gives  a  particularly  prominent  place  to  the  rule  of  law,  emphasizing its function as a key driver for both economic and social development.

Despite  some  exceptions,  traditional  governance  indicators  for  the  rule  of  law  are  on  an  upward trend. The country's percentile rank in the general rule of law measurement of the  Worldwide Governance Indicator has been steadily improving since its lowest score of 34.1  in 2009,  to 36.5 in 2012 and 41.7 in 2013, although it is  still  far  from its highest  score  of  52.2  in  1998.  Likewise,  the  more  detailed  2014  World  Justice  Project  Rule  of  Law  Index   shows  major  gains  with  regard  to  the  absence  of  corruption  and  order  and  security,  and  slight improvements regarding regulatory enforcement, constraints on government power,  and fundamental rights since 2010. On the other hand, the Index also indicates some lags in  the  standard  of  civil  and  criminal  justice,  might  be  partly  due  to  the  contrast  with  improvements in other sectors more than to an actual worsening. However it nevertheless  addresses the need to emphasize the areas in most need of attention.  

To  support  the  reform  agenda  for  the  rule  of  law  as  part  of  the  Philippine  Development  Plan  (PDP)  2011-2016,  the  Government  of  the  Philippines  (GoPh)  and  the  European Union (EU) started to implement a Justice Sector Reform Programme to contribute to a  better  delivery  of justice  services.  The  Justice  Sector  Reform  Programme:  Governance  in  Justice  (GOJUST1), was implemented from 2016-2020, focused on four interrelated  components  laid the  ground  for  reforms such as: strengthened  sector  coordination  and  policy-making; implementation of case decongestion and automation; improvement  of  administrative  and  financial  management;  and  sustainability of reforms through enhanced accountability.

Building from the success of GoJUST I, the EU in partnership with UNOPS and British Council agreed to support another five-year (2020-2025)  Justice Sector Reform Programme: Governance in Justice II (GoJUST II).  This successor project aims to strengthen the Rule of Law through a two-pronged approach by combining improved administration of justice and enhanced promotion and protection of human rights.  The GoJUST II will build on the experiences and lessons learnt from the work done in the previous GoJUST I and previous EU-Philippines Justice Support Programme in the sector.

UNOPS is one of the implementing partners of  GOJUST II under Indirect Management and will be responsible for the provision of logistical and administrative support, which may include the organization of training, workshops, seminars and study tours; procurement of goods and services; small works; grants management and communication and visibility.

Role Specific The Grants and Contracts sub-team, as part of the UNOPS GoJUST II Project Team, will be responsible for providing support to the management of the Grants Programme under the GoJUST II’s key result area on “increased access to justice for vulnerable groups, including women”.  The Programme Management - Senior Assistant (Grants) will assist and work closely with the  Programme Management Officer (Grants Management) and the Senior Adviser from BC-TAT in charge of KRA3 for the determination of the focus of the grants, reach out to potential/target grantee and grantee evaluation.

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

• Support the various teams in the grant process from designing of the grant facility, call for concept notes or proposals, conduct of due diligence, preparation of grant awards, agreements and amendments.
• Assist in ensuring all the necessary and relevant grant-related documents are assembled and organized appropriately and collect the necessary signatures.
• Support the Grants management team in monitoring reporting deadlines and communicate with the Programme Management Officer (Grants Management) and the Programme team on pending and delayed reports.
• Support the Contracts Unit in reviewing reports (e.g. financial reports, asset reports, preparing checklists) and recommending ways forward.
• Assist in creating monthly reports and provide other data as required. 
• Assist in processing and maintaining  Call for Proposal/Concept notes including uploading documents, receiving and acknowledging receipt of proposals, maintaining a database of submitted proposals. 
• Liaise with the Finance team for necessary information to on-going and upcoming payments, cash flow requirements and other relevant information on grantees and new grant agreements.
• Follow-up independent partners’ payment schedules to prepare and process necessary documentation for grant payments in accordance with agreed upon payment schedule as per grant agreements and fund availability, create POs, prepare relevant necessary communication, and submit payment requests to Finance.
• Assist in closure of projects with appropriate actions (e.g. project audits, clearance of final reports, assets management) and ensure overall adherence to required procedure before the final payment is released.
• Maintain the archive and filing system by filing all required records for the grants both in hard copy and on the share drive.
• Assist in the tracking of grants management tools including IP performance/traffic light reports.

Administration and Logistics 

• Assist in organizing training and workshops, grants sub-com meetings and documentation of the highlights of these events or meetings.
• Raise POs and prepare payments as required.
• Assist in the development, update and maintenance of grants management tools and databases.
• 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.
• Other duties as may be assigned by the supervisor.

Capacity assessment and Capacity building 

• Assist team in the conduct of due diligence including financial and operational capacity assessments of the potential grantees, and follow-up actions identified in the assessment reports;
• Assist in providing day-to-day support and guidance to the grantees and coordinate with the Programme Management Officer (Grants Management) and the Technical Assistance Team to ensure Grantee’s understanding of, and compliance to  GoJUST II Grant Facility/Programme’s Operational guidelines, terms and conditions of the grant agreement, and UNOPS requirements;
• Actively compile 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”.

Documentation: 

• Assist in monitoring  information related to contractual arrangements – on audits, inventories, utilization and all such elements in the contracts and grants;
• Assist in the development and maintenance of a database and dashboard of all grant related information and documentation of all the implementing partners of the GoJUST Grant Facility; 
• Keep the supervisor updated on progress and issues, 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; and,
• Other duties as may be assigned by the supervisor.

• Completion of secondary/high school is required. 
• University Degree in Development Studies, Commerce, Business Management, Public Administration or other related fields is desirable but not required.
• A Bachelor or Masters would be an asset and may substitute for some of the required years of experience.

• At least 5 years experience in grants and contracts management involving Civil Society Organizations, NGOs in national and/or international public or corporate organizations.
• Experience in conduct of due diligence exercise or capacity assessments (including in finance management) for CSO/NGOs/POs or similar organizations is an asset;
• Experience in Grants Monitoring and Evaluation for NGOs/CSOs/POs is an asset;
• Experience in working with a range of stakeholders in social development context is an asset;
• Some experience in UN system organizations is desirable;
• Experience in the usage of G Suite is desirable.

• Fluency in both written and spoken English is desired.
• Fluency in other regional dialects is desirable.

• Contract type: Local Individual Contract Agreement (LICA) 
• Contract level: LICA 5 / ICS 5
• Contract duration: Open-ended
• Duty station: Manila, Philippines. Manila is a family duty station.

https://www.unops.org/english/Opportunities/job-opportunities/what-we-offer/Pages/Individual-Contractor-Agreements.aspx 

• 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.
• 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.