Project Associate at United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

Under the overall supervision of the Lead Technical Specialist on NAP, the Programme Associate (PA) will facilitate the effective and integrated delivery of the Africa Adaptation Initiative, and  the GCF NAP Readiness portfolio in Africa by providing execution support to the AAI and oversight support to other related programmes throughout the development, implementation, monitoring/evaluation and closure of the projects and programmes.  This includes effective portfolio data management and monitoring to maximize Country Offices’ (COs') timely compliance with UNDP and various vertical fund requirements. The PA will also provide support to execution of SIDA integrated programme activities where relevant to Africa.

Under the supervision of the AAI project manager, the PA will provide programme and operational support services ensuring high quality, accuracy and consistency of work to the AAI project.  S/he will provide operational inputs and services, including serving as an effective bridge between the Nairobi Resilience Hub and the Regional Service Center for Africa, into the day-to-day project implementation of the project.

The Regional Programme Associate will work in close collaboration with the Operations, Programme, and Project teams within the NCE team (including those based in HQs and other global teams/staff), in the Regional Hub (especially Country Support Team), and in the Country Offices to resolve complex programme-related issues and to ensure a consistent quality service delivery.

Duties and Responsibilities

Ensures administrative and financial support to management of the EU-UNDP AAI project:

• Liaises with AAI project personnel and broader UNDP team to ensure standardized recruitment of consultants and experts for country support missions;
• Liaises with relevant staff from AAI project, Nairobi Resilience Hub and the Regional Service Center for Africa in providing effective operational support to the project;
• Assists/coordinates with AAI team on staff recruitment processes and consultant procurement  processes, including the development of TORs,  finalizing advertisements,  screening, long and short listing, organizing interviews, ensuring necessary records and documentation  throughout the recruitment  process,  etc., as requested by AAI PM;
• Monitors the progress of the work-plan projects and compile the required documents for submissions;
• Maintains relevant information on UNDP-NCE Project Information Management System (PIMS+), NAP workspace and any other repository tool utilized by the portfolio;
• Prepares  in  advance   all  travel  arrangements for  the Team Members' official missions, including visa  requests, travel requests/authorizations, DSA and security clearances, hotel reservations  and transportation,  document  and material for the mission. Maintain the supporting documents related to official mission needed to settle travel claims for audit purposes according to UNDP Regulations and Rules (i.e.  Ticket stubs; receipt related to hotel bills, visas, DSA, security clearance requirement, etc.);
• Be responsible for good maintenance of office administrative files and inventory records.
• Develops annual budget planning tools and templates and undertake quarterly budget monitoring against the integrated work-plan of the AAI project;
• Maintains shadow budgets for commitments and expenditures for the project and monitor project budgets;
• Prepares/analyzes financial reports depending on donor requirements for the project;
• Monitors project delivery and submission of progress reports and budget revisions;
• Tracks required information for project completion and/or processing requirements;
• Reviews projects’ annual and multi-year work plans in a timely manner, ensuring compliance with Donor requirements in terms of budgeting and identify irregularities;
• Ensures full compliance of administrative activities with UN/UNDP rules, regulations, policies and strategies (i.e. FRR, ICF, POPP);
• Preparation of inputs for reporting, including donor reporting.

Oversees NAP portfolio monitoring and support:

• Ensures all project information in UNDP-NCE database (PIMS+) is correct and up to date at all time from the creation of a project in PIMS+ until the project’s operational and financial closure for projects under his/her portfolio;
• Be responsible for coordinating the NAP portfolio  procurement processes under the rules and regulations of UNDP, including preparation of requisition, purchase order, bids or proposals, and their preliminary evaluation;   
• Supports the development of standard budget and annual workplan templates:
• Monitors project delivery and submission of progress reports and budget revisions, identifying reasons for shortfall in delivery and alert RTAs of any projects with concerns;
• Undertake financial monitoring of the portfolio in the region and analyze individual projects’ budgets and budget revisions in close coordination with the COs and RTAs;
• Assists in all aspects of global portfolio management, including tracking of standard project related management actions, monitoring and evaluation requirements and progress reports including processing of required documentation;
• Assists in the preparation, updating, and dissemination of PowerPoint and other presentations and in managing dissemination of information that describe the work and achievements of UNDP-NCE via the media;
• Conducts financial follow-up and advise Country Offices with regard to the deployment of the funds and the project closure, as well as, the preparation of the quarterly reports flagging to the RTA any discrepancies, need for action, or progress in disbursement;
• Maintains close contact with COs on projects in varying stages of the project cycle, tracking project development and/or implementation progress against established time-frames for project maturation and/or the attainment of implementation milestones as indicated in project annual work plans, recommending courses of action as appropriate and bringing to the RTAs’ attention all technical issues that require attention/resolution;
• Drafts correspondence and assist with other administrative tasks, as required;
• Backstops other members of the Team and performs ad-hoc tasks, as required, to ensure the Team will deliver at the highest standard;
• Supports in all aspects of the organization of meetings, seminars, and workshops including making timely conference room booking, assisting in preparing, sending, and following up on invitations, agendas and/or background documentation,

Provides management and support to projects under development:

• Coordinates document processing related to project development as relevant to all stages of the project cycle;
• Collection, analysis and checking for accuracy and consistency of information against established formats;
• Updating the UNDP-NCE project data base (PIMS+);
• Tracking required information for project completion and/or processing requirements;
• Following-up on correspondence with project proponents, Country Offices (COs) and UNDP-NCE Headquarters; and
• Processing clearance documentation for submission/resubmission, including final quality check regarding accuracy and compliance with formats and guidelines.
• Provides monitoring and support to projects after donor approval :
• Ensures effective communication to COs on the processes relating to Delegation of Authority (DOA) and ensure COs receive a DOA Letter and the approved final UNDP Project Document and any other associated/necessary documents and requested clearance (including financial and technical clearance) in a timely manner once UNDP-NCE receives an approval/endorsement from a source of funds;
• Ensures Annual Work Plans are submitted for Regional Technical Advisor’s (RTA) approval;
• Reviews projects’ annual and multi-year work plans in a timely manner, ensuring compliance with Donor requirements in terms of budgeting and identify irregularities;
• Ensures the issuance of key operational documents such as organization of Project Board meetings, Local Appraisal Committee, obtaining a Project Document signature, obtaining a  Letter of Agreement, and Interim Progress /Terminal Evaluation reports;
• Assists the Management and Programme Support Analyst in regional portfolio analysis, in particular, ensuring all data necessary for the analysis is collected from COs and consistent for any specific projects under his/her portfolio;
• Assists COs in completing budget revision processes in time for on-going projects under his/her portfolio.
• Maintain the internal expenditures control system which ensures that vouchers processed are matched and completed and transactions are correctly recorded and posted in Atlas and PIMS+

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Secondary education or equivalent
• University degree in Public Administration, Economics, Business Administration, Arts, Social Sciences or related fields would be desirable, but it is not a requirement.

Experience:

• Minimum 6 years for Secondary school, or 3 years for a Bachelor’s degree holder, of relevant work experiences in providing operational or project services focusing on financial and budget management