Project Support Assistant (Training and Coordination)

UNOPS in South Asia

UNOPS Operational Hub in Sri Lanka provides human resource, operational, procurement and administrative support to 5 countries in the South Asia region: Sri Lanka, Maldives, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh. One of the main focuses on UNOPS work in Bangladesh is to reduce the vulnerability of population to unsafe infrastructure, maximise the impact of public investments in infrastructure, and improve the effectiveness and financial viability of the public services delivered out of key public infrastructures. Such projects provide social and economic benefits to vulnerable populations across the region, and contribute to poverty eradication. Projects target a range of sectors such as education, health, urban development, environmental services, climate change mitigation, as well as a range of “soft” support in Capacity Building, operations and maintenance of public assets, local governance, etc.

Recently, the UNOPS, UN Development Programme (UNDP) and UN Women developed the joint programme in Bangladesh which aims to sustain the resilience of human and economic development in Bangladesh through inclusive, gender responsive resilience building.  The joint programme focuses on developing national capacities in the areas of: risk-informed and render-responsive development planning, capacities to sustainability and resilience in gender responsive manner, improved capacities of selected public institutions to achieve resilient institutions through risk-informed, gender-responsive infrastructure systems, enhance women’s leadership disaster response and management; and finally, to strengthen community-level preparedness, response and recovery capacities.

Under the Joint Programme, UNOPS is providing technical assistance to Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) and other public institutions to achieve resilient infrastructure outcomes through designing and constructing risk-informed, gender responsive infrastructure systems that lay the foundations for long-term socially inclusive infrastructure systems. In particular, UNOPS will contribute to the achievement of the over-all programme by:

• Strengthening LGED asset management system and decision making capacities for determining priorities associated with new development, maintenance and/or retrofitting of existing assets;
• Strengthening project evaluation criteria and capacities within LGED and other divisions, improve coordination and reduce duplication;
• Creating an applied understanding and capacity to introduce the concept of failure analysis to enhance build-back-better in reconstruction;
• Strengthening LGED professional capacities for Junior and mid-level engineers in the areas of design, construction and management/maintenance of resilient infrastructures;

UNOPS is establishing a project team that will ensure the timely and effective implementation of the planned activities in accordance with the detailed work-plans. In this regard, UNOPS is seeking the services of a Project Support Officer (PSO) who will be responsible for providing operational support to the project implementation throughout the course of the project.

Purpose and Scope of Assignment

Training Project Support

Pre-training

• In discussion with training work stream lead and counterparts from Implementing partner, identify/list down all requirements and specifications for the conduct of the training/workshop activities 
• Prepare the requisition, obtain approval from the TL and submit to procurement in-charge; follow-up and provide additional information as needed
• Coordinate and follow-up with Lead Specialist for the copy of presentation materials and other materials for handouts/distribution to participants
• Prepare training/workshop kits and training forms, including printing/photocopying and binding; ready all supplies and materials to be used in the training/workshop activities
• Translate English training materials into Bangla, as needed
• Coordinate with the contracted service provider for the training venue, accommodation and meals/food. Ensure that the requirements for training room set-up, menu and room sharing are properly communicated and followed through
• Arrange the transportation requirements of the team for training period
• Ensure to have  a good understanding of the flow of sessions/activities  to ensure that training support will be provided effectively
• Ensure that agreed lead-time for procurement of training venues and food/accommodation as well as printing of training materials preparations are followed.
• Manage the contract of the printing services and ensure that outputs are quality checked, invoices are reviewed and facilitate payment process.
• Maintain pre-training checklist for each course to ensure that all areas are well covered and prepared well in advance

During Training

• Provide secretariat support in the conduct of the training: room set-up; registration/ attendance checking; training/workshop kits and materials distribution; coordination with hotel/venue for meals schedules, etc.)
• Document the highlights of sessions/activities, workshop outputs and/or agreements and action points
• Provide interpretation assistance from English to Bangla/Bangla to English
• Assist in facilitating group activities
• Assist in administering pre and post training assessment and evaluation forms

Post Training

• Prepare draft documentation report of the highlights of the sessions/activities, workshop outputs and agreements/action points and submit to Work stream Lead or Lead Specialist as input to the training report
• Process pre/post training assessments and evaluation in the database;
• Coordinate with the venue for the invoices; review and submit to PSO for approval and processing of payment
• Update inventory of training materials regularly to ensure availability for the next training activities

Administrative and Procurement Project Support

• Raise Requisitions
• Prepare and submit vendors for approval
• Assist in preparing and submitting note to file for shopping
• Prepare cumulation tables for all procurement activities.
• Assist in RFQs
• Assist in Bid Opening Panels.
• Assist in Asset disposal.  Conduct Asset verification and Inventory verification.
• Prepare TRIP requests, draft Travel Authorisations, draft and reconcile TECs.
• Conduct required protocol actions such as visas, and customs clearances for the project.
• Assist in the preparation of reports to HQ.
• Assist in management of vendors and contractors employed by the project.
• Assist in project administration and logistics as required by the Project Manager.
• Initiate bulk procurement of frequently used items or services such as printing services, training suppliers/stationaries, printer ink, etc.

Coordination and Liaison

• Support the project team in coordinating activities at the field and logistics support
• Conduct follow up activities with Implementation Partners field point persons for in the implementation of activities
• Support the Team Leader in arranging meeting appointments, documentations as maybe requested
• Assist in developing annual training calendar and budget for the project in coordination with IP counterparts

General Duties

• Maintain close communication with the SAOH Support Units (HR, Procurement, Finance and IT) to ensure constant exchange of best practices and standardization of approaches;
• Provide inputs and suggestions as appropriate to streamline workflows/business processes and document templates/formats;

Provide support to the Project Manager/TL and Workstream Lead in:

• Effective administration and logistics carried out for the project so that operational continuity is maintained.
• Establish and maintain the training database where all the materials used for each training and workshop is properly organized and filed including photo documentation.
• Support Team Leader in preparing Training Summary Reports and Training/Workshop calendars
• Prepare and maintain the training activity log where key information such as course title, dates, participants’ number (male/female), venue and brief description of the course are provided.

 Key Skills

• Computer literate (MS Excel and Word) and ability to operate existing Enterprise Resource Planning Systems (OneUNOPS) is preferred;
• Understanding of project framework and environment;
• Knowledge of UN core values, rules and regulations an asset is an advantage;
• Excellent English skills, both verbally and in writing, local languages an advantage;
• Excellent communication skills and ability to work in a team to achieve organizational goals;
• Ability to plan and organize tasks effectively;
• Excellent coordination skills.

Education:

• High school diploma is required. A Bachelor or master’s degree in Business or Public Administration, project management or related field will be considered a strong asset.

Experience:

• 5 years of experience in project support functions are required in combination with a high school degree. A BA or a MA degree may substitute for some or all the required years of experience respectively.
• At least 2 years’ experience in proving training support in the areas of logistics arrangements, documentation and general secretariat support
• Experience in doing translation for training materials and interpretation during training event
• Experience in supporting the documentation of any training, workshop, meeting or project events 
• Experience working with government entities/ department and coordinating/dealing with relevant government officials is a must

Languages:

• Fluency in English and one of the officially recognized native languages of Bangladesh is required

• 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.
• 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.  
• This post is only open for candidates who are nationals of Bangladesh

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 supports the successful implementation of its partners’ peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world. Our mission is to serve people in need by expanding the ability of the United Nations, governments and other partners to manage projects, infrastructure and procurement in a sustainable and efficient manner.

Working in some of the world’s most challenging environments, our vision is to advance sustainable implementation practices, always satisfying or surpassing our partners’ expectations.

With over 7,000 personnel spread across 80 countries, UNOPS offers its partners the logistical, technical and management knowledge they need, wherever they need it.

A flexible structure and global reach means that we can quickly respond to our partners' needs, while offering the benefits of economies of scale.