Programme Support Officer

The Joint Peace Fund (JPF) is a multi-donor fund being established to support national efforts to bring about a durable conclusion to over 60 years of ethnic armed conflict in Myanmar. The Fund will support national efforts to negotiate and implement a Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement, or other peace instruments agreed between the parties. It will aid the negotiation of a framework for political dialogue, and the process of political dialogue itself. The Fund will support peacebuilding processes at the sub-state and local level, working to enhance security, trust, and participation in a broad peace process.  The Fund will act as a locus of applied research and innovation.

The modality of a multi-donor fund was selected by the donors to encourage coordination, collaboration, and joint ownership of the Fund and its outcomes by the Union Government, Ethnic Armed Groups, and the donors. The parties to the Fund will mutually agree on funding priorities, creating a critical venue for discussion and cooperation between the Union Government and Ethnic Armed Organizations.  The Fund also includes structures for input from Myanmar society and state-level organs, and, it is hoped, will draw additional international support to Myanmar’s peace process by providing an established and well-functioning platform for these funds.

Under the proposed structure of the Joint Peace Fund the roles of Trustee, Contract Manager and Technical Secretariat have been separated. UNOPS will act as Trustee and Contract Manager and another entity will act as Technical Secretariat.  Both organisation will coordinate their efforts and ensure the smooth operations of the JPF in the current inception phase and subsequent implementation phase over the coming years implemented via grant agreements.

Under the direct supervision of the Trust Director, and with a secondary reporting line to the UNOPS Myanmar Head of Support Services, the Programme Support Officer shall: 

Advisory and technical support

• Set-up and manage and supervise the Programme Support Unit of the JPF and ensure efficient operations.
• Manage donor contribution agreements, maintain a database of contribution agreements and funds received from donors, and ensure that accurate payment requests are submitted to donors in a timely manner.
• As required, maintain financial oversight and report to the JPF Trust Director on over-expenditure and under-utilization of funds.

• Lead the continued improvement of processes and procedures within the programme support team and participate in the development of standard operating procedures for the JPF Programme and UNOPS Myanmar in general.
• At the request of the Trust Director participate in any discussions and planning exercises to ensure UNOPS position, interests and priorities and constraints are fully considered and understood

• Act as the JPF programme representative at the UNOPS Myanmar Operations Group, and as focal point between the JPF team and UNOPS Myanmar centralized support services
• Act as custodian of Standard Operation Procedures on behalf of the Fund.

Audit and Compliance

• Monitor support services to ensure optimum client service and satisfaction, including liaising with appropriate teams and individuals in Headquarters for the required support.
• Monitor and supervise all aspects of operations to ensure compliance with corporate strategies, UNOPS rules, regulations, policies, and standards of accountability, ethics and integrity and achievement of results.
• Coordinate all audit activities vis-à-vis the JPF Programme including audit preparation, audit engagements, responses to audit queries and observations, follow-up on and implementation of audit recommendations, and reporting to UNOPS management and the Fund Board of JPF.
• Maintain oversight over assets procured by JPF, maintain the asset inventory, and conduct regular asset inventory counts.
• Ensure effective implementation of administrative tasks within the areas of travel management and vehicle management, and delivery of JPF team administration in general.

Project planning and coordination support

• Develop strategies and annual work plans for the Programme Support Unit of the JPF Programme.

• Provide assistance and support to Technical Secretariat and implementing partner budget preparation, revisions and work planning if requested by the Grant Portfolio Manager.
• Provide input into project engagement and acceptance documents including assisting with contract negotiations with regard to JPF contributions
• Provide advice on goal setting, targets and performance standards for projects and recommend tools for fiduciary oversight.
• Monitor financial projections, take necessary action(s) and/or refer critical issues to the Trust Director and/or other stakeholders for action.
• Provide advice on programme and implementing partner cost sharing, deployment of funds and closure to Grant Portfolio Manager.
• Constantly monitor and analyse the operating environment to identify potential risks (specifically operational risks) and take action/refer critical issues for intervention to ensure delivery of results.
• Ensure appropriate measures have been documented in a Closure Plan to facilitate the transition of operations in the final stage of delivery

Financial Management

• Prepare the Trustee and Contract Management financial plan and manage the budget process / cycle to ensure timely revisions and reallocation of funds.
• Oversee finance colleagues within the team and ensure compliance with the UNOPS/Financial Rules & Regulations and Finance procedures
• Monitor, track and control expenditure to ensure optimum and appropriate use of resources.
• Ensure the availability of required financial reports and exception reports including investigating anomalies to resolve problems, reporting or recommending any action required to relevant stakeholders.
• Supervise the timely review, posting and closure of accounts. Certify/verify accuracy and compliance with standards of accountability framework. Submit/prepare mandated report on financial status.
• Supervise all financial services (accounting, cash management, payments etc.) ensuring timeliness and compliance with standards of accountability and performance.

Human Resource Management

• Plan recruitment and contract amendments, where required, for UNOPS to deliver its Trustee and Contract Management operations
• Oversee all human resource services/processes including recruitment, salary administration and compensation, performance review, training and development, ensuring compliance with human resource rules, regulations, procedures and standards of performance and ensuring that hiring managers actively seek to create diverse teams in terms of gender and geography within the team.
• Promote and support a learning culture by empowering individuals and teams to identify critical learning needs and plan/provide easy access to learning opportunities to maintain personnel competency and flexibility.
• Foster a positive work environment, respectful of both men and women, and ensure that the highest standards of conduct are observed.

Administration and Information Technology

• Manage the acquisition, maintenance, inventory, recording, verification and protection of project and administrative facilities/assets, including IT infrastructure, equipment and servers.
• Identify opportunities for leveraging the use of IT to enhance business operations and efficiency and to facilitate knowledge management, and information sharing.
• Manage the timely and efficient delivery of all administrative services, (e.g. premises, asset management, organizational and personnel security, travel and IT).

Knowledge management and innovation

• Contribute to the development and introduction of innovation to ensure UNOPS is continually incorporating best practice approaches into programme support services.
• Contribute to the dissemination and sharing of best practices and lessons learned for corporate development planning and knowledge building.
• At the request of the Trust Director and in collaboration with the team, plan, implement and organise strategic capacity building of project personnel, clients and stakeholders.

Further duties may be identified by the supervisor during project implementation

Education:

• A Master’s degree in a relevant field is required. Preferably in financial management, accounting, auditing, business administration.
• A combination of Bachelor’s degree with an additional 2 years of relevant work experience may be accepted in lieu of the education requirements outlined above.
• Certification in PRINCE2® or PMP® would be an asset

Experience:

• A minimum of 7 years of progressively responsible experience covering at least two of the following operations functions is required: Procurement, Contract Management, Finance, Logistics/ Asset Management and Human Resources. Knowledge of the other functions is desirable.
• At least 5 years of experience in managing compliance and audit is required.
• Experience and knowledge at both policy and operational levels with a variety of relevant UN funding and/or operational agencies, bilateral donors and international financing institutions is an asset.
• Prior regional experience in Asia, particularly in Myanmar, would be considered an asset
• Experience in the usage of computers and in office software packages (MS Office 2010 and/or newer versions) is required.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English is essential (must be able to effectively communicate in both oral and written)

We value our people and recognize the importance of balancing professional and personal demands. UNOPS has a progressive policy on work-life harmonization and offers flexible working options. This applies to UNOPS personnel on all contract types across the globe.

• Please note that the closing date is midnight Copenhagen time (CET)
• 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.  

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.