Programme Support Assistant

Background information - IPMG

UNOPS strategic focus places increased emphasis on national capacity development and sustainable approaches to project management, procurement and infrastructure services.  A key objective is to be recognized as an organization that delivers world-class infrastructure and project management, which is both economically and socially sustainable, even in the most challenging environments. To achieve this goal, UNOPS has established the Infrastructure and Project Management Group (IPMG).

Within UNOPS, IPMG’s objectives are to serve the organization’s personnel and partners by broadening their infrastructure and project management capabilities, while disseminating best-practices in both of these areas. Through this work, the group helps facilitate the successful delivery of programmes and projects around the world.

To achieve its objectives, IPMG has established three interrelated and interdependant work teams, namely, Strategic Initiatives, Standards and Engagement Assurance. IPMG is managed overall by the Director of IPMG and supported by a Programme Support Unit (PSU), which provides timely support in human resources (HR), Administrative tasks, Communication, Finance and Procurement to all three technical teams and overall IPMG by working in close relationship with other HQ units, notably IPAS, including  the Shared Services Center (SSC). The PSU also supports the communication aspects of the technical publications, and management of the Project Of The Year Award (POTYA). In addition, the PSU includes a Programme Management Office (PMO) function to support transparent and efficient management of IPMG business and coordinates all global exercises in budget, HR and procurement.

The Administrative and Reporting Assistant will report directly to the Support Services Specialist who manages the Programme Support Unit, with a primary focus on the reporting related tasks and coordination of administrative and payment tasks in close relationship with the HQ Admin unit. S/he will notably provide financial and administrative assistance ensuring  the effective execution of IPMG financial and administrative services and processes in compliance with UNOPS rules and regulations, and the transparent, accurate and timely utilization of financial resources. In addition, s/he will promote a client-oriented approach to deliver high-quality support services.

1. System Maintenance, Office Support and Reporting

• Manage the membership of the Infrastructure and Project Management Communities of Practice and the membership and access of all IPMG email groups and inboxes, as well asany other groups or community platforms as requested;
• Maintain and monitor the IPMG mission request tool and mission report library and prepare yearly report; provide timely assistance to the tool users as necessary;
• Act as focal point for queries related to the tool developed for the management of retainers managed by IPMG;
• Maintain filing systems, especially the folders in the M: (share) drive pertaining to administration, budget and audits;
• Maintain relevant hard copy and electronic records and files, e.g. commitments and expenditures, contracts, personnel information (treated as confidential);
• Gather information and prepare reports for statistical and monitoring purposes, including tables, graphs or any other data analysis;
• Maintain and provide assistance to users in relation to other IPMG tools;
• Provide support to the maintenance of the IPMG Team Site document library and related pages;
• Focal point for controlling and tracking of lending of IPMG equipment and assets, as well as library management, and maintaining records on assets management;
• Assist in and act as focal point for Team Building and coordination of shared activities in team, onboarding of new personnel and separation processes;
• Provide support in drafting a wide variety of reports, documents, presentations, correspondence and communications;
• Provide clerical support, including managing team meeting invitations and room bookings, team emergency communication tree, distributing physical mail in IPMG and taking meeting minutes.

2. Financial Support

• Assist in compiling complete supporting documentation to enable payment process; provide guidance to IPMG personnel (inc. retainers) as necessary;
• Assistance in the preparation of administrative budget, including extraction of financial data from oneUNOPS, preparation of budget monitoring table and expenditure reports under the supervision of Support Services Specialist;
• Review and monitoring of expenditures against the administrative budget under the IPMG business unit, bringing to the attention of the supervisor any problem or discrepancy that warrants further review;
• Prepare on monthly basis expenditure reports of budgets under IPMG business unit to inform IPMG management team decisions
• Perform other duties as and when assigned by Support Services Specialist or IPMG Director.

3. Monitoring and Progress Controls

• Setting standard, personal and development objectives in PER
• Ongoing assessment of task completion, which meets quality expectations
• Successfully meeting deadlines
• Willing and ability to learn

Qualifications and Experience

Education

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

• 5 years of experience in general office administration/ financial support functions are required with a high school degree. A BA or a MA degree may substitute for some or all the required years of experience respectively.
• Previous experience with UNOPS is highly desirable.
• Knowledge of OneUNOPS or an ERP software is highly desirable.
• Knowledge of UNOPS rules and regulations and processes is highly desirable.
• Experience in project management support function is an asset.
• Experience with online content management systems is an asset.
• Experience in event administration or logistical coordination is an asset.
• SharePoint experience is an asset.

Languages

• Fluency in English required;
• Fluency in French and/or Spanish and/or Arabic is considered a valuable asset;
• Knowledge of Danish is an asset.

• 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.
• 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
• 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.

• Contract type: LICA
• Contract level: LICA-5 / ICS-5
• Contract duration: Open-ended, subject to organizational requirements, availability of funds and satisfactory performance

For more details about the ICA contractual modality, please follow this link: https://www.unops.org/english/Opportunities/job-opportunities/what-we-offer/Pages/Individual-Contractor-Agreements.aspx 

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.