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Administrative & Finance Assistant

Bonn

  • Organization: UNDP - United Nations Development Programme
  • Location: Bonn
  • Grade: Administrative support - GS-5, General Service - No need for Higher Education - Locally recruited position
  • Occupational Groups:
    • Operations and Administrations
    • Administrative support
    • Banking and Finance
  • Closing Date: Closed

Background

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Job Purpose and Organizational Context

The Bureau of External Relations and Advocacy (BERA) is responsible for positioning UNDP as the world’s leading global development agency, promoting its global authority and thought leadership on sustainable development and the interconnected issues of poverty, inequality, and climate change. BERA leads and supports UNDP in building and nurturing strategic relationships and alliances essential to achieving its mission. Creating strong political and financial backing for UNDP by providing partners and supporters with a clear understanding of what UNDP does and how our mission, capabilities and flagship services relate to them. The Bureau leads UNDP’s work on innovative and diversified partnerships and ways of financing the Decade of Action to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. It is also responsible for global campaigns on critical development issues, which aim to inform government policies and build partnerships around high-impact solutions. BERA coordinates and sets corporate standards across the functions of partnerships, marketing and communications within UNDP and leads on internal communications.

The Bureau of External Relations and Advocacy is positioned around three service lines; Public Partnership; Advocacy, Marketing and Communications; and Private and Finance Partners, all working in close collaboration and coordination under the guidance of the Directorate and with the support of the Management Support Unit and Strategic Analysis and Engagement team.
 
BERA has a robust network of Representation Offices (Brussels, Copenhagen, Geneva, Tokyo and Washington D.C.) and Regional Teams in five hubs (Africa, Arab States, Asia Pacific, Europe and CIS, and Latin American and the Caribbean) co-led with Regional Bureaux, all of which play a critical role in audience centric communications and management and strengthening of relationships with Public and Private Partners to help build a strong brand for UNDP within the local ecosystem.

In April 2021 UNDP opened a new representation office in Germany. The office is a reflection of the complementary agenda between UNDP and Germany and the shared ambition of supporting country-led efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals through the promotion of democratic governance, poverty eradication, stabilization and conflict prevention in fragile contexts and action on inequalities, climate change and the environment, making for a highly convergent partnership agenda.   The Office is expected to deepen the partnership with Germany, increase the visibility of UNDP and its work among German constituents and support UNDP at headquarter, regional and country levels in better positioning with German counterparts.

The office will cultivate, build and nurture strategic relationships including with parliament and its committees, Ministries, KFW, civil society, the private sector, foundations, academia, think tanks and the media.

The Office is located in Bonn with a satellite office set up in Berlin. The Germany Representation Office and the Bonn-based UN SDG Action Campaign, a special initiative of the UN Secretary-General hosted and supported by the Executive Office of UNDP, will collaborate and support each other across a range of areas, including administrative support.

In light of the many synergies and potential for cooperation between the UN SDG Action Campaign and the UNDP Germany Office, the Administrative and Finance Assistant will have a dual reporting line to the UNDP Germany Office and the UN SDG Action Campaign. His/her main tasks will mainly include support in financial management and planning, reporting, human resources management, procurement, logistical services and filing.

 

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the guidance and direct supervision of both the Programme Operations Associate (SDG Action Campaign) and the Senior Partnerships Advisor, Deputy Director (UNDP Germany), the Administrative and Finance Assistant has the following duties and responsibilities:

Administrative support

  • Manage the daily schedule of the Senior Partnerships Advisor, Deputy Director (UNDP Germany).
  • Maintain travel plans of the office and coordinate travel arrangements liaising with travel unit for travel schedule/itineraries and related documents
  • Organize, compile, and prepare documentation and materials for meetings and missions.
  • Provide logistical and operational support for organization of meetings, workshops.
  • Provide human resources management support, including the recruitment of consultants and experts through preparation and posting of TORs, preparations of contracts, both in and out of ATLAS, and setting up vendors.
  • Ensure effective filing, including through automated filing systems, and ensuring safekeeping of documents and other materials required; regular updates to Google Drive operations documents to keep a live tracking of outstanding or upcoming tasks.
  • Coordinate information flow and dissemination of communication to staff as required; follow-up on deadlines.

Financial support

  • Effective budget management, including revisions, monitoring and reconciliation; support to project budget/ATLAS monitoring and reporting.
  • Generate expenditure reports from computerized information system databases; assist in preliminary analyses of the extracted information and the reports generated.
  • Support the preparation of budget performance reports, performing preliminary analysis of variances between approved budgets and actual expenditures.
  • Assist with implementing budget and project award revisions, providing COA authorizations, creating requisitions, receipts.
  • Assist with the preparation of pre-encumbrances and obligations and review them to ensure that funds are available, and the correct account has been used.
  • Provide regular monthly updates on project expenditure status, and project resource balances etc, maintaining the internal expenditures control system
  • Prepare payment invoices, follow-up on status of payments.
  • Assist in monitoring the availability of funds for financial commitments.
  • Assist in the preparation of supporting documents (narrative and supporting tables) with respect to finalization of cost estimates and budget proposals, in terms of staff and non-staff requirements.
  • Monitor and track all donor agreements and contributions received and expected and supports preparation of financial and donor reports; prepares DMS forms as needed, working with Finance colleagues to ensure submission to GSSC.
  • Assist with year-end deadlines from BMS and in preparation of closing projects financially and operationally.
  • Support the transfer of residual balances of the various projects as well as donor refunds.

Procurement support

  • Ensure sufficient supplies have been acquired and venue arrangements are procured timely and complete.
  • Liaise with the appropriate procurement colleagues in obtaining necessary clearances, as well as preparing CAP and ACP submissions as needed.
  • Prepare draft (standard) contractual documents for the procurement of equipment/services, all in accordance with established procedures.
  • Assist in managing contracts for the service providers (for publications, experts, venues), ensures effective contract management and their successful closure.
  • Help solve budget errors expeditiously, so POs/vouchers are approved timely. Make budget checks for requisitions, purchase orders and vouchers.
  • Verify and provide support to the team members in the approval processes in ATLAS.
  • Present information for audit of Unit’s projects; supports implementation of audit recommendations.
  • Keep up to date with new releases vis-à-vis ATLAS and UNDP regulations, and exchanges information.
  • Ensure that team members follow UNDP operation guidelines and procurement procedures.
  • Perform other duties within the functional profile as assigned and deemed necessary.

Competencies

Core

Innovation

  • Ability to make new and useful ideas work.

Leadership

  • Ability to persuade others to follow.

People Management

  • Ability to improve performance and satisfaction.

Communication

  • Ability to listen, adapt, persuade and transform.

Delivery

  • Ability to get things done while exercising good judgement.

Technical/Functional

Partnerships

  • Ability to engage with other agencies, donors and other development stakeholders and forge productive working relations.

Representation

  • Ability to productively share UNDP knowledge and activities (at UN and other venues)

Brand & Quality Management

  • Ability to position a UNDP brand and uphold it to a high level.

Knowledge Management

  • Ability to efficiently handle and share information and knowledge.

Relationship Management

  • Ability to engage with other parties and forge productive working relationships.

Public Relations

  • Ability to manage the spread of information between the UNDP and the public.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

  • Completion of secondary education. University degree is desirable but it is not a requirement.

Experience:

  • 5 years of progressively responsible administrative experience is required at the national or international level.
  • Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc), advance knowledge of automated procurement systems
  • Advanced knowledge of spreadsheet and database packages is required
  • The ability to use good judgment and experience working in a multi-cultural setting are critical.
  • Experience in use of ATLAS/ERP, project management, procurement, finance tasks modules is a requirement.
  • Work experience at UN institution a strong asset.

Language Requirements:

  • Fluency in English and German required.

Disclaimer

Important applicant information

Internally advertised General Service (GS) fixed-term appointment (FTA) positions located in Headquarters are open to GS staff members currently serving in New York/Washington D.C. who hold a UNDP permanent or FTA who are either US Permanent Residents, US citizens or holders of a valid G4 visa at the time of their application and whose G4 visa has been acquired on account of their employment in the UN Systems based in New York or Washington, DC.

Current UNDP GS staff serving outside of HQ must meet the eligibility criteria stated above prior to their application.

Selected candidates who meet the above mentioned eligibility criteria are responsible for their own travel and/or relocation costs

Local recruitment

All posts in the GS categories are subject to local recruitment.

Applicant information about UNDP rosters

Note: UNDP reserves the right to select one or more candidates from this vacancy announcement.  We may also retain applications and consider candidates applying to this post for other similar positions with UNDP at the same grade level and with similar job description, experience and educational requirements.

Scam warning

The United Nations does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process. Should you receive a solicitation for the payment of a fee, please disregard it. Furthermore, please note that emblems, logos, names and addresses are easily copied and reproduced. Therefore, you are advised to apply particular care when submitting personal information on the web.

The United Nations does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process. Should you receive a solicitation for the payment of a fee, please disregard it. Furthermore, please note that emblems, logos, names and addresses are easily copied and reproduced. Therefore, you are advised to apply particular care when submitting personal information on the web. 
This vacancy is now closed.
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