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Consultancy – Business Partnering Expert, BMS/OFM/FBA

home based working in new york time zone

  • Organization: UNDP - United Nations Development Programme
  • Location: home based working in new york time zone
  • Grade: Consultancy - International Consultant - Internationally recruited Contractors Agreement
  • Occupational Groups:
    • Operations and Administrations
    • Border and Customs
    • Sustainable Business Development
  • Closing Date: Closed

Background

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the global development network of the United Nations system that is on the ground in over 140 countries, with its Headquarters in New York, USA.  The Bureau for Management Services (BMS) is a central Bureau tasked with the development of corporate strategies, policies, tools and systems in key cross-cutting management areas. Drawing on sound analytics and a risk-management approach, BMS supports the achievement of development results through management advice, innovative business solutions, and other corporate services in line with international best practices and evolving needs and expectations of development partners.  BMS also ensures policy adherence in operations management within UN Rules & Regulations, safeguarding UNDP’s accountability vis-à-vis Member States and other stakeholders.

The Office of Financial Management (OFM) performs a pivotal role within BMS and within UNDP’s global finance function, partnering with Bureaux and Country Offices. The primary role of OFRM is to maintain the financial integrity of UNDP through providing financial leadership, supporting the efficient and effective management of its financial resources, promoting financial sustainability and responsible resource allocation in the context of a fluctuating funding environment. This is accomplished by the development and implementation of sound financial policies and practices, oversight of corporate financial management performance, and flexible scalable support to resource allocation. OFRM is a key source of information for the Executive Board, General Assembly, to Partners and wider civil society. It supports transparency through the provision of on time and quality statutory and other financial reports that comply with international standards and regulatory guidelines.

The Finance Business Partnering/Business Advisors team (FBP/BA) is the point of contact for client facing offices in providing advice, guidance, and related services on complex financial issues, those relating to the financial aspects of project and programme management. The services provided include policy advice, financial management training, internal controls, financial planning support, report and query management, and programme resources management.

The FBP/BA unit also plays a role in monitoring the financial performance of the Bureaux and offices in support of OFRM's responsibilities for corporate oversight.  In so doing, develops constructive relationships with clients to understand the reasons for strong/weak performance and develops strategies, in close consultation with the regional bureaux to help them improve. In response to the recent Global Environment Facility (GEF) audit recommendations, additional monitoring and advice is required to ensure the regional bureaux continue to exercise their enhanced oversight roles on the GEF projects.

Reporting to the head of FBP/BA, the services of Business Partnering Expert are being sought to undertake specific functional and technical work on financial management related activities through the achievement of the deliverables specified under ‘Expected Output and Deliverables’ section. These deliverables span across the work of the FBP/BA unit and cover, amongst others, key corporate initiatives such as the NextGen ERP Data Preparedness and transition to a new Oracle Cloud ERP from the current PeopleSoft (Atlas) system during 2021.

Duties and Responsibilities

Within the scope of the FBP/BA unit’s work, the Business Partnering Expert will undertake services to meet the specific deliverables outlined in the ‘EXPECTED OUTPUTS AND DELIVERABLES’ as follows:

The specific responsibility areas for the consultant and the associated deliverables will include:

Output description

Projected completion date

Projected no working days

Review and approval

% of payment

Milestone 1:

Final Financial Bureaux Review’s presentation materials for three bureaux, Launch of Phase 3 NextGen ERP Preparedness initiation report with recommendations on priority actions, a summary report on Regional bureaux’ enhanced oversights for GEF High-risk Projects and Unspent analysis report (2021 covering Delivery issues).

Output 1.1

Final presentation materials for three Financial Bureaux reviews.

 

Output 1.2

Launch of Phase 3 NextGen ERP Preparedness checklist and communication materials together with an initiation report with recommendations on priority actions

Output 1.3

Final report covering the short-term actions for Regional Bureaus to enhance oversight role for the GEF High-risk projects in response to the Global Environment Facility (GEF) audit recommendations, including documentation of key issues and the ICF exceptions report

 

Output 1.4

Unspent analysis report (covering 2021 Delivery issues).

 

Dependencies:  Input from Business Analytics Team and Regional Bureaux

30 September 2021

19 days

 

FBA Manager

32%

Milestone 2:

Financial Bureaux Reviews’ presentation materials for three bureaux, ERP Data Preparedness interim report with a list of follow-up actions, responsible party and priority issues identified and issuance of the Q3 Quarterly Financial Management Report to country offices

Output 2.1

Final presentation materials for three Financial Bureaux reviews  

Output 2.2

Interim status of the Phase 3 NextGen ERP Preparedness report with follow-up actions, responsible party and priority issues.

Output 2.3

A cover letter and issuance of Q3 Quarterly Financial Management report (QFMR) to country offices

Dependencies:  Input from Business Analytics Team.

11 November 2021

30 days

 

FBA Manager

46%

Milestone 3:

Financial Bureaux Reviews for two bureaux, ERP Data Preparedness final report with recommendations and lessons learned, a final status report on Regional bureaux’ enhanced oversights for all GEF Projects in relation, to country offices together with lessons learnt & recommendations

Output 3.1

Final presentation materials for two Financial Bureaux reviews

Output 3.2

Final status report for the Phase 3 NextGen ERP Preparedness, a lesson learnt and recommendation.

Output 3.3

A final status report on Regional bureaux’ enhanced oversights for all GEF Projects

 

Output 3.4

A summary paper to the FBA manager on the achievements, the lessons learnt, recommendations, including a punch-list of open items with a full handover-note.

Dependencies:  Input from Business Analytics Team.

10 December 2021

15 days

 

FBA Manager

22%

 While this is a home-based milestone delivery assignment, the consultant will be responsible for taking part in functional and technical meetings. The consultant will be expected to work in New York time zone and able to participate in the meetings

The delivery, timeliness and the quality of the specific milestones will be evaluated against the overall project status without prejudice to the consultant.

Competencies

  • Sensitivity to cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age differences.
  • Demonstrated ability to provide guidance and oversight in the area of financial and administrative management.
  • Proven skills and ability to identify issues, formulate opinions, draw conclusions and recommend solutions.
  • Ability to assess risks and correctly analyze the likelihood of them occurring and prioritize any necessary action to the risks with the largest business impact.
  • Strong financial management skills.
  • Knowledge of the financial frameworks, programme policies & procedures of UNDP and/or UN entities.
  • Proven ability to write in a clear and concise manner and to communicate in an effective manner
  • Analytical capabilities combined with strong interpersonal and written communication skills

Required Skills and Experience

Academic qualifications:

  • Advanced (Masters) University Degree is required.  Those with a degree in Finance, Accounting or a professional accounting qualification certificate from an internationally recognized institute of accounting will be an added advantage.

Experience:

  • At least 7 years of relevant and progressive professional experience in providing financial advisory services, business partnering and/or managing staff and operational systems is required
  •  Thorough experience with ERP systems is required. Experience in large-scale ERP implementation projects including data conversion. Experience with Oracle ERP is a distinct added advantage.

  • Experience with Peoplesoft and Oracle Cloud ERP will be an added advantage.

  • Experience and understanding of International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) or International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) utilized by international organizations is required
  • Experience with UN Finance and Accounting procedures will be an added advantage.
  • UNDP Finance experience will be an added advantage.

Language:

  • Fluency in English is required;

Application Procedure

The application package containing the following (to be uploaded as one file):

  • A cover letter with a brief description of why the Offer considers her/himself the most suitable for the assignment.

  • Personal CV or P11, indicating all past experience from similar projects and specifying the relevant assignment period (from/to), as well as the email and telephone contacts of at least three (3) professional references.

  • Candidate are required to provide in the CV information on their analytical and communication skills. Such as delivery issues and their resolution, bank reconciliations, or reporting issues, etc.)

Note: The above documents need to be scanned in one file and uploaded to the online application as one document.

 

Shortlisted candidates (ONLY) will be requested to submit a Financial Proposal.

  • The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount, and payment terms around the specific and measurable deliverables of the TOR. Payments are based upon output, i.e. upon delivery of the services specified in the TOR, and deliverables accepted and certified by the technical manager.

  • The financial proposal must be all-inclusive and take into account various expenses that will be incurred during the contract, including: the daily professional fee; (excluding mission travel); living allowances at the duty station; communications, utilities and consumables; life, health and any other insurance; risks and inconveniences related to work under hardship and hazardous conditions (e.g., personal security needs, etc.), when applicable; and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of services under the contract.
  • In the case of unforeseeable travel requested by UNDP, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses should be agreed upon, between UNDP and Individual Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed. In general, UNDP should not accept travel costs exceeding those of an economy class ticket. Should the IC wish to travel on a higher class he/she should do so using their own resources.
  • If the Offeror is employed by an organization/company/institution, and he/she expects his/her employer to charge a management fee in the process of releasing him/her to UNDP under a Reimbursable Loan Agreement (RLA), the Offeror must indicate at this point, and ensure that all such costs are duly incorporated in the financial proposal submitted to UNDP.

  • The Financial Proposal is to be emailed as per the instruction in the separate email that will be sent to shortlisted candidates.

Evaluation process

Applicants are reviewed based on Required Skills and Experience stated above and based on the technical evaluation criteria outlined below.  Applicants will be evaluated based on cumulative scoring.  When using this weighted scoring method, the award of the contract will be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

  • Being responsive/compliant/acceptable; and
  • Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation where technical criteria weighs 70% and Financial criteria/ Proposal weighs 30%.

Language:

  • Fluency in English is required;

Application Procedure

The application package containing the following (to be uploaded as one file):

  • A cover letter with a brief description of why the Offer considers her/himself the most suitable for the assignment.

  • Personal CV or P11, indicating all past experience from similar projects and specifying the relevant assignment period (from/to), as well as the email and telephone contacts of at least three (3) professional references.

  • Candidate are required to provide in the CV information on their analytical and communication skills. Such as delivery issues and their resolution, bank reconciliations, or reporting issues, etc.)

Note: The above documents need to be scanned in one file and uploaded to the online application as one document.

Shortlisted candidates (ONLY) will be requested to submit a Financial Proposal.

  • The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount, and payment terms around the specific and measurable deliverables of the TOR. Payments are based upon output, i.e. upon delivery of the services specified in the TOR, and deliverables accepted and certified by the technical manager.

  • The financial proposal must be all-inclusive and take into account various expenses that will be incurred during the contract, including: the daily professional fee; (excluding mission travel); living allowances at the duty station; communications, utilities and consumables; life, health and any other insurance; risks and inconveniences related to work under hardship and hazardous conditions (e.g., personal security needs, etc.), when applicable; and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of services under the contract.
  • In the case of unforeseeable travel requested by UNDP, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses should be agreed upon, between UNDP and Individual Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed. In general, UNDP should not accept travel costs exceeding those of an economy class ticket. Should the IC wish to travel on a higher class he/she should do so using their own resources.
  • If the Offeror is employed by an organization/company/institution, and he/she expects his/her employer to charge a management fee in the process of releasing him/her to UNDP under a Reimbursable Loan Agreement (RLA), the Offeror must indicate at this point, and ensure that all such costs are duly incorporated in the financial proposal submitted to UNDP.

  • The Financial Proposal is to be emailed as per the instruction in the separate email that will be sent to shortlisted candidates.

Evaluation process

Applicants are reviewed based on Required Skills and Experience stated above and based on the technical evaluation criteria outlined below.  Applicants will be evaluated based on cumulative scoring.  When using this weighted scoring method, the award of the contract will be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

  • Being responsive/compliant/acceptable; and
  • Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation where technical criteria weighs 70% and Financial criteria/ Proposal weighs 30%.

Technical evaluation - Total 70% (700 points):

  • Criteria 1. Relevance and progressive professional experience in providing financial advisory services, business partnering and/or managing staff and operational systems. Maximum Points: 200;
  • Criteria 2. Experience with Peoplesoft and Oracle Cloud ERP (Experience in large-scale ERP implementation projects including data conversion   will be added advantage) Maximum Points: 300;
  • Criteria 3: Relevant of experience with UN Finance (preferably UNDP), accounting procedures and understanding of International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) or International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) utilized by international organizations; Maximum Points: 100.
  • Criteria 4: Demonstrated Analytical skill combined with strong written and communication skills. (Candidates need to demonstrate in their CV/P11 previous experience on the analytical skills such as delivery issues and their resolution, bank reconciliations, or reporting issues, etc.). Maximum Points: 100.

Candidates obtaining a minimum of 70% (490 points) of the maximum obtainable points for the technical criteria shall be considered for the financial evaluation.

Financial evaluation - Total 30% (300 points)

The following formula will be used to evaluate financial proposal:

  • p = y (µ/z), where

  • p = points for the financial proposal being evaluated

  • y = maximum number of points for the financial proposal

  • µ = price of the lowest priced proposal

  • z = price of the proposal being evaluated

Contract Award

Candidate obtaining the highest combined scores in the combined score of Technical and Financial evaluation will be considered technically qualified and will be offered to enter into contract with UNDP.

Institutional arrangement

The consultant will work under the guidance and direct supervision of FBA Manager and will be responsible for the fulfilment of the deliverables as specified above.

Payment modality

  • Payments are based upon output, i.e. upon milestone delivery of the services specified above and deliverables accepted and upon certification of satisfactory completion by the manager.

  • The work week will be based on 35 hours, i.e. on a 7 hour working day, with core hours being between 9h00 and 18h00 daily.

Annexes (click on the hyperlink to access the documents):

Annex 1 - UNDP P-11 Form for ICs

Annex 2 - IC Contract Template

Annex 3 – IC General Terms and Conditions

Annex 4 – RLA Template

Any request for clarification must be sent by email to cpu.bids@undp.org 

The UNDP Central Procurement Unit will respond by email and will send written copies of the response, including an explanation of the query without identifying the source of inquiry, to all applicants.

This vacancy is now closed.
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