Programme Management - Associate (Grants Associate)

UNOPS Water and Energy Cluster (WEC) supports the design and management of multi-stakeholder initiatives by providing services in nancial and grant management, procurement, human resources, and project management. The cluster has supported projects in the areas of water resource management, climate change adaptation, mitigation and transparency, energy access and distribution and environmental conservation under the Paris Agreement. The WEC has also supported operations and financial management services, in Vienna, the rest of the ECR region and beyond. The main partners include UN agencies, bilateral agreements, the Green Climate Fund and several NGOs.

Home based, the incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS. 

The Green Climate Fund (GCF) has established a funding programme, the Readiness and Preparatory Support Programme and Project Preparation Facility (RPSP/PPF), to assist developing countries in accessing funding from the GCF for their climate resilient and low emission transformation, and to enhance ownership of the countries’ envisaged low carbon trajectory. To meet this objective, the RPSP/PPF project aims to maximize the GCF’s effectiveness through empowering developing countries in the following activities: 

●    Engaging across governments at various levels, and with civil society and private sector stakeholders

●    Developing strategic frameworks for engagement with the Fund 

●    Support for accreditation and accreditation direct access entities 

●    Formulation of national adaptation plans and/or other adaptation planning processes 

GCF has selected UNOPS to provide grants management support on their behalf, to Delivery Partners globally that wish to obtain support from the RPSP/PPF programme. The Grant Management Services that UNOPS is providing are captured in the Project Agreement, signed by GCF and UNOPS, signed on 28 February 2018. 

The Project Agreement outlines a clear division of responsibilities between the GCF and UNOPS concerning the management of Grant Management Services for the RPSP/PPF projects. Whereas GCF defines and approves the scope of each grant including the budget, assesses the Delivery Partners’ substantive and financial management capacity, UNOPS is responsible for providing Grant Management Services to the Delivery Partner throughout the implementation of the projects. In addition, UNOPS is responsible for ensuring that the Project Agreement and the individual projects are implemented in full compliance with agreed GCF and UNOPS rules and regulations. Finally UNOPS has a financial and programmatic reporting responsibility defined in the Project Agreement as well as reporting to the GCF-UNOPS Project Board. 

As of September 2021, UNOPS is providing Grant Management Services to approximately 120 Readiness and PPF projects globally. It is anticipated that the number of projects will double before the completion of the project in January 2023. 

To provide the Grant Management Services, UNOPS has established a dedicated project team (GCF Project Team) within WEC and based in Copenhagen. Due to a significant increase in the number of projects UNOPS has been asked to manage the key work processes, additional support in the form of Grant Associate is needed. 

The Grants Associate will support in providing grant management services for a selected portfolio of projects. The incumbent will work closely with all project partners and stakeholders in all aspects relating to grant management services and general financial management.  The Grants Associate will support the Project Manager in ensuring full compliance with all relevant procurement guidelines and regulations and is responsible for ensuring that administration of grants by UNOPS are in accordance with the applicable UNOPS Regulations and Rules and Administration Instruction(s). 

The Grants Associate will perform the following functions: 

I. Grant Management

I.1   Grant Set Up 

Under the guidance and in coordination with supervisor

• Collect and review all documents relevant to grant set up 

• Prepare the request for Awards for new grants and seek approval from the appropriate UNOPS Delegation of Authority holder

• Prepare a draft Grant Agreement in full compliance with UNOPS’ Grant Management Rules and Regulations and Project Management Manual. 

• Assist the supervisor in negotiations with the Delivery Partner on the Grant Agreements

• Set up supplier profiles for Delivery Partners in collaboration with the Shared Services Center

• Prepare communication to Delivery Partners on project start including information on key dates for the project. 

I.2   Grant Management Implementation Support

• Support the day-to-day administration of the grant management activities, track reports, and process grantee registrations and payments.

• Upon verification of availability of funds, create oneUNOPS Purchase Orders and Request for Payments to facilitate Grant Payment Process

• Support the monitoring of cash flows and provide input to the project’s delivery targets and projections.

• Review Requests for Changes to the approved GCF proposal submitted by the Delivery Partners and seek approval from the supervisor/Donor

• Perform other related duties and tasks as needed for effective implementation of grants, narrative reports, financial reports, targets and Key Performance Indicator as related.

I.3   Grant Monitoring

Work with the supervisor in monitoring implementation of grants including:

• Review of the Interim Progress Reports and Project Completion Reports, Financial (Audit) Reports submitted by the Delivery Partners(the assessment and analysis will be done using the Performance Assessment Tool specifically designed for the GCF grants administered by UNOPS on behalf of GCF). 

• Prepare summary note of each assessment highlighting results and challenges identified as part of the assessment

• Support the monitoring implementation of grants by tracking timely start and completion of all activities and proactively highlighting for discussion and action the activities that are at risk of getting delayed.  

• Help to collate information of individual grant performance into quarterly portfolio reports for the substantive and financial performance of the grant portfolio. 

• Update UNOPS Internal Tracking Database for GCF Projects and GCF’s FLUXX Database. 

• Support the preparation of quarterly financial reports and the annual financial report as per the donor agreement. 

• Assist in preparation of Quarterly Progress Reports for GCF and for UNOPS Quarterly Assurance meetings Project Board. 

• Notify Delivery Partners on upcoming reporting requirements (Interim Progress Report and Completion Reports and financial reporting)

I.4   Grant Closure

• Support verification of all obligations with regards to the grants that are fulfilled by the Delivery Partner.

• Assist in the review of the final financial report submitted by the grantee. 

• Provide support to initiate the grant closure process. 

• Work with the UNOPS Finance Team to ensure that financial statements are prepared and shared with the funding source as required. 

• Draft grant closure notification for the Project Manager’s approval

II General 

• Provide support to the supervisor, ensuring that relevant project support functions requiring programme and operational support are provided in a professional and timely manner. 

• Contribute to identifying Risk, Lessons Learned and Issues and enter information in oneUNOPS project following Project Manager Approval. 

• Assist the Project Manager in preparation of all relevant products as per the Project Management Manual including stakeholder mapping and Standard Operating Procedures. 

• Support the Project Manager in terms of knowledge management in the areas of portfolio and grants management from both a substantive and financial perspective 

• Support development and upkeep of records, logs, reports and other documents, as required by the GCF. 

• Facilitate and ensure provision of administrative, travel, procurement, HR and logistics support required for the project, with inputs from other WEC units, as and when requested. 

• Help ensure that all relevant project documents and administrative files are maintained as per corporate requirements. 

• Support the Project Manager in the organization and management of periodic Project Board Meetings, including preparing presentations, sharing of documents and minute taking. 

• Attend the biweekly coordination meetings with GCF and draft minutes when requested

• Assist in the active assessment of portfolio performance with a view to assure quality assurance, support the quarterly quality assurance process. 

Education 

• A high school or secondary education diploma is required.

• University Degree preferably in business administration, public administration, procurement, finance, or related  field will be considered an advantage and may substitute some years of the required experience (Bachelor's degree may substitute 4 years of experience and a Master's degree may substitute 6 years)

Work Experience 

• Minimum 6 years of experience in grant administration/management, fund management, project management, or procurement is required. 

• Experience in the UN system organizations and/or a developing country is desirable.

Language:  

• Excellent (written and oral) English language skills are required.

• Knowledge of French, Spanish and/or other UN languages is considered an asset. 

Contract type: ICA Contract level: LICA-6
Contract duration: Open-ended, subject to organizational requirements, availability of funds and satisfactory performance

• 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.
• UNOPS seeks to reasonably accommodate candidates with special needs, upon request.
• 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
• For retainer contracts, you must complete a few Mandatory Courses (around 4 hours) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS.
• 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.