ERP-Quantum transition Specialist - IPSA 11 - Office-based

Background

Instructions to Applicants: Click on the "Apply now" button. Input your information in the appropriate Sections: personal information, language proficiency, education, resume and motivation. Upon completion of the first page, please hit "submit application" tab at the end of the page. Please ensure that CV or P11 and the Cover letter are combined in one file.

The following documents shall be required from the applicants:

Personal CV or P11, indicating all past positions held and their main underlying functions, their durations (month/year), the qualifications, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate, and at least three (3) the most recent professional references of previous supervisors. References may also include peers.

A cover letter (maximum length: 1 page) indicating why the candidate considers him-/herself to be suitable for the position.

Managers may ask (ad hoc) for any other materials relevant to pre-assessing the relevance of their experience, such as reports, presentations, publications, campaigns or other materials.

Travela) UNDP will cover the cost of travel of the individual to the duty station, as well as their return to their home upon completion of their services. Travel costs are covered only in the event that the function will be undertaken physically in the duty station and excludes working from home arrangements.b) Include any official travel expected to be associated with performing the functions

Office/Unit/Project DescriptionFounded in 1966, UNCDF is the UN’s development finance arm, primarily for the 47 LDCs, out of which 32 are in Africa. The Fund has a unique capital mandate within the United Nations development system. It provides investment capital and technical support to both the public and theprivate sector. Its ability to provide capital investment, in the form of seed capital grants, reimbursable grants, loans and guarantees, and to provide technical assistance in preparing investable portfolios of projects within clear financial and development additionality, makes itsmandate complementary to those of other United Nations entities. It also positions UNCDF as an early-stage investor to de-risk investment opportunities that can later be scaled up by other partners, including United Nations entities, international financial institutions, philanthropic foundations and private sector investors.

UNCDF uses PeopleSoft ERP system, referred to internally as “Atlas” which was implemented in 2004 and comprises various modules including, Accounts Payable, Contracts Module (used for management of revenues and receivables), General Ledger, Treasury Module, Human Resources, Grants and Project Management and Asset Management modules. UNCDF has embarked on the process of migrating from the current PeopleSoft ERP to Oracle Cloud ERP to improve internal processes and keep up with evolving industry standards. The Cloud ERP project is in the design phase with the partial realization activities already taking place. The system is expected go-live on 1 July2022. The system stabilization and staff support activities requiring expert input will continue till at least Q2, 2023.

UNCDF largely follows UNDP’s POPP and is dependent to a large extent on UNDP for operational support (including Treasury, procurement and HR processes) especially in the field. Due to the high dependency on UNDP, UNCDF is tied to UNDP’s implementation timeline and Oracle Cloud configuration and setup decisions. There are however a few areas which are unique to UNCDF where the entity will need to engage directly with the Oracle Cloud implementation team. Taking into account the above and UNCDF’s limited capacity/resources, UNCDF has  adopted the following strategy for the implementation of the NEXTGEN ERP which relies on following UNDP’s implementation approach/decisions and focusing its resource on areas UNCDF business model differs from that of UNDP.

Institutional ArrangementThe Consultant shall be working under the direct guidance and supervision of the Head of the UNCDF Office of Finance and Management Services (OFMS). During the engagement, the Consultant is expected to work directly with the Head of OFMS, Heads of Programme Practice, Finance Specialist, Operations Specialist, HR Specialist and other colleagues from the field offices.The Consultant may also liaise with counterparts from UNDP where needed.The Consultant may be required to periodically provide updates to the Head of OFMS and/or the Senior Management on the status of the work or any issues during the assessment process.

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of WorkThe main objective of this contract is to engage a consultant to support UNCDF in the preparation, roll-out and implementation of the new ERP resource (known and hereinafter referred to as Quantum) and other transition arrangements. The consultant will work closely with the UNCDFbusiness process lead in HR, Finance, Procurement, Programme Managment, Practice Teams and the ERP technical team.

The consultant will support the ERP activities related to the design, realization, testing, system integration and roll-out of Quantum. The Consultant’s responsibility will cover the following broad functional areas:

1) Coordinate with functional leads (HR, Finance, Procurement, Programme Managment, Practice Teams) and UNDP’s ERP & UNall technical team on timely implementation of various modules in Quantum. This covers strategic planning, programme execution, travel & facilities, financialmanagement, procurement & logistics, human resources management, and grants modules.

2) Act as de facto focal point between UNCDF functional leads and UNDP’s technical team during the entire course of design, preparation and roll-out, by participating in and facilitating internal and external meetings and discussions on all stages of the Quantum roll-out and implementation.

3) Liaising with UNCDF functional leads, generating and consolidating inputs, feedback, and other requirements of UNDP Technical team from UNCDF including the setup of user profiles and UNCDF Business Unit configuration in Oracle Cloud that is most appropriate for UNCDF’s business model.

4) Lead the process for identifying and implementing additional controls to supplement those alreadybuilt-in the Quantum to ensure data integrity,  minimize fraud and manage risks.

5) Identify functionality gaps, propose changes to business process and/or assist in updating relevant UNCDF policies and procedures to mitigate them.

6) Lead and plan for comprehensive data clean up, conversion and migration for various modules.

7) Provide updates to the Senior Management on the status of the Quantum roll-out at any given time,citing progress, issues, action points and  other recommendations

8) Sound integration of all modules that interface into Quantum to provide confidence in the accuracy of UNCDF’s official books of accounts.

9) Facilitating and implementing change management throughout the ERP implementation and providing the necessary support to all UNCDF units.

10) Ensure enabling process and policy framework to adopt the best business practices prescribed by thesoftware vendor for Oracle Financials  as well as programme management activities while ensuring consistency with the application financial regulations.

11) Lead the configuration of the Governance Risk and Control (GRC) module and user reporting requirements for UNCDP.

Competencies

Required skills and competenciesExperience with ERP systems is required.

Desired additional skills and competenciesExperience with UNCDF/UNDP/UN financial information systems, policies and practices will be an added advantage.

Required Language(s) (at working level)• Full working proficiency in English is required.• Working proficiency in French considered an asset.

Professional CertificatesProfessional accounting qualification from an internationally recognized institute of accountancy will be an advantage.

Required Skills and Experience

Minimum Qualifications of the Successful IPSA

Min. Academic EducationAdvanced (Masters) University Degree in Business Administration, Finance/Accounting or a relevant discipline.

Min. years of relevant Work experienceAt least 7 years’ experience in senior financial management position(s) for large international organizations, required.