Project Management Support - Senior Associate

Job Highlight

The role involves being a key focal point for the Access to Justice Grant Facility, providing critical financial monitoring and capacity building for Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), which directly enhances access to justice for women and vulnerable populations. This work is integral to promoting the rule of law and achieving SDG 16 (Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions).

Role Purpose

The Project Management Support - Senior Associate (Grants Administration and Financial Monitoring) (PMS-Sr Associate-Retainer) will work under the supervision of the Project Management Support - Officer (Grants Management). They will be responsible for providing support to the day-to-day operational administration of the grants, contract management, and financial monitoring of the Access to Justice Grant Facility. They are expected to support the Programme Management Officer (Grants Management) in the internal UNOPS assurance procedures and compliance, due diligence, administration, and financial monitoring of the grantees. With guidance from the supervisor, they will collaborate and engage in activities with Technical Assistance Team members and work with retainers, when deemed necessary, during when surge capacities are needed.

Functions / Key Results Expected

The PMS-Senior Associate (Administration and Financial Monitoring) will be assigned a number of Grant Projects (at least 5 grant projects) to be the focal point and will be responsible for administering and managing this “portfolio” in accordance the UNOPS Grants policies and procedures. He/she will also be responsible for liaising with the grantees, ensuring that the procedures and terms of the grant support agreement are complied with all throughout the grant cycle.

Specific tasks will include:

• Grant Administration:
• In collaboration with the project sub-team in the grant process, provide administrative support in designing the grant facility, call for concept notes or proposals, orientation on budget proposal template for applicants, review of submission by applicants, conduct and report writing of due diligence assessments (especially in finance capacity), preparation of grant awards, agreements, and amendments.
• Ensure all the necessary and relevant grant-related documents for assigned grant projects are assembled and organized appropriately, collecting the required signatures, and filing them in the proper folder/s. Draft the schedule for financial monitoring and reporting deadlines for the grant management team, in collaboration with the technical monitoring team.
• Monitor the submission of financial reports and flag concerns to the supervisor and the Senior Project Manager on pending and delayed reports.
• Execute the Review of the financial reports, including asset and procurement reports of implementing partners and recommend improvements, and submit the same to the Grants Officer to finalize.
• Generate and prepare monthly system financial reports and analyses from the OU, and provide other required data, with focus on the Access to Grant Facility component;
• Ensure, together with the PMSO-Grants, the processing and maintenance of Call for Proposal/Concept notes, including uploading documents, receiving and acknowledging receipt of proposals, assessing the completeness of submissions, and maintaining a database of submitted proposals.
• Initiate the process, in coordination with relevant project team members, for ongoing and upcoming payments, cash flow requirements, and other pertinent information regarding grantees financial budget disbursement. This includes ensuring payment schedules are aligned with the signed agreement, complete documentation for grant payments in accordance with agreed-upon payment schedule, and fund availability, creating POs, preparing relevant necessary communication, and submitting payment requests to Finance.
• Implement actions towards closure of assigned grant projects with appropriate actions (e.g. project audits, clearance of final reports, assets management) and ensure overall adherence to required procedures before the final payment is released.
• Maintain the archive and filing system of all required records for the grants both in hard copy and on the share drive.
• Work closely with the Grants management support team, especially with the Monitoring and evaluation Associate, in developing tracking tools for grants management, including performance/traffic light reports (dashboards), and maintaining the platform
• Conduct due diligence assessments (DDA), particularly financial capacity assessments, lead and/or participate in the DDA, and contribute to organizational and prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse (PSEA) assessments.
• Prepare a summary of the assigned grantee applicants evaluation documentation for GET and GSC, including the creation of the file.
• Working with the Supervisor, support the development and review of the Access to Justice Grant Facilitys annual work plan and budget, including providing input on accomplishments, issues, risks and mitigation, and lessons learned.
• Working with the Supervisor, prepare periodic reports of the status of implementation of the grants projects for internal/external analysis and actions.
• Administration and Logistics
• Raise POs and payment requests/ disbursements to assigned grantee projects are executed timely.
• Ensures the effective and efficient provision of logistics and asset management support services for the EU GOJUST Access to Justice Grant Facility in compliance with UNOPS rules, regulations, policies, and strategies.
• Collect and maintain records, both hard copies and electronic copies for easy reference and retrieval, related to contractual arrangements – on audits, inventories, utilization, and all such elements in the contracts.
• Keep the supervisor and management updated on progress and issues, and prepare briefing materials as requested for discussions on grant status.
• Grants Monitoring and Capacity Building
• Provide input in designing and organizing training and workshops, grants subcom meetings, and documentation of the highlights of these events or meetings.
• Authoritatively interpret grants procedure as part of the guidance to the grantees in the areas finance and contracts, and coordinate with the Programme Management Officer (Grants Management) and the Technical Assistance Team to ensure Grantee’s understanding of, and compliance to EU GoJUST Grant Facility/Programme’s Operational guidelines, terms and conditions of the grant support agreement, and UNOPS requirements;
• Coordinate and conduct field monitoring and verification missions/spot checks to assigned grantee projects; As focal point on financial monitoring, will serve as lead in spot checks/financial verification, monitoring and collaborate with the technical team in preparation of monitoring reports
• Actively compile and report lessons learned and best practices, and share knowledge and best practices within the GoJUST Project Teams and with Grantees, on financial and organizational management; and,
• Contribute to the overall knowledge sharing and collaboration within the Grants and Contracts team in UNOPS Grants Management “Community of Practice”.
• If required and delegated, provide training sessions to the financial officers of CSO grantees to ensure compliance with the grant agreement and increase the capacities of the assigned partner organizations.
• Documentation:
• Support in monitoring information related to contractual arrangements – on audits, inventories, utilization, and all such elements in the contracts and grants;
• Maintain information of assigned grant projects that will feed towards the Grant Facility Dashboard, ensuring that financial and grant information are regularly updated.
• Keep the organization, supervisor, and the grants subcommittee updated on progress and issues, risks, and lessons, and prepare briefing materials, as requested for discussions on grant status;
• Document meetings of the team and other bodies in the grant programme, as may be assigned by the supervisor.
  
  

• Secondary school (or equivalent) with 7 years of relevant experience OR
• Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) in any discipline with 3 years of relevant experience is required.
  
  

• Professional certification, such as Certified Public Accountant (CPA) or similar, is an advantage.
  
  

• Relevant experience is work in grants and contracts management involving Civil Society Organizations, NGOs in national and/or international public, or corporate organizations, or related areas.
  
  

• Field experience in the conduct of due diligence exercises or capacity assessments (including in finance management) for CSO/NGOs/POs or similar organizations is an advantage.
• Experience in conducting coaching and mentoring, as well as similar capacity-building initiatives, particularly in grants and financial management for NGOs, CSOs, and POs, is an advantage.
• Experience in conducting and/or managing audits for grant projects is an asset.
• Experience in working with a range of stakeholders in a social development context is an asset.
• Some experience in UN system organizations is an asset.
• Proficiency in the use of Google Docs, Google Sheets, and Google Slides or similar platforms is an asset .
• Experience with the advanced features of Google Sheets or similar applications is an asset.
• Experience in web-based grant trackers or dashboard setup and or maintenance is an asset.